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Parish Plan
In last month's Newsletter we outlined our intention to produce a Parish Plan and how we would be going about it. An open meeting was held on 24 January to discuss the need to create a Parish Plan. More than 70 people braved the cold to register their concerns. We discussed aspects of life in Bourn; the volume and speed of traffic travelling through the village, the lack of effective public transport, the lack of cycle and footpaths linking Bourn to neighbouring villages, the lack of youth facilities and the resultant anti-social behaviour at the recreation ground, and the threat of flooding. On a more positive note, Bourn is noted for its rural character and landscape, the peace and quiet and the sense of community. These characteristics led to a feeling of well being and security. Good amenities were also welcomed and important to those living in the village. Some parishioners expressed the view that a formal plan was unnecessary; a waste of time and effort. However, at the end of the meeting almost half of the participants volunteered to help with the process in some way. As a result of January's public meeting we have 16 volunteers developing a questionnaire which will be sent to every household in the summer. The questionnaire will canvas the views of everyone in the village over 11 years on a wide range of issues. The information received will be analysed and a plan of action proposed in the form of the Parish Plan. The Parish Council will act on the proposals. If you would like
to be involved in this work please contact Alan Ward (718829). Vandalism During the early hours of Sunday 4th February vandals caused considerable damage to property in Bourn. A trail of spray paint covered vehicles and buildings from the village hall to the sports pavilion; windows were also broken. For a large number of residents it was a horrible experience. The Parish Council acted quickly to remove the offensive graffiti with help from volunteers. Much time was spent in the following days pursuing police reports, insurance claims and viewing CCTV footage. The Parish Council has very limited resources. The repair/clean-up cost was £650 (not counting personal insurance claims). But the real cost is far greater; this type of destructive behaviour degrades the quality and enjoyment of our village. Left unchecked it creates an environment where crime and anti-social behaviour will thrive. We have excellent CCTV footage of the incident but need further help in identifying the culprit/s. If you have any information please call the police on 0845 4564564 and quote Incident No. CF0065110207. Or you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 and give information anonymously. Sports Club Bourn Parish Council owns the pavilion, tennis courts, playing fields and recreation ground situated behind Alms Hill/Caxton End. These facilities are leased to Bourn Sports Club, with the PC and BSCjointly responsible for maintenance. The sports facilities in Bourn are excellent, so do take advantage of them. The pavilion is available for hire and joining the Sports Club is simple and inexpensive (see attached form). There are regular coaching sessions for juniors in football, cricket and tennis. Tennis coaching is available for adults too, as well as regular club nights and an annual mixed-doubles tournament for players of all abilities. All tuition meets the standards of Sport England. Members of the Sports Club benefit from a 10% discount on most goods at Hobbs sports shop in Cambridge (formerly Grays Sports on Sidney Street), concessionary rates on Pavilion hire, and the chance to enter the annual draw for Wimbledon tickets. |
Darts and Netball Would you be interested in a regular game of darts down at the new Sports Pavilion? Perhaps even joining a village darts team? If so, contact Gill Pountain (719266) or Julie Maclean (719656). Also, would you like to join other women in the village for a regular game of netball? If so, please contact Emmeline Lyster (718667) Village Precept The Village Precept is the amount of money raised by the Parish Council (PC), through the Council Tax system, for maintenance of village facilities and the business activities of the PC. We set the amount required through the annual budget. This year the budget of £31,425 will increase by 2.5%, just below the rate of inflation. This covers professional administrative services and support (£6,500), general administration (£7,000), maintenance of village assets, eg bus shelters, bins, grass cutting, ditches, pavilion and recreation facilities (£7,800), street lighting and new grilles to protect pavilion windows (£3,000). It also covers special projects; including producing the Parish Plan and seed funding towards grants for projects generated by the Plan. We are committed to making efficiency savings where possible to keep costs to a minimum. Full details of planned expenditure are published on the Parish Council notice board in the Village Hall car park. A428
Improvements In late March work will start connecting up the next section of dual carriageway directly east of Cambourne junction. To facilitate this the old St Neots Road, currently a cul-de-sac, will be opened up and A428 traffic will be diverted onto it via the Cambourne junction. This will be a temporary diversion lasting about 5 weeks. Also in late March, at the east end of the works, A428 traffic will be diverted round the Hardwick junction and onto the new dual carriageway towards Cambridge. A week later the westbound traffic will be directed onto the new carriageway to the Hardwick roundabout. Once the connection is completed at Cambourne, the new dual carriageway will be opened to traffic and the scheme complete apart from some minor landscaping. Feedback We hope that you are finding these newsletters useful. We have had a very positive response to the first one. If you have any suggestions for improvements please let us know.
Your Council Graham Smith, Council
Chairman, 01954 719715, graham@searchlight.co.uk |
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