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CAST IRON

 Swavesey Parish Council News

Guided Bus and Swavesey Byways
The Parish Council will have held two meetings with the County Council over their planned closure (to vehicles) of the ex-level crossings in Swavesey Byways (Mow or Middle Fen and Lairstall). The Parish Council explained that these routes have been used by all the public by all means of transport since the routes' inception but because Swavesey Byways have their own Act of Parliament, they do not appear on the County Council's Definitive Map, as a Public Right of Way does, and the County is going by its Definitive Map.

A second meeting was held in January, after Meridian went to press, to see if it is possible to keep these crossings open.  If they are closed to vehicles, they will remain open to whichever class of rights of way user applies (bridleway or footpath).

Traffic Calming
The Parish Council have also held meetings with the County Council over proposed traffic calming measures for the village.  It seems that whatever the parish council suggests, the County Council already have their own ideas as to what the village needs - speed bumps!  (Or traffic cushions as they're now called).  Whatever the County decide to give us, a public consultation of the village will follow.

30mph speed limits at Boxworth End The police have now withdrawn their objections and soon we should see the interactive signs working with appropriate painted lines and 30's on the road surface.

Double yellows!
Yes double yellow lines have appeared, after months of asking for them, around Blackhorse Lane and School Lane junctions, to prohibit vehicles from parking so that motorists on the move can get a better view of these junctions.

Cycle path/route Over-Swavesey Village College
The parish council also expressed concern that the County Council's proposed cycle path will run on the existing (widened) pavement past the terraced houses on outside corner of the Taylors Lane/Station Road bend, the widening achieved by narrowing the main road. We have seen three serious accidents on this corner in recent years and are worried that narrowing the road for traffic, and having people step out of their doors straight onto cyclepaths, may not be as good an idea as the County Council suggest it is.

Youth facilities (or lack of them)
Did you know Swavesey Village College has an unused youth centre?  Are you one of the young people who live in Swavesey? What facilities would you like to see in the village?  Somewhere to meet? Sporting facilities?  If some of you could come forward with your ideas and set up a group, your group will be eligible for all sorts of funding which the parish council isn't eligible to receive. A successful playscheme has been set up for really young people. Now it's time to get something in place for the not-so-young young people.  Contact the parish clerk if you'd like to get involved.

Village entertainments
Hands up who enjoyed the Millennium Celebrations back in the year 2000? Who enjoys the Market Street Christmas lights and carol concert each year? How many of us would like more village entertainments?  Surely all of us? It's a wonderful way of bringing the village together.  Over has a Carnival each year. We could too, if you want to.... Yes, this is another shameless call for volunteers. An entertainments committee, independent from Meridian or parish council, would be eligible for funding from outside sources too. Have a think about it and if you'd like to get involved, again please contact our parish clerk.

 Jottings From Your County Councillor

Well, the government gave us an interesting challenge when they announced the financial settlement for local authorities at the end of last year. You may recall that in 2002 they overhauled the way that they funded local authorities. The result was that Cambridgeshire was finally given the Area Cost Adjustment – the extra allowance to cover the high costs of living near to London; but at the same time they announced a system of floors and ceilings. This was designed – they claimed – to protect local authorities who lost out financially as a result of the new funding mechanism. Fair enough, but the losers were those authorities who technically had gained from the new system. So Cambridgeshire saw nearly £10m of its grant withheld. Funding that deficit accounted for almost all of the council tax increase last year. The promise was that the ceiling would be phased out over a few years. Now call me cynical, but I have to confess that I was never convinced by this. I don’t like to say “I told you so”, but this year we have seen the problem become even worse. The headlines claimed that Cambridgeshire had the best settlement of any local authority in the country. True – but the small print told a different story – the government have seen fit to withhold over £11m for the next financial year. This has presented us with a very interesting dilemma.

The Department for Education has decreed that every pupil should receive a 4% increase in cash terms and that every penny given to us (before the £11m ceiling was imposed) should be passed on to schools. If we do not do so, Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary has threatened – if not promised – to call in our budget and make us fund the increase. Fine, but in the red corner stands Nick Raynesford, the local government minister. He has decreed that no local authority should increase its council tax by more than a reasonable amount and if they do, he will call in their budget, so as to ensure that the council tax increase is reasonable. He hasn’t, of course, defined what he means by reasonable, although figures of 4% and 6% have been bandied around. So we are stuck between the proverbial rock and the hard place. Keep one minister happy and we upset the other and vice versa.

We said last year that we intended to try to keep council tax for this year at 6% and we are therefore consulting on that option. But it is only fair to point out that a 6% increase will only be achieved with a level of pain – there will be cuts to services; for example significant cuts in day care services for the most vulnerable, long waiting times for social services, cuts to subsidised rural bus service. On the other hand, we could avoid these cuts and increase the council tax by 8% or even 10%. But that would cause pain to those on fixed incomes and of course, would almost certainly incur the wrath of Nick Raynesford. So, if you have any bright ideas as to how we can square an impossible circle, please let me know!

