Cambridgeshire Guided Busway: 2 Years Late and £65M over budget

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have welcomed news that the Guided Busway contract has finally been completed and the handover of the project has occurred, exactly two years late and £65M over budget.

The project was initially supposed to open in April 2009, but is now expected to open in late Summer or Autumn of 2011 -- well over two years late -- despite strident promises from the Conservatives that the project would be operational earlier.

The contract was initially budgeted to come in at £116M in total, but the soaring overspend has risen to £181M -- £65M over the budgeted cost. The Conservative-run county council has been paying for this overspend with borrowed money, which it will have to claw back in court.

Three successive Conservative leaders (Shona Johnstone, Keith Walters and Jill Tuck) promised the people of Cambridgeshire not to spend a penny of local taxpayers money on the scheme, which Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert branded a "white elephant"; but the Conservatives have already taken over £5M out of the local transport plan to pay for the soaring costs of the project, and set aside millions more to cover lawyers' fees for fighting the court case.

In the worst case scenario, if the Conservatives lose the court case the local taxpayer would be liable for £65M.

Lib Dem transport spokesman Kilian Bourke said: "Although it is two years late and £65M over budget, I think all of Cambridgeshire will welcome the news that the project is moving forward. People are sick and tired of this saga and want to see the busway up and running as soon as possible. I hope the Conservatives will make this happen as soon as possible.

"At the same time, the real headache is just beginning. With £65M of local taxpayers money at stake in the court case with BAM Nuttall we have to hope the Conservatives are right and they win the court case hands down. If not local people will be footing the bill for this project for decades."

Labour and Conservative county councillors originally voted for the scheme; every single Liberal Democrat voted against it.

Tories select new leader by AV but "too complex" for voters

Cambridgeshire Tories selected their new leader by a form of the Alternative Vote – but are adamant it is too complex and confusing for the average voter.

They are saying NO to electoral reform which would see MPs voted into their seats using the AV system in the future.

Despite their objections to AV, they decided it was the right way to go when selecting new leader, Nick Clarke.

With four candidates in the running, they gradually eliminated them one by one as they polled the fewest votes in the contest. With just two left standing, they chose Nick Clarke.

The system is, in essence, what would happen in a General Election under the AV system. 

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats Group Leader, Fiona Whelan said: “The Conservatives are showing how illogical their opposition to AV really is. They use it for choosing their own leaders at county and at national level but claim that it is too confusing and complex to be used in parliamentary elections. They insult the intelligence of voters.

“They make other outrageous claims such as that AV is much more expensive when the Treasury has confirmed that it would cost about the same as conventional general elections.

“It is a sign of their desperation to get a NO vote when David Cameron says 'he feels it in his gut that AV is wrong'. What kind of rationale is that?' He should stop trusting his 'gut' and have the guts to accept that we are living in the 21st century, not the 19th!”

Yes to Fairer Votes: Will you let them win?

This is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This referendum is our historic moment, our chance to make a difference for generations to come. Without your support, there's just no way of saying how the vote will go, but if there are enough of you on the ground on that day, we know we'll win. No matter what smears the No Campaign plaster on their billboards. Don't let the referendum pass you by without a fight. Dedicate your 5 May to getting people out of their houses and into the voting booths. Sign up to be part of our GOTV plan: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/be-part-of-it Right now, the election is in the balance. We can win fairer votes for everyone, or we could have victory snatched away from us by the cynical smears of the No campaign. Are you happy to sit back and let them scaremonger their way to cheating this country out of the voting system it deserves? I'm not, that's why between now and 5 May I'm dedicating every ounce of energy to winning Yes votes for AV - and I want you to join me. We need as many people as possible to give their time to getting those undecided voters to vote, and vote yes on 5 May. We know that we can do this, but we are relying on you to be part of it. Sign up to our GOTV plans right now, make sure that you do something on 5 May you are proud of: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/be-part-of-it We've come so far in this campaign - let's make it count on the one day that matters. With many thanks for all your hard work, Jonathan Bartley Co Chair, Yes to Fairer Votes

What would you spend £60,000 on?

Your local Area Committee for the North of Cambridge has a small pot of money available for environmental improvements within King's Hedges, Arbury, and both East and West Chesterton.

Lib Dems pushed for these committees to be introduced so that local people can have a say in the decisions that affect their local communities.

