News

Three cars damaged

Three cars were damaged in Hauxton Road, Little Shelford on Christmas Eve. The vandals jumped on the roof of one car, and a brick was thrown at two others at the same location.

Little Shelford house prices up 13% in 2015

House price in Little Shelford have increased by more than 13% in the last year according to property website Zoopla.

The average price paid for a house in the village in 2015 was £613,333, up 13.23% on a year ago. This was an increase of £83,305.

The current average house value in Little Shelford is £712,807.

Wale Recreation Ground Access from Courtyards 24 Hour Closure 2015

Little Shelford is the only Village in South Cambridgeshire that still owns its own recreation ground, in our case the Wale Recreation Ground which was given to us by the Wale family. In order to preserve and protect the Parish Councils rights over the Wale Recreation ground, foot access from Courtyards must be prevented for one day each year.

In 2015 the access gate from Courtyards will be locked from midnight on Thursday 24th December 2015 until midnight on Friday 25th December 2015

(Christmas Day).

If you have any questions about access to the Wale Recreation ground you can contact the following members of the Parish Council:

David Martin - 845995

David Jones - 847213

Little Shelford Parish Council

1st December 2015

www.littleshelford.com

PAVILION ART GROUP

Fancy something arty and different for the New Year? Then why not join our watercolour group for the spring term (18 January-14 March) on Mondays 10.00 a.m.-12.00 noon. Or if you have any experience or interest in photography, publishing and editorial work we are looking for someone to join our team compiling an historic record of the village.

To sign up for the term or to find out more, please contact Victor Franklin, tel. 01223 842276, email victorfranklin123@btinternet.com

Petition for more lights

People power has failed to get a lamp post restored in Beech Close.

Little Shelford lost 26 of its 102 street lights as part of the changes earlier this year by Balfour Beattie. Parish Council complaints were dismissed.

However Steve Clements from Beech Close collected a petition of more than 50 signatures complaining about the changes on safety grounds. His petition was presented to Cambridgeshire's Highways Committee on December 1st when he demanded that at least one of the lights be reinstated.

"Little Shelford lost 25% of its lights, far more than the 10% predicted which isn't fair and I will be supporting the petition," said Councy Councillor Tony Orgee.

However the committee turned down the request.

"We tried, and we are somewhat disappointed, " said Steve.

Beetles cause football cancellation

The Wale Recreation Ground could be infected by Chafer Beetles. They have already caused one football game to be called off.

Chafer beetle larvae dig down deeper after frosts come in November. Apparently crows typically go for these beetles and dig up gradd and mud to get at the beetles.

One Shelford and Stapleford strikers under 8 match had to be postponed recently as the opposition deemed the pitch to be unsafe due to the turf having been dug up.

The Parish Council agreed at its meeting on November 23 to carry out an urgent investigation.

Speed limit change

The speed limit between Little Shelford and Hauxton is likely to be reduced to 40mph.

The limit is currently 60mph between the two villages.

There are concerns that traffic is going to fast when it enters both villages because of the current 60mph limit.

The two Parish Councils are putting in a joint bid to get the speed limit for the stretch of road reduced in 2016.

Green bin collection changes

As last year, green bin collections in Little Shelford will be changing to monthly over the winter as far less compostable waste is put out for collection.

Monthly collections will start at the end of November, returning to fortnightly in March for the rest of the year. The dates are:

Monday, 9 November, 2015

Monday, 23 November, 2015

Monday, 7 December, 2015

Tuesday, 5 January, 2016

This is the state of the gutter in Whittlesford Road. The Parish Council has complained about the issue at its meeting in September. The county council and the district council are now deciding who is going to clear the weeds away

These are photos of the rubbish dumped in Bradmere Lane. They include wrappers from Annabelle's Sandwich Bar in Hills Road and Upper Crusts Catering. The illegal dumping has been reported to South Cambridgeshire Council by the Parish Council.

Shelford Guides under threat of closure

Shelford Guides could close unless they urgently find a new leader. The fun, adventure and opportunities that Guides provides for girls aged 10-14 years, are there in abundance for the adults too! No previous experience required; training can be provided. To find out more, please contact Lisa MacGregor (lisa.macgregor@ntlworld.com; 01223 843021) or visit www.girlguiding.org.uk.

Girl injured by fellow cyclist

A 13 year old girl was knocked off her bike by another cyclist during a protest cycle staged to show how unsafe the route from the Shelfords to Sawston Village College is.

The Year 8 pupil was hit by an adult cyclist, who then launched a verbal tirade against the girl, as she rode with about 50 pupils and parents from Stapleford to Sawston Village College on May 22, acccording to witnesses.

The mass walk and cycle was held to highlight the dangers of the route after the council axed free school bus services from Stapleford and the Shelfords to the school from September.

Cambridgeshire County Council says the route is now safe for pedestrians for cyclists – a claim many parents, pupils and teachers strongly disagree with.

Stijn van Dongen, a parent who saw the incident, said the cyclist "clattered” into a girl. “The speed at which he was cycling was far greater than the girl's speed. Both fell to the ground.

"Immediately after picking himself up he started vehemently telling the girl that she was in the wrong side of the path and the cause for this collision

The girl needed first aid treatment at the school and the man is believed to have suffered a grazed elbow.

Tony Orgee, a Conservative county councillor for the Shelfords Sawston, said he is coming down on the parents' side in the campaign, who are appealing against the decision of the Tory council's officers.

A spokesman for the council said they would not comment before the appeal hearings on June 16, when the safety arguments will be heard.

See the full story in the Cambridge News.

Little Shelford lighting changes

These are the lighting changes that are currently proposed for Little Shelford. The Parish Council is currently campaigning to protect the lights in Beech Close, Courtyards and Netwon Road.

Beech Close – 6 lights reduced to 4

Newton Rd – 6 lights reduced to 4

Courtyards - 9 lights reduced to 8

Hauxton Rd – 24 lights reduced to 18

High St – 21 lights reduced to 15 (9 removed & 3 new ones added)

Bridge Lane – 8 lights reduced to 6 (5 removed & 3 added)

Church St – 8 lights reduced to 6 (5 removed & 3 added)

Whittlesford Rd – 19 lights reduced to 13 (9 removed & 3 added)

You can also see the detailed plans here.

http://www.lightingcambridgeshire.com/new-lighting-programme.htm

You can send your feedback to enquiries@lightingcambridgeshire.com or ring 0800 783 8247

Plans for new homes thrown out

Plans to demolish a house in Church Street and replace it with 2 new homes have been rejected by planners at South Cambridgeshoire Council following a campaign by local residents

They threw out the plans because of the "serious impact" on the adjacent houses and the fact that the development would mean the removal of a Birch tree.

14% of cars speeding in Little Shelford says survey

The Parish Council has kicked off an anti-speeding campaign in Little Shelford.

In the first survey on May 8th, 10 cars out of the 71 checked on Whittlesford Road were exceeding the 30mph speed limit.

They will now receive a Police warning about speeding through the village. More speed checks will be carried out in the next month.

Shelfords result for South Cambridgeshire Council elections

The Shelfords and Stapleford

Turnout – 75.85%

Shelford School bus service under threat

The free bus service for pupils of Sawston Village College from Great Shelford, Little Shelford and Stapleford is being withdrawn if the pupil lives within 3 miles of the College. This involves around 180 pupils.

Parents can appeal (before 11th May) and a hearing will be held on the 16th June. Thereis no formal process by which other interested parties can put their view forward. However parents can present evidence of support and this can be a statement (which must be in place 5days before the hearing).

Sawston Village College has come out against the proposals; Principal Jonathan Culpin said; "While the College understands that the County Council needs to find substantial savings to its budget, we are opposed to this decision on the grounds that the route to and from the College is not sufficiently safe at key points to cater for the large number of pupils who will be affected by this decision. Furthermore, while we anticipate the vast majority of pupils will walk or cycle, we are also concerned by the potential for increased traffic along New Road at the beginning and end of the school day, increasing congestion and the risk of an accident. "

Great Shelford Parish Council has come out against the changes. This is their statement:

Great Shelford Parish Council whilst understanding the need for the Local Authority to reduce costs considers that the existing school bus service should be retained.

The Parish Council considers the route to be unsafe and that the recent re-assessment by an officer from the Road Safety Serviced is unsound.

The concerns the Parish Council have are:

1. The “traffic light island central reservation” is inadequate (not railed)

2. The “traffic light island central reservation” is not big enough to accommodate large numbers of people at the peak times.

3. The speed limit of 50mph from the “Stapleford Bridge” to the crossing is too high.

4. There is a “narrow pavement / cycle way” in front on the cottage as you approach the bridge at Stapleford when travelling from Sawston, this was a potential accident spot especially if the number of people using it increased substantially at peak times (eg pupils would bunch)

5. The route under the Stapleford bridge is unlit and provides opportunities for criminal activities.

6. The route under the bridge is subject to flooding.

7. The route along “Cambridge Road” after the lights approaching the College, which is open to the elements,is unlit and the cycleway is narrow and in need of repair.

Little Shelford hustings

There was standing room only when Little Shelford hosted its first ever General Election hustings at the Village Hall on April 23. All 5 candidates for the South Cambtridgeshire seat answered questions from the 85-strong audience.

