Author: Clerk

A14 – Time Saving Robot

Time-saving road marking robot makes it a happy new year for driversJANUARY 2, 2020

Image shows robot that helps to mark out where white lines are needed

A clever little robot is saving drivers on England’s busiest roads from hundreds of hours of disruption.

The quirky machine uses precise positioning technology to mark out where white lines need to be painted on new or resurfaced roads.

The robot has already saved hundreds of hours of working time on various Highways England projects across the country, including Britain’s biggest road upgrade, the £1.5 billion A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme.

It also recently pre-marked eight miles of the M6 in Staffordshire in four hours. This work would usually take two engineers over a week to complete.

Savings elsewhere include saving 27 hours of working time marking three miles of hard shoulder on the M4 in Berkshire, 77 hours covering five miles of the M6 in Warwickshire, and six hours working on two miles of the M1 in Leicestershire, with further work done on the M60 smart motorway at Manchester.

Besides helping drivers, it also has safety benefits for roadworkers and enables them to focus on completing other essential work on each project.

Julian Lamb, construction director on the A14 where the robot has been used, said:

“We’re always looking at innovative new ways of working, which can help road users, and make our projects more efficient while supporting improved engineering. With safety our top priority, the time savings the robot can provide, coupled with removing our operatives from a potentially hazardous situation, make it a great solution.

“We’ve also been working with a self-driving dumper truck on the project, completing trials of these new technologies to help Highways England more deliver its ambitious programme of roads improvement quickly, safely and efficiently. These technologies are also supporting new jobs, with the engineers of tomorrow needing to learn new skills such as programming this autonomous equipment.”

Ordinarily, pre-marking road markings is a time-consuming job, calculating the positioning of the markings and walking several miles to spray or chalk them on the road. By using the robot, road workers spend far less time in the road and are at less risk of an accident – around 250 drivers illegally drive into roadworks every month, putting workers’ lives at risk. Bending down to pre-mark roads by hand can also raise the risk of back injuries. The robot also boasts improved accuracy and can mark the road faster.

The robot has been so successful, specialist contractor WJ, who adopted the technology for it to complete the pre-marking, has now invested in a second one to help complete more of its work. By completing roadworks faster, the robot will help contribute to the goals of reducing congestion, improving journey times, and supporting economic growth, while cost savings can be used to provide more or better-quality road-building materials.

Wayne Johnston, WJ Group Managing Director, said:

“I am passionate about changing the way we work in this industry and the WJ Robotic PreMarker represents a real step change. However, it is just a starting point, we will continue to invest in research and development to find better, more efficient and safer ways of working.”

The 12-mile Huntingdon Southern Bypass, which makes up around two thirds of the A14 upgrade, opened a year early, in December. Work on the rest of the project, between Swavesey and Milton, continues and is on schedule to completed as planned by December 2020.

Highways Event Diary – January 2020

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Welcome to January’s Highway Events Diary which highlights all known events that will have an impact or take place upon the public highway. The diary features events across Cambridgeshire and you are able to sort and filter the diary to show events in your immediate area by using the down arrow in the title bar.

2020 Highlights

18th January, Whittlesey Straw Bear Procession. The annual festival returns for its 41st year, with a procession and other attractions to tempt visitors. Although the festival covers the weekend, road closures will be in place all day on the 18th, so please bear this in mind when planning your journey.

8th March, Cambridge Half Marathon. The popular running event returns, taking in the scenery of central Cambridge. Please note that the route has changed slightly this year. Road closures will be in place for the event, so please bear this in mind if you are planning on visiting Cambridge. *Please remember details of all highway events can be found on https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/highway-events/

Greater Cambridge Local Plan – The First Conversation

Greater Cambridge Local Plan: The First Conversation

Ever walked past a building and wondered how it got planning permission? Worried about climate change and how we are going to adapt? Trying to buy a house and finding it really difficult?