Mike Pitt and Simon Brierley would be keen to hear your views about what environmental improvements you would like to see in King's Hedges and how you think the money could best be spent.

The Labour party have called for these committees to be scrapped. They say all decisions should be made in the Guildhall, where it is more difficult for local people to be involved in the process and whole sections of the community would be excluded. Your Local Liberal Democrats profoundly disagree.

If you wish to suggest something for a grant, please email Simon or Mike on mike-kh@einval.com or simon.brierley@gmail.com

MP on the phone to say YES to fairer votes

MP Julian Huppert will be manning the phones at the Cambridge YES to Fairer Votes Campaign’s headquarters on Wednesday (April 20) as voters prepare to take part in the AV referendum.

Julian has volunteered for a two hour stint at Sheraton House on Cambridge’s Castle Hill Business Park.

Campaign volunteers will also be out in the city centre on April 30 when they set up a stall outside the Guildhall to give residents more information about the referendum and why they should vote YES to electoral reform.

Julian said: “Voting Yes in the AV referendum will mean an end to MPs’ safe seats for life and make them work harder to earn voters’ support.

“In future, they will have to get more than 50 per cent of the vote to win. They will have to listen hard to what their residents are saying which means they will have a better idea of what they are thinking.

“AV will make the voting system fairer and hand more power to the people.”

CAPTION: Julian joins Andrew Duff, Member of the European Parliament to support the YES to Fairer Votes campaign.

Patchwork repairs on Northfield Avenue

The Conservative run County Council's attempts to save money by doing work cheaply and inadequately is illustrated in the picture of Northfield Avenue below:


The resurfacing work on King's Hedges Road, despite the disruption, is much more welcome. After years of the Focus team requesting the repairs the County have finally agreed the road was one of the worst surfaces in the County. It will be interesting to see whether the repairs on Northfield Avenue survive the winter, and to compare the costs of repairs to it, with the costs on King's Hedges Road.

The state of Cambridge's roads is reaching a crisis: one ignored by the Conservatives. Only the Liberal Democrats have campaigned for better maintenance and made proposals in their alternative budget this year.

Meanwhile the County have found money to resurface the member's carpark at the Shire Hall...

What Have the Liberal Democrats Achieved In Government?

Interesting premise behind a new website; one-at-a-time list of achievements the Liberal Democrats in Government have been responsible for.

Check it out yourselves;

http://www.libde.ms/

Just keep clicking the button to run through the achievements.

Illuminated bollards on King's Hedges Road

Many of the illuminated "keep left" bollards on King's Hedges Road are not lighting up. A resident came to me saying that despite reporting it to the County they hadn't been fixed.

We are now on the case and will try to get the County to fix them.

There seem to be a number of problems: not least that the County don't seem to have half of them in their system which makes getting repairs ordered tricky.

These bollards are important in highlighting the locations of the junctions off King's Hedges Road. As many residents have told us, King's Hedges Road is one of our local hot spots for speeding.

Yes! to Fairer Votes: Shattering the BNP Myth

Rather than defend First Past the Post, the No campaign have spent their millions trying to confuse and scare voters across the UK into voting against reform. Our latest poster will put the "BNP bogeyman" to bed once and for all - but we need your help to get it on a street near you.

Can you give £20 to tell the world that Nick Griffin is saying No2AV?

No2AV continue to peddle the lie that AV would legitimise the BNP and "give more power to fascists". But they are desperate to make sure people don't discover that the BNP is the only party to completely back a No vote.

Nick Griffin knows that AV would make it harder for him to get elected. They are using scaremongering tactics to distract from the fact that AV will be good news for voters and bad news for the cynical, old politics that they are clinging onto.

Yes2AV have identified 36 key areas across the UK where our Nick Griffin poster will have the greatest impact. Each poster van costs £800 a day and will be seen by tens of thousands of people.

There are just 22 days left. Don't let the this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass us by.

Re-elect Mike Pitt on May 5!

I am very pleased to report that Mike Pitt will be standing again in the Cambridge City Council elections on May 5!