Save Great Shelford library update

Over 100 people from the Shelfords and the surrounding villages crowded into Great Shelford Memorial Hall on April 21 to express their concern about the future of Great Shelford Library. The Library Service is faced with a 40% funding cut from 2016, as part of Cambs County Council budget cuts, and in January 2015 County Councillors voted unanimously in favour of accepting the service’s “Vision” for the future of library services in the county, with details to be provided later in the summer.There may be no funding to continue to run staffed branch libraries such as Great Shelford. Possible alternatives which the vision document presents include village libraries wholly run by volunteers, or a move to “community hubs” – multi-user centres housing services such as GP surgeries, Children’s Services, or Post Offices, with a volunteer-run library. Another strand, “Digital first”, aims at providing more material digitally and less in hard copy, reducing the need for readers to physically visit libraries. Mike Roe, Chairman of the Library Friends Committee which organized the meeting, introduced the meeting: “I think it’s tragic that our library, which is acknowledged by the Service itself to be one of the most successful, with the highest book borrowing figures in the smaller library category and with a librarian of the highest standard, must radically restructure to continue to exist at all”.

Alan Lyne, Friends Committee treasurer, outlined some of the proposals. Of the volunteer-run option, he commented:

“It’s us taking responsibility for resourcing and funding the library going forward - are we prepared for that responsibility?

"Shelford is not your average village library, we’re the busiest in South Cambs – we couldn’t run it as it is with volunteers. Shelford is a special case!”.

Concern was expressed that Shelford library was too small to function as a hub. Who would wish to share the limited space in the library and how would it work?

Speaker after speaker expressed their enthusiasm for the library. There is no doubt that Shelford library is a very popular and well-used resource, of great value to the local community. There was a strong consensus to defend the library against further cuts.

The Library Service is currently consulting on its Library Vision, and a consultation document can be found on the County Council website

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/info/20130/news_and_events_in_libraries/570/library_services_developing_our_approach_for_the_future.

Closing date is 10 May. Everyone is urged to comment.

Little Shelford burglary

There was a burglary between April 10 and April 14 in High Street, Little Shelford.

Entry was gained by forcing a ground floor window, and an external light was damaged.

An untidy search has taken place and items removed.

New SSYI Youth Development Worker

Ollie Leonard is the new Youth Development Worker for the Shelford and Stapleford Youth Initiative. His role is to oversee the youth provision in the Shelfords, Stapleford and Sawston. Romsey Mill is an organisation that is based in Cambridge City that does fantastic work with children, families and young people and has partnered up with SSYI. He is a professional JNC accredited Youth Worker and studied BA Hons in Youth Work and Ministry at Oasis College. Previously, he had been working in a village in Northern Ireland as their Outreach Worker in a numerically thriving youth centre and my role was to engage those hard to reach young people and those individuals who were not engaging with the youth provision. Before he took this post, he had been working in Croydon as the Lead Youth Worker in a local secondary school responding to the 2011 riots, where he pioneered the youth work within the school, and in the wider community. In addition to these, he had delivered youth work in Tonbridge and Grimsby. "I am very excited to be working in the Shelfords, Stapleford and Sawston as there is great support in these communities to provide effective youth provision for their emotional, social and spiritual support that will help young people recognise their true worth and encourage young people towards their fullest potential," he said.

"I am someone that is community focused and really values working with other individuals, organisations and families, therefore, if you wish to contact me for anything at all or have any specific questions about SSYI, please do not hesitate to contact me. My details are ollie.leonard@romseymill.org or 07768 545915."

Little Shelford shed burglaries

There have been several shed burglaries in Little Shelford.

Two separate shed burglaries were reported in High Street, Little Shelford. These occurred overnight on Sunday 29th March. The thieves forced open the shed doors and gained entry. Nothing appears to have been stolen at either location.

Another shed burglary happened in High Street between Monday 6th April and Saturday 11th April. The thief damaged a lock to a stable used as a shed and gained entry. Nothing was stolen.

Election candidates

There are 5 people who are standing in the General Election for the South Cambridgeshire seat on May 7 to replace former MP Andrew Lansley. You can question them all at special Little Shelford hustings at the village hall on April 23 at 7.30pm

And there are 4 candidates for the Shelford and Stapleford seat in the South Cambridgeshire District Council elections on the same day.

31 bus changes

The No 31 Bus Service which travels through Little Shelford is being re tendered with some changes to the route & times.

The main changes are that it will keep to one route ie via Stapleford & Hinton Way and the journies via Trumpington will go. Also apart from the first run into Cambridge in the morning & the last two in the afternoon/evening, all other journeys will terminate at Addenbrookes. This will mean that there will be one additional journey each way late morning between Addenbrookes & Fowlmere. With frequent other bus services from Addenbrookes into City Centre a change of bus here should only result in a short wait.

As at the time of writing the start date is not finalised but it is expected to be in June. The operator has not yet been confirmed.

See the new Little Shelford bus timetable here

Little Shelford man jailed

A Little Shelford man has been jailed after causing a collision that left a man losing his leg.

Keith Davies of Beech Close, Little Shelford was jailed for 15 months following the incident in May 2014.

Read the full story in the Cambridge news.

Little Shelford break-in

Outbuildings at a house in Church Street, Little Shelford were broken into between March 29 and 30th. Outbuildings were targeted and several locks broken but nothing was taken.

Less lights for Little Shelford

Little Shelford will have 7 less streetlights under changes happening in the summer.

The lamp posts are being replaced by Balfour Beatty. The Parish Council was told the village will lose 7 street lights from Beech Close, Courtyards and Newton Road.

Parish Councillors raised concerns about removing lamps from Newton Road as it is a traffic route and very dark. Balfour Beatty agreed to double-check these proposals.

Leaflets and letters with a free phone number will be sent to all residents. The work is done in 3 stages – New columns installed close to existing ones – UKPN team connect the power – old column removed and ground filled. The work is due to start on May 11.

Read about the rest of the Little Shelford Parish Council meeting here.

"Nightmare" traffic problems predicted

Traffic in Little Shelford is going to get even worse for 10 weeks this summer – because of building work in Hauxton.

A new entrance to the housing development at the former Bayer Chemical site on the A10 is taking place in the spring. Temporary traffic lights will be in place for the 10 weeks when the work will be taking place.

County Councillor Tony Orgee told the Little Shelford Parish Council meeting in March that this would lead to more commuters rat-running through Little Shelford and Great Shelford.

“This is going to be a nightmare,” he said.

• • Four block of flats might be built on the former chemical plant. This site has planning permission for about 250 houses and Redrow have now put in an application for four large blocks of flats.

• A new planning application has been submitted to build 32 homes and create a country park on the former waste treatment facility at Cambridge Road in Hauxton.

Heroes & Villains Weekend

Wale Recreation Ground

Friday 4th – Sunday 6th September 2015

Heroes & Villains Dinner Dance - Friday 4th

Sumptuous meal, bar, music, dancing, charity auction, “Heroes & Villains” fancy dress competition. All in the Marquee on the Wale.

Over 18’s only and tickets available from 13th July.

Advance table bookings taken for Little Shelford villagers: e-mail Liz Carrothers(lizcarrothers@icloud.com) or call Liz on Cambridge 956747.

Heroes & Villains Fun Afternoon - Saturday 5th

Join us from 1pm to 5pm for family fun and games. BBQ all afternoon, village stalls for all ages. Lots to do from 1pm so why not join us for lunch?

FREE ENTRY

All Saints Harvest Celebration - Sunday 6th at 11am in the Marquee

All ages welcome, there will be songs and celebration for harvest. Non-perishable gifts will be collected for Jimmy’s night shelter. Join us after the service for tea, coffee, cake and conversation. Then stay for........

Heroes & Villains Musical Picnic Finale 1pm

Bring your picnic, family and friends to an afternoon of live music and enjoy the late summer sunshine. FREE ENTRY.

Please come along and support us in bringing the villagers of Lt Shelford, their friends and families together for fun and friendship.

We are fund raising for our village.

For more information, offers of help or other questions contact:

Gail Pilkington on Cambridge 840581 (gailpi@mac.com)

Playground consultation

Thank you to everyone who came to support the playground consultation day on March 8. We had a great turn out and was brilliant to see everyone so enthusiastic and interested in the new ideas for the improvement to the playground. We will be keeping you posted on the progress on this website, however if you do have any questions/suggestions/ideas please do contact susannahmanning@googlemail.com.

Two casual vacancies in Little Shelford

Little Shelford Parish Council has two vacancies. As an election has not been requested the council intends to fill the vacancies by co-option.

Public elections cannot be held until the May 2016 but for the interim period election to the Council will be voted for by the present Councillors.

The Parish Council would like to invite applications from people who are interested in serving the community and who care about what happens in Little Shelford.

Any person wishing to serve as a Councillor should write to or email the Clerk giving details of interests, experience and reasons for wishing to serve.

Closing date: Saturday 14th March 2015

To qualify, a person must be a British, Commonwealth, Irish or EU citizen, over 18 years old. They must be either in the register of electors for Little Shelford or has during the whole of the preceding twelve months, occupied land as owner or tenant, had a principal place of work there, or re

sided in or within 3 miles of it.

Further details of eligibility, vacancy procedures, guidance on being a Parish Councillor are all available from the Clerk

Penny Tanna, Clerk to Little Shelford Parish Council

Littleshelfordparishclerk@aol.com

Squirrels Leap, Kings Mill Lane, Great Shelford, CB22 5EN

Tel: 07921 139406

Little Shelford kitten rescue

A kitten called Gandalf was rescued by fireman after getting stuck on a roof Little Shelford.

Gandalf, who was recovering from an operation, had been stuck on the steep roof overnight.

Specially trained firefighters used working at height kit and equipment to rescue the cat and return it to its owner.

Gold chain found at park

A gold chain has been found in the Wale Recreation Ground. The chain has a cross with green spots and red flowers. If it is your chain please call at 26 Whittlesford Road.

Can you help slow down traffic in Little Shelford?

