From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
WAIT-WATCH-US Meeting at the Village Hall
I CONFESS THERE WAS A MOMENT when I thought there might be more fun to be had
next door at Wait-Watch-Us (or is that Wait-Watch 'Ers?). However, the
effects of celebrating a family birthday earlier disappeared when certain
matters came up and, let's face it, it is no contest. I can only look at
bathroom scales for so long.
There was little local flavour to Hazel Williams' CCC report - subsidies to improve our bus service, and plans to move Papworth Hospital to the Addenbrookes site which will be more convenient if you don't get lost there, as I do. Sometimes you just get a "slack news month" but we got some added value later when she and Allen rehearsed their act for the Variety Show "The (ECDC) Office", a farce.
Allen Alderson teased us by mentioning the sale of Dencora Field "I'll say more later", and he continued with news about the asbestos harvest (another poor year) and the planning application for the windmill site which will provide entertainment for months to come. The concept of developers contributing money for public open space on another site instead of here, if planning consent is granted, was a difficult one for some but perhaps they had been celebrating too. This cash back arrangement is not a bribing mechanism, but an established way for those who gain profit from land development to share it with the community.
An enquiry from a gentleman in Lode about a new minibus caused people to study
the ceiling in silence. Little chance there, I fear. "Anglia in
Bloom" asked if we want to compete in bloomin' Anglia - same result.
The Recreation Ground saga ground on with one more legal complication, but
it's just another small delay. The village sign has responded well to
treatment and there are high hopes that it will be up, if not running about,
very soon. The Pound roof will get some attention when the necessary approvals
have been successfully manoeuvred into place. (No. The Pound is not for sale).
Costs have risen a little bit from the early estimate but price rises for
building material next year put this into shade. Cooper's Lane barrier is
now complete and it's proving to be a very good year for crossing things
off the list, though the lonesome pine behind the cemetery seems to be safe,
for a while at least.
We have been grossly underpaying our Parish Clerk for years! I remain
unconvinced by the reasons put to justify less than 100% restitution but she
says she's happy. So be it. It came as a shock to some that St.
Cyraic's church is not consecrated. Why else would The Cambridge Voices be
allowed within a mile of it, then? As we know, St. C's is enjoying a
renaissance as a social venue producing revenue to assist with high maintenance
costs. Jolly good!
No-one ever takes any notice of polite requests in this publication to stop their boundary hedges from obstructing public footpaths. The PC in its infinite wisdom will therefore send polite notes through all doors in the vicinity of offenders (so that they will not feel victimised and so no-one is falsely accused)! As this has always had a nil effect I think we should bring back the stocks. If nothing else, this would provide a distraction for the youths (apparently coming from miles around) who now enjoy the play facilities at the school until late evening. They were still crashing around there at 9.30 p.m.
OK. It's now time for Dencora, and well worth the wait. When it seemed
likely that a company would get it who divide agricultural land into strips for
sale just wide enough for a caravan, a horse and a dog, others stepped in and
bought it for about three times the asking price. I shall say no more here, but
remember The Crier, June 2003?