Mike has served local residents in King's Hedges as a councillor for the last four years before which he was a local activist. During his time on the Council he has worked hard for the ward. Some of the many projects he has been involved in include;

• The refurbishment of the forecourt in front of Campkin Road shops, 
• The campaign to save Milton Road trees (pictured), 
• Getting new dog waste bins installed, 
• Improving the path from Ramsden Square to Campkin Road, and
• Installing safety bollard on Northfield Avenue.  

This is alongside smaller, local work such as getting street lights repaired and potholes fixed.  He has also ensured that the City Council works more effectively with the Cambridge Regional College to tackle problems with litter in the area (particularly Campkin road forecourts).

He is also involved in our local community.  He serves as governor of King's Hedges School on Northfield Avenue, and is a trustee of the Arbury Community Centre on Campkin Road. Both of these are central to King's Hedges.  He is also a Friend of Arbury Library (pictured with Local Councillor Claire Blair and Cambridge MP Julian Huppert).

On the City Council he has served two years as the Executive Councillor for Environmental and Waste Services: responsible for bin collections, and street cleaning.  He led the roll out of the new blue bin collections that has seen our dry recycling rate shoot up by making recycling easier for residents.  This service will be further enhanced after the elections when the City Council will begin accepting batteries for recycling as part of the collections for the first time.

Mike has also recently steered through the introduction of apprenticeships and has, despite the financial strains on local government, managed to create extra posts in both the Ranger service and the enforcement team to tackle litter and flytip.

Re-elect your hard-working local councillor on May 5: Vote for Mike Pitt.

Yes! to Fairer Votes Referendum Broadcast

Under 3 weeks left until polling day!

Last week saw the first election broadcasts for the Yes and No campaigns in the AV referendum. The King's Hedges Focus team favour "Yes" and so here is a link to the Yes video.



On May 5 please vote for a small change that will make a big difference: Yes to Fairer Votes.

Let Down By Labour

With the Local elections (not to mention the AV referendum) approaching in May I think it's a good time to remind ourselves of exactly how bad the financial mess is the previous Labour government left this country in.

I think the graph below shows it best;

As you can see we are currently spending more money servicing Gordon Brown's debts that we are spending on our National Defence, Schools, Police Service, Care for the elderly, and our Justice System.

And the amount we owe is increasing every single day, and will probably continue increasing for the rest of the year until the cuts the coalition government have been forced to make actually begin to take effect and the amount of money this nation spends over and above the amount that it earns starts to diminish.

Even Ed Milliband admits that the previous governments spending plans were not sustainable, he also says that he accepts the need for cuts to deal with the deficit. However he opposes just about every proposed cut without announcing any alternatives.

From now until May the 5th the Labour party will be doing it's best to convince people that the last few years of Labour Government didn't happen and that this debt magically appeared the day David Cameron and Nick Clegg set foot in 10 Downing Street. 

Don't let them get away with it.

At the community centre: Drop-in session

Andy and myself are at the Arbury Community Centre on Campkin Road until noon.

Do drop by if you have any problems or just want a chat.

It's a lovely day in King's Hedges!

North Area Committee - New Website

The website for the North Area Committee (on the Cambridge City Council website) has just been updated with the twin aims of providing more information and giving more people the opportunity to become move involved in their community.

The new website is here;

http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/northareacommittee

If you have any comments on this you can contact any one of your local Councillors and we'll make sure you comments are passed on.

Yes to AV: Debate on Monday 11th @ 7:30pm

In Cambridge next Monday evening there is a major YES versus NO debate on the issue of the Introduction of the Alternative Vote for Westminster elections. 

The scheduled start time is at 7.30pm, the location is St Luke's Church, Victoria Road, Cambridge, CB4 3DZ.

 

Meeting details and sign up here:

http://www.yestofairervotes.org/page/event/detail/general/4jr74

 

PS If you have not yet donated towards the campaign, there are a couple of days left to do so. Please help us beat the negative campaigning of the No campaign. Donate here: https://secure.yestofairervotes.org/Donate-East

You're hired! Council prepares to sign up its apprentices

Cambridge City Council’s new recruits will start work on May 3 under a new apprenticeship scheme designed to give 12 teenagers valuable training and clean up the environment at the same time. 

The scheme has been launched in partnership with cutting edge training company, Nordic Pioneer, which will start recruiting the apprentices next week.

After initial training at the end of this month, they will be taken on by the city council cleaning up nature reserves, commons and cemeteries and removing fly tipping, graffiti and fly posting.

