Station Road, Histon improvements, a long time coming and installed on the hottest days but at night

Contents
Orchard Park Street Works and Trees, Kings Meadow parking, Guided busway, Combined Authority bus survey, Extreme heat, Pot hole club, Waste and Minerals Plan, Trading Standards seizures of illegal tobacco, Roman Bank and Peckover by election, New Executive Director and Local government reorganisation

Orchard Park Pavement and Trees Works  Orchard Park shouldn’t need additional funding for pavement remediation but unfortunately the developers over the last 20 years planted almost every street tree incorrectly, effectively in a concrete box which when the roots fill the grow out the top of like an octopus escaping instead of downwards.  Furthermore the watering system was installed incorrectly and interestingly was the watering system from an expensive and correct tree planting system suggesting to anyone considering adopting the streets that the trees had been planted correctly.  As the roots escape upwards they are destroying pavements and there are reports of serious injuries.   And finally rather than the right tree in the right place a hotch potch of trees including 5 Giant Redwoods have been planted across the community.  

Orchard Park is a brilliant exercise in how not to plant street trees but the street trees also make the place and I love them.  There are no quick fixes and no easy decisions.  The county council has offered some replacement trees where works have caused serious harm to the trees but could not afford to replace every tree, root systems are some of the most deformed the trees officer, an expert arboriculturist, has ever seen and comparing 20 year old lime trees to the trees planted properly in Alconbury Weald the planting is severely limiting their growth. I am working with the county council and the community council and local residents on a long term vision for Orchard Park’s streets.

The county council has given a written undertaking that there will be no major decisions on trees until a community meeting has taken place.  Unless an emergency safety situation arises.  

Kings Meadow Parking  Histon and Impington Parish council are writing to residents of the new blocks of flats in Kings Meadow to ask them to park sensibly, there will also be a two week period where residents across Kings Meadow are strongly encouraged to report dangerous parking to the parish clerk. This will be a first step data collection exercise to determine whether further action is needed such as double yellow lines on the corner of St Catherines Road and Arbury Road. clerk@hisimp-pc.gov.uk

Guided busway  Following the community meeting we are awaiting further information about finalised designs for the busway crossing. I was surprised and interested in the choice of footpath surfaces residents were favouring; a recycled composite which feels more like tarmac proved popular for it’s recycled composition and hardwearing, weather resistant surface.

Costs of the fencing work for the rest of the busway have grown.  A big reason for this is that when the request for funding came to committee last year the council were effectively requesting endorsement to begin a major project for the works, the alternative potentially being a closure of the busway. 

After that they were able to put together a product specification and went out to tender.   It is not until they have gone to market that they can fully understand the cost of the works.  A recent request for an additional ring fenced £6m came to committee this week.  There is hope that it will not all need to be spent and more light touch fencing can be approved further north.  The impact on this funding request which comes from the maintenance fund for the busway on fixing the acoustic panels in Histon is not positive. I have requested a community meeting in Orchard Park for busway safety design decisions.

Combined Authority Bus Survey 
Have your say on buses in Cambridgeshire. The Combined Authority, led by Mayor Paul Bristow is responsible for buses and the broader transport strategy. Bus franchising is apparently still progressing but more slowly than previously. If you have an opinion on buses please get involved in this consultation by 28 July. https://cpca-yourvoice.co.uk/bus-network-review-engagement/

Extreme Heat 
June was the hottest recorded June on record and smashed previous heat records.  This is a direct consequence of climate change due to human behaviour.  I am getting an update on how the council operates during extreme heat but was pleased to see scheduled maintenance work in Histon and Impington taking place between 9.30-11.30pm, ie in the cooler hours of the day.

Pot hole club
We are yet to see any strong actions from the first submission of pot hole reports to the Highways Maintenance Team but two emergency pot holes were fixed within hours of being raised with officers in Histon and a large area of patching has transformed Station Road just south of the Poplar road junction.

Waste and Minerals plan
We discussed the Minerals and Waste Plan which the council is beginning work on last month at the Environment and Green investment committee which I chaired.  At an event with the Chief Executive of Urban and Civic I learnt that it had taken years for the county council to agree to adopt the main highways in Alconbury Weald that contain recycled materials.  I have asked for a review to determine whether council policy is aligned to using recycled materials in construction as it is really important that all major construction projects seek to reduce their impact and recycle as many materials as possible.

Trading Standards
seize 1000s illegal cigarettes and vapes On 23 June, officers worked alongside Cambridgeshire Police and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to carry out inspections at premises in Ely, Soham and Littleport. The operation led to the seizure of 25,000 illegal cigarettes, 6.85kg of hand-rolling tobacco and more than 138 illegal vaping products from three locations. Residents are encouraged to report any information or suspicions about the sale of illegal tobacco or vaping products. Reports can be made anonymously at www.keep-it-out.co.uk, which also provides guidance on how to identify illicit products.

Summer activities and Food programme
Parents and carers can find more information about the council’s Holiday Activities programme, and final tranche of universal food vouchers, including how to use their voucher and details of local schemes, on the council’s website: Cambridgeshire Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme | Cambridgeshire County Council

Roman Bank and Peckover Byelection
Reform County Councillor Andy Osborne was one of the most notorious Reform councillors in the country.  Having stated at a county council committee that he thought some children were just evil, his comments made the national press and were widely circulated.  He also refused to admit that he had been responsible for defaming a local Conservative councillor candidate during last years election campaign despite clearly being the author of the comments. After a process which took 12 months he was finally removed from his seat due to having broken electoral law.  A byelection took place on June 25 in the division to the north of Wisbech.  Reform were voted straight back into the seat.

New Exec Director 
We welcomed a new Executive director of Place and sustainability, Graeme Kane to the council last month.  This turnover of staff from across the organisation is not normal, it is a direct consequence of Local government reorganisation.   Officers are looking at the future for themselves and their families and taking opportunities now to move to more permanent positions as the future is so uncertain.   This has a significant impact on the council’s ability to engage in serious transformation and improvements.   There is hope that EHCP speeds may be able to improve but the work we would have like to have delivered in highways has been harmed by Local government reorganisation. Local Government Reorganisation Apparently we are still on course for a decision on this before the summer recess. My personal opinion would be that I’m unsure Andy Burnham would wish to make this highly controversial decision which could become mired in judicial reviews just days into his premiership but we shall see.