Your County Councillor

COUNTY COUNCIL LETTER

 Mid February / March  2002

This month the news affecting our locality relates to traffic, roads and paths.

At long last work has started on the Lode - Swaffham Bulbeck path and the contractor is Wrekin plc. Completion should be in the region of twelve weeks. This will be followed by an extension of the path behind the Denny Pavilion to cemetery corner. Combine that with the path from Quy to Bottisham and Quy to Airport Way we are at last beginning to see more progress in the creation of a cycle/footpath from Burwell to Quy. The gaps between the two Swaffhams and between Lode and Quy remain. Connecting Reach to Swaffham Prior is also on my list.

A hope of mine is to get these gaps filled within the next few years. When complete there will be a safe route from start to finish for cyclists and walkers and better traffic flow for drivers so long as cyclists, in particular, actually use the paths. I am still amazed when I see cyclists on Lode Road not using the path. I know there is a problem seasonally with hedge clipping causing punctures but these periods do not usually last long. I have several times raised the matter of sweeping paths beside hawthorn hedges, but as yet the priority of this work is not sufficiently high. Maybe it will become so when the route is complete and being used.

The meeting of the Joint CCC/ECDC Committee a few days ago also gave the go-ahead for traffic calming at Mill Hill, Swaffham Prior, and a footpath at the top of North Street, Burwell. I have asked the Highways Department to do a speed check at the narrowest part of North Street to see how much speeding goes on there.

I should warn anyone interested that the County is considering reducing services because there are not enough people using them, and they are consequently expensive to subsidise.

If anyone, in particular parents of teenagers and young people, are prepared to use them more, please let Alex Gee or Claire Ritson know at Shire Hall and argue the point. It is another example of use it or lose it". Failing them, ring me.

On 19th February the County Council agreed a £400m budget after recognizing once again the unfairness of being the fastest growing county, yet the poorest funded county in England.

Although the Government and business pay for a large share of what is needed to provide education, social services, environment arid transport etc., there is still a gap which is filled by Council Tax. Because the Government still delays in recognising our proper needs, the Council Tax portion has to rise in order to avoid cuts.

As from April the Tax will rise 9.3% (£1.20 per week for an average property) to which will be added an increase by the Police, District Council and your parish which will tot up to between 15.3% (Reach) and 18.1% (Swaffham Bulbeck).

Councillors at all levels regret this increase and at County levels the Leader Keith Walters admits it is higher than he would have wished and in future years increases will have to be lower. Both opposition parties reluctantly agreed the budget after some suggested Lib.Dem. amendments were voted down.

I will do what I can to ensure value for money and also a fair share for our villages. We certainly are doing well on various traffic and road improvements. Sorry about the current delays due to construction work.

This is the time of the year that the Cambridgeshire Fire Authority push the installation of smoke detectors in the home. Between 40 and 60 people die in the UK each year because detectors are not fitted - or worse have no battery in them. Please consider buying one, if you have not already done this. Last year's statistics for our two fire stations show results as follows:

We can be thankful that the figures are not higher.

Drive safely and use a wrung-out wet dish cloth over a -chip pan, fire.

Happy Easter.

James Fitch

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