serving the population of Willingham in Cambridgeshire
The Willingham Parish Council Office will be closed over the Christmas Period. It will be closing at 1pm on Wednesday 22nd December 2021 and reopening on Tuesday 4th January 2022 from 10am.
If over the Christmas period you have an urgent enquiry Councillors’ details can be found in the Willingham News and on the Parish Council website.
As part of our ongoing efforts to support local businesses to work through the challenges of COVID-19, please find below and attached information regarding recent legislation and guidance changes that may affect your business. This is all aimed at preventing the further spread of the pandemic.
Coronavirus: Enhanced Response Area
From 1st November 2021 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have moved into an “Enhanced Response Area” (ERA) due to the rising rate of COVID-19 infections particularly in our older population. This increase, coupled with low vaccination rates in some parts of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough means pressure is building on our local health services. This is exacerbated by increased levels of COVID-19 infections in the general population, and staff being unable to work because they are infected or isolating. If unchecked, this will also impact on health care for other non-Covid needs.
The Enhanced Response Area was originally due to end on 5 December 2021 but this has now been extended until 24 December 2021, when it will be reviewed again. Information regarding the Enhanced Response Area status can be found on our website.
A message from the Director of Public Health, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
Attached to this email is a message from Jyoti Atri, Director of Public Health, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, which provides an update on the current COVID-19 situation facing Cambridgeshire, as well as an overview of recent COVID-19 legislation changes. The message highlights key measures that can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in your workplace and also provides advice regarding Christmas events.
Prime Minister Briefing
As you may be aware, the Prime Minister held a press conference on 27 November 2021 in response to the news of a new COVID-19 variant (Omicron Variant). The announcement highlighted that additional COVID-19 controls were to be introduced, including changes to travel restrictions, face coverings and self-isolation. Details of the announcement can be found on the Government’s website.
Face coverings – legislation update
From Tuesday 30 November, new regulations require staff and customers to wear face coverings in certain types of businesses such as shops, banks, premises providing personal care and beauty treatments, takeaways without space for consumption of food or drink on the premises, public transport, etc. There are a number of exemptions to these requirements. For further details regarding which business types are affected by this change, the exemptions and advice about face coverings, please see the Government guidance Face coverings: when to wear one, exemptions, and how to make your own.
Settings in which face coverings are required must also display signage or take other measures to ensure customers are aware of the requirement to wear a face covering on their premises where there is no applicable exemption or reasonable excuse. To assist businesses with this requirement, the Government has designed template signage that can be used, available on the face coverings poster website or on the Omicron Social Media and Posters resources website.
Omicron Self-Isolation – legislation update
Changes have been made to self-isolation requirements. Anyone in England who is notified by NHS Test and Trace (or other specified bodies) that they are a close contact of a suspected, or confirmed, case of the Omicron variant will be legally required to self-isolate regardless of age or vaccination status. Guidance regarding self-isolation requirements can be found on the Government website.
Travel restrictions
From 7 December 2021, anyone aged 12 and over must show a negative PCR or lateral flow test result before travelling to England from abroad. The person must take the test in the two days before they travel to England. The person must also take a PCR test within two days of arriving and self-isolate until a negative test result is received, even if fully vaccinated. Check what you need to do to travel to England from another Country.
A number of countries and territories have been added to the Government’s red travel list, which places strict travel restrictions upon those who enter England from the affected areas. Information regarding the countries and territories can be found on the Government website.
For further updates regarding changes to legislation and guidance, COVID-19 and workplace controls see the Government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) website. Our South Cambridgeshire District Council website also provides useful information for businesses regarding COVID-19.
Willingham misses out in multi-million pound bus network proposal for Greater Cambridge – make your views known
The Greater Cambridge Partnership is running a survey on its proposals for “major improvements to our bus network through more frequent, more reliable services”, which actually leave Willingham worse off. We urge residents to complete the survey, available at www.greatercambridge.org.uk/making-connections-2021 before 20 December. The Parish Council has agreed the following statement:
The grand promises of a radically improved bus network do not appear to apply to Willingham. We are deemed worthy of 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 Cottenham, or to the sixth form colleges in Cambridge. Cottenham by contrast has a service to Cambridge every 10 minutes, with an express bus once an hour.