Do you want to help slow down traffic in Little Shelford as part of the Speedwatch scheme. Anyone who wishes to take part and be trained (takes under 2 hours for the training) by the Police contact Mary Palazzo at mary.palazzo@btconnect.com Volunteers can commit to as little or as much time as they wish. This is really the best way to address the speeding issues that so many residents are rightly concerned about. And we get a high vis uniform, so who could resist?

Mary Palazzo

Little Shelford Parish Council

Parish Council update

The Parish Council’s share of the council tax bills will not rise this year. The Council decided at its meeting on February 2 not to increase its budget which will remain £27,900.

The new pavilion is due to be completed in February. The overall budget will be around £380,000. The Parish Council has agreed to additional expenditure on reducing the height of the wall at the entrance to improve safety. The entrance to the Rec will also now be re-surfaced. However, the council decided not to spend any more money on the trackway between the gate and the pavilion at this stage.

Lamp posts in the village are being replaced in May and June. Following issues in Great Shelford, the Parish Council is asking contractors Balfour Beattie to come to the March parish council meeting and explain what is happening and when.

Two Parish Councillors have resigned. Vice Chairman Andrew Ray and Tim Leech have both left the Parish Council. Their hard work was praised at the council meeting. Replacements for the two vacancies will now be sought.

Shelford school parking to be reduced

Up to 10 parking spaces are to be removed outside of Great and Little Shelford School.

The yellow line on the bend outside the school is to be extended to reduce parked cars and improve safety outside of the school. It is also hoped that the proposal will improve traffic flow outside the school.

The changes were revealed at the meeting of Little Shelford Parish Council on February 2 by District Councillor Charlie Nightingale, who is also chairman of Great Shelford Parish Council.

However there was concern from Little Shelford parent Catherine Sutherland.

“Nobody wants the congestion that currently exists but I fear that removing the parking spaces may make the road even more unsafe as it will speed up the traffic outside the school,” she said. The proposals will have to be formally approved by Cambridgeshire County Council.

Villagers turn over new leaf

Three villagers got so fed up waiting for the council to clean up leaves in Bridge Lane that they cleaned them up themselves. Charlie Russell, Gaby Barnard and Susie Everett rolled their sleeves up and cleared away the leaves between the 2 bridges on February 3.

"It was just getting dangerous for the kids and adults on the school run," said Charlie. "I think they'll be lots of happy mummies on the school run this morning.

Guide leader needed

1st Shelford Guides provides fun and adventure for girls aged 10-14 years. We meet once weekly during term time. As the current leader is leaving at the end of the summer term, a new leader will be needed from September 2015 for the unit to continue. Training to be a Guide leader is mainly 'on the job' and role sharing is possible. The selection of haiku poems below written by the girls gives a taste of what Guides is about! If you are interested in finding out more, please contact the current leader Lisa MacGregor on 07523 668731 or at lisa.macgregor@ntlworld.com, or look at www.girlguiding.org.uk.

Policing in Little Shelford to be reduced

The number of police officers covering Little Shelford is being reduced from 2 to 1.

PCSO Gary Kendall told the January Great Shelford Parish Council meeting that it was likely that his colleague, PCSO Chris Wiseman, who currently covers this area, would be moving to Linton leaving him to cover Shelford, Sawston and the neighbouring parishes on his own.

“Hot Spot Policing” could involve PCSO Kendall being called away without notice to other areas where problems were happening or expected. If circumstances required, this could bring more PCSOs into Little Shelford, but it was more likely he would be spending less time locally.

PCSO Kendall that agile working using laptops and local wi-fi availability might mean he could do more in the community. He urged residents to report everything using the non-emergency 101, or calling him personally on 07525 227384. Using 101 ensured all incidents were logged. This would help justify scarce resources.

Little Shelford daytime burglary

A home in Little Shelford was burgled by 3 hooded men on January 15. The burglars broke into the house in Church Street at lunchtime and took jewellery, other items and the car parked in the drive.

If anybody saw anything untoward near the Sycamore restaurant at that time, would they please give details to the police.

Water park proposal near Little Shelford rejected

New MP for Little Shelford in 2015

Heidi Allen will be the Conservative candidate in the General Election in South Cambridgeshire in May 2015. She is currently a district councillor in St Albans.

Volunteers needed for ground-breaking research project

For the last 10 years I have watched my son live with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), an illness also known as ME. CFS/ME affects 125,000-250,000 people in the UK and about one quarter of its sufferers are bed- or house-bound, often in constant pain. At present the cause is unknown and there are no diagnostic tests or universally helpful treatments. There is little research into this devastating illness, so you can imagine my delight when I heard from Caroline Kingdon, who many of you will know, that she is involved in a ground-breaking research project into the causes and treatment of CFS/ME. However, I was also very concerned to hear that the project has not recruited enough healthy volunteers as controls. Healthy volunteers are essential to the project to validate the research findings as a comparison group.

The UK ME/CFS bio-bank is a unique project funded by the charities

Action for ME, The ME Association, and ME Research UK. The researchers (CURE-ME group) have established a bio-bank of blood samples from both people with CFS/ME and healthy volunteers which will allow research teams around the world to identify bio-markers for the disease, develop a test for it, investigate its cause and develop treatments. The project desperately needs healthy volunteers to provide blood samples for comparison with those from sufferers.

CURE-ME will be holding two sessions for volunteers in Little Shelford on 19th and 26th June. If you are aged between 18 and 60, provided you don’t suffer from cancer, heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes, CFS/ME or have a relative with the disease, then you can volunteer. You will be asked some questions about your medical history, be weighed and measured and have a blood sample taken. It will take about 45 minutes and all the information will be used anonymously. As my son has the illness I can’t volunteer so I am trying to make as many people as possible aware of the need for volunteers.

To volunteer email caroline.kingdon@lshtm.ac.uk and put “possible healthy volunteer” in the subject line. If you can’t manage these dates please email anyway, as further sessions will be arranged if there is enough demand. If you work in London then sessions can also be arranged at the Royal Free Hospital.

For more information about the CURE-ME project visit the website http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/itd/crd/research/cure-me/index.html.

Please consider volunteering. Without research this disease will continue to ruin the lives of its sufferers.

Sarah Glauert (Tel 847314)

School buses withdrawn

School buses to Sawston Village College are being withdrawn for most pupils in Great Shelford and Little Shelford from September.

Usually, only pupils who live more than 3 miles away from the school are entitled to free transport.

However the rules were changed temporarily a couple of years ago after concerns were raised about pupil safety crossing the A1301 on the edge of Sawston.

The junction has now been improved. Now Cambridgeshire County Council has written to parents in a letter titled “ Notice to withdraw school transport between the villages of Stapleford, Great and Little Shelford to Sawston Village College.”

The letter says that the changes will take effect from September 2014.

Parents can raise their concerns by emailing SRR@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Hauxton update

The former agrochemical factory in Hauxton which was the subject of a lengthy clean-up operation has been signed off as being safe for housing.

South Cambridgeshire District Council and the Environment Agency on May 9 said they are satisfied remediation works at the Bayer CropScience site in Hauxton has been successful.

Developer Harrow Estates will now be allowed to build up to 380 homes on the land.

Read

more:

Little Shelford shed broken into

There was a shed burglary between May 1 and May 8 at Whittlesford Road, Little Shelford.

Burglers got in via an insecure side gate, a padlock forced but nothing is believed to be stolen at this stage.

Election candidates

The 5 candidates for the Shelford and Stapleford seat on South Cambridgeshire District Council in the election on May 22 are;

• • Ian Couch – UK Independence Party (UKIP)

  • Peter Robert Spencer Fane – Liberal Democrat

  • Adrian French – The Labour Party Candidate

  • Benjamin Joseph Shelton – The Conservative Party Candidate

  • Linda Whitebread – The Green Party.

Little Shelford theft

A theft was reported in Hauxton Road, Little Shelford on Tuesday 22nd April at approximately 1.30pm. A man called at the address claiming that he was owed £75 for gardening work. The victim gave him £50. He said he would help himself to the rest and having being handed the purse, appears to have taken a further £100.

Posted April 28

Little Shelford annual meeting - chairman’s report

Building work is due to start on the new sports Pavilion by June

The new village sign and village green will be created before the summer

The Garden Fields roadway will be repaired in 2014 – if some residents agree to contribute.

See the full details of the Chairman’s report here.

Little Shelford's horse has bolted

Little Shelford's horse sculpture has been removed temporarily so that it can be part of an exhibition at

Blenheim Palace, the former home of Winston Churchill. The sculpture can normally be seen in the garden of a home in the High Street. The Sculpture is due to return at the end of June.

Little Shelford CCTV.

Householders in Courtyards have introduced their own CCTV system.

It follows a burglary between 15th February and 18th February when thieves entered a window at the side of a property in Courtyards.

It was smashed with small stones which were found inside the house. Cash and other items were stolen.

In a separate incident, a handbag was stolen from inside a car in Courtyards earlier in the year .

Book your GP's appointment online

You can now book your doctor's appointment at the Great Shelford practice online. You must first contact the surgery by email or by post to request your own user identity and a password. They will be given to you in person or by post.

A proportion of GP appointments each day will be available to book online from 8pm the night before and some more from 6am on the same day.

The same ID and password is used for online prescriptions so if you have already signed up, you will already be able to book your appointments online.

Posted March 27

Pay to park at the park and ride

It will now cost £1 to park at the park and ride at the Trumpington and Babraham from April 1st.

All vehicles parking at any of the 5 Park & Ride sites in Cambridge will have a 1 hour free period. This will enable people to drop-off and pick-up for free, to allow for customers of the John Lewis distribution centre based at Trumpington to pick up their purchases for free, and for the parents to drop and pick up their children at the sites for the various Kiss & Ride school minibus services. Any vehicles staying for more than 1 hour will be liable for a £1 charge. This ticket will be purchased from ticket machines outside the main buildings on the sites. The ticket can be purchased at the same time as a ticket for bus travel bus and does not need to be displayed in the vehicle.