The scheme will be partly funded with £10,000 raised from Fixed Penalty Notices issued for environmental crime such as dropping littler, graffiti and fly-tipping.

Aged between 16 and 18, the young people will work with members of the council's Streets and Open Spaces service delivery team and the scheme will lead to an NVQ level 2 in Cleaning and Support Services and six months of work experience.

The scheme ties in with the national drive to expand apprenticeships after the coalition government gave an extra £50,000 over four years to create 250,000 more apprenticeships.

Cambridge City Executive Councillor for Waste and Environmental Services, Mike Pitt said: “We are very excited about this scheme and looking forward to welcoming the young people to our team.

“This is a chance for them to learn skills and a nationally recognised qualification which hopefully will help them to secure permanent work in the future.”

No joke: What do the BNP and the No2AV campaign have in common?

What do the BNP and the No2AV campaign have in common? They'll both say anything to win. They'll both be defeated by passionate volunteers, campaigners who can tell the truth. Last week saw the No campaign yet again try to hide the facts from the voting public. On one hand, they told us that the BNP would benefit from AV; on the other, they ignore BNP leader Nick Griffin's support for a No vote. They're using every deception in the book to try to knock us off stride - throwing insult after smear in our direction. How do we stay on track? By showing them that this is a people's campaign, where talking honestly and openly, face to face and on the phone is the best way to win votes. http://www.yestofairervotes.org/this-weeks-events The only plan No2AV have is spin and trick - that old media classic. They're stuffed full of old guard politicians, who tell us that the broken status quo is what'll serve us best. Leave it to us they say. How patronising. We're not going to sit quietly. Everywhere I go, I sense the momentum for a Yes vote building. It really feels like we have ten grassroots supporters for every one of theirs. The No campaign's last desperate tactic is to try to suppress the Yes vote on May 5th through telling deliberate untruths. Well, we can't let that win out, can we? Join me - campaign at an event near you: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/this-weeks-events There are just 30 days left. Thanks for everything you're doing for fairer votes. Willie Sullivan Head of Field Operations P.S. If you'd rather help out at your nearest phonebank than hit the streets, details can be found here.

Planning and tree works: Garry Drive and Milton Rd

Two applications in the weekly list for last week.

The first is for a planning application to fit "an additional Velux window" to 9 Garry Drive. This is application number 11/0310/FUL.

The second is for some tree works on the park adjacent to 301 Milton Road. I am checking the details of this application for a local resident and will update when I have more, but the application is reference 11/0430/TTPO is to improve visibility into the park by thinning the yew row, and lifting the crowns of the others.

As always more information is available online, and via the usual methods. Get in touch with us in case of problems.

Resurfacing King's Hedges Road

A very welcome email arrived yesterday: the atrocious state of King's Hedges Road has been acknowledged and money found to do the work to resurface it.

Unfortunately this is at very short notice: the work starts tomorrow (April 7th) and will cause some disruption for the week it is ongoing.

The email says...

We have been given some funding to resurface a section of the carriageway on Kings Hedges Road Cambridge . The section is from number 19 to a point just past Garry Drive, this is a plane out and inlay scheme and should take no longer than a week to complete, commencing this Thursday 7 April 2011 . We are sorry about the short notice, a letter drop has taken place today to inform all the local residents within the works area.

Obviously this is just one of the roads needing work, and we will continue to ask for more repairs to be made. Let us know of any potholes and we will do what we can to get them fixed.

Reducing waste: food events in King's Hedges

Supported by Cambridge City's Recycling Champions three events have been arranged for the "Love food, hate waste" campaign. These are intended to be fun events to give ideas about how to reduce food bills and reduce rubbish in the bin.

The first event was on Thursday last week with a butcher.

The next two events are both at Arbury Community Centre, and are free with no need to book. Just turn up.

On Thursday 14 April there is a family food fair, with lots of stalls about different ways to feed a family. The hope is for it to be a fun family activity during the school holidays. It runs from 10am until 1pm.

Finally on Thursday 28 April at 10.30am a professional chef will be demonstrating how to make tasty meals out of leftovers and common store cupboard ingredients. The results will be available for tasting by the audience.

North City Locality Team Newsletter

The latest edition of the North City Locality Team Newsletter has been published, it's worth noting that on page 10 there is a piece about a potential move of premises of the ArC (the Children Centre in the Arbury ward), from St Lukes church to 82
Akeman St.

