All aboard the good ship Hinxton!

Brilliant opening this afternoon of the pirate ship that forms the centrepiece of Hinxton's revamped children's playground. 

Earlier in the year Hinxton's efforts to fundraise to replace the rather tired playground facilities next to the village hall moved up a gear with a bid to Amey Cespa's Community Fund. Amey Cespa are the company that run all the County Council's recycling and waste facilities. 

Up till then the fundraising team in the village had secured support from South Cambs District Council's Community Chest, Hinxton Parish Council, the Wellcome Trust and some local charities, as well as running events to raise cash. All this put the plan in a good place when it came to making a bid to Amey. The quality of the bid going in was of a very high standard, and the village secured some £40k, which has all been used to provide secure fencing and gates, some more challenging facilities for older children, and lots of exciting and colourful play equipment including a stunning pirate ship which was duly declared open by local youngsters cutting the ribbon. A local sign producer donated a commemorative plaque.

Following which a rather good rock band who practice in the village hall played a set, a BBQ was fired up and people turned their thoughts to funding ideas to replace the village hall roof. It's a fine example of something really bringing people together for a good cause. 

Why close the ford at Hinxton?

At Hinxton and Ickleton parish councils this week people were asking why the ford at Ickleton had been closed and then kept closed after some heavy rain. Drivers were bowling along assuming in the current heat wave the ford would be open to find it  remained closed with te newly installed gates in operation.

For local journeys especially taking children to school the route via the ford is a quick and pleasant alternative to driving up to Duxford and then back down again. I have asked the highways team for a site visit as the construction of the new gates also means that cyclists cannot easily use the footbridge that runs alongside - which seems a bit of a missed opportunity. 

Hinxton - report for the year and update on Hunts Road

I was happy to confirm to Hinxton parish council last night that the county will dress Hunts Road this month or next as well as fill in the potholes before hand. Also gave an update on the Tour De France which will whizz past Hinxton on the 7 July. Road closures will be from early moprning to mid-afternoon on the main road. 

Here is my report to the parish council for the past year.

Report to Hinxton Parish Council for May 2014

Summary of the year for the AGM 

A year of significant change for the County Council. Moving to committee system in May 2014, with committees for the main areas of activity: health, transport, children etc. Continued challenge facing the county to make savings. The County has, along with the City Council and South Cambs, secured the funding from the government known as the City Deal which will allow major infrastructure investment - in tranches of £100millions.

County finances. The county council set a budget for 14/15, increasing rates by 1.99 per which will see the average band D household’s rates pay an extra £21.89 annually. To protect transport services, an additional sum has been allocated to that area, but given that the council’s Government grant is expected to drop by £30 million – 21 per cent – over the next two years, the county is facing very tough decisions.

Broadband. The junction boxes are being upgraded ready for super-fast broadband (SF BB) to be made available later in 2014 or early 2015 in this part of Cambridgeshire. All suppliers, not just BT, will offer the service, though BT provides the infrastructure. I am the local broadband champion and will take issues to the team at the county as they are raised with me.

Local traffic and roads. I have learnt a good deal about traffic issues from being on the panel looking at parish bids for funding earlier this year under the County's Local Transport Initiative Scheme. The amount of money from this scheme is set to increase and will become the main means by which traffic improvement is managed. So for example if there is an aspiration for improving traffic safety in the village, or doing joint work with Ickleton, this will require early liaison with the police (who may need to see a traffic survey done) and the county highways authority, as well as being able to demonstrate public consultation and backing for the scheme. This would then form a good grounding for a bid to the County's Local Transport Initiative Scheme in late 2014. Hinxton's bid in 2013 was unfortunately unsuccessful, despite a good presentation on the day.

Hunts Road After raising the concerns of unhappy residents, I am pleased to say the County Council has now agreed that it will surface dress the road in the spring with pre-patching where necessary.

I continue to explore with the County how to restrict lorries accessing the village, especially Hunts Road.

Cycleway running down A505 is close to completion. I worked with the highways team to ensure that this cycleway is open to people on mobility scooters too, so not just for cyclists.

Water and Hinxton Ford. A number of drains could not cope under the pressure of the incessant rain in January, and I got the County Highways team to jet them out. The County has done a good job making the railings at the footpath over the ford safe. The route remains accessible to cyclists. 

Streetlighting changes in 2014. I will be checking to see if Hinxton will  lose any of its existing streetlights that belong to the County Council under the agreement that the lights would be upgraded via government funding but that there would have to be a ten per cent across the board reduction in street lights. I have met with officers to assess the proposed impact on local villages. 

Police panel. I regularly attend the police panel which has met at Sawston. In future, the size of area covered by the police panel will be three times as big, which means there will probably be less time available to discuss specific local parish issues.

Playground equipment bid. I was very happy to write letters of support to the funders, AmeyCespa. I have passed on to other parish councils the high quality of the Hinxton bid as a lessons learnt exercise.

City Deal

In the document accompanying the Autumn Statement on 5 December, Government announced its agreement in principle to the Greater Cambridge proposal for a City Deal. Further details of the Deal will be available at the time of the Government’s budget, which is expected in March.  The deal will allow a lot more money to be used on transport improvements in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. The thing to watch is whether the government try to increase pressure for more houses to be built in and around Cambridge as a quid pro quo.

County Council governance

The county will move from a Cabinet system to a Committee system during this year.

Gritting

The county council has emailed out the routes for this winter. The route from Hinxton to Ickleton is a blue route and the main road to the Sawston roundabout is a red route, and both get priority gritting. The cycleway will be gritted if there are sub-zero temperatures for a period of a few days, too. 