The£1 ticket will allow for the parking of one vehicle for up to 18 hours.

Posted March 26

Dribble away

A sponsored dribble took place on the Wale Recreation Ground on March 22 to raise money for the new sports pavilion.

The dribble was organised by the Shelford and Stapleford Strikers. Young footballers were sponsored for the number of laps they complete as they dribble a football.

Sponsorship can be given to Chris Christodoulou at 10 Church Street, Little Shelford.

Safari supper

There’s already been lots of interest in the upcoming Safari Supper on Saturday May 17th. This new event in the village should be lots of fun. We need you to let us know if you are interested so that we can make sure you get further information in March.

The evening will start with drinks and canapés with all participants where you’ll find out the two locations where you are having a main course and a pudding. There will be in groups of 8, and the Navigator will be open until midnight for those wanting to catch up with friends at the end of the evening. Everyone will contribute to the evening in some way : We’ll need helpers for drinks, hosts for main and puddings and also people to provide wine for main courses, so you don’t have to host, and you can come as a single or a couple. I’ll be a great way to get to know people in the village you don’t know and catch up with friends. If you are at all interested please let either Kate Beaton (katebeaton@me.com) or Shona Keene (shona.keene@btinternet.com) know now. Firm commitments will be needed in April so that we can allocate what everyone is doing.

Little Shelford burglary

Between 15th February and 18th February there was a house burglary in Courtyards, Little Shelford. The burglars entered a window at the side of the property. This was smashed with small stones which were found inside the house. Cash and other items were stolen.

Grafitti in the park

Grafitti has been sprayed around the Wale Recreation Ground. The Parish Council will be cleaning up at the end of the week. If anyone has any iformation about the vandals, the Parish council would be very keen to hear from you. Emaillittleshelfordparishcouncil@gmail.com

Green light for new pavilion

Building work is now expected to start on the new sports and community pavilion in April.

The Parish Council decided at an extraordinary meeting on February 13 to support the project by taking out a PWLB (Public Works Loan Board) loan of up to £100,000 to bridge the funding gap.

The decision follows the recent village poll where just over 90% of people who responded said they supported a new pavilion and around 80% said they supported council tax bills being increased to help pay for it.

However, around 25% of people said they thought the building might be overambitious.

Tenders have been received which put the building costs at around £310,000. This comes after around £80,000 worth of items were stripped out of the proposal in response to public opinion. Project manager Vic Franklin explained that the size of the pavilion can’t be reduced any further without losing some of the £155,000 worth of grants.

The Parish Council wants to make sure that no false economies are being made on things like flooring and heating before the building actually starts, which could see the overall costs go up slightly. The Parish Council also wants a realistic contingency fund and to be confident that as many costs as possible are fixed.

The Pavilion Trust, chaired by Maurice Palmer, has raised an incredible £247,100. £92,200 was raised through donations, events and the sale of merchandise.

They have also raised £154,900 in grants from South Cambridgeshire Council, WREN, Sport England, the Football Foundation, Amey Cespa and the Parish Council.

There have also been in-kind contributions of £12,000. £10,000 of the fundraised money has had to be spent during the preparatory work.

Building work on the new Pavilion is due to start in April.

Sign up for badminton

Little Shelford Badminton Club invites all keen adults to come to two 'Come and Play' sessions in Lt Shelford village hall on Mondays 17th and 24th March from 7.30 - 10 pm.

These sessions are for anyone who has played before or would like to come and try the game. Feather shuttles will be provided and racquets available if needed.

Flooding February 2014

Great Shelford Library

Great Shelford is one of ten county-run libraries in South Cambridgeshire area and is the busiest one in the district, issuing more than 84,000 items in the year 2012-2013.Children’s books are particularly popular, accounting for almost 55% of all loans.The library stocks around 13,000 items in total, including audio CDs and cassettes and also DVDs; it has had more than 3,000 new items added to stock this year (2013-14).

The public library in Great Shelford is run by the County Council and serves the surrounding villages, particularly Little Shelford and Stapleford, in addition to Great Shelford itself. The library is open for 23 hours each week, including Saturday mornings – full details can be found at: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/directory/great_shelford_library.htm

Great Shelford Library has an active Friends Group which campaigns on behalf of library users. It also hosts regular evening events and raises money for equipment. The library is very well supported by a band of volunteers who help the library staff at every open session - shelving and tidying books, and assisting customers with the self-service computers. Volunteers also run regular Rhymetime sessions for the very young and offer IT support via the Computer Buddy scheme

The library service itself hosts occasional author visits and also arranges monthly afternoon talks for older people –Engage sessions.Recent talks have included the history of St Mary’s parish church and the World of Scalextrics! In the summer holidays younger readers can participate in the national Summer Reading Challenge. They read six library books of their choice during the summer, collecting stickers along the way - all FREE! There is a different theme each year; in 2013 it was ‘Creepy House’ and 121 youngsters took part –children who complete the Challenge receive a certificate with their name on and a medal at an Award Ceremony held at their local library. The challenge is aimed at children aged 4 to 11 years, inspires children to read in the long summer break, encourages them to discover new authors and establishes a regular habit of visiting the local library and reading for pleasure. The 2014 theme will be Mythical Maze created by top illustrator Sarah McIntyre.

For further information about the library services, or to discuss the possibility of visits or talks from library staff please contact the South Cambridgeshire Community Engagement Librarians – Anne Worthington for Children’s Services or Victoria Richardson and Ruth Cowan for Adults – via 0345 045 5225.

Parish Council update

The Parish Council decided to increase the village's share of the council tax bills from £45 for a Band D house to £76 at its meeting on January 29, an increase per year of £31 or 60p per week.

The extra money will be used to for the proposed new pavilion, the playground, Garden Fields Road, tree surgery, the wall at the Wale Recreation Ground and on a possible new footpath.

The decision followed a village wide poll (results below) which saw 80% of people support an increase of the village council tax bills to help support facilities in Little Shelford. The council looked at likely expenditure over the next 10 years. That 10 year financial plan is attached as a Word document at the bottom of this page.

Around 50 people turned up to see the important decision taken by the Parish Council.

Other Parish Council issues from the January meeting

• The Council has now discovered that 5 homes in Garden Fields are expected to contribute any repairs to the road surface. The Council is going to seek 3 quotes for the work.

• The Council decided to continue its campaign to have the footpath between Garden Fields and Bradmere Lane reinstated. There could be a public inquiry later this year.

• The new 40mph zone on the edge of the village at Whittlesford Road has been introduced.

• The next meeting around the future of the 31 bus will be on March 4.

Detailed timetables for each service listed above can be found at this webpage: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/cft/buses-affected.htm

There are several types of transport that could provide a solution to the removal of subsidies services, including:

• Car sharing - private or a social car sharing scheme

• Community bus service - parish owned or private

• Community transport such as dial-a-ride

• Franchise - working with a local entrepreneur to develop a service

• New subsidised bus services that are more viable by using new routes and/or times of operations

• Parish owned car

• Rail

• Taxi sharing schemes and taxi vouchers

· Travel clubs or car clubs

A description of these transport solutions is provided on the CountyCouncil website:

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/cft/alt_solutions.htm

The transport solution(s) will vary across the county - one size will not fit all. The project aims to be creative and find innovative solutions to historic problems, but if the best solution to deliver an essential service is to retain the current form of provision, this will remain an option.

The group behind the project seeks to encourage local communities and service providers to become more involved in the process of designing and delivering transport, developing a culture of co-production. By encouraging community involvement throughout the process and broadening the reach to include potential passengers as well as existing ones, the resulting transport will be more sustainable and viable.

The first step towards this is to work with local communities to assess the transport need in their local area. The County Council will then work with the community and partners (such as transport providers, parish and district councils, key local groups, etc) to design transport solutions that best reflect the identified need.

It is hoped that Councillors will play an active role in developing and supporting the engagement process, using their local knowledge and experience.

It is recognised that Parish, District and County councillors will act as the key agent of engagement, helping to steer and involve groups and individuals who are active in the community to contribute to the project. Councillors will be able to advise and lend credibility to the formation of Working Groups and ensure the most difficult-to-reach are included in the process.

Project schedule

Research and preparation

Oct 2013

Create contact lists (Cllrs, key groups), ride buses, send out Councillor Briefing Packs, arrange Cllr Meeting.

Councillors’ Meeting

13^th Nov 2013

Meet with Parish, District and County Councillors to discuss the project plan, existing transport and key groups to consult, identify possible members of a Working Group, identify a Champion(s) to help drive the project through key stages.

Community drop-in event

Dec 2013

Drop-in open to the public to further publicise & discuss the project, questionnaires will be available (paper and laptop; all questionnaires to be submitted before the 2^nd Working Group Meeting).

Meetings with key groups

9^th Dec 2013 to 31^st Jan 2014

Meet with key groups and any other groups that request a CFT meeting, questionnaires will be available (paper and laptop; all questionnaires to be submitted before the 2^nd Working Group Meeting).

Working Group 1^st Meeting

Jan 2014

Discuss project plan, present data on current services, share feedback received from the community, assess the transport solutions suggested so far.

Working Group 2^nd Meeting

Feb 2014

Review all feedback collated by Officer, assess all transport solutions, agree a preferred solution and discuss its design.

