Crasbo's and Asbo's, ABCs and DPPOs

A long time ago when I was a Hong Kong cop I learnt to say "move along son - or else" in colloquial Chinese. These days, things are a little more complicated for our boys and girls in blue. Go here to see explanations for the penalties that the police can impose.

I went to an evening session this week attended by parish and district councillors put on by the South Cambs Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership. The purpose was to help us to understand more about what can be done to tackle anti-social behaviour. The team of very switched on and articulate police officers - led by Insp Savage from Sawston - talked us through the various routes by which bad behaviour is tackled, including housing schemes and the district council. The fire service were there too, because they also do a lot of this, trying to curb arson.

Yes, some of it was complex, and there are surprisingly small numbers of ASBOs issued in Cambridgeshire, but at the same time you can see why it is worth making the effort and focussing attention and strategies on some of these youngsters before something serious happens and they are inside the criminal justice system, and re-offending and all the rest of it.

Two pretty crucial points: Asbos are for adults too, and a lot of unpleasant behavior which comes under the banner is caused by adults, even people in their sixties and seventies. Half of the referrals are about grown-ups. Secondly, there isn't a great deal of crime round here and we should be thankful for it. I think a number of us attending had the terrible events in Leicstershire which have been in the news this week at the back of our minds

The really useful thing was understanding a bit more about the various penalties and actions that can be taken, so that if we need to ask the police for help, we have a basic knowledge.
Next Monday is the neighbourhood policing panel at Sawston V C.

South side of Station and Royston Roads - welcome to Whittlesford!

I went to the District's Electoral Arrangements Committee last Thursday where the decision was made - on the basis of proposals from Whittlesford Parish Council - to consult people living on the south side of Station and Royston Roads about becoming part of Whittlesford Parish, rather than Duxford.

The s.106 money paid by the developers building on the south side of Station Road would then be for Whittlesford Parish Council to spend for the benefit of the community.

The two schools, Whittlesford and Duxford, will also be asked for their views, and if all OK then the boundaries will change, so that the new divide will be the A505.

Whether there will be a street party to make the occasion is beyond my guessing.

September report to Parish Council

Peter Topping reported:

1. Consultation about proposed traveller and gypsy sites was continuing at South Cambs and he had attended a briefing session at Cambourne. There were currently no plans for traveller and gypsy sites for Whittlesford, but new sites could be proposed by private landowners during the process, so he would continue to monitor;

2. Planning - three matters

- he had asked the planning department to ensure that traffic entering and leaving the two construction sites on Station Road did not disrupt other residents or endanger station users, especially cyclists.

- He had attended the East of England Assembly meeting in July where the proposals for new regional housing targets were presented, and these were now out for consultation in the region. The risk for Whittlesford was that Hanley Grange was put forward as a means of helping to meet these very high housing targets.

- Other parish councils had raised the issue of their involvement in the district planning process, and he would draft a flow-diagram with Ken Winterbotham showing how and when the parish could and should get involved. He said that for contentious planning applications, having the parish council attend and speak at the district planning committee before it made its decisions was always helpful, and Whittlesford parish should keep that in mind.

3. Sheltered Housing – he had met the residents of the sheltered housing scheme at the Lawns to discuss their fears about possible reductions to the warden service. This is being considered by South Cambs as one option to make up its housing budget shortfall. He will be raising this issue at South Cambs this week with the Housing portfolio holder, and handing over the petition that the residents have signed.

4. Ledo Road – residents in Ledo Road report some issues around vehicle access and turning, which he will investigate. The residents are having their road resurfaced and one of their concerns is the damage done to the road surface by large lorries like the refuse trucks which have to reverse down the road.

5. Discussion re boundary with Duxford – these are due to be considered at the South Cambs Electoral Arrangements Committee next Thursday and he will attend.

Whittlesford wants its wardens: sheltered housing wardens

Went to coffee yesterday morning with the people at the Whittlesford sheltered housing scheme and we had a long discussion about the warden scheme - with a few discursions into the problems of local footpaths and their state, and some comments about my tie.

A lot of very sensible points made by some very worried people, about the value of the warden support in the community, and its flexibility, which I will raise in the next few days at the district council, as I was asked to do.

What I would like to see is whether the warden role can be expanded - perhaps in discussion with the primary care trusts who are looking for services to commission - so that the link between warden and local community is kept. It isn't an easy circle to square, but it is worth the try.

End of the summer - back to work!

We always go to Burghley horsetrials and driving away always feels like the end of the summer. Things are certainly starting to get busy.

I'm seeing the people in Whittlesford's sheltered housing this week about the threat to their warden services from budget pressures on the council. I need to find out why someone who goes back three generations in Whittlesford seem to never get to the front of the council housing list for properties in the village. The residents of Ledo and Burma roads are having their roads resurfaced and want to make sure the district's refuse lorries don't damage the new tarmac. There's a session this week on the proposals for traveller sites in the district. And I need to catch up on the Duxford museum's strategic plans for development.

Planning decisions - high on a windy hill

This wind-blown collection of district councillors is standing on a hillside overlooking the proposed wind-turbine site at Linton. We were having a site visit to understand the scale of the proposals and the impact on the local villages. Our decision at Planning Committee was to reject the proposals, which will now go to a public enquiry next February.
Among other decisions we also agreed to allow a change of use for the Queen's Head public house in Sawston, which after 500 years of dispensing ale is struggling to make ends meet. A pity, but consumer tastes have been driving the market towards fewer pubs, even before the recession.

I also got agreement from the planning officers that we can use the building control department to make sure there is a plan for Station Road in Whittlesford that will control site access for construction vehicles building two new developments along that road. Less monumental that Linton Wind Farm, but still a decision that was needed.