Email your letters or comments to [email protected] More traffic problems at Shelford school I've lived in Shelford my whole life and the traffic situation outside the primary school before and after school is getting worse every year. Earlier today I saw two buses mount the pavement as this was the only way they could get through - something which is definitely not safe whilst schoolchildren are walking around! Someone suggested elsewhere on this page that traffic lights are put in place to control the traffic during peak periods - why can this not be done? Or alternatively is it possible to put lines all along that road so that nobody can park, and therefore two lines of traffic can move at once. Tasha Hill Great Shelford Great Shelford jogging group? My girlfriend and I recently moved to Great Shelford from Histon and are hoping that you might be able to post a message or let us know of someone we can get in touch with to go jogging with, as currently she jogs on her own. She is basically looking for a few people who would be interested in meeting up a couple times a week and going for a short run with. Back in histon she was part of the Histon Hobblers Ladies Running Group and loved it so ideally would like to find something similar down here, or even start her own group, but just needs the help to get the word out to get it started. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, and please feel free to pass my details on to anyone who might be interested. Kind Regards, Adrian Granger- Brown How to speed up your broadband A quick note on broadband in the village. We live at the end of a 100 yard long laneway behind the post office. We have been using ADSL provided by Zen Internet which travelling by copper wire from the exchange to Great Shelford gave a poor result of around 1.5 MB/second. Streaming Iplayer was ever stilted more often than not. I asked Virgin to survey which they did – and to quote which they did ‘big time’. To connect to the green box opposite the post office they quoted £8,800 and then wanted to bill us for the survey! We offered to dig & refill the trench down the laneway ourselves to their specifications but they refused. When we complained they dropped the approx £30 fee they’d tried to levy. I was advised by Mike Nettleton of Eagle Analysis that there is a compromise which works well. This is a fibre to copper variant provided for a bit more each month by Zen. Essentially it involves switching from copper to fibre between the Trumpington Exchange and the nearest green box and copper from there. I have just switched and wished I’d done so eons ago. My speed is now between 60 & 80 MB/Second. It requires a BT engineer switching the green box and fitting an additional modem/router. This may be of interest to others in the village suffering a naff download speed. And yes, the level of traffic in the village has massively risen. I’ve been here 33 years and it must have grown more than tern-fold. I hope this is of help to some other villagers. Charles Malcolm-Brown FRSA
Is our traffic getting worse? Can we look into the sudden traffic problems? The early morning traffic is regularly queuing from Cambridge right back to the Great Shelford Post Office now, for no apparent reason, and I think we're all keen to know if this is going to be a permanent problem. it really started happening a fortnight ago with no warning at all. Traffic won't have suddenly doubled or trebled overnight so is this something to do with the new development, or roadworks, or dodgy traffic light sequencing? Sandra Leaton-Gray
A small bus shelter that will seat a max of 6 people has been erected on the forecourt of the Babraham Rd. P&R site. My question is, how much money been spent on this & why is it required when there is an inside waiting room that will seat 16 people in the warm & dry? There is already outside seating for about 8 people outside under the awning of the building. According to passed statements by the council the new car parking charges were put in place to fund a full time attendant at the sites thus allowing the waiting room & toilets to be open during bus running hours. So why is this additional shelter needed? Is this more tax payers money wasted? John Wakefield A follow up to your item about the planned parking restrictions in Church Street near the school. We have only just heard about these restrictions as new subscribers to the newsletter. Although we own a property there, nobody has consulted with us about this. We recently rang one of the councillors to find out what was going on, and left a message, but nobody has responded. Consequently we are not exactly sure where the new restrictions will be, and we have serious concerns about the ability of residents to park, which is important if people need to unload a supermarket shop, or have young children or elderly relatives, for example. We are also worried about speeding up the flow of traffic there, as it can be surprisingly dangerous at certain times of the day for residents, something other Shelford residents may not be aware of, with cars and lorries travelling much too fast and not being aware that it is a residential area with houses very close to the kerb. The parked cars may look like a nuisance to those only visiting the area during the school run, but they act as an important mechanism in slowing down cars racing through the village. The Local Authority provided bollards on the residents' side to help further with the speeding/safety problem, a few years ago, but it is still an issue for people living there.
In 1999, with the full support of the Local Authority, we asked the Parish Council to review this with a view to arranging residents' parking directly outside numbers 15-21 to improve safety further, particularly for residents in those house with young children or elderly relatives, but this was blocked by the Parish Council on the grounds that a) a library bus apparently needed access to Shelford School from time to time, and b) elderly people needed to be on the opposite side of the road to be able to get into the church easily on Sundays. The needs of occasional, or even very occasional, visitors therefore effectively trumped those of local residents. Once again, it seems we now have local councillors who are equally happy to disregard the day to day needs of residents in favour of occasional visitors, councillors who consider it quite acceptable to press forward with the idea of removing all parking, including residents' parking, without proper consultation, or considering the impact on residents other than in the most superficial manner. They have no mandate for this. Sandy Leaton Gray Posted Jan 16 The Parish Council has told the website that the number of places for local residents will not be affected by the changes.
Dear Great Shelford Community Website, I am surely not alone in looking forward to the opening of the new pavilion on Great Shelford rec, and look forward even more to the opportunity to use the new facility. Once we have got used to its size and location, the modern design and wooden exterior can only impress. But can the Parish Council let us villagers know exactly how much it has cost compared with the original estimate, and whether they have managed to raise all the money. Will they be adding something to the Shelford Council Tax bills? Also, how much will it cost to run and who pays for that? I ask in the spirit of openness and honesty. If the new building is to be a genuine community facility, it is of the utmost importance that the community is kept fully aware of all the financial considerations. Yours faithfully, Stephen Chittenden Station Rd. Great Shelford Posted January 7 2014
I was disappointed to read Cllr Dr Gail Kenneys offensive comments made at the Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet Meeting about the proposed move by Arthur Rank to Shelford Bottom. Arthur Rank approach me about a year ago, I gave this my full support, I can't see a better use for a redundant Farm yard which is surrounded by other commercial business's (ie the Park and ride) I have also obtained the support of South Cambs Chief Executive that we as a Council will advise on planning. Had this opportunity for Arthur Rank been missed it would have been a sad day for Cambridge. We should grateful for all Arthur Rank do and have done for so many this is something we should support in the hope we never need it.
Cllr Charles Nightingale Chairman Gt Shelford Parish Council District Councillor for Shelfords
For years I have watched frustrated drivers try and get past Great and Little Shelford primary school, normally from my bike, and each year it seems to get worse. I suspect 2014 may hit an all time low as new housing will be built on the farm next door. Why not install traffic lights a hundred yards either side of the school, to alternate the flow of traffic and peak times e.g. 8 till 9.30 and 3 till 5 school hours and maybe longer when construction is in progress. I can’t imagine it would make things worse, where parking is allowed will need to be considered, but it might just reduce the blood pressure of some motorist.
Brie Lury
High Street
Little Shelford.
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