The team are currently consulting with the local community, partner agencies and stakeholders about the proposed move.

If you would like more information or would like to comment, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team (the contact details are in the newsletter).


The newsletter is available (as a PDF) here.

Adoption of Downham's Lane as Public Highway

Despite both the City and County Council's performing various works on the Lane over recent years (largely in recognition of the important part it plays as a local cycle route) the Lane itself has never been designated as a public highway.

The background to this change is that in November 2010 the Rights of Way and Access Team (on Cambridgeshire County Council) was approached by Cambridge City Council's Cycling Team regarding dedication of part of Downham's Lane, Cambridge in order that that Team might undertake improvements to the route for the benefit of pedestrians and cyclists.

As you may know, Downham's Lane has been heavily used as a through-route between Milton Road and residential estates by pedestrians and cyclists for many years the change to a public highway would therefore not only enable improvement works to be undertaken, but also potentially save the County Council substantial amount of officer time.

Making the change would also clearly contribute to local traffic management in encouraging safe off-road cycling and walking. Various City and County Council policies support work such as this, particularly the Northern Corridor Area Transport Plan for Cambridge adopted in 2003.

The proposed status of highway is a public restricted byway, which confers equal rights for pedestrians and cyclists but does not permit motorised vehicles.

Three landowners are involved - the University of Cambridge, Ranc Care Homes Ltd and Cambridge City Council. All have consented to the proposal.

The final decision will be made by the Director Highways & Access on Monday 4th April. As your local Councillor I'll be supporting the move.

Campkin Tesco: Litter issues.

Like many local residents I have been concerned about litter near the Campkin Road shops. I have been in contact with the Enforcement Team and with our litter pickers.

The enforcement team have started to patrol and will be visiting at lunchtimes to monitor the situation and issue fixed penalties to anyone dropping litter. Our litter teams pick the area every day and are looking at the routines they follow.

There is also a continuing effort to work with CRC to try and educate students about the issues around littering and the risk of a fine. The college have tried to work with us before.

We are also considering whether any further actions are appropriate if the issue continues as it has in previous years. Various items of legislation are under consideration.

Yes to Fairer Votes: Launch of the peoples' campaign for Fairer Votes

This morning we launched our peoples' campaign for Fairer Votes, and a few friends dropped by to lend a hand. I didn't want you to miss this momentous occasion so we've filmed it for you - after all, it's your campaign. Watch the highlights to find out why our Vice Chairs Kriss Akabusi, Amisha Ghadiali, Eddie Izzard, Greg Dyke, Rowan Davies and Martin Bell are saying Yes to AV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADJ6sQMBp8M You and I both know that this campaign launched months ago; but with just four weeks to go, the media and wider public are waking up to the exciting reality of the referendum. The reality is that we finally have a chance to do something about the cynicism and let-downs that have too long dictated our votes. This is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the way we do politics in the UK. We won't win this referendum just by hoping - we have to work for it. The naysayers, the cynics and their allies in the media don't want change - the status quo works fine for them. But does it work for you? Watch the video to find out what our supporters had to say this morning, then share it to inspire everyone you know to vote on 5 May. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADJ6sQMBp8M Thank you for all that you are doing for fairer votes. It's more important than ever to keep it up. Katie Ghose Yes to Fairer Votes PS As I said at the rally, we really do need people to donate their 5th May to getting the vote out on polling day.  Please pledge your day here: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/giveaday

Pupil Premium Estimates for King's Hedges

One of the clearest examples of Liberal Democrats having a positive effect in government as part of the coalition has been the introduction of the Pupil Premium.

According to just published figures the three schools in King's Hedges are estimated to benefit by the following amounts;

That's a staggering £46,440 for the Manor, £51,600 for King's Hedges Primary School, and £24,940 for the Grove - over £120,000 in total for raising the aspirations and attainment of those who are disadvantaged in our community.

April begins...

A new month means it is time to mention our next drop in session.

As usual it will be held on the second Saturday of the month, which this month is April 9, and will be from 10am until noon at Arbury Community Centre.

We usually sit in the reception area, but we have a private room if needed. If the weather is nice we might sit outside! This time Andy and myself are scheduled to attend.