Newnham Liberal Democrats

A reminder to residents that there is a meeting on Wednesday 23rd May 2012 at the Cambridge Rugby Club, Granchester Road to discuss how it can be made safer for cyclists and pedestrians to cross Grantchester Road. Do please diary. It runs from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

The project is being led by the City Council’s project team who have responsibility for delivering cycle projects like this alongside other improvement projects across the city.

The City Council will be designating Sheep’s Green & Coe Fen as a local nature reserve in 2012, in recognition of the site’s value for both wildlife and recreation. http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ccm/content/consultations/sheeps-green-and-coe-fen-management-plan-consultation.en

As part of the process, a management plan has been prepared to establish a long-term vision for the site and to guide ongoing maintenance and habitat-restoration works.

The Council is seeking public comments on the draft plan, prior to formal adoption and designation of the site. The deadline for comments is the end of May.

Cllr Rod Cantrill commented “Sheep’s Green and Coe fen is a very sensitive green open space and its designation as a local nature reserve will help the City Council, maintain and enhance it”

Residents will have noticed the closure of Eltisley Avenue and Lammas Lane for patching work last week. Cllr Lucy Nethsingha was concerned at the lack of notice given to residents about this work, and with the support of local residents, has been in touch with the officers at the Conservative run County Council, who manage the work.
The roads are due to be “surface dressed” (ie a thin new layer of Tarmac, rather than a through resurfacing), in the early summer, but the recent bad weather has held up the contractors. Lucy had asked that residents be given proper warning, several weeks before the next bit of work is due, to allow for residents who may be away for a period to move their cars to another street or leave their keys with a neighbour. It will be very important that the parked cars are cleared off the street for the surface dressing to take place. The new surface is likely to be quite gritty for many weeks after it is laid, and residents should be reassured that this is normal and it will bed in.

works on east road

Utility companies could be charged a daily fee for road closures while they carry out work across Cambridgeshire.

The idea has been put forward by Liberal Democrat Councillor Sarah Whitebread and would apply to companies laying new gas or water mains or carrying out similar work in the county.

Cllr Whitebread, who represents Cambridge’s Market Ward on Cambridgeshire County Council, claims the move could prevent lengthy closures such as the one which brought the city’s East Road to a virtual halt for weeks while new gas mains were laid.

She made her suggestion during Question Time at the county council meeting today (Tuesday, May 15) and it was agreed to look into such a scheme.

A similar idea, approved by the Department of Transport, will allow Transport for London to charge companies in the capital up to £2,500 a day for closing major roads. Companies will face lower charges if they carry out work outside of peak times.

“The county system at the moment has no incentive for speedy work, or to encourage work outside peak times” said Cllr Whitebread. “Given the frequency with which utilities companies need to carry out road works in Cambridge, I think a charging scheme of this type needs serious consideration.

“I also pushed the council to look at ways to encourage utility companies, when carrying out works, to keep roads open for cyclists. Often there is road space around the works that could be made available, but instead cyclists told to wait with cars or dismount and walk. In a city where so many people travel to school and work by bike, this clearly needs addressing.”

The county council’s Cabinet Member for Community Infrastructure, Tony Orgee, agreed to look into such a scheme.

The results of the City Council elections were declared in the early hours of Friday 5th May.

The result for Newnham Ward was as follows

SIAN REID 917
Labour 641
Conservative 263
Green 241

We are delighted that Sian was succesfully re-elected. A big thank you to all those who supported Sian!

Sian and the Newnham team will continue to work hard on behalf of Newnham residents, on both local and city wide issues

With kind regards,

Your Newnham Lib Dem Team

Strawberry Fair is to launch a poetry slam competition for young people age 13 – 25 from across Cambridgeshire. The competition will be free to enter and prizes include a prime performance slot at the Fair and opportunities to be mentored by critically acclaimed poets.

If you write poetry, love poetry and want to share your poetry, then they would love to hear from you. You can use beatbox, rap, mc-ing, polyvocal or acapella, as well as poetry and spoken word.

