Village Assembly 2009
Not only did I miss the Crier deadline for this report (something to do with halftem holiday intervening at a critical moment), but also missed the start of the Village Meeting itself by half an hour, so cannot tell you about the Parish Council report - I'm sure someone else can fill in the gaps, and anyway we get at least two different accounts of the PC's proceedings in the Crier nearly every month, so there should be little new.
Item 2 was a letter from the Badcocks, who have dutifully run the village Youth Club for more years than I can remember. They report that the Seniors evening is now effectively deserted, the building needs a lot of attention, and that they (not unreasonably) feel that they have done enough and would like someone else to take over and provide new impetus. The meeting seemed generally sympathetic, but noone came forward to make any positive contribution or suggestions.
This was followed closely by the Burwell Tigers report, in the form of another letter which I can't remember being read out. The only thing my scribbled notes reveal is something to do with the extension of an interest-free loan, so let's assume that all is well (the pitch is certainly looking good when viewed from Station Road). There is nothing in my notes either about the School's report, which came next - so let's assume that all is going well there too (except that in this case the view from Station Road isn't so good - what on earth was done to that poor tree??). They have presented an award to Eric Day - longtime Caretaker, and no doubt many other functions over the years.
Now for the serious business of our elected representatives, starting with Hazel Williams, who was pleased with the results of vigorous lobbying to preserve our bus service - well done to all parties involved. The Sunday bus service is still under review, and may be drastically curtailed if it doesn't get more users. Contracts for other things that affect us have also been under review, with results ranging from waste disposal (Donarbon re-elected, with a promise to sort our rubbish more carefully) through Central Library (contractor fired, Coulson brought in, will be finished by September (Christmas?)) to the Guided Bus (very heavy closed meeting about that one - but a definite sense of contractural heads rolling). Lots of money is being spent on 'experts' and 'consultants'. Hazel was tactful on the general subject of the GB, simply stating that she would have spent the money on something different if given the choice.
The CC is spending more money, time and effort in restructuring itself (for the third time in 4 years), with a new CEO and lots of job name changes. Hazel attempted to explain the 'Cabinet' system (introduced a while ago by Labour), which supposedly makes it easier for you or me to contact the right person; I don't think anyone was any wiser. And as for the 'Local Area Agreement' - or 'Cambridge Together' and the 'Weathering the Storm' initiative - which have (according to my notes) been awarded £9M for meeting their targets (er.. isn't that what they are expected to do??), and spent lots of it on promoting themselves. No, don't ask... ... It looks like another example of a group of professionals who operate in a parallel universe where they happily distribute other people's money on things that only they believe have any relevance or justification.
Allen's account of ECDC activities almost came as light relief; although much of it was nothing to cheer about, at least it covered things that affect us on a daytoday basis, starting with the fact that their budget was down by at least £1M. This is partly because there is less new development - with it's attendant Section 106 money - taking place, and less income from Council Tax and Business Rates. The Government Grant was increased by an amount which works out at just over 1p per resident per week. They will make back office savings and other budget cuts to compensate, and still manage to provide extra funding for local Citizens' Advice Bureaus - particularly important in the current financial climate. ECDC are still committed to providing 135 Low Cost housing units this year, and investigated the idea of buying up some stalled residential developments for the same purpose, only to find that the specifications were not up to Low Cost Housing standards... . There were lots of other things as well (Ely Market full, free swimming, no stacking aircraft, weekly rubbish collection will continue), the only flat note being reference to the Neighbourhood Panel, which produced a predictable groan from some of the audience. Allen got his own back for this a bit later by suggesting to John Norris that he take his query about the visibiilty from the High Street of the Church Clock to the next Panel meeting. Don't hold your breath. And then the Scouts (and Cubs), who enlivened last year's meeting so much, came and did it again. Their numbers are up, they have a problem with retiring (i.e. overage) mambers who don't want to leave, and the District organisation wants them to start a Beavers group. All credit to Tim Doe, Francis Reeks, Steve White & Graham Gibson, and to the local children who enjoy such supposedly old-fashioned activities. Some of the things they do sound really quite daunting (the Bushcraft Camp - what do they eat?) as well as fun (build your own raft - using the knots you were taught to hold it together with - and they couldn't make it sink at the end of the day).The Scouts are looking out for more adult helpers, and for somewhere more permanent to store their things and hang their hats; I did find myself wondering if some accommodation might not be reached with the Youth Club?? They both serve the same constituency... ..
And finally the Village Hall, now in new hands and with bookings up by 50% (a lot of that accounted for by the Out of School Club - but that's how it should be). There were credits to Alastair and the former committee for bringing the Hall successfully through all the upheavals of the Millenium to become the excellent facility we now enjoy. The fee structure is under review, and volunteers will always be required for Spring Cleaning, redecoration etc.., so not everything has changed. Question time was devoted almost entirely to different aspects of the National Trust's 'Fen Vision'. There were suggestions that the PC was letting planning applications go unchallenged (comprehensively denied by the Chairman), concerns that the planned demolition of the rotting temporary classroom at the school was in some way connected with traffic management for the anticipated hordes of visitors, and Geoffrey held forth about a huge bridge planned to take walkers across Reach Lode on their way from Anglesey Abbey to Wicken Fen. He couldn't have made that up, so perhaps the lunatics have taken over after all.
The most telling note came from John Norris, who once farmed land now taken over by the NT and abandoned to become some notionally authentic wilderness. He pointed out that this sort of land had been completely transformed from its original state by generations of hard work, and will now become a non-descript mess with none of the virtues of either of its previous existences. What a shame.