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Further to our post from 7 May (Mill Road bridge closures July/August 2019), the Cambridge Area Bus Users group have provided an update.
They report that Stagecoach will be bringing in three 15 seater buses, one for each side of the bridge and a spare for breakdowns. They plan to run every twenty minutes, one from the city centre to the bridge and one from the bridge to Sainsbury's. Edit 4 June 2019: Stagecoach have announced the timetable for the disrupted period from 1st July.
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The day with the skips and the rubbish collecting – plus things to do in St Thomas’s Hall Skips will be in Ancaster Way all morning. Please take your items there on foot or by car. Need large or heavy items removed from your home? Make a booking. This is vital! Last date for booking is 10th June. We will need: your name and address, what the item is and where it is. Either email birdwoodara@gmail.com or leave a note at 52 Birdwood Rd. If the item is inside your house you will need to be home as we cannot guarantee timings of collections. Please bag any dirty items. No Fly Tipping! If your item is not collected (ie you haven’t made a booking) and it is outside your home after the clear-up has finished, the City Council may see this as fly-tipping! So please do ensure that all your items on the pavement have gone by 1pm. Volunteers needed! Can you make a cake or serve teas? Or are you strong – even just a bit? If you can help please email birdwoodara@gmail.com or leave a note at 52 Birdwood Rd. We couldn’t do this without Cambridge City Council and volunteers from the Cambridge Community Church who we will be working with throughout the morning. There is always room for more help though.
In St Thomas’s Hall – BARA AGM – please come and support us
12.00 BARA AGM
We need to amend our Constitution to include what will happen to any money if we cease activity. We’re not expecting to! The committee thinks any remaining money should be shared equally between the charities we have supported in the past. More details at the AGM. The newsletter for May 2019 is now available to download.
In it you will find information on the Community Action Day on 15th June (see the next post for more information). Also, the coach trip now has a date and destination. We're going back to Norwich again - it proved a good option. Save the date: 21st September 2019. Other items included in the newsletter:
We would like to draw your attention to the ongoing consultation on the future shape of Cherry Hinton Road.
Cherry Hinton Road is a key local commuter route, which sees on average 2000 cyclists and 1500 pedestrians travelling to Cambridge Train Station, city centre and locations along Hills Road each day. The walking and cycling improvements, which also include options for parking and bus stop layouts, have been designed to help reduce congestion in the area. The consultation will run from Tuesday 8th May to Tuesday 18th June, with two drop-in events at Rock Road Library on 21st May and 5th June. Hard copies of the consultation document will be available at Rock Road Library and Cambridge Central Library or for more information and to fill out a survey online, visit: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/cherryhintonroad.  The Cambridge Area Bus Users have posted a round up of a report by Over Mill Road Bridge of a public meeting held on 29th April. There is a slide you can download to look at what is intended, which seems to be removing a section of the bridge entirely and rebuilding it.
At the moment, the gist of it seems to be that it's all a bit of a shambles for bus users. The good news that there is an intended shuttle bus both sides of the bridge, one into town and one (unfortunately) to Sainsbury's. For BARA residents this would mean you could take a bus to Sainsbury's (assuming the diverted number 2 will stop there) and connect to the shuttle bus. However, the shuttle bus route when it reaches the bridge is causing concern as the people in charge of the route obviously have never been to Mill Road and have scheduled the bus to turn by going down narrow one way streets the wrong way. In fact, the map shows the shuttle on our side of the bridge turning via Stockwell Street and Cockburn Street, which are both one way in the same direction and have a barrier between them on Argyle Street. Easily amended by going down Argyle Street and up Stockwell Street but it shows a lack of attention to detail that is worrying. Also of note is that they will be closing the replacement foot/cycle bridge for one week. To summarise: Good news: you will be able to get to Sainsbury's on the bus. Bad news: the Coldhams Lane diversion is going to drive everyone mad and it will be hard to get to Mill Road. Image taken from page 11 of the powerpoint presentation on overmillroadbridge.org.uk.  Some Future Events:
Some successes! Pavements. £160,000 additional funding has been granted by the County Council and Birdwood Rd is one of the roads that has been included for work. Yippee! If you need to alert the County Council to any other highway problems in your road, call 0345 045 5212 (charged at local rate). Or on-line at https://highwaysreporting.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ Review of City Council Ward Boundaries by the Boundary Commission. We put in a submission that the whole area covered by BARA should remain in Coleridge Ward. It will. We will continue to have three City Councillors and be in Coleridge Ward for City Council elections. As they were not looking again at County ward boundaries, we remain in Cherry Hinton Ward for County Council elections. The Community Library in the phone box in Birdwood Rd (just near the Gray Rd junction) has been a great success. We have had books in several languages and non-fiction and fiction books for both adults and children. It provides a fascinating snapshot of the varied population here and its eclectic tastes. Please continue to bring and take. And failures! Citi2 In November Jane (Chair BARA) had a third meeting with Stagecoach and it was another waste of time. No more meetings are planned. They say they now have a full complement of drivers and all problems of reliability are outside their control e.g. through congestion. They will not revert to a 10 minute service. If you want to give feedback to Stagecoach, contact Nigel Tarrant Telephone: 01223 433 250 between 08:30 and 17:30, Monday to Friday. Email: Nigel.Tarrant@stagecoachbus.com Address: Stagecoach, 100 Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0DN An alternative for some could be Cambridge Dial-a-Ride. If you think you might qualify due to age, infirmity or disability, do contact Cambridge Dial-a-Ride. It is a non-profit organisation which provides local transport services that are safe, affordable and accessible to individuals who have difficulty in accessing public transport. Call: 01223 506335 Email: memberssupport@cambridgedialaride.org.uk Other news The Cambridgeshire Bobby Scheme is a local charity which provides a service to older or vulnerable people by improving home security to reduce crime or fear of crime. If you are over 60 and have been a victim of crime the visit is free. If you are over 65 and have been fortunate enough not to have been a victim but want to upgrade your security, there is a small fee. Phone 01480 413311 for more details. And on the subject of crime – we have had reports of cars being broken into on people’s front drives with thieves being on the lookout for valuables. Cycling and students Following some difficulties with teenagers on bikes on Birdwood Rd pavements, and some near-accidents, Sandra Crawford and Noel Kavanagh (County Councillors), Lewis Herbert (City Councillor) and the Head of St Bede’s are trying to find ways to reduce danger to cyclists and pedestrians both on the road and on the pavements. It is agreed that Birdwood Rd is a dangerous road for cyclists and there seems to be no simple solution. Work is ongoing to try to find solutions to this problem. Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council have been developing a Housing Strategy for the Greater Cambridge area. The proposed Strategy details how the two authorities will meet the housing challenges over the next five years and will help to guide the future planning of new homes, as well as ensuring existing homes are fit for purpose.
The Strategy focuses on three key themes:
We are now seeking your views on the draft Strategy to make sure that the proposed priorities and activities are the right ones. As part of the consultation, as well as consulting with local people, we are writing to Registered Providers, Developers, landlords and other key partners with an interest in housing to help shape the Strategy. The draft Strategy and survey are available on our website at https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/greater-cambridge-housing-strategy-consultation I would therefore be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete the online survey. If you require a paper version, or if you want any further information to help complete the survey, please email gchs@scambs.gov.uk Your views are very important to us. The closing date for responses is Friday, 25th January 2019. We will consider all feedback received. The Strategy will then need to be formally approved through both councils’ formal decision making processes in March/April 2019 before it can be adopted. Many thanks Helen Reed Housing Strategy Manager Cambridge City Council PO Box 700 The Guildhall Cambridge City Council CB1 0JH Update 4 December 2018: You can now read the reports from the event online. The residents of Birdwood Area are invited to the Land South of Coldhams Lane Community Planning Weekend to help shape a vision for the future of this important “Area of Major Change”, including the lakes and urban country park and its relationship with the adjacent community and wider city. Download the programme (pdf).
Public Exhibition & Workshops When: Friday 23 November 2018, 1.45pm - 6.30pm & Sunday 25 November 2018, 1.30pm - 4.30pm Venue: Holiday Inn Express, Coldhams Business Park, 15-17 Norman Way, Cambridge CB1 3LH Lakes Open Day When: Sunday 25 November 2018, 10.30am - 3.30pm Where: Pedestrian entrance via the gate off Burnside, Cambridge CB1 3PA. No parking available. Report Back Presentation When: Tuesday 27 November 2018, 6.45pm - 8.30pm Venue: Holiday Inn Express, Coldhams Business Park, 15-17 Norman Way, Cambridge CB1 3LH The Land South of Coldhams Lane, including the lakes south of the railway and land parcels to the north of the railway, is identified as an “Area of Major Change” in the new Local Plan. As well as built development, ideas include the ecological enhancement of parts of the “Area of Major Change”, outdoor recreational uses and a new urban country park. Anderson Group, who own part of the “Area of Major Change”, are holding a community planning process through the autumn and has appointed architects and masterplanners JTP and other consultants to work with the local community to create a new Vision for the “Area”. The Community Planning Weekend will be an opportunity to share local knowledge and contribute to shaping the plans through workshops, site tours and hands-on planning groups. There will also be an exhibition explaining the background to the proposals. Participation is on a drop-in basis – there is no need to pre-register – and you can stay for a short while, a few hours or for the whole event as you choose. Team members will be on hand to answer questions. As part of the Community Planning Weekend, the lakes will be open to the public from 10.30am until 3.30pm on Sunday 25 November. Please sign in on arrival and visit the exhibition where team members from JTP will be on hand to talk about your ideas for the future of the lakes and the “Area of Major Change”. There is no car parking available at the lakes. Following the public workshop days, the JTP-led team will analyse and summarise the outcomes and draw up a vision for the Land South of Coldhams Lane, including an illustrative masterplan and other matters required by Local Plan Policy 16. This will be presented back to the local community on Tuesday 27 November at the Holiday Inn Express. Doors open at 6.45pm and the presentation commences at 7.00pm. Following the Community Planning Weekend, the Anderson Group team will move forward to prepare a planning application for the land parcels, which it is anticipated will be submitted to Cambridge City Council in Summer 2019. For more information please visit landsouthofcoldhamslane.co.uk, call 0800 0126 730 or contact feedback@landsouthofcoldhamslane.co.uk.  Our Next Event - 31st October. Halloween
Some people really enjoy trick or treat at Halloween and some don’t. If you want to be visited, the usual convention is that you leave a pumpkin or some other welcoming sign outside your house. This year BARA is joining in. And there will be PRIZES! £10 Co-op vouchers and More. Read about it here. A successful Coach Trip to Norwich A small and select group had a wonderful day out in Norwich. The coach dropped us near the city centre and there was plenty to keep everyone occupied. Read about it and see photos here. Community Library This is a very grand name for bookshelves in a telephone box. The phone box in Birdwood Rd is unusual in that it still has a working telephone. Now it also has shelves at the back for book and magazine swaps. Do please bring and take. If it gets too full, we’ll clear out the extra and take it to charity shops. As this is an open box, please keep to the shelves and don’t leave anything on the floor – it will get wet! Citi2
Stagecoach are not listening. At a recent meeting they rejected our plan to send buses round our loop. They say they are recruiting and training 16 drivers which should improve reliability by the end of October. If you want to give feedback to Stagecoach, contact Nigel Tarrant on 01223 433 250 between 08:30 and 17:30, Monday to Friday or email: Nigel.Tarrant@stagecoachbus.com Address: Stagecoach, 100 Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0DN Jane has written to the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who is considering franchising the bus services in this area. And we are not alone. A Cambridge Area Bus Users group has formed to tackle problems with Stagecoach throughout Cambridgeshire. https://cbgbususers.wordpress.com/ They have put in a submission ‘Transport Committee's inquiry on health of the bus market, Written submission from Cambridge Area Bus Users.’ saying that our bus services are ‘in crisis’. If you don’t have access to the internet you can contact them through 52 Birdwood Rd. Pavements and potholes! We took up the state of the pavements in Birdwood Rd with the County Council and some larger holes in the pavements have been filled. But we still have trip hazards in Birdwood Rd and other roads in our area. Please report those near your house – or any that cause you problems. The County Council will not consider compensation for pothole damage to your car unless the hole has already been reported to them! Pavement holes need to be 2.5 cm deep before the County Council will consider filling them. Nothing will be done unless they are reported. So please alert the County Council to any highway problems in your road (including pavements), call 0345 045 5212 (charged at local rate) or on-line at https://highwaysreporting.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ |
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