Author: Clerk

Dog Fouling

The Parish Council has welcomed the use of the area immediately around the Ploughman Hall and car park for residents to exercise their dogs, particularly those residents who need a central place to park and somewhere to throw a ball etc.  Unfortunately, it has been noted that a lot of dog mess has been left in the area.  This is both unpleasant and potentially harmful to other users.  It is a popular area used by residents, especially children and the Council would request that if you do wish to exercise your dog in this area, that you clear up after them.

Sadly, the Recreation Ground is also being used by dog walkers who seem intent on leaving their dog mess for someone else to clear up. As the signage clearly states, dogs are NOT allowed on the Recreation Ground and the Council would request that residents refrain from walking dogs in this area at all.

South Cambs Update –

Assistance for those affected by the war in Ukraine – 3 March 2022

Dear volunteer coordinators, parish councillors and Members

As we watch the terrible events in Ukraine unfold, our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. The horrors of war, as shown in the photographs and videos on the news media, is impossible to overstate. The Council has pledged to support people fleeing the Ukraine and is calling for a national resettlement programme to be set up by the Government so that this can happen. Councillors have said that the Council will play their part and work to identify local homes for refugees leaving the warzone if needed. You can read the Council’s position in full here: pledge to support people fleeing Ukraine.

We hear and empathise with the anxiety and concern of residents who want to do something to help those affected and we want to help by signposting people who wish to offer support in response to the humanitarian crisis.

Donations

Local organisation Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action – which ordinarily works to take regular convoys of donated items to refugees in Calais – has advised that it is NOT currently collecting items for Ukraine. They suggest instead that donations of money is a much more effective way of helping the aid organisations that are working in the region.

In line with this recommendation, the Local Government Association (LGA) has provided Councils with this link to BBC News online where it suggests people should direct their support to organisations including:

  • The British Red Cross, which has launched an appeal to help the Ukrainian Red Cross to provide food, medicine, clothing and shelter, as well as first aid training in bomb shelters, and drinking water to villages in eastern Ukraine
  • The UNHCR refugee agency, which is funding emergency shelters, repairs for homes damaged by shelling, emergency cash assistance, psychological support and warm clothing
  • UNICEF, the UN’s children’s charity, which is helping to ensure families have clean water and food and that child health and protection services continue
  • Save the Children, which is providing cash assistance, food and other support to refugees crossing into Romanian and Lithuania, as well as in Ukraine itself.

Additionally, the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, has suggested donating money through the Ukrainian Embassy’s With Ukraine fund. The money will be spent on providing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population and to purchase medical and military supplies for Ukraine’s army.

You may also have seen overnight that the UK Government has committed to matching the donations made by people in the UK to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which similarly provides food, water, shelter, healthcare and protection to people fleeing Ukraine.

Misinformation

In addition to donating, another practical thing that we can all do is to be careful not to unwittingly distribute misinformation or propaganda about the situation by sharing articles, images or videos that we see online which are fake or misleading. The Full Fact organisation has some useful tips on how to spot false information online and sharing these tips within our communities can help. Here are links to their posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Please note that this information was collated on Thursday 3 March 2022. Due to the fast-changing nature of the situation, it is clearly not possible to create an exhaustive list of the organisations supporting the local and national effort. If there are significant changes, we will share the information via social media or with another Community Update.

Living with Covid

Update from SCDC 21st February 2022

21 February 2022

With restrictions coming to an end in England, residents in Cambridgeshire are being encouraged to make the most of the spring and summer while continuing good hygiene practices which will help protect themselves and others from serious illness.

After a tremendously difficult two years there will be relief for many that life can return to normal, but local health chiefs are reminding residents that there are people with underlying conditions who are at risk of severe illness from COVID.

There are also still concerns that the protection offered by the vaccine could wane and dangerous new variants could appear, while the chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Adults and Health Committee has also expressed concern about the reduction in testing and is calling for continued vigilance by local people.

For these reasons, local health chiefs have outlined a list of simple and easy to follow measures to help keep everyone as safe as possible from catching the virus and potentially becomingly seriously ill.

The measures include:

  • Avoid going to the workplace (work from home if possible) or meeting other people, if you have symptoms
  • Please continue testing over the next month as case rates are high in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough especially if you are visiting vulnerable people or have symptoms
  • Making sure indoor spaces are well ventilated (for example, by opening a window) and that there is an efficient flow of people in and out
  • Letting people know they can use face coverings or screens if that is what they wish to do
  • Regular hand washing and use of hand sanitiser which will help combat the spread of Covid as well as other infections
  • Continuing regular cleaning of surfaces
  • Getting two doses of a Covid vaccine, and the booster.

Jyoti Atri, director of public health at Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, said: “It has been a long and painful two years, so it is only right that after all the sacrifices made people make the most of the spring and summer months.

“At the moment, due to the vaccine, Covid is not causing the level of harm that we have seen with previous waves, although it is still a risk to vulnerable people and we need to be prepared if this situation changes due to immunity waning or a new and dangerous variant.”

Cllr Richard Howitt, chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Adults and Health Committee, said: “I remain concerned that the impact of reduced testing could jeopardise the progress made and make it more difficult to identify new variants. The scientific evidence to support these decision has not been published in advance.

“I hope local people will choose to continue to isolate where they have symptoms, use face masks and take-up all opportunities for vaccination. The county council is deeply grateful to all our staff, the volunteers and local residents who have helped us get to this stage and we ask for continued vigilance by all of us to continue.”

Further information on the Government announcement can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-living-with-covid-19

Anyone yet to get both doses of a Covid vaccine, or their booster, can find out where they can jabbed at: https://www.thevaccinators.co.uk/.

Details on how to obtain lateral flow tests can be found at: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19-rapid-community-testing.

South Cambridgeshire District Council green bin collections

South Cambridgeshire District Council green bin collections: As we catch-up on collections in the district, we’re aware there were some streets in your area we didn’t reach last Saturday. However, we are planning to collect from these missed areas this Saturday

Please check the service announcements page at https://www.scambs.gov.uk/recycling-and-bins/bin-collection-service-announcements/ 

for further updates. It also includes answers to common queries we are receiving about green bin collections.

Catch-up collection for green bins this Saturday

Willingham’s missed green bin collections will be collected on Saturday (26 February) as part of the Council’s ‘catch-up’ collection rounds. Therefore please do bring in your green bins for the next couple of days. The green bins will need to be out by 6am on Saturday to be collected in the catch-up collections. Blue and black collections are not affected by this additional catch up collection for green bins.

A14 C 2 H Road Closures week commencing 21st February 2022

A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: major improvements
We are currently carrying out finishing works for which we need to close lanes or
carriageways on the A1, A14 and some local roads at times, usually overnight
between 9pm and 6am, unless otherwise stated. A clearly signed diversion route will
always be in place for closures.
For this week, the planned closures are:
Full closures
Saturday 26 8am to 5pm
• B1514 Brampton Road between Scholars Avenue and Edison Bell Way
Vehicles on the Huntingdon town centre side will be diverted onto the ring
road, St Peters Road to A141 west to Brampton / Brampton Racecourse
junction and into Brampton via B1514.
Vehicles on the Brampton side of the closure will follow this diversion in
reverse.
Pedestrian access will be maintained via the footpath.
For more information about this scheme, visit https://nationalhighways.co.uk/ourwork/a14-cambridge-to-huntingdon/