Agree decision on final design

Mar 2014

Agree design with Working Group by email, agree design with CCC

Procurement process

Apr – Jul 2014

Launch and publicity

Aug 2014

Monitoring / Community feedback

Ongoing cycle of monitoring, evaluation & modification

Survey 3 months after launch, evaluate & modify if necessary, survey after 12 months, thereafter survey at least every 6 months

Courtyard residents enjoyed the festivities over Midsummer weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Courtyards. On Saturday the 22nd, the keen gardeners on the estate opened their own personal Edens to their neighbours who braved the showers to get a peek at what was going on next door!! One resident commented that in the 37 years they lived in Courtyards, this was the first opportunity they had had to get an idea of the diversity of plots and gardening styles around them. At the same time as the adults were viewing gardens, the children were having their own 'treasure hunt' event with chocolate gold coins for every little one who took part. Later on in the afternoon, a group of weatherbeaten men took up the challenge of erecting a great number of gazebos -- enough, in fact, to provide shelter for more than 100 people who attended a sit down lunch on the Sunday. Yet another team spent Sunday morning wrestling with crepe paper, balloons and streamers to get the festive atmosphere established. At the stroke of 1 pm Courtyarders trooped in, some with their extended families or with past residents in tow. Delectable offerings were laid out on the buffet table and when our MC, Jim McMenemy said "Go" the banquet began in earnest. Our oldest resident (in years but not attitude), Joan Atkins, did us proud as she cut the celebration cake. The afternoon was such a success that everyone agreed to make a Courtyards summer drinks party an annual fixture on our social calendars.

See photos of Courtyards being built here.

Bowls club break ins

There have been two break-ins at the bowls pavilion. The first time a couple of weeks ago they made themselves hot drinks and left the dirty cups in the bowl but did no damage but they did take some keys. This Friday evening (June 14) they broke in again - when people arrived to play on Saturday afternoon the pavilion smelt terribly of possibly cannabis. They also took some new sweaters and a bench cushion. The police were informed and fingerprints from various cups used by them etc.were taken possibly for future reference. The locks have now been been changed.

The Queen meets Little Shelford villagers

For more information, see the Zoopla site

Posted January 7 2013

November Parish Council decisions and updates

The Parish Council is pushing for the speed limit on Whittlesford Road entering the village from the Whittlesford direction to be reduced to 40 mph. This should then help to reduce the speed of traffic in the 30 mph zone.

Little Shelford looks like it will get a new MP. A proposal has been made to switch our village from Andrew Lansley’s seat to the seat of James Paice.

The village has been given 8 new trees. 4 will be planted in Beech Close in the spring and 4 will be put in the Wale Recreation Ground.

Little Shelford’s footpaths are in a “shocking state” according to an audit carried out by the Parish Council. One person is believed to have fallen into the road because one pavement was so bumpy. The full audit, complete with photographic evidence, is being given to the County Council to demand some action.

Water is being provided at the allotments in Garden Fields. The total cost will be around £2,500. The council has received grant of £700 towards the scheme from South Cambridgeshire Council. Money from a Section 106 agreement from a new house in Hauxton Road will be used to help pay the rest of the bill.

Parish Clerk Jill Taylor is standing down after 10 years in the role. Jill’s knowledge of the village, her tenacity and experience will be greatly missed. The Council will be recruiting a new Parish Clerk early in 2013.

Posted Nov 29 2012

Little Shelford Village Sign

There is a plan to have our own Little Shelford village sign to be erected at the corner by the church.

This is a joint venture between the Parish Council and the History Society and is part of the ‘Bringing Little Shelford Alive’ lottery funded project which includes:

· Creating a digital copy of the Fanny Wale book (now printed)

· Creating a heritage trail to celebrate the history of Little Shelford ( in progress)

· Launching a village history day (30 September 2012)

· Creating a dedicated village website (up and running)

· Transcribing the 1911 census (awaiting data)

· Creating ideas for a village sign with pupils and staff from Gt & Lt Shelford School based on episodes from Little Shelford’s history (ongoing)

As part of the school involvement, at the beginning of the September term you may well have seen groups of well-behaved children plus members of staff studying aspects of the village. Ray Saich went to a school assembly and then spent time in each of the Key Stage 2 classes. Vic Franklin (artist) and Neil Horne (sign writer) also accompanied him. The children’s artistic interpretations were on display at the September history day.

The History Society feel that it is important for all members of the village community to have the opportunity to add their ideas/views/artwork for the composition of the village sign along with the children’s contribution. A circular containing more information will be distributed to all village households before the end of the year.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further information.

David Martin 845995 davidm1961@gmail.com

Ray Saich 842737 pandrsaich@btinternet.com

School calendars

Copies of a unique calendar, produced to mark Gt & Lt Shelford (CE) Primary School’s forthcoming 170th Anniversary, are now available.

The calendar journeys through the school’s history, using photographs which celebrate across three centuries:

the development of the building; teaching and learning, key events in the school year; extra-curricular activities.

Priced at £6 each or £10 for two, calendars can be ordered from Brie Lury, (brigidroche@yahoo.co.uk). Proceeds will go to the PTA (Registered Charity No. 1110813) to further fund the development of our outdoor learning environment.

Library time changing

The opening times at Great Shelford library are likely to change shortly. These are the current and the proposed new times.

If you have view on the changes please send them to littleshelfordparishcouncil@gmail.com

Posted Dec 2 2012

Meals on wheels

Do you, or anyone you know, find it difficult to cook a hot meal because of illness, age or disability?

Meals 2 You is a meals delivery service run by leading disability charity Papworth Trust from its OWL Café in Sawston. It delivers a main course and a dessert on weekday lunchtimes (usually between 12.15 and 1pm) in Little and Great Shelford, Sawston, Pampisford, Stapleford, Whittlesford, Duxford, Hinxton and Ickleton.

Meals can be delivered every day or just one day a week, either short term or long term. Frozen meals are also available for reheating at weekends and on bank holidays. A two course hot meal costs £3.60 and a frozen one costs £3.35.

If you are aware of anyone in your community who could benefit from this service please tell them about it. If you could spare a couple of hours at least once a week we are always looking for volunteers who not only deliver meals but provide vital face to face contact with those who may feel isolated.

To order a meal or find out more, please call 01223 833396 between 10am and 1pm, email owlcafe@papworth.org.uk or visit our website www.papworth.org.uk/meals2you

To find out more about volunteering please call 01480 357200, email volunteering@papworth.org.uk or visit our website www.papworth.org.uk/volunteer

Posted November 7 2012

Volunteers needed

The Shelford and Stapleford Youth Initiative (SSYI) club has now been running for 4 weeks and is slowly attracting more young people and they are getting into a good rhythm of activity provision and positive engagement with the young people. They need more volunteers to help run the Monday evening club. If you can help please contact davidjhjones@btinternet.com

The club is holding a bring and buy sale on December 1st in the village hall to raise funds. The SSYI Youth Workers will be present on 1st December so its a great time for Parents and Young People to find out more about what is going on at the North Building Monday club as well as to socialise over coffee and cakes and buy some reasonably priced Christmas presents at the bring and buy.

Posted October 23 2012

Join the cricket club

Little Shelford Cricket Club starts its winter nets programme on Sunday November 4th at 8pm at Hills Road Sports and Tennis Centre Cambridge and subsequent Sundays until April 2013.

They are looking for new players for the 2013 season and beyond so if you are new to the game and want to give it a try, an up and coming youngster or an established player looking for a new challenge, they would be delighted to see you.

Their ECB qualified coaches will be on hand to help develop your individual skills in all aspects of the game.

They are a progressive club with an ambitious sports development plan which includes the building of a new pavilion of their picturesque ground just south of Cambridge.

They are a friendly, family oriented club with an active social side to our activities

Please call Neil on 01223 842843 or 07866751651, or e-mail neilorpwood@msn.com for further information or questions

We look forward to hearing from you. Neil Orpwood

Posted October 19 2012

Official ebay service

Did you know Little Shelford has its' very own ‘ebay’ service? One entrepreneurial young mum in the village has recently set up a new company called the ‘Little Shelford ebayer’, basically, ‘ebaying’ on your behalf and doing all the time consuming things - taking photos, putting the ads on line, dealing with enquiries, going to the post office etc.

For those of you who haven’t heard about ebay, its an online auction and shopping website allowing you to buy and sell almost anything from wardrobes to CDs, digital cameras to dresses. It’s a great way to recycle goods and more importantly to earn a few extra pennies.

The Little Shelford ebayer will take a 15% cut as commission.

For more information, email the littleshelfordebayer@gmail.com or contact 07973 778957.

Posted October 15

Bird survey

An experiement to atrtract more birds to a Little Shelford farm has had positive results. Bird numbers in the 10-year survey had been declining on the Bayer Crop[science farm on Whittlesford Road, in line with the national trend. But following the introduction of winter food last year there was an immediate increase in the farmland bird index to its highest level since 2005. Read the full story in Farmers Weekly magazine here.

Posted October 15

Garages available

Six garages are available for rent in Little Shelford. The garages, which are owned by South

Cambridgeshire District Council, are in Beech Close. The rent for the garages is:

Council Tenants £7.78 per week

Non Council Tenants £12.89 per week

For more information, please contact

Laura.Rawlings@scambs.gov.uk

Posted October 11

Little Shelford Parish Council September meeting – decisions and information

• • Little Shelford is included in a major proposal to bring fast broadband to Cambridge and some of its surrounding villages – so far 32% of villagers have signed up for the Connecting Cambridgeshire campaign demanding faster internet services.

  • There is a move to see the 6 vacant garages in Beech Close rented out to help to stop the garages being demolished and a house built on the site.

  • The fundraising total for the new sports pavilion now stands at £38,000.

  • Water is being provided at the allotments. A grant of £750 has been received from South Cambridgeshire. The Parish Council will pay the remaining £1,250.