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. Willingham deserves better. We propose that to provide an adequate service, 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.
The full proposals are set out in the Consultation Brochure available at www.greatercambridge.org.uk/making-connections-2021. In his foreword the mayor states that ‘offering everyone in the county better choices for getting about is one of my foremost ambitions’.
The current 5 service is to be replaced by the circular hourly ‘rural’ route shown on the attached map that takes in Bar Hill, Boxworth, Papworth Everard, Fenstanton and Swavesey with no direct bus to Cambridge, and no link to Cottenham. We also lose the direct buses to and from the Cambridge Sixth Form Colleges. No ‘greener travel’ for Willingham residents.
The plans split the region into five areas, and Willingham falls under the Northstowe, St Ives and Bar Hill corridor.
The document states that improvements in this corridor would include:
There is no mention of Willingham at all!
If we compare this to the Waterbeach, Ely and Cottenham corridor we find that their high-frequency services include the following buses to Cambridge: every 15 minutes from Ely (which has a station), every 15 minutes from Waterbeach (which also has a station), and every 10 minutes from Cottenham, including an hourly express. If an aim is reducing pollution and carbon, duplicating a train route with a frequent bus service makes no sense.
So Cottenham will have a 10 minute service direct to Cambridge and Willingham an hourly indirect one, either with a change onto the busway at Longstanton, or change at Bar Hill. The most important destination is Cambridge, so we need a frequent link to the busway.
We propose that some buses are diverted off the busway to Willingham, as originally promised when the Busway was built. Alternatively a 10 or 15 minute feeder service should be provided.
There is also mention of services connecting rural areas, and if car journeys are to be reduced there is also a real need for a connection between Willingham and Cottenham, where there is a Village College that serves Willingham.
While the promise of lower fares is welcome, without better access to buses, it is meaningless.
The consultation also asks about how transport improvements should be funded, with three options, with pros and cons set out:
Again, if we do not have access to a good bus service, being charged to drive into Cambridge is extremely unfair.
Please find attachedroad closures information for w/c6 December in relation to the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme.
The planned extended closure of the B1514 Brampton Road on Sunday 5 has been delayed by one week and will now take place on Sunday 12 00:01 to 20:00. There will now be a closure on Saturday 4 between 8pm and 5am.
Our closures of the A14 eastbound between Ellington and Brampton Interchange are ‘tagging on’ to the end of another planned closure by our Operational colleagues which will start at Thrapston junction 13.
For the closures on the A1 northbound from Buckden roundabout, please note there will be an escort service available for those living in the properties on the A1 between Buckden roundabout and the Brampton village slip road.
For all queries relating to the scheme, please email: A14CambridgeHuntingdon@highwaysengland.co.uk
Updated 30 November 2021
Please use the link below to access Government advice on face masks. Face coverings: when to wear one, exemptions, and how to make your own – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Please see attached Christmas Tree Appeal for Arthur Rank Hospice.
Hospice needs volunteers, vans and van drivers to support Christmas Tree recycling scheme!
Arthur Rank Hospice Charity is asking the local community for their support with its annual Christmas Tree collection, sponsored by Cooke, Curtis & Co (Trumpington) and Cyber Business Growth (Royston). The ‘treasure hunt for trees’ will be taking place on Thursday 6, Friday 7, Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 January 2022.
It is the seventh year of the fundraising scheme which last year saw more than 2900 pre-loved trees collected and composted, raising over £54,000 for the Hospice’s vital frontline services! The scheme depends on a unique collaboration between the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity team, Just Helping, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire County Council, local businesses and scores of volunteers who generously donate their time.
This year’s recycling scheme covers the CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4, CB5, CB21, CB22, CB23 and CB24 postcodes. An additional area for this year will also be CB25 postcodes situated in Waterbeach. In exchange for taking away your tree, the Charity welcomes a donation to the Hospice.