Cycleways and traffic

Work on the cycleway from Whittlesford to Granta Park will start later in the spring, while the route from Wandlebury to Babraham starts this month. I am trying to get the project officers to see if improvements for cyclists to the routes across the McDonalds roundabout can be included in the works.

The county will consider bids from parish councils for local traffic improvement initiatives  later this month. I will be on the panel. I have been working with a number of parish councils on 20 mph zones and have learnt a good deal about the county and the police approach to the implementation of these schemes. I don't know if Hinxton has considered such a scheme?

Playground bid

I will write a letter of support to the Amey Cespa bid, and hope to learn more at the parish council meeting itself. 

Update notes from the January meeting  and actions for me:

1. ACTION - A bench has been installed on county council land - should they have sought permission? Dont want to have it removed.

2. ACTION - write supporting letter and send to fiona

3. ACTION - follow up re the roundabout improvement re cycleways

Hinxton will be attending meeting on 21st / 22nd to put forward its case for a traffic improvement scheme.

New parish clerk  - Ann

Playground application - Fiona is person making the application

PLAYGROUND on land owned by the PC, PC putting £1,000. PC has adopted necessary policies.

Grant sought - 20 to 40k. they have raised 14k this year. deadline this friday 10th. Decision by following Weds. only for playgrounds or village halls - high chance of securing this. need to describe preferred supplier approach.  all needs to be done very quickly - quality - will last 25 years. parish will provide maintenance as needs be.

4. ACTION HUNTS LANE - damage to road signs from lorries rat-running. Sat Nav - drivers ignore the signs and just follow the sat nav. ACTION - Talk to David Lines - what about a sign at the roundabout? What about Hexcel - are they aware of this? could they pay for a sign? Could the county put a weight limit sign? reduce the usage by through-route traffic.

written to mike cooper 070114

5. ACTION - could there be a 20 mph limit across the backway road to Ickleton - better than - cld the PCSOs do an initial assessment. 

6. ACTION get a briefing from police on 20 mph approach

Tony O - DISTRICTS update local housing plan. - going for inspector review in the summer

district council resetting budget end of February.

 7. ACTION PARK N RIDE - access - to toilets etc - whats happening 

/

Hinxton - by land and by sea!

Continuing issues with HGVs using the little road known as Hunts Lane as a short cut to get to the industrial bits of Duxford rather than brave the A505 when it is clogged up, as it tends to be from 7.30 to 9.30 of a morning. The depot people have been very good when Hinxton Parish council have contacted them, and have instructed their drivers not to use the road. But there are a lot of lorry companies, so this isnt going to catch every vehicle. The road is being damaged by this sort of use, as well as being a hazard to the residents living down there. This pic was snapped this week and you can see the scale. 

There is a "not suitable for HGVs" sign, but that doesnt seem to be deterring people. I am talking to Highways to see what is doable, but whereas some people want the road closed at the top end, others do not as it is a useful exist from the village. 

At the other end of the village the ford which has seen a few cars washed away trying to cross it is being repaired. But the key thing is to make sure the work doesnt make it more difficult for cyclits and people on foot to use this route. 

I think I will need a strong cup of depot tea when I go to talk to the highways people on Friday!

hanley grange - a fifth anniversary

Five years ago - in the early summer of 2008 - people living in the villages of this part of Cambridgeshire mobilised in their hundreds to "stop Hanley Grange" and oppose the proposals for a 10,000 house development.
People believed that the planned new-town, put forward under the eco-town initiative of the then government, would have swamped Hinxton, Pampisford and the villages of Great and Little Abington, put Sawston High Street out of busines, and made the A505 even more of a gridlock than it is already.
Over the last few weeks I have been reminded of that effort by local people in the faded car bumper sticker I saw at Pampisford last Thursday and the odd poster on a playground fence. Now the local housing plan has been published, showing that most of the new houses over the next 20 years will be built at Northstowe, Bourn Airfield, Waterbeach and on the outskirts of Cambridge at Trumpington.
But there is always the chance that the people who own the land on which Hanley Grange would have been built will argue that allowing such a settlement would - mirroring Northstowe - meet the housing demand south of the City.
So as always, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Hinxton in hazy spring sunshine

Hinxton has many things going for it - it still retains a very rural atmosphere - walking up the High Street you can see the fields stretching away behind the houses, even though the village is a few minutes drive from petrol stations and railway stations and the M11. The pub appears to be doing well, and the parish council is active, and there are little quirks like the library in a telephone box that made me smile.
Talked to people there this afternoon about the bus service which is bedding down, the roads, footpaths and cycleways. The fight in 2008 to keep the 10,000 house Hanley Grange development away still registers strongly. 

Fowlmere's bus service ...lessons

The bus services running through the villages of South Cambridgeshire have been heavily subsidized and the County is right to look at this cost.
Over the past year Whittlesford, Hinxton and Heathfield residents who used the C7 bus have had to work hard in trying to ensure the replacement to their service proposed by the County Council is fit for purpose.
For smaller villages such as Hinxton and Fowlmere where there is no shop or Post Office, let alone the rail service that Whittlesford enjoys, public transport is a vital link.
Fowlmere's bus service is under threat as the subsidy is going to be withdrawn. This is already a very limited service of five buses a day into Cambridge, Mon to Fri, and the County Council needs to show that this basic service will be maintained, and that there will not be the dip in service that ocurred for Hinxton, Heathfield and Whittlesford.