Newnham Liberal Democrats, Cambridge

Over 5,000 homes and 2,000 student units are planned on the northwest fringe of Cambridge. Decisions will need to be taken as to the right supermarket provision in the area. 

Come to a drop in City Council community event to see the new study of retail needs.  

Wednesday 22nd September 6pm – 9pm

at Orchard Park Community Centre, Central Avenue, Cambridge. CB4 2EZ.

It will be an opportunity to chat to council officers concerning the study, its timetable, implications and leave your thoughts as part of the consultation.

Contact Sian Reid for more information or for a copy of the study.

The County Council are starting work on the Madingley Road cycleway improvement. This will involve widening the footway and in some instances the grass verge. In other places shrubs and hedging will be pruned to recover highway land and allow a new surface to be laid. The work is part funded by Cambridge City Council.

Trees in the verge of Madingley Road adjacent to Churchill College are to be considered for removal. These have a significant impact on the streetscape and the County Council have agreed to use the City Council’s thorough tree protocol to ensure full consultation on this issue.

For more information contact Lucy Nethsingha.

The consultation draft for the review of the conservation area, with its larger boundary including roads such as Hedgerley Close, Summerfield and Newnham Walk, has been produced. Consultation will continue until 15th October. The information is on www.cambridge.gov.uk. For further information contact Rod Cantrill.

Cattle have been finding it easy to cross the cattle grid near Fen Causeway and escape onto the road.

A notice has been put on the site and Sian Reid has asked officers to provide bettr explanation for the closure on the notice.

The grid is County Council owned and the City Council are liaising with them with regards to a medium term solution of replacement with the bars further apart.

Following our successful May 2010 elections, when Rod Cantrill was reelected as a City Councillor with 44.9% of the vote, we thought you would like to know what roles your Newnham team are playing at their Councils.

Sian Reid is Leader of Cambridge City Council. Rod Cantrill is  Executive Councillor for Arts and Recreation, and Julie Smith is Chair both of the Cambridge Area Joint Traffic Management Committee (the AJC) and the Licensing Committee. She continues to play a strong role in the Liberal Democrats regionally and nationally.

Lucy Nethsingha is an opposition Spokesperson at the County Council for special educational needs, youth services and looked after children.

Our priority, however, is to serve Newnham residents and we always aim to watch out for the best interests of the ward and to respond quickly and helpfully to your queries.

 Sian Reid

sianreid@dsl.pipex.com 01223 356100

Given residents concern about this proposal, a new exhibition is going to be held in Newnham at the University Sports Pavilion on Wilberforce Road for Thursday 20th May from 3pm to 8.30pm. City Council and County Council officers will be there to explain the proposals and to discuss residents suggestions and concerns. The exhibition will be publicised after the Easter holidays.

Newnham ward councillors have been contacted by a large number of residents following the news item regarding the consultation on the proposed West Cambridge cycle route consultation.  The proposed route will start on the University West Cambridge site come on to Grange Road at the University rugby ground, go down West Road then across Queen’s Green and along Silver Street.  The scheme involves the proposed closure of West Road on to Queen’s Road.  The purpose of the consultation is to establish whether residents and the major institutions in West Cambridge support the proposals.     Details on the consultation can be found at http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ccm/content/transport-and-streets/cycling-and-walking/cycle-route-consultation.en.  Ward councillors have arranged for the consultation period to be extended by a further two weeks.  Residents should submit their views by Thursday 8^th April.

Lucy Nethsingha has met with officers from the county council to discuss the shocking state of many roads in Newnham.  Many roads in Newnham are falling apart as a result of years of under investment by the County Council.  The officers agreed that the roads were in dire need of repair, but explained that the council are logging more repairs than they can mange to fix at present, so the waiting times for fixing the holes are growing.   Liberal Democrats on the county council included an extra £13 million for improvements to the road network in their budget amendment, but the change was rejected by the Conservative administration so the under-investment looks set to continue.

There is still 09/10 Community Development and Leisure funding available for Newnham ward. Local community/voluntary groups can apply for money to enable projects which provide services or activities to benefit people living in the West and Central Area. Priority will be given to projects that are aimed at those people whose opportunities are restricted by disability, low income or discrimination. Statutory agencies, such as Parish Councils and Schools, and commercial ventures are not eligible to apply. http://www.cambscf.org.uk/grants.html

Cambridge County Council is currently undertaking a consultation regarding improving certain cycle routes within the city.  One of the routes is on Madingley Road where proposals comprise a combination of on road and off-road cycle paths. From Queens Road to Storey’s Way the existing off-road shared use path will be widened. From Storey’s Way to the Park and Ride there will be a combination of on-road and off-road paths, as the width of the road varies considerably.Road.  The Consultation exercise will come to an end in the next week or so.  For more details on the proposals go to http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/projects/cambridge/City+Cycleway+Improvements.htm