  • The Shelford and Stapleford Youth initiative started at the North Building in Little Shelford in September with support from the Parish Council.

  • The outstanding mortgage on the Village Hall is now £60,724. The payments take up almost half of the Parish Council’s expenditure.

  • Over and In have been given permission to deliver football training sessions at the Wale Recreation Ground on Saturdays.

  • Traffic lights are being installed at the M11 junction in Hauxton – the work should be completed by Christmas.

Posted September 27 2012

New youth club due to start

A new youth club started in Little Shelford in September.

The Shelford and Stapleford Youth Inititiative was launched in the North Building at All Saints on Monday 24th September 7pm to 8.30pm if everything goes according to plan. Hopefully the club will run on run every Monday up to Christmas.

It will be different to the SSYI Friday club in Great Shelford, as it will be open to all but with specific activities and open for a shorter time.

The North Building is being used as the Village Hall cannot accommodate the club.

Posted September 3 2012

Widlife group seeks new volunteers

Are you interested in the environment? If so, you may be interested in joining the village's wildlife group.

In 2003, the Parish Council secured a grant to construct the “Riverside Walk” and after completion formed the volunteer Little Shelford Wildlife Group. Diana Haines headed up the group and it was agreed that it’s task would be to maintain and improve the wildlife habitat at the Wale Recreation Ground and Bradmere Lane.

The Group’s initial job was to plant hedges around two sides of the bowling green, along with protective netting against rabbits, and also clean out the ice ponds. Following some more fundraising, plants and netting were purchased and the area around Bradmere Pond was also cleared and trees and more plants put in and some of overgrown and unsafe willows coppiced. In addition bird and owl boxes were put up in both locations and a seat at Bradmere Pond. Later on the area between the children’s playground and the bowling green was cleared and reseeded and two picnic tables were installed.

This work has continued to date and involves:

• • A general meeting once a year to organise the display at the Little Shelford Fun Weekend and the work programme for the following year.

  • In January or February hedge cutting and bonfire in the Wale.

  • A spring & autumn tidy-up work session.

  • Manning the wildlife stall at the September Fun Weekend. Not only are there displays but we actively involve children and have organised bug hunts, pond dipping and tree identification walks.

We are a small group of some 6 active members and are lucky that some are qualified in environmental studies. However, we always need keen volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves a few times a year. So if you want to join a very sociable group doing thoroughly worthwhile work, please contact Diana Haines, who lives in Church Street, on 01223/841415.

Posted September 3 2012

Newsletter published

The latest newsletter for the Great and Little Shelford Twinning Association has just been published. A version is attached at the bottom of the page.

War hero dies

Air Commodore James Coward, who was based in King's Farm, Little Shelford during WW2 when he flew spitfires out of Duxford before serving on Winston Churchill's personal staff has died. He was 97.

The Air Commodore was shot down over Little Shelford in one of the first incidents in the Battle of Britain. He survived the incident although he lost part of his leg when he crash-landed.

After the war, her returned to Australia where he rose to the rank of Air Commodore in the Australian Airforce.

Earlier this year, the Commodore and Mrs Coward moved into a retirement village in Yass, about an hour north-west of Canberra.

He died in the early hours of July 26.

You can read more about the Air Commodore's fascinating career here.

Posted July 26

Workers accommodation rejected

Proposals to build accommodation for up to 50 foreign workers on the Little Shelford boundary have been rejected.

The planning application at Dernford Barn Sawston Road Stapleford sought planning permission for the change of use of agricultural buildings to hostel accommodation for agricultural workers and ancillary office accommodation together with erection of covered external area and use of existing bungalow as warden accommodation

This would have enabled up to 50 workers to be accommodated.

The proposals have been rejected by a planning inspector after they were first turned down by South Cambridgeshire District Council.

Posted August 2 2012

Twinning report

Did you know that our villages of Great and Little Shelford are twinned with a village in northern France? You can read the report of their latest exchange here.

Entrepreneur

Little Shelford businesswoman Sally Guyer has been highlighted as one of Cambridge's five entrepreneurs to watch by the Cambridge News. Sally set up the brains behind the Cambridge Raincoat Company. Sally has featured on the Daily Telegraph website.

Parish Council decisions and actions

At it's July meeting, the Parish Council made a number of decisions affecting Little Shelford:

£3,000 given to the Council because a new house is being built in the village will be donated to the fund for the new sports pavilion.

A memorial will be created at the Wale Recreation Ground for village stalwart Ivor Pearl. Contributions from people who knew Ivor will be welcome.

Just 13% of people in little Shelford have so far signed up for the Connecting Cambridgeshire campaign.

A new footpath along the verge in Newton Road is going to be pursued.

A small grant is to be given to the local twinning group.

A grant of £750 to provide water for the allotments has previously been announced. Councillors are going to draw up options about how to raise the remaining £700 needed by September.

Posted July 11

South Cambs local plan

A new Local Plan is being created for South Cambridgeshire. While it doesn't propose major new development in Little Shelford, some of the proposals might have an adverse impact on the traffic through our village.

Consultation events are taking place at Spicer's Pavilion in Sawston on July 17 and at Great Shelford Memorial Hall on September 5, both from 3pm to 8pm.

Posted July 11

Broadband campaign

New figures just released reveal that Little Shelford residents don't want faster broadband speeds. A new campaign started earlier this year called Connecting Cambridgeshire. Yet only 13.8% of Little Shelford villagers have so far signed up for faster broadband.

The ‘Get Cambridgeshire connected’ campaign features prominently on the new Connecting Cambridgeshire website at www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk

A survey in November 2011 showed the average download speed for Little Shelford was just 1.48 mps.

There is a call to action for residents, businesses and community groups, who have a key part to play in the success of the project by showing that there is considerable and growing demand for access to faster and better broadband services across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

By clicking on the ‘Get Cambridgeshire connected’ button, householders and businesses can register their support for the broadband campaign in minutes with just a postcode and landline phone number.

Visitors to the site will also be able to check their broadband speeds, volunteer to support the campaign as Digital Champions, ask for business advice and regular updates.

Simon Conway-Smith, who organised a survey of Broadband speesd in Little Shelford in November, has been appointed as our Digital Champion. You can contact Simon here: simon.conway-smith@tesco.net

Posted July 9 2012

Missing out on the village magazine?

We aim to deliver the Newsletter to every home in thevillage. If you, or someone you know, do not receive a copy and would like to,then please let us know. You can contact us by email to newsletter@allsaintslittleshelford.org,by telephone at the church office on 843710 or by leaving a note for Sarah Glauert at 44 Whittlesford Road.

Sarah Glauert

Posted June 26 2012

Main gate at the Wale Rec locked

In order to prevent unauthorised vehicle access to the Wale Recreation Ground, a combination padlock has now be installed on the main gate.

The Chairmen of all authorised organisations who use the Rec (Cricket, Football, Bowls, Ents Committee, Wildlife Group) have been informed of the access number.

If you have any questions about vehicle access to the Rec you can contact the following members of the Parish Council:

David Martin - 845995 or David Jones - 847213

Posted 26th May 2012

Parish Council decisions

Little Shelford Parish Council met on May 23rd. These are the main decisions and actions:

South Cambridgeshire District Council wants to demolish 12 garages in Beech Close and replace them with one house. 7 of the garages are currently being used. The Parish Council received four letters of complaint about the proposals from people saying the changes would add to the parking problems in the close. The Parish Council agreed to oppose the demolition of the garages.

A new picnic bench has been installed by the village pond in Bradmere Lane.

The Parish Council has received a £750 grant to help provide water for the village allotments. The total costs will be around £1700. The Council is going to explore options to bridge the gap at its July meeting. All of the allotments are now being used.

A village litter pick and tidy up is taking place on Saturday June 9th for an hour. Anyone who wants to join in can meet at the telephone box library at 11am.

A display about a Village Design Statement which is being compiled to protect the character of Little Shelford and prevent major developments in the village will take place in the Village Hall as part of the Jubilee street party on June 2.

A meeting with Garden Fields residents to discuss issues regarding their road surface has now been moved to July because some families couldn't make the original date. A letter will be sent to all families in Garden Fields.

Tickets for the Village's fun week-end have nearly sold out. Little Shelford residents have priority to buy tickets until mid-July.

The Shelford and Stapleford Youth initiative is looking to start sessions in Little Shelford on Monday evenings if they can find a suitable venue.

Three new people have joined the Parish council. Here is a full list of Parish Councillors along with the contact details and their portfolios.

New picnic bench arrives

A new picnic bench has been installed by the village pond, at the top of Bradmere Lane. We had a last minute refund on the recently installed information sign for the village pond, Bradmere Lane and the new Clay Pits Path. That was part of the project for the Clay Pits Path, led by Shelagh MacKnzie and Guy Brown. The result: a picnic bench installed by the pond. Enjoy!

Big thanks to Mike Paduano and Martin Atkins for help with its installation.

Richard Patterson, Footpaths Subcommittee, Little Shelford Parish Council.

Posted May 23 2012

Do you want faster broadband speeds in Little Shelford?

A new campaign to deliver faster broadband speeds to Little Shelford and the rest of Cambridgeshire has just been launched.

The ‘Get Cambridgeshire connected’ campaign features prominently on the new Connecting Cambridgeshire website at www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk

A survey in November 2011 showed the average download speed for Little Shelford was just 1.48 mps.

There is a call to action for residents, businesses and community groups, who have a key part to play in the success of the project by showing that there is considerable and growing demand for access to faster and better broadband services across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

By clicking on the ‘Get Cambridgeshire connected’ button, householders and businesses can register their support for the broadband campaign in minutes with just a postcode and landline phone number.

