Unwanted "cold-calling" by itinerant traders is sadly on the increase in our area. Whether it be people offering to tarmac drive-ways, lop trees, or fix roof-tiles, or businesses targeting our elderly or vulnerable relatives and neighbours with high-pressure sales of security alarms, fire extinguishers and other such products that play on their fear of crime, this is a time for everyone to be on the alert.

Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards Service receives numerous reports of suspicious and fraudulent doorstep trading scams every month. Within the last few weeks, at least 2 Swavesey residents have received calls from someone claiming to be working on behalf of the Council and asking whether anyone would be at home at 1pm the following day. Checks by Trading Standards revealed that no such calls were being made by any of the local councils, leading Trading Standards and the Police to believe this was a criminal seeking a new victim. Police officers in Cambridgeshire have clear evidence that some Doorstep salesmen are linked to burglaries at the homes they have visited.

In November 2001, I was privileged to launch the Cambridgeshire Doorstep & Distraction Burglary Taskforce, an alliance between Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards, Cambridgeshire Police, Neighbourhood Watch, local electricity and energy companies, local Banks and community groups such as Age Concern and Help the Aged. The aim of the Taskforce is to raise awareness in the community of Doorstep and Distraction Burglary crime, share information about suspicious traders and callers, and stamp down hard on those committing such crimes in Cambridgeshire.

This Taskforce has had several notable successes. Through the network of contacts now built up, Police and Trading Standards Officers have been able to respond to complaints so quickly that in many instances the Doorstep criminal has been caught "red-handed". At the end of September, a call to Trading Standards by a neighbourhood watch member led to one of our officers visiting an elderly man who had been conned into paying £12,000 for some building work. The Trading Standards Officer was able to recover all the money for the gentleman concerned. In another instance, a salesman spent 3 hours in a lady's house before she was finally pressured into giving him £1300 for a vacuum cleaner she didn't want. Trading Standards were again able to help by getting all her money back and beginning court proceedings against the salesman and his company.

The advice from Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards is:

• Be sure who is at your door. Ask for identification before you allow anyone into your house. If in doubt, call Trading Standards on 0845 30 30 666 for help.
• Don't be pressured into buying goods or services on the Doorstep or over the telephone. Shop around and don't impulse buy on your Doorstep. Remember, if there are any problems, it may be difficult to trace the sellers to get a refund. Make it clear to unwanted sellers that "We're Not Buying It".
• If you do spend more than £35 on goods bought as a result of "cold-calling" by a trader on your doorstep or over the telephone, in many situations the law gives you 7 days to cancel the contract and get all your money back. If you want to get your money back, call Trading Standards on 0845 30 30 666 - we're here to help you.
• Who's calling at your mum's door today? Be the eyes and ears of Police and Trading Standards by being a good neighbour. If you see a strange car or van, or workmen or Doorstep Sellers at a neighbour's house, please go and check that your neighbour is OK. If you are worried, don't tackle them on your own. Instead, make a note of the description of workmen or any car or van (colour, make and model, Registration Number, and any names or telephone numbers on the sides of the vehicle) and call Trading Standards on 0845 30 30 666 with your concerns.
• Join your local Neighbourhood Watch group - it's a great way of protecting yourself, your friends, family and neighbours from unwanted Doorstep sellers and Distraction Burglars.
• If a doorstep caller won't leave your house, or you are suspicious of an unexpected caller, or you feel in danger, call Cambridgeshire Police on 999 straight away for emergency assistance.

"Stop press: I have just heard that the cycleway between Over and Swavesey has finally been given the go-ahead and work on upgrading the footpath to a dual use cycleway should go ahead in the next financial year"

I am always available for consultation, either in person or by phone, letter or e-mail. I can be reached at the new address or telephone number below.

Shona Johnstone
Highfield
5 Lowburyholme Road
Over
CB4 5NP

Tel: 01954 230565
e-mail: shona.johnstone@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

The first turf has been cut to mark the start of work on South Cambridgeshire District Council's (SCDC) new state of the art office site at Cambourne Business Park.

Developers, Development Securities PLC and Wren bridge Land Limited, are working to an eighteen month build contract and occupancy is currently online for early 2004. When the building is completed SCDC will move from its current Cambridge city centre offices.

Councillor Mrs Daphne Spink, leader of SCDC and local member for Cambourne, said, "After two years of' consultation and planning, the official start of building is an exciting time for us all. SCDC is modernising the way it provides services throughout the authority and this building marks the start of visible progress in all those areas. Cambourne will ultimately be South Cambridgeshire's largest community outside of Cambridge and we are looking forward to being based within our own district."

The new offices and site will boast a high number of green and modern building design credentials.

The building design is aiming to achieve a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) 'excellent' rating and this .will include:
mixed mode ventilation
sound reducing measures
low energy lighting and appliances
provision for cyclists/cycling to work

SCDC needs to consider its measures to reduce CO,, and greenhouse gas emissions in all its ventures. Future suggested developments include work to introduce a photovoltaic system; use of ETFE (as used in the biomes of the Eden Project in Cornwall) to roof the building's atrium/street area; community based combined heat and power schemes and electricity purchased from a renewable energy supplier.

Daniel Van Gelder, associate director of Development Securities Projects Limited, commented:

In a competitive market, we have been able to offer a creative solution to meet the requirements of the Council. The flexibility that Cambourne provides makes it a natura1 choice for relocations in Cambridgeshire.

"We have worked hard over the past year to get the Council's financial and design requirements., We now have .a solution that will give South Cambridgeshire a headquarters to be proud of."

Parish Council

Police at Parish Council
A raid on the Parish Council meeting? No, but an informative question and answer session. So what about that little incident which you saw or which happened to you? Did you report it to the police or not bother? Do report it to the Police and not to a Parish Councillor because although the Police may not come and talk to you personally the incident has been logged and they can they see if a pattern is emerging, then they will act appropriately.

Sheds
What do we keep in our sheds? Strimmers, hedge cutters, mowers, tools, many things that can easily grow legs and walk. The village recently had several sheds broken into along with several other villages along the A14. The people were caught and they lived in Cambridge. The perpetrators of this type of crime are usually opportunitists and not locals (information given by Police at Parish Council Meeting). So remember to lock your shed or sheds, especially at night.

Twigs in Your Eye
Or even worse - a thorn, a bramble!! When hedges and trees overhang the pavement at people height, especially child height, then someone could get seriously hurt. Please do remember to cut back your hedge and/or tree if they are encroaching onto the pavement.

Memorial Hall
The larger Memorial Hall has been completed and has been re-opened. There is still some cosmetic work to be carried out, but the Hall is back and functioning again and the immediate improvement is seen in the toilet facilities.

Dump and Ditches
When writing this the issue of flooding is beginning to rear its head on the news after the high winds. So if stuff is dumped in a ditch iota impedes the water course and so flooding in that area could occur. If you wan to take stuff away from your house then there is a municipal dump off the A10 at Waterbeach. And also it is more aesthetic seeing a ditch free from dumped material whether it be 3-piece suite or hedge cuttings or whatever. The ditches are needed to keep us all from getting webbed feet!

Making a Difference!
What does it entail? What responsibilities does it carry? What powers do you have to improve community life. In this issue of the Meridian you will have found a leaflet giving you some of the answers to questions you may be asking about the Parish Council or being a Parish Councillor. A Parish Councillor is not elected for a life sentence but for a term of only 4 years. The next election is May 2003. How many Parish Councillors does Swavesey have? It has 11.

Swavesey Parish Council meets as a full council every month with other committees and extraordinary meetings being held as required, but even these are kept to a minimum. If you would like to know more about Parish, District or County Council, then read the leaflet and all the Parish Council Meetings are open to the public, so further information can be received that way. You could even talk to a Councillor about what they do. You could even think about standing as a Parish Councillor next May! You could make a difference!