The trees will be chipped at temporary drop off points and either used as mulch or chippings in the Hospice gardens, or at the drop off sites.
There is one element of the plan which still requires some extra support. Alison Pinney, Community Fundraiser explains:
“We are appealing for more volunteers who can drive (preferably their own van) and crew members, to help us this January so we can achieve our target. We will be running the scheme in line with the any current government guidelines, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our volunteers.”
If you, and/or someone you know, might be able to help, please contact the Hospice’s fundraising team on 01223 675888 or email christmastrees@arhc.org.uk. A video illustrating what is involved when you volunteer as a tree collector can be found on Arthur Rank Hospice Charity’s YouTube channel (short watch – 1 min 36 seconds).
If you live within the postcode areas listed and would like to register your tree for collection, we can do all the hard work for you! Visit arhc.org.uk/tree-recycling and register your tree to avoid awkward tree handling, needles in your car, queuing at the tip and petrol costs! Registrations close at 10am on 4 January 2022.
Ends
Photos 1-4: Volunteers assisting with last year’s Christmas Tree Recycling scheme, which raised over £54,000 for the Hospice’s vital frontline services! (Photo 1 is available in high resolution at: https://arthurrank.sharefile.eu/f/fo887c08-0c0b-4008-8b0c-6093ed7dfdab)
For further information, please contact:
Dawn Easby, Head of PR & Communications, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity
01223 675875 – dawn.easby@arhc.org.uk – 9.30am-7.30pm, Monday-Friday (excluding Wednesdays)
OR
Alison Pinney, Community Fundraiser, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity
01223 675888, christmastrees@arhc.org.uk, 9.00am-5.00pm, Monday-Friday
Notes to Editors:
The Hospice provides care and support to around 4,000 patients each year at the Hospice in Cambridge, the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre in Wisbech and in patients’ own homes via the Arthur Rank Community Team. This ‘Outstanding’ care supports people to improve their quality of life and fulfil their end of their life choices.
Alongside the care provided by the Inpatient Unit, Living Well services and Hospice at Home teams, patients can access: patient and family support (including counselling, bereavement and spiritual support); lymphoedema care; complementary therapy; medical and pain outpatient clinics; and advice from the clinical nurse specialists within the Specialist Palliative Care Home Team. In recent years the Charity has also launched a transitioning young adults programme supporting people as they move from children to adult services, a Caring Communities initiative to help reduce isolation and the Palliative Care Hub, which is a phone line operated via the 111 service for anyone who needs specialist palliative care advice or support.
Programmes are practical, holistic and tailored to the individual patient, family member or carer. Depending on need, length of support can vary from a matter of hours to a period of years and may also include rehabilitative support, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological support.
2. It will cost £10.5 million in 2021/2022 to run services, which are provided free of charge to patients and their loved ones. Contracted services from the NHS are budgeted at £6.98 million, meaning that £3.52 million needs to be raised through donations, fundraising activities and trading. The Charity is extremely grateful to the local community for the continual dedication, commitment and generosity they show in supporting towards meeting this target.
For further information, please visit arhc.org.uk
Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) is the single most important thing you can do to improve the security of your online accounts. What is 2FA? Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a way of strengthening the login security of your online accounts. It’s similar to how an ATM works. You need both your debit card (first factor) and your PIN (second factor) to get access your account and withdraw cash. The main objective is better security. If your card is stolen, they still need your PIN. If your PIN is stolen, they still need your card. Enabling 2FA will help to stop hackers from getting into your accounts, even if they have your password. How do I enable 2FA on my accounts? Here are links you can use to enable 2FA on some of the most popular online services and apps: Gmail Yahoo Outlook AOL Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn For more of the government’s latest advice on how to stay secure online, visit the Cyber Aware website: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware Thanks for reading! If you found this information useful, please help us spread the word by forwarding this information to your friends. |
Please see attached the Road Safety Education Newsletter “Way to Go”.