Housing Futures - getting it right for residents who are SCambs tenants

I spent most of Friday afternoon at Cambourne with Steve Hampson, the Executive Director for SCambs District Council, and the senior officer who is responsible for the Housing Futures work in the months ahead. I am a member of the proposed shadow board, and I wanted to work through and understand the pros and cons of what is being offered to council tenants. Housing legislation is pretty complex stuff, but we must make sure everyone understands what is proposed, and I will be trying to make sure we ask the right questions and get some clear answers for people. It is one of the biggest decisions facing South Cambs, and also for their tenants, many of whom are elderly and have been with the council for many years.

Station Road Parking Problems - chivvying up the County Council

Wrote again to the people who are supposed to be responsible for these issues at the County Council: extract:

"Although I understand that parking is a county matter, there are a number of concerns being expressed to me, in my role as a district councillor, about the parking restrictions now in place in Duxford and Station Road, and seperately, about the traffic-calming arrangements around the Guildhall, which do not seem to be working.

With regard to Station Road, the speeds at which cars seek to maneuver round the chicanes of parked cars which are now there is something that people who cycle, or whose children cycle, are concerned about, because the lines of sight are not good. With regard to Royston Road, people had sought a yellow line restriction, which does not appear to have materialised. Again, for residents coming out of driveways this is now not easy, especially for a number of elderly people who live there, who find their drives boxed in. Their concern is additionally that there appears to be no enforcement activity, which might induce commuters parking there to do so more responsibly and not block driveways.

The Guildhall corner appears to have a number of parking bays, which seem to be too small, and which block exits from driveways, but also block the the sightlines for oncoming traffic. The various curves and pillars around the junction do not appear to have any effect on speed, and again, a level of enforcement might be needed to persuade people to drive more carefully.

My original letters sought your assistance in understanding the principles that lay behind the various schemes, and I must now press you for a reply."

District Councillors quiz Hanley Grange developers

Last Friday the Hanley Grange developers finally put their proposals to a session of South Cambridgeshire District Councillors. I listened to their presentations, and took part in the questioning afterwards, which came from district councillors of every political persuasion.




The real concern I had was that in response to specific questions, the developers were always vague, saying things like "yes, good point, we are working on that" or "I can't give you details at this stage".

As an example, given that the developers have been clear on the square metre size of the supermarket they wish to build at Hanley Grange, I asked what proportion of the overall retail space that would represent. They would not say.

I have reflected these concerns that the detail of Hanley Grange is not going to be subject to the usual and necessary planning process for such a major development in my letter to the Housing Minister, Caroline Flint, which I attach.

Hanley Grange: what people think

Spent most of yesterday manning one of the stalls set up across south Cambridgeshire to raise awareness of the proposed 8,000 house development at Hanley Grange. I thought I'd have time to eat a bacon sandwich but it was brisk business - and good fun. Maybe I should have run a market stall for a living!

The sign-up rate was just under one person a minute, young and old. People were coming up and saying "this is bonkers and we need to stop it." To be fair, there were one or two people making the point that affordable housing is to be welcomed. I completely agree, but given the housing plans proposed for places like Trumpington and Northstowe, there should be plenty of houses coming on stream without the need to cover a greenfield site with brick dust.

Across the south of Cambridgeshire over 700 signatures were added today to the petition. I found people very well informed about flood-plains, greenfield sites, sustainable travel and transport infrastructures. They understand what an eco-town should be, and as an elderly gent said to me "This ain't it.

Traffic in Whittlesford - poop! poop!

I'm trying to work out the back-story on the various bits of traffic control that seem still to rumble on in Whittlesford.

One is the Duxford Road junction with the High Street, with its curious parking bays, which is apparently supposed to be subject to some traffic calming, but apart from some bollards (think that's spelled correctly!) no-one is sure what there is, and whether it works in slowing cars down. It sure is a fast chicane thru the village with some blind corners thrown in for good measure.

And then there is Station Road. How people can park next to the precipice that is the quarry development I don't know. Its like something out of a Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton movie.

But I need a bit more to go on, so I'm talking to the Highways people.