From our Reporter at the Parish Council Meeting
It was the start of the new term after the August break. One member even said he really missed the monthly PC meetings. Fancy that!
Peter Hart, our Footpath General, announced that the footpath from the Village Hall car park through to Station Road is now fully open. Well, it is -up to a point. There is now a magnificent six foot wide path down and round the school playing field which then branches off through a tiny charming glade leading to the field. At the field the problems begin.
The grass is eighteen inches high (not suitable for wet weather) and there was no evidence that anyone had ever walked through it. In the fifty yard distance were hedges and a clump of green under which I hoped would be a kissing gate. There was and it still worked. Passing through the gate I met a problem which we've endured for the last twenty years. The field had been ploughed right up to the edge leaving walkers having to struggle along a slope. Fifteen years ago James Willmott said he would try to restrain the enthusiasm of his ploughman and persuade him to leave a little flat ground. But he never did then and doesn't now. All that walkers require at this point of the public footpath is a patch of about eight square metres of flat land. Surely this will not affect the viability of the farm.
But the difficulties were not over yet. I knew there should be a gap in the hedge leading onto Station Road. So I struggled along the slope until I came across a small hole, next to which was a stake with an official footpath marker. At last I had made it, though anyone who had not walked the path in the past would not have done. Then came a pleasant surprise. The hedge along the Station Road footpath had been trimmed beautifully and for once it is now possible to walk two abreast. Whoever the contractor is he should be praised not only for the trimming work but also for having cleared up the debris so well. So, with just a little more to be done, and this most pleasant footpath will be fully open. All thanks to Peter.
A lively discussion developed about 'Great Fen Drove'. "Do you mean 'Cherry Tree Drove'?" "I think you mean 'Long Drove'" . "No, you've got it wrong -it's High Fen Drove'" . "It's generally known as 'Great Fen Drove'" . Those that know about these things at last agreed that perhaps this drove did have four names. Those who knew nothing were nonplussed, and probably ended up knowing little more. All this arose because Geoffrey Woollard raised yet again one of his complaints. This is the condition of 'Great Fen Drove', or whatever. It has always been so bumpy that cars can only drive at about 10-15mph. Geoffrey has consistently over the last few years maintained that the bumps are highly dangerous. And he is right - if anyone attempts to drive fast. But after the first dip/bump everyone slows down. At last Geoffrey's tenacity has received its reward. Not long after the PC meeting the contractors went down there and all the bumps and dips have been levelled out. It is a real joy and cars can now travel at 30-40 mph quite safely. Of course there will be some hot heads who will go faster.
With a merry twinkle in his eye John Covill reported that one side of the new Reach Bridge is sinking. Yet another triumph for Nuttalls, also the contractors for the unfinished Guided Bus. He also reported having seen an Osprey -a rare sight in these parts. The planning application for the land adjacent to 15 Cage Hill has been withdrawn. There has been a complaint about the position of the Dog Poo Bin at the top of Fairview Drove which blocks the view of the traffic if you are driving a van. How successful have these Dog Poo Bins been? Has anyone looked inside to check?
We heard the latest about the proposed traveller site in Heath Road. Credit was given to the Committee which had dug out the facts with enormous tenacity (changed websites, documents hard to obtain, hidden information, etc) and I have no doubt that their efforts quadrupled the number of objections from the village. Armed with all this it was reported that Alan Alderson gave a powerful presentation at an ECDC meeting discussing the issue. A decision will be taken at a meeting in November. Anyone will be able to attend providing the date is publicised. David Brown also played his part by pointing out that the ECDC assumption about the number of vacant school places was incorrect.
Alan reported that Ely is to receive some substantial government funding. I hope, in these hard times, that I noted down the figures correctly. £180,000, £90,000, and £215,000. This is mainly for "capital funding for Ely projects" including the leisure centre and the market.
Some money will also be designated for tidying up the area facing the station approach so that visitors coming by rail will be greeted by a vision which befits "a great cathedral city" . This must be the latest official catch phrase because Alan used it several times with some pride. He also mentioned "a tree lined avenue" as being a more acceptable area approach for "a great cathedral city" .
"Hold on" , said Chairman John Covill, "rather than fiddling with a tree lined avenue, why don't you do something about the bridge?" Then everyone put in their twopennyworth. "A bypass is needed but times are now hard." "That bridge has been a problem for the last fifty years." "Ambulances have to join the lorry queue to go through the crossing and thereby are very often late." "It is projected that shortly in the future the crossing will be open for only twelve minutes in every hour." "What will happen to the emergency services then?" "Every solution has been looked at and there is nothing to be done." So there you have it. Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned. Or was this just our PC members being too sensational and exaggerating the problem?
The ECDC however does appear to have its grip on clunch barns and walls, though, because I have not been involved I do not fully understand the subtleties. Barns are able to fall down and have a poor look alike replacement, barns are allowed to be demolished, yet the bulging wall around the Cage has been subjected to what appears to be an amazingly expensive harassment. First the PC had to pay for a consultant's report, then it had to pay a consultant to say what materials should be used. Now it has to provide a 'Design and Access Statement'. This has been prepared by Paul Latchford who submitted it at the meeting saying it had taken him a long time to complete. The PC was appreciative but thought he must stress that the only reason for the work is the fact that it is likely to fall down on someone. In other words it is a public danger. Six copies of the Statement, with photographs, need to be submitted.