Salt / grit bins

Does your parish have a dangerous corner or hill that becomes particularly difficult in the ice? Is it off the normal gritting route? Your parish council can  apply and pay for a grit bin which will be filled by the county council at no charge to the parish. Remember the grit must be for use on the highway or related footpath. Some district councils pay the county to have bins stocked for use on district land, for example where there is sheltered housing.

Don’t forget to secure the bin. We have already had a case of a grit bin being stolen in one of my parishes. I guess it was the salt / grit they wanted to pinch.

Salt Stocks 4th Jan 2011

As of today we have 2426 tonnes in stock and today placed an order with
the DfT for a further 1500 tonnes from their reserve stocks.  This
latter should be delivered by the middle of next week.  We are having to
pay a premium for this but I understand we are getting it at the same
cost to government though their will have to be a delivery charge added.

We also have on order from Ireland an additional 5000 tonnes due towards
the end of the month.

BAM Nuttal Fail To Deliver On Christmas Pledge

Busway contractors BAM Nuttall will be stripped of a further £238,000 for late delivery by Cambridgeshire County Council as the Contractor has confirmed it will not deliver the Busway before shutting down for Christmas. In a public statement, the contractor stated the whole route would be complete before Christmas, but BAM Nuttall’s site team have said today they will not hit the date they set. So far only eleven out of 44 mandatory construction certificates for the southern section, that guarantee the works, have been submitted and the contractor is way behind the schedule they set themselves for providing the certificates.  Almost £14,000 a day will continue to be deducted from BAM Nuttall for late delivery of the project during the festive break on top of almost £9 million that has already been deducted.

Councillors approved plans to bring in new contractors to fix some of the defects once the route has been handed over and the contractor permitted their contracted 28 days to finish any outstanding tasks. All six defects are still outstanding despite a statement by BAM Nuttall ‘s Chief Executive in April saying the firm would fix the problems months ago. The Council plans to install an expansion joint on the River Great Ouse viaduct that was omitted by BAM Nuttall, adjust the levels of the St Ives Park and Ride car park so it drains properly and rain water does not pond as well as raise sections of the flooded cycleway as it is impassable for more than half the year. BAM Nuttall will be liable for the Council’s costs which will be deducted from the 5% of the contract value that is being held back from BAM Nuttall (called retention) that should be paid back to BAM Nuttall after completion.

The Council and bus operators have consistently stated they both want the defects that would cause the Busway to close again once it is open rectified before passenger services begin. When BAM Nuttall finish the job and complete all the necessary construction certificates the independent Project Manager has 21 days to certify the work as complete. BAM Nuttall will then have 28 days under the terms of the contract to correct any defects the Project Manager notifies them of – including the six between St Ives and Cambridge.

After this period the Council can step in with new contractors and fix the jobs as planned. Work on the cycleway will not hold up the opening of the Busway but will be carried out after the other defects as the flooded sections between Swavesey and St Ives must dry out first. Cambridgeshire residents have sadly become very accustomed to BAM Nuttall failing to hit the dates they have set for themselves, but the fact the contractor will not have the work done by Christmas will not be a big surprise to most as Council officers have said publically that they doubted this for some time.

What is promising is the fact the Council now has plans firmly in place to correct the problems that have held up the opening of the Busway between St Ives and Cambridge. By having new contractors ready to