WhatsApp scam costs victims £1.5 million

Update on the sink hole

The hole is 1.2 metres deep. Deeper excavation will commence at 6am tomorrow and it is hoped that if not further issues are discovered that the road will be able to be repaired on Thursday.

Councillor Neil Gough

Update of Sinkhole outside the Co-op Willingham from Councillor Neil Gough

The site has been secured and emergency works will commence tomorrow. The work will start at 4am due to the unprecedented heat expected. Lights will be operating while the repair takes place and we should have a better idea of how long the work will take tomorrow.

Please accept our apologies for any disturbance and inconvenience while these repairs take place.

Neil Gough.

Currys Email Scam

A Currys email doing the rounds which is offering £250 Pampers gift package is a scam

An email purporting to be from Currys PC World offering a £250 Pampers gift package is a scam, Action Fraud has warned.

The UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime has issued the warning after receiving nearly 300 reports of the scam in just one week.

Click the clink below for more details.

A Currys email doing the rounds which is offering £250 Pampers gift package is a scam! (deeside.com)

B1514 Brampton Road Closure – Postponed

Good Morning

Please note the planned closure of B1514 Brampton Road this Saturday 23 has been postponed due to the Secret Garden Party taking place this weekend.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will advise you of the re-arranged date in due course.

Kind regards

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme
National Highways | Woodlands | Manton Lane | Bedford | MK41 7LW
Web: http://www.nationalhighways.co.uk

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: Major Improvements

A14C2H closures w.c 18.07.22 Download

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT BIN COLLECTIONS DURING THE CURRENT HOT SPELL

During the forecast extremely hot weather, please ensure your bins are put out the night before they are due to be collected. This is because Greater Cambridge Shared Waste crews will be starting work earlier in the day than usual, to try and avoid the worst of the heat. This means your bins may get emptied earlier in the morning than you are used to.

Local Transport and Connectivity Plan – have your say

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is developing a plan – the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) – that will shape the future of transport in our region. We need to tell them what the residents of Willingham would like to see in that plan. You can get further information and a survey form at yourltcp.co.uk or ring 0808 258 3225, or simply email your comments to contact@yourltcp.co.uk. Closing date 4 August.

This document briefly quotes from the draft plan and then describes how it will affect Willingham and the Parish Council’s view on what it should contain.

The Draft Plan

The Vision in the draft plan is:

“A transport network which secures a future in which the region and its people can thrive.

It must put improved public health at its core. It must help create a fairer society. It must respond to climate change targets. It must protect our environment and clean up our air, and it must be the backbone of sustainable economic growth in which everyone can prosper.

And it must bring a region of cities, market towns and very rural areas closer together.

It will be achieved by investing in a properly joined up, net zero carbon transport system, which is high quality, reliable, convenient, affordable, and accessible to everyone. Better cleaner public transport will reduce private car use, and more cycling and walking will support both healthier lives and a greener region. Comprehensive connectivity, including digital improvements, will support a sustainable future for our region’s nationally important and innovative economy.”

There then follow a series of aims, objectives and strategies that are bland and vague, although one or two nuggets can be picked out:

Under the Employment objectives: “connect all new and existing communities sustainably so all residents can easily access a good job within 30 minutes by public transport”.
Under Productivity: “better public transport is needed to offer an attractive alternative to using the car. Buses need to be more available, frequent, reliable and affordable.”
Under Connectivity: There will be focus on better linking up of hamlets, villages, market towns and cities with places of work, education and other services. More cycling and walking options will also link villages, towns and cities.

How the draft plan affects Willingham

There are no improvements for Willingham – and the buses are actually worse.

Local strategies are listed for each region and for our region are based on work already done by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) (which covers South Cambs and Cambridge City) on:

four new public transport and cycling and walking corridors – Cambourne to Cambridge, Cambridge Eastern Access, Cambridge South East Transport and Waterbeach to Cambridge
the future bus network
travel hubs (like Longstanton to which our links are very poor),
improved cycling and walking, based on the Greenways project

The New Corridors

Willingham’s problem seems to be that the Busway is seen as the solution to public transport for our corridor yet we don’t have access to it!

Bus Network

The new network is described in the GCP’s Making Connections consultation on which the Parish Council has already given its views. Willingham is worse off – only a rural hourly bus, on a loop connecting Swavesey, Papworth Everard, Bar Hill, Longstanton and villages in between. We lose our current direct bus service to Cambridge. There are no direct links to any urban centre or the village college at Cottenham, or to the sixth form colleges in Cambridge.

Willingham is one of the larger villages in South Cambridgeshire with a population approaching 5000, yet the consultant’s report, on which the proposal is based, almost completely disregards it. It is missing from the map showing the existing bus network and from the majority of the maps showing details of the new proposals. It is mentioned only in passing a few times as one of the stops on the rural loop. In its comments on the plan the PC proposed that buses (say two an hour) are diverted from the Busway, as originally promised, to provide direct links to Cambridge and St Ives. Alternatively, we need a 10 minute feeder service to the Busway. We also need direct links to Cottenham and the sixth form colleges.

Cycleways

The GCP’s flagship Greenways project is a wheel of 12 new or improved cycleways that converge on Cambridge. One is along the busway from St Ives, to which we are connected by one inadequate cycleway along Station Road, not due to be upgraded. The Parish Council commented last year on the GCP’s Cycling Plus survey, and in particular the need for links between villages, but have been told that there are no further plans for new cycleways until the huge Greenways project is completed.

Willingham is extremely badly served by cycleways compared to other local villages. It currently has just one – south along Station Road to the guided busway at Longstanton along the very busy B1050. It is welcome and heavily used, but urgently in need of improvement. It is very narrow in places and the shared-use with pedestrians and numerous exits from driveways make it often awkward and even hazardous at times. It also provides access to the fast-growing town of Northstowe.

There is much connectivity between Willingham and surrounding villages so cycleways are also needed in other directions, for employment, leisure and social purposes and to access facilities such as shops. In particular:

East to Rampton. The majority of secondary school pupils at Willingham attend Cottenham Village College, which is also an Adult Education Centre. It is the other side of Rampton and the road between Willingham and Rampton is narrow and winding and carries fast-moving traffic. There is an indirect cycle route via Station Road, the busway and Reynolds Drove but the Station Road part is inadequate as described above, and this route adds over a third to the distance. Another option for a new cycleway is along Iram Drove and Cow Lane, which is an existing backroad but with a very poor surface. Beyond Rampton there is an existing cycleway to Cottenham, which links to other cycleways into Cambridge.

West to Over. Willingham and Over are closely linked and there are numerous trips between them, e.g. Over residents use Willingham library and the Coop and other shops, and facilities. This contributes to increased traffic in Willingham. The current road is fast and narrow with a semi-blind summit.

North to Earith – this is the only river crossing for 10 km in each direction and opens up connections to all the towns and villages to the North, such as Ely. The current B1050 is very dangerous for cyclists, as it is a speeding blackspot and carries a large number of HGVs. It is due for an upgrade and a cycleway from the centre of Willingham must be part of that project. An alternative is to upgrade the bridle path that runs from West Fen Road to the RSBP reserve.

Warning following thefts from vehicles

SCAMS IN FOCUS – COURIER FRAUD

Courier fraud is predominantly a telephone crime, where the victim receives a call from someone whom they believe to be in a position of authority, such as a Police Officer or bank official, and a courier is sent to the victim to collect cash, a bank card, or other items, as arranged.

It will be started by the fraudster posing as the official and building up a relationship with the victim. This is done by offering information that the victim can see could have come from an official source, such as full name and address. The victim may have already given that information away themselves, or the fraudster will have obtained a database that contains their name and address, which is how they were targeted in the first place. The fraudster then asks for help.

Everyone wants to be helpful and if the fraudster is pretending to be from the Police, they might want your help to catch a criminal or, if a bank official, they might be trying to find corrupt staff. In that situation, everyone would want to help, it’s in our nature to be helpful, but this is how we get sucked in.

Remember this is all on the phone where you can’t see the body language of the other person and they are relying on tone of voice and their questions being enticing.

Research Google on how to make a good sales’ call and it will give you lots of ideas of tactics they might use, which you can then use as tell-tale signs.

Here are some specific examples of what fraudsters might say:

Bank card expiry: Fraudsters claim to be from the victim’s bank and say their card is no longer valid. They ask for the pin number and then send a “courier” to collect the card before using it for fraudulent purposes.
Purchasing high end items: The fraudsters pretend to be Police Officers and ask the victim to help with an undercover operation by purchasing expensive items like watches, jewellery and gold. Once the item is bought, the fraudster will send a courier to collect the items.
Counterfeit cash/bank investigation: A person claiming to be a Police or banking official informs the victim that they need to help with a banking corruption investigation. The victim is told to withdraw a large amount of money and the cash is picked up later by a courier to “check for fingerprints” or to “identify counterfeit bank notes”.
Computer takeover: The fraudster telephones the victim, purporting to be from their internet service provider, saying that they have had an issue with their internet connectivity, and they are due compensation. The victim is persuaded to download a remote access application, giving the suspects access to their home computers. The fraudster persuades the victims into thinking that they have been paid too much compensation and the victims then withdraw cash to pay the money back, which is later collected by a courier.

Things to look out for:

Courier fraud usually starts with an unsolicited telephone call to the victim.
Typically, the fraudster will pose as a bank official or Police Officer, but it could also be a computer or utility engineer.
Courier fraudsters will usually request the victim purchases high value items such as Rolex watch and gold bullion, withdraws cash or provides a bank card for collection all of which will be collected by a “courier”.
Fraudsters will instruct victims to not tell any family or friends about what they are doing.
When carrying out courier fraud, criminals will request the victim hangs up the phone to ring their bank for confirmation while keeping the line open. The fraudster then purports to be a bank official and provides false confirmation.
Fraudsters will also make arrangements for a courier to meet the victim to collect the item they have purchased.

Finally, just to recap.

There are some simple steps that we can remember, banks or the Police:

Will never call to verify personal details.
They will not call and ask you for your pin.
They will not send a courier to collect your bank card.
Do not hand your bank card over to anyone or tell anyone your pin.
They will not ask you to purchase items for them.
Won’t tell you not to tell anyone including friends and family.

If you do want to make a call to verify them, follow these simple steps:

Do not use a number they have provided for you, do your own research, use a number you already have for your bank or call 101 for the Police.
If they called in on a landline, wait 5 – 10 minutes before you make your call and make sure you have a dial tone on the landline phone.
Use another phone such as your mobile phone or use a partner mobile.

Amazon Prime Day scams: what to look out for

Meadow Road Site Name

The Council have a field on Meadow Road (Point B on the map below) which has been partly planted with trees and partly left as wild meadow. It is suitable for dogs and walks but currently lacks a memorable name. There was a suggestion box for a suitable name on the Council stall at the Jubilee Picnic and we are now extending the invitation to all residents – please submit your suggestions to the Parish Council office via clerk@willinghamparishcouncil.gov.uk

SKM_C30822070709580 Download

Full Parish Council Meeting 6th July 2022

FPC A 20220706

Planning Meeting 28th June 2022

PLN A 20220628