From our Local County Councillor
"Food glorious food" should be the County's slogan just now. The
County Catering & Cleaning Services (C.C.S.) has become only the fourth
school meals operator at County level to reach an internationally recognised
standard of excellence. That sounds like good news for parents and pupils
alike. C.C.S. provides over 23 thousand meals daily to Cambridgeshire schools.
There are only three other county rivals - Nottinghamshire, Somerset and South
Gloucestershire.
I was particularly interested to see Somerset in the same top bracket. I spent nine years at school in Somerset during and after the war. In those days we were always hungry and looked forward to such treats as "bubble & squeak", tinned salmon patties, herring roes on toast and "bread and scrape" with marmite or peanut butter. Meat was scarce, chicken a once a month luxury and no bananas. On the bright side, the scarcity of sweets (rationed - 2oz/week) and fried foods meant slim youngsters with good teeth!
Last month I wrote about environmental matters including air quality. I can now add that the quality of our river water is generally good. In Cambridgeshire all our river water is rated "good or fair". This compares well with England as a whole, where only two thirds of the country's water reaches that standard. Apart from humans this must be good for fish and wildlife, locally.
Turning to noise, the story is less satisfactory. The number of complaints about noise over the last ten years has been rising in the County. Recent surveys show that noise from road traffic is twice as irritating as the next worst source which comes from overflying aircraft. People in Bottisham and the Swaffhams are particularly affected by air flights to and from Marshalls. In the long term this is expected to reduce greatly if and when Marshalls moves away from Cambridge Airport.
Over the years I have persistently asked for more protection from road traffic noise, particularly along the raised section of the A14 from Quy to Nine Mile Hill cutting. More trees, possibly earth bunding and quieter road surfaces are three things that should help. The County officers are sympathetic but hamstrung by limited funds and other greater priorities. Nevertheless, I'll continue to chip away at this.