Amanda Taylor

Today was a day of change at Cambridgeshire County Council. The old Conservative Leader Nick Clarke was formally voted out of office, finishing off the job done in the elections on 2nd May. A new Tory Leader, Martin Curtis, was elected – but only on the second round of voting, and only as Leader of a minority administration with 34 Tory councillors.

The other important thing that happened today was a change in the way the Council makes decisions. Read the rest of this entry »

After no applications last week there are two this week. As usual enter the codes at: http://idox.cambridge.gov.uk/online-applications/  I understand Long Road Sixth Form College had an exhibition before submitting their plans but I did not hear about it so cannot comment on what they presented there.

13/0584/FUL 17/05/2013  UTC Cambridge Long Road Sixth Form College B2 8PX   Erection of a three storey building with rooftop plant to accommodate a new University Technical College (use class D1) for 670 students aged 14-19 and 70 FTE staff, with associated landscape works including new cycle parking, car parking and an all weather pitch with lighting.  Committee  Decision

13/0634/FUL 14/05/2013  9 Mowbray Road CB1 7SR  Conversion of a semi-detached house to three self- contained flats  Delegated Decision

Nightingale Recreation Ground is going to have a trim trail, which will give people of all ages the opportunity to keep fit in the open air.

This is being funded by building developers’ ‘Section 106′ contributions.

A trim trail was one of the ideas put forward by residents at a seminar last autumn on ideas for improving the local community, and Cambridge City Council is consulting on the specifics, such as the location within the park, and what equipment should be included.

Your views are valuable whether you are a possible user of the trim trail, or a user of the existing facilities. Please have a look at the on line survey, and say what you think:

https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/fitness-equipment-consultation

and please share the survey with anyone you know who lives in the area.

What is a ‘trim trail’? 

The term ‘trim trail’ usually means a series of wooden exercise stations, scattered in parkland or other locations beside a jogging or walking trail, which can be used to develop balance, strength and co-ordination. They are suitable for both adults and children, and the individual stations are scientifically designed to provide a range of exercise. Most have simple instructions attached and can include balance beams, sit-up bars, chin-up bars, parallel bars, and more challenging feats such as pole climbs and ladder walks.

You can see trim trails locally at Romsey Recreation Ground and Cherry Hinton Hall.

Hills Road is to be resurfaced this summer, all the way between Cherry Hinton Road and Fendon Road. This is the result of a campaign by former county councillor Geoff Heathcock – a great result to conclude his time in office!

It is badly needed, as anyone who drives or cycles along Hills Road knows only too well.

The Council will be carrying out the work in August, when Hills Road is quieter, or at least less busy than at other times of the year. Works are scheduled to commence approximately 12th August and should last 2 or 3 weeks.

During this time there will be a one-way system allowing traffic to travel into the City from the Addenbrooke’s direction. All southbound traffic will be diverted along Cherry Hinton Road, Mowbray Road and Fendon Road.

There are several applications this week so for details enter the code at: http://idox.cambridge.gov.uk/online-applications/

13/0580/FUL 30/04/2013 17 Field Way CB1 8RW Two storey front extension, first floor side extension and single storey rear extensions and associated works. Committee Decision

13/0593/FUL 03/05/2013  25 Hills Avenue CB1 7UY  Demolition of existing garage and construction of new rear extension and side extension. Delegated Decision

13/0604/FUL 03/05/2013 3 Field Way CB1 8RW Demolition of single storey side extension and its replacement with a two storey side extension.  Delegated Decision

13/160/TTPO 02/05/2013 92 Glebe Road CB1 7TD The Pelican Preparatory School. Remove two lower branches from ash tree (T2) to increase light to garden.  Delegated Decision

A huge thank you to everyone who supported me and the Liberal Democrats in yesterday’s election to Cambridgeshire County Council. The result was as follows:

We campaigned on a range of key issues in the Queen Edith’s ward, including roads & pavements maintenance, parking management, road safety and policing, as well as community amenities, such as playgrounds and the local library.

Lib Dems in Queen Edith’s have a tradition of working all the year round, but the election campaign proper began in March, with lots of lovely snow! Thank you to those of you who bravely opened their doors to us. Between then and the belated appearance of spring, we called on as many people as we could, and had a wealth of conversations about the local area, garnering many good ideas as well as things that need to be sorted out.

My thanks as a candidate also go to my fellow Liberal Democrat councillors Jean and George, as well as to the army of helpers who delivered leaflets and got the message out. And to retiring county councillor Geoff Heathcock, who has set a high standard of hard work and commitment for the Queen Edith’s area.

The work starts immediately: tomorrow morning I shall be making my first visit to Shire Hall for my induction as a county councillor – an opportunity to raise a number of local issues with officers, building on my work over the past year and during the campaign.

Calling all chicken lovers

Author Martin Gurdon will be visiting Rock Road Library on May 9th to talk about his new book “Doing Bird”, an humorous account of the flock’s adventures over a year, once he had added ducks and doves too.

Rock Road Library, Rock Road, Cambridge, CB1 7UG

Website: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/library http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/library

Cambridgeshire County Council Children’s Centre team will publish a consultation shortly about new arrangements for Children’s Centres in Cambridgeshire. Some changes are proposed to the current model which will see the merging of some of Cambridgeshire’s children’s centres. Children’s centres have developed in Cambridgeshire since 2005 under the Government’s Sure Start initiative to deliver early intervention and preventative services for families with children under 5 years of age.

Each centre serves a ‘reach’ area where there are between 900 and 1200 children under 5yrs. The April consultation will be about making some adjustments which will include proposals to form a smaller number of larger reach areas with some changes to management arrangements. At present there are no plans or suggestions that any children’s centre buildings should be closed. Read the rest of this entry »

These are the latest Queen Edith’s planning applications. As usual enter the codes at: http://idox.cambridge.gov.uk/online-applications/

13/0453/FUL 15/04/2013   33 Sedley Taylor Road  Demolition of garage and elements of the rear facade at ground floor level. Addition of a single storey side and rear extension, an underground basement, two storey side extension incorporating a new garage with accommodation  above, and a roof extension. Delegated  Decision

13/0481/FUL 18/04/2013  Brambles Hartington Grove CB1 7UB The proposals involve the erection of an additional storey, along with single and two storey side extensions and internal alterations. Delegated Decision

13/0508/FUL 18/04/2013  2 Topcliffe Way CB1 8SH Part two storey, part single storey rear extension. Committee Decision

13/0518/FUL 19/04/2013 19 Worts Causeway  CB1 8RJ Erection of one 3-bedroom one and a half storey house with car lodge and new access from Field Way on land to the rear of 19 Worts Causeway. Committee Decision