All you need to do to enter is:

1. Go to www.strawberry-slam.org.uk
2. Follow the instructions to post a clip of yourself reading or reciting your poem.
3. Wait to hear whether you have been selected as one of 12 finalists to go through to compete in the Strawberry Slam final on Saturday 2 June.

Deadline for entries: Saturday 26 May 2012

The entries will be judged by five professional poets from London’s Point Blank Poets Collective and the 12 finalists will be announced on Tuesday 29 May. The final will be held in the brand new Strawberry Slam stage at the Fair on Saturday 2 June, 7 – 10pm. The Slam will be hosted by the formidable Hollie McNish (a former UK Slam Poetry Champion) and emcee Inja, with guest performances from renowned spoken word artists Bridget Minamore, Sabrina Mahfouz, Dean Atta and Deanna Rodger.

To find out more visit www.strawberry-slam.org.uk or get in touch with amy@strawberry-fair.org.uk

Sian Reid has a strong record of action here in Newnham. She lives here and has served as our councillor for 10 years.	Sian has stood up for Newnham time and time again: from opposing overdevelopment to fighting for the 199 bus, Sian has fought Newnham’s corner.	Sian and the Lib Dems have got £90m from the County to improve roads and pavements. Labour refused to support extra cash for pavement repairs.

“My fight is not with the other parties, but for the residents of Newnham,” says:

There has been a statement from the County Council about this. It originally said that the County would consult “the city centre community” but Cllr Reid has now secured agreement to far wider consultation. Here is the statement.

Statement for the West Central Area Committee meeting on 26.04.12 regarding the Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF)

Cambridgeshire County Council has been asked to prepare a statement for the West Central Area Committee for 26th April regarding the Better Bus Area Fund (or BBAF), providing some background information on the bid and our plans to consult on aspects of the programme once this is finalised.

The County Council has secured £1.7m funding from Government to invest in improving the reliability of bus services, particularly through Cambridge city centre. The overarching aim of the bid is to improve accessibility, bus journey times and reliability on key bus routes.

One of the proposals included in the bid is the possible removal of motorised traffic, except buses and emergency service vehicles, from St Andrews Street between Emmanuel Street and Hobson Street, during the day time. This would be accompanied by the proposed removal of the taxi rank on St Andrews Street, at least during the day time. If this proposal is taken forward, the current taxi rank in Drummer Street would become the primary taxi facility for the historic city centre.

Buses using the route currently experience delays associated with over ranking by taxis, deliveries to premises and unauthorised vehicles using the street. There are also conflicts between buses, cycles and pedestrians which need to be addressed. Our intention is to enhance the environment and safety in this area and improve accessibility, especially for bus services. In doing this we will consider all access requirements by all users including those with mobility impairments.

To help us in achieving this, we will be consulting widely with all sectors of the community before designing any detailed proposals and will be holding a public consultation exercise to seek views. We are keen to hear from those who live in, travel to and use the area and we will shortly be publicising details of when and how the consultation will be undertaken and details will be made available on our website at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk and we will also inform the local press.

Sian and the Lib Dems have fought to save the 199 bus service in Newnham

Sian Reid and the Liberal Democrats have stood up for the residents of Newnham time and time again.

Along with Rod Cantrill, Sian has spoken out against overdevelopment of Newnham – such as the Doubletree Hilton application.

Sian and the Lib Dems have also worked tirelessly in the fight to save the 199 bus service that many people rely on.

Sian has campaigned to preserve Newnham’s unique green open spaces, and has led improvements to recycling on the council.

Sian has served the Newnham community for 10 years. No other candidate can match her record for local people.

3 good reasons to vote for Sian Reid Sian has a strong record of action here in Newnham. She has served as our councillor for ten years. Sian has stood up for Newnham time and time again: from opposing overdevelopment to fighting for the 199 bus, Sian has fought Newnham’s corner. Sian and the Liberal Democrats have won £90 million from the County to improve roads and pavements.

3 things to remember about Labour: Labour voted to scrap the Climate Change Fund at Cambridge City Council. Labour want to stop local decisions being made by local communities – instead taking them centrally at the Guildhall. Labour refused to support the Liberal Democrats’ extra investment in much needed pavement maintenance.