Visitors to the site will also be able to check their broadband speeds, volunteer to support the campaign as Digital Champions, ask for business advice and regular updates.

Simon Conway-Smith, who organised a survey of Broadband speesd in Little Shelford in November, has been appointed as our Digital Champion. You can contact Simon here: simon.conway-smith@tesco.net

Posted May 9 2012

Beech Close garage changes?

South Cambridgeshire District Council is currently considering our options regarding a number of Council garage sites in the District that are not well used or that are in need of refurbishment. One that is being considered for sale is at Beech Close, Little Shelford. The valuation that has been obtained for this site is around £120,000 with planning permission for one dwelling following demolition of the garages.

Planning have confirmed that a single storey dwelling would be acceptable on the site, subject to evidence that adequate parking could be provided for any properties that currently rely on the garages for parking.

The Council’s options for this site are: not to sell but to retain and refurbish as a garage block, demolish the garages and use the area for parking or to place the site on the open market as a development plot.

The Parish Council has been asked for its views by Friday 25th May. Youcan email your views to the Parish Council at littleshelfordparishcouncil@gmail.com

Posted May 9 2012

Local election results

The results for the Shelfords and Stapleford seat in the recent polls for South Cambridgeshire District Council were:

Mike Nettleton - Labour - 400 votes

Charles Nightingale - Conservative - 960 votes (elected)

Bill Powell - Liberal Democrat - 363 votes

Linda Whitebread - Green Party - 355 votes

Design Agency raises money for charity

Staff from Redback Design, based in Newton Road, are taking part in a sponsored walk to raise up to £1,000 for the Alzheimers Research Society.

Posted May 9 2012

Person killed on railway crossing

A person was killed at the Hautcon Road railway crossing on April 26.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “BTP officers were called to Hauxton Road, Little Shelford in Cambridge, on Thursday, 26 April following the report of a person being struck by a train.

“BTP and officers from Cambridge Constabulary attended the incident which was reported to BTP at 2.25pm and is currently being treated as non-suspicious.

First Capital Connect say the incident will cause delays of up to 20 minutes between Stevenage and

Cambridge. The incident was covered in the Royston Crow.

Posted May 9 2012

The Manor Road tree is finally replaced

Three Victorian drawings of Little Shelford are currently up for sale on Ebay. They include two drawings of the old Shelford hall which was demolished in the 1850s, and a drawing of All Saints Church. Click on the drawings to go to the relevant Ebay page.

Posted March 13 2012.

No hosepipe ban for Little Shelford

The proposed hosepipe ban announced by Anglain Water will not yet affect Little Shelford, as we are served by Cambridge Water. You can doublecheck if you are covered by the ban through this new website.

Posted March 20 2012

Village budget changes

The Parish Council is planning to spend £16,600 in Little Shelford over the next 12 months. This will cost a family in a Band D property £42.43. The Council's share of the Council tax bill has increased by 2.7%, from the previous budget of £15,900. The extra money will also be used to pay for the £500 cost of the elections in May.

Brownie leader found

The Brownies in Great Shelford have been saved after an appeal for a new leader on this website. The new leader from April 1 is Charlotte Coulson. If you are interested in helping, please contact Jane Kynaston on 01223 842314.

Posted March 28 2012

Car crime in the Little Shelford

A spate of car crimes in South Cambridgeshire has included theft from a car in Little Shelford.

The crimes have included 5 thefts from motor vehicles;

• • 2 in Sawston;

  • 1 in Great Shelford;

  • 1 in Little Shelford;

  • and 1 in Stapleford near the Primary School.

Remember your vehicle security. Do not leave items on display even if they are of little value. Thieves don't know that, and they will still cause the same damage.

Posted March 11 2012

Local water park update

More details have emerged about a major water park proposed at the edge of Little Shelford. The plans include a sailing and boating lake and a separate lake with a beach for swimming.

It has been revealed that the development, known as Cambridge Waterside, would now include up to 85 holiday homes as well as a gym, a brasserie and an adventure playground. Great Shelford Tennis Club is looking to relocate to the park with four indoor and four outdoor courts.

The waterpark would be situated between Little Shelford and Sawston around Dernford House. It would be accessed from the A1301 at Sawston. The development would create up to 70 jobs rather than the 50 that were originally indicated. The proposal is based on the Cotswold Water Park.

The developers of the water park are teaming up with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust for the environmental elements of the project. The initial proposals have now been shared

with South Cambridgeshire District Council.

You can get more details at http://cambridgewaterside.co.uk/ or from Edward Smith on 07771 525353 or emailrsmithfarms@fwi.co.uk

Posted March 4 2012

Burglaries alert

Cambridgeshire Police have launched an operation following more than 200 burglaries in South Cambs - but not Little Shelford- and Huntingdonshire in the past four months.

Operation Twist will focus on tackling burglaries in rural villages in the districts.

Since November there have been 115 burglaries in Huntingdonshire and 113 in South Cambs. Detectives believe they are part of a linked series with the offenders potentially travelling in from outside the county.

Operation Twist will see increase patrols in rural villages, as well as investigative and forensic work to target those responsible.

Releasing these figures is not about scaring people, as in reality people living in Huntingdonshire and South Cambs are less than one per cent likely to become a victim of burglary. In fact, there has been an average of one burglary a day across Huntingdonshire and South Cambs. While that sounds a lot, it is worth bearing in mind the population in Huntingdonshire is 167,300 and there are more than 69,000 homes across the area. And in South Cambs the population is 143,600 and there are more than 59,000 homes across the area.

However, it is important that we raise awareness of this series as the public play a vital part in helping us to prevent further offences as well as catching those responsible.

Although a large number of offences have taken place while people have been away detectives believe offenders are targeting homes during the day, often breaking in through the rear of the property.

It’s important people remain alert to activity in their neighbourhood, reporting anything out of the ordinary or suspicious to police.

By taking simple preventative measure people can further reduce the risk of becoming a victim.

To reduce the risk of being a victim:

• • It’s important to make your home look lived in and ask neighbours to keep an eye on it when you are not in. Consider installing light timers. Burglars will target homes in darkness as there is less of a risk of being spotted. If the bins are due to be collected, ask your neighbours to move them on and off your drive for you.

  • Report unusual activity such as people knocking at your door. If you believe someone knocking at your door could be a burglar then contact police immediately. This type of information can be used to gain a better understanding of how criminals are operating in your area.

  • Keep a note of any unusual vehicles parking in your area and pass information onto the police.

Deterrents:

Alarms: Install an alarm - even an empty box on the side of your home can be enough to put off a burglar.

Dogs: A `beware of the dog’ sign can be enough to put off an intruder, regardless of whether a dog is present.

Lock up your shed: Offenders do not like carrying break-in tools as they may be searched en-route to a burglary. They often raid sheds to get their hands on tools to burgle.

Strong communities are also a deterrent for burglars: Make friends with your neighbours or join your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

DI Ian Simmons

Posted March 3 2012

Computer scams

A Little Shelford resident recently had to pay out £150 to get her computer repaired after a scammer rang her up and ended up installing a virus onto her computer. This is some advice from Courtyards resident Simon Conway-Smith.

It is common knowledge that we need anti-virus software to protect our computers from viruses and from people who are bent on stealing our personal information.

First steps of defence against such people:

· Always have an anti-virus solution installed on your PC, ensure it is kept up-to-date and runs regularly.

· Use an external USB disk to store a backup of you data files, photos, documents, etc., and make sure the virus checker checks that regularly too.

However, cybercriminals have now found new ways of getting round all the firewall and anti-virus protection that we have on our computers. These people have now started calling people on the telephone, claiming to be from Microsoft and offering to fix problems on our computers. They often use information found in the public domain like phone books to select their targets - unsuspecting computer users. They might even make a few guesses about you and your computer, for example, which operating system you have.

These people are very persuasive – BUT THEY ARE SCAMS!

They can trick you into installing rogue software onto your PC.

Once installed this software can damage your computer, it may allow them to take control of your computer remotely and steal personal information from it.

** Do not trust ** unsolicited phone calls and do not give out any personal information. If you are unsure of the caller, hang up.

If you get such phone call,

· If you have BT’s Caller-ID service and the call shows “INTERNATIONAL” or “WITHHELD”,

DO NOT answer with your name and/or number, just an anonymous “hello”.

DO NOT confirm any personal information they ask.

· DO NOT buy any software or services

· DO NOT switch your computer on during this call

· NEVER provide credit card or financial or any personal information.

· NEVER give control of your computer to the caller

· Ask them to tell you your PC’s...

o Windows version AND Service Pack (the Windows update level)

o Make & model

o Processor type and speed

o The amount of RAM installed

If they cannot answer any/all of these accurately, especially the first, or try to fudge the answer, it’s a sure sign that they are a scammer.

No genuine anti-virus or PC ‘maintenance’ company will ever cold-call you, so assume that anyone who does is trying to trick and deceive you.

If you think your PC has been affected, for example it is behaving unusually, shut it down immediately disconnect the Internet connection, and seek trusted advice.

For further information, please contact Andrew Ade-kunle,

Cambridge iT Consultants 07779 758217

Posted January 19 2012

Parish Council decisions

The Parish Council met on November 23. This is a summary of what was decided and discussed.

The Parish Council is going to plant a tree at the end of Manor Road to replace to the tree chopped down by the Highways Department because it was diseased. In a village poll asking residents whether they wanted another tree or a village sign, around 90% of people who voted favoured a replacement tree.

30 MPH stickers for people’s rubbish and recycling bins encouraging commuters through Little Shelford to slow down are being obtained by the Parish Council. If you want a free sticker, please contact the Parish Council.

The average Broadband download speed in Little Shelford is only around 1.50 KHZ according to the recent survey carried out by Simon Conway-Smith. The full results from all 48 participants can be found on the village website. The Parish Council is now going to send the results to Cambridgeshire County Council as well as meeting with the council official in charge of the county’s broadband project demanding that we are given the highest priority in Little Shelford.

The Shelford and Stapleford Youth Initiative is looking to work with the Parish Council to create a new regular Youth Club in Little Shelford. More formal proposals will be developed in 2012.

Fundraising towards the new community sports pavilion on the Wale Recreation Ground is really gathering pace. The total now stands at £14,000 thanks to £3,000 from the village fete and almost £2,000 from the recent hugely successful Ascot race night. A planning application is due to be submitted by the end of the year.

Robin Haines is leading a campaign to improve the play equipment on the Wale Recreation ground. The Parish Council gave its wholehearted support to the campaign and offered3250 towards any new play equipment.

Four allotments are currently free in Little Shelford.

The Parish Council is opposing plans to chop down a tree in the garden of the Navigator public house. The final decision will be taken by South Cambridgeshire Council.

The enquiry into the possible footpath from the end of Garden fields and Bradmere Lane is due to start in January according to Cambridgeshire County Council. A child’s orange bike has been left locked to a bench in the Wale Recreation ground, probably following the September fete.

There have been two planning applications this month

· There are proposals for a new house at 8 High Street

· And plans to extend 32 Whittlesford Road have been approved by South Cambridgeshire Council.

(Posted Nov 29 2011)

Body found in Little Shelford

Police searching for a missing pensioner discovered a body in Little Shelford on Saturday November 12. John Lumbers, 82, was reported missing after leaving his home in Hauxton. Police officers found the body of a man in a small lake just outside Little Shelford at around 3pm after searching the area including the village pond in Bradmere Lane..

A spokeswoman said: “The death is not being treated as suspicious and will be passed to the coroner.”

It was thought Mr Lumbers had gone out on his bike.

Broadband survey

How good is the broadband service in Little Shelford?

More than 40 households took part in a daily broadband survey to establish how fast or slow the Little Shelford broadband service is. The average download speed was around 1.5 mps.

A full copy of the results and the Parish Council report are attached at the bottom of this page.

**STOP PRESS **

Broadband Survey Week featured on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

Thursday 13th October 8:25am

(Interview recording available here. It's also available via the BBC Iplayer here. Interview is approx 2 hours 25 mins into the program.)

The tree story

While undertaking some tree works in the village a local tree surgery company parked up by the Lime tree located on the junction of Church Street and Manor Road and noted that the tree was in decline, on further inspection they noted the tree had significant deadwood up in the canopy associated with the significant decay at the base where the bark was dead and peeling away. The decay agent was a pathogen know as Kretzschmaria deusta formally Ustulina deusta.

This is a pathogen which takes on an appearance of bird droppings or splashed tarmac, see picture below - fairly insignificant in appearance however the effect it has on trees is rather more significant. The action of the decay produces a 'ceramic' failure which is unpredictable and it is difficult to determine the extent of the decayed wood as the rate of decay of the cellulose and lignin is at the same rate and does not directly lead to obvious decay characteristics e.g. cavities, exudate, large fruiting bodies.

From a legal and safety aspect the owner of the tree being Highways have a 'Duty of Care' under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 and a duty of keeping the highway safe for all users, the tree surgeons contacted the Parish Council, who in turn contacted South Cambridgeshire District Council to establish ownership. Once Highways were informed of the tree a site visit by their officer concluded that the tree had to be removed with immediate effect - this action is permitted as Highways have the power of 'Statutory Undertakers' meaning they do not have to seek consent for such works to a tree afforded statutory protection as it is a matter of making the highway safe.

It is a shame to have lost a tree in such a prominent position within the village however it may be possible with the co-operation of the Highways, parish council and South Cambridgeshire District Council that a replacement may be possible

. Roz Richardson, Tree and Landscape Officer, South Cambs District Council

Topple test results

A topple test has now been conducted at All Saints Church graveyard and a few gravestones have been laid down due to their dangerous state. Relatives and Friends who visit or look after graves in the Churchyard should pay a visit soon to see if they have been affected by the topple test. If they have been affected they should contact Simon Scott in the Church Office or by e-mail as soon as possible, to discuss the best way of repairing the affected gravestone. Simon can be contacted on 841998 or email simon.scott@allsaintslittleshelford.org

Phone box library theft

Sometime during the week leading up to the Bank Holiday, or possibly over that weekend, the whole of the Children’s Section of the telephone box library was taken from the box. In addition, all the audio books also disappeared. A green baker’s tray which housed overflow books on the floor of the box has gone as well. This is obviously very disappointing and a bit of a blow for the village. I would appreciate it if anyone who has any information about what might have happened could contact me on 01223 844289 or by email: mary.palazzo@btconnect.com. I would very much like the items back as soon as possible if they have indeed gone missing within the village. In the meantime, if any generous residents would like to make a donation of books for young children (i.e. picture books),books for primary age children or of audio tapes, this would be greatly appreciated so that we can restock as soon as possible. If anyone has a spare plastic box kicking around their attic or garage, that would also be great! Adolescent fiction is also in great demand. Please bring the items to me to sort at number 5 Courtyards, rather than leaving them in the box itself. Many thanks for all your generosity and your help. You have made the telephone box such a success to date that it would be shame if we let this setback defeat us. Please do remain vigilant, especially those villagers who live near the box and do feel free to challenge anyone (in a polite way) whose behaviour towards the scheme concerns you. Mary Palazzo

Parish Council meeting

At the July Parish Council meeting, there were a number of decisions and updates that affect Little Shelford

Pavement repairs have been carried out in Newton Road and the High Street following pressure from the Parish Council. Three pot holes are also going to be repaired outside of the Sycamore House restaurant.

There are moves to improve the Neighbourhood Watch scheme so villagers can be alerted quickly, possibly by email, if there is any crime in the village. However several volunteers are needed to help make this system more joined up. If you are interested in helping, please email the Parish Council at

littleshelfordparishcouncil@gmail.com

The Parish Council was told that the changes to Great Shelford library might not now go ahead next year. There were proposals to reduce the opening hours of the library to 23 a week and use volunteers to help run the library. The Parish Council had previously been asked to help subsidise the new-style library. However opposition to the changes here and elsewhere has made the county council reconsider the proposal.

A plan setting out where new developments will happen across South Cambridgeshire over the next 20 years is being created by the District Council. The Plan will look at what is needed and where new houses could go. While there is not expected to be any main developments in Little Shelford, proposals for Hanley Grange near Sawston could be resurrected.

The Parish Council is going to put eight wooden posts at the entrance of the Wale Recreation Ground to stop cars driving across the middle of the park and playing area.

Villager Robin Haines has won the support of the Parish Council to put a new piece of play equipment in the play area at the Wale Recreation Ground. He will be canvassing opinions at the fete in September before starting the fundraising.

The Parish Council will have a stall at the village fete on September 10. A calendar with historical photos of the village will be on sale at the stall.

Fundraising for a new sports pavilion on the Wale Recreation Ground has now reached £10,000. A golf day is taking place in September and a Race Night is taking place in November

A Jubilee street party is being proposed for Little Shelford next June, led by Andrew Stephenson. If you would like to help, please email the Parish Council at

littleshelfordparishcouncil@gmail.com

The telephone box library needs more books for children between 9 and 12 years old. Please drop them off at the box in High Street if you have any.

And the Church is about to carry out safety tests on its gravestones.

You can read the full minutes of the meeting at

www.littleshelford.com

The next Parish Council meeting is on September 28 at 8pm.

Broadband problems

Have you experienced a very marked degradation in your broadband service recently, particularly over the last week or two? Several Courtyards residents have found the speed has dropped considerably very recently, even down to ~100Kbps, and one or two have been experiencing regular drop-outs. Please let me know what your experience is, then we can hopefully get on to BT as a village and encourage them to sort out the problem. I would also encourage fellow surfers (or is that fellow sufferers?) who have experienced a drop in service speed/quality to report it to their ISP – and don’t let them fob you off by saying it may be your micro-filter or router, but insist they escalate it to their engineers and BT, citing that many people locally are suffering the same poor service. I have just changed both my filter and router (I keep spares for both), have nothing else on my broadband line, and it’s still very slow. Simon Conway-Smith

Email your experiences to simon.conway-smith@tesco.net

Curate promoted

All Saints curate Tony Heywood has been promoted. He has been appointed as the Team Vicar of the Abbey Estate, Thetford Team Ministry in the Norwich Diocese.

Tony’s last Sunday in his current parish will be the 26th June and he will be licensed to his new parishes on the 14th July, 7pm

Library changes

The opening hours at Great Shelford library are being cut. Under new proposals, the library will be closed on Wednesdays and not open after 5pm. The new opening hours are:

You can have your say here by June 18: http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/leisure/libraries/libservicereview/openinghours_consultation.htm

or see the PDF form attachedat the bottom of the page.

Tesco decision

Tesco has won planning permission for more changes for its new store in Great Shelford.

The company’s plans for a refrigeration condenser and air conditioning units at the former Eaden Lilley premises in Great Shelford have been given the go ahead.

South Cambridgeshire District Council's planning committee approved the application by nine votes to five today, May 11.

Residents opposing the plans said the units would lead to more traffic in Woollards Lane and say fresh traffic research is needed.

But planning officers told councillors they do not have power to control vehicle movements at the site.

Little Shelford elections

Conservative candidate David Whiteman-Downes won the seat for Little Shelford, Great Shelford and Stapleford in the South Cambridgeshire District Council elections on May 5. The results were:

Two new footpaths opened