The Council’s Local Plan is the document that shapes our area’s future and answers these big questions. It covers the key themes of climate change, biodiversity and green spaces, wellbeing and social inclusion, and great places. It will affect what kind of new homes get built and where, where businesses can grow and how buildings, streets and spaces should be designed. As a result, the Local Plan affects all of us – yet most people have never even heard of it.

But things are changing and we want you to be a part of it.

For the first time ever, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council are preparing a joint Local Plan for the Greater Cambridge area: and this time we want to do better than ever before at working with you all to make it happen.

We will be starting a big conversation with the community, with many different ways to get involved, online and offline, on Monday 13 January. Please look out for more information nearer the time, and get in touch at www.greatercambridgeplanning.org

Help shape our future together!

Works and events in and around Willingham 16th – 31st December 2019

Please find attached the roadworks bulletin, detailing works and events that are due to start between 16th – 31st  December 2019.

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Just a reminder that this only includes works that are due to start between 16th – 31st  December and longer term works that are still in progress will have been included on previous reports. Alternatively please refer to https://one.network/ which will include details on emergency roadworks.

Newsletter November 2019

New Councillors

Three casual vacancies arising from the resignations of previous councillors were filled at the November meeting. As there were more applicants than positions, there was a rather complicated voting procedure but eventually Kay Cook, Valerie McKee and Barry Todd were selected to join the council. Our thanks to all who volunteered and a warm welcome to the new councillors.

Northstowe Governance Review Drop-In

As the community at Northstowe grows, so South Cambridgeshire District Council is required to carry out a Governance Review to consider future governance arrangements. The Civic Affairs Committee has now commenced the Northstowe boundary review. A drop-in session has been arranged on Saturday 30 November, 11 am to 1 pm in the Ploughman Hall. Liz Davey, the Development Officer, and your District Councillors will be on hand to help residents understand the review process and timescale and to answer any questions you may have.

Christmas Tree

For the last two years the Christmas tree on the Green has been kindly donated by Mr A Coe. Unfortunately, this year the uncertainty over Brexit has meant that large trees are in short supply and Mr Coe has been unable to obtain one. We are aware how much villagers appreciate having a tree and the council decided to purchase one for installation on the Green this season which will be decorated once more with the new lights.

Orchard Dog Walking

A new fence has been installed alongside the B1050 to make the Community Orchard secure for dogs. We are investigating whether we can have a new dog bin installed by the Orchard but until then would ask dog owners to be considerate of others sharing the area when walking their animals. Flat Road bridle path is adjacent to the Orchard and provides over a kilometre of safe grassland where dogs can run, should more vigorous exercise be required.

Willingham Youth Trust

After the conversion of a storage area and unused upper floor of the Ploughman Hall into a Youth Centre, the Youth Trust took over the building and now runs an extremely successful Youth Club on Wednesday evenings open to all and free to children. This has been a tremendous effort by the Trustees and has been entirely self-funded for the last four years, but they now feel that to keep the sessions sustainable into the future, they need support from the Parish Council. We agreed that this is a worthwhile expenditure and will provide £6,000 for 2020/2021 for the Connections Bus Project staff. This and the lease would be reviewed annually.

BT Phone Box

The phone box on Station Road by the Willingham Wing bus stop has not been operational for some time and, even before it fell into disrepair, had only made a single call in over a year. Under a BT scheme, local authorities can adopt unwanted phone boxes and convert them for new uses. The Council had already decided to provide a third defibrillator for this area of the village and has now agreed to adopt the phone box, refurbish it and use it to house the defibrillator.

Bus Survey

We wrote to our MP (Lucy Frazer at the time) in response to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s strategic bus review. Ms Frazer has replied that the Authority has now commissioned a six week survey which can be accessed at www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/FutureBus/ or over the phone on 07377 001512 (9 am – 5 pm, Monday – Friday). ‘Have your say on our future public transport network. Tell us what matters to you about improving local bus services.’