In the meantime I hope you all have a very prosperous New Year!

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

Shona Johnstone
Highfield
5 Lowburyholme Road
Over           
CB4 5NP
Tel: 01954 230565
E-mail: shona.johnstone@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

 Countryside Events Jan/Jun 2004 leaflet now available

Fulfil some New Year’s resolutions this year with the help of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Countryside ‘Events’ leaflet.

Get more exercise, fresh air and enjoy the Cambridgeshire countryside in 2004, using this useful guide to what’s on offer in the county.

The leaflet contains monthly listings of activities taking place from January through to June 2004. As the ultimate guide to what’s on in Cambridgeshire it helps people get out and enjoy their environment throughout the seasons, whatever the weather.

Countryside Services Team Leader, Kate Day, said: “The Events leaflet is proving to be a popular publication and the amount of events increases with each edition. With over two hundred and fifty events in this recent leaflet we are able to cover an extensive range of topics such as walking, wildlife, archaeology, outdoors, arts and crafts and much more.”

Contributions are made to the leaflet from local groups such as the Wildlife Trust, RSPB and the Ramblers, plus village and community groups. It also includes a wide range of events that reflect the changing countryside and local improvements in biodiversity and local access.

The  leaflet is produced every six months by the Countryside Services Team and is free of charge. The newest edition covering January – June 2004 is available from libraries, Tourist Information Centres, selected shops, museums and can also be obtained through the post by contacting the Countryside Team on (01223) 717445

or online www.camcnty.gov.uk/sub/cntryside/

People will be able to keep their resolution throughout the year with the knowledge that the next edition of the ‘Events’ leaflet for activities between July and December will be available at the end of June.
 

 CAST.IRON

The £65 million award was given as a result of the July 2002 submission by Cambridgeshire County Council which in turn resulted from the CHUMMS study. At the time of submission, the guided bus construction costs were given as £40 million with heavy rail at £109 million. The heavy rail scheme avoided St Ives completely and was a largely greenfield route. One has to wonder what lay behind the decision to plot this route, both physically and metaphorically. 

In the meantime, CAST.IRON has provided a fully costed scheme to reconstruct the rail route, including legal and contingency allowances, for £33 million. That is, a rail connected through route from the Cambridge-Ely line at Chesterton to a terminus at Huntingdon adjacent to the station on the East Coast Main Line (including, of course, a stop at St. Ives).

 Connection to the East Coast Main Line is contingent on the route upgrade study on the line between Huntingdon and Peterborough, which is in fact a great advantage to the CAST.IRON scheme.

 Comparing Like-for-Like as far as possible, £20 million of CAST.IRON's scheme provides the 'guided' section, equivalent to £40 - £50 million within the guided bus scheme, by providing new rails between Cambridge North (Science Park and Regional College) and St. Ives along with all station facilities, signalling etc. The guided bus scheme is NOT guided beyond St. Ives, running instead on conventional roads with 'priority measures'. Nor is it guided between North Cambridge and Cambridge Station; travelling by guided bus, EVERYONE has to travel through the historic city centre, which is already hopelessly over-congested.

[It should however be noted that there is an additional guided bus section between Cambridge Station and Addenbrooke's hospital, which is not part of the CAST.IRON scheme.]

 Whilst £65 million may be 'on the table', it's the player with the winning hand that will get it. This is dependent on a successful application under the Transport and Works Acts. 

The County Council will vote whether or not to go ahead with the application in February. CAST.IRON will seek to persuade Councillors not to vote in favour in the first instance. There will then be a 42-day consultation period - i.e. time for all interested parties to give the Council their views. However after this, there will be a public enquiry, when the Council's plans will be assessed independently and professionally. If CAST.IRON is not successful in persuading Councillors to vote against the guided bus, it will be the public enquiry that will force all 'hands' to be shown.

 This is why I hope Councillors will think very carefully about pressing ahead with the guided bus. They could well leave themselves open to ridicule, if not surcharge, if a parochial scheme offering no regional or national transport benefits is taken forward when a fully-costed rail scheme is on the table.

 A guided bus scheme in Chester was thrown out by the Deputy Prime Minister for very similar reasons.

 In short, the Council has an absolute duty to explore viable alternatives before committing public money - and at the last vote (in September), the majority to go ahead with the guided bus was just one. Indeed, it has become clear that Councillors were not absolutely certain as to what it was they were voting for - was it guided bus specifically or any form of 'rapid transit' along that route? Hence, quite a number of Councillors abstained.  The CAST.IRON costed scheme is available on our website, http://www.castiron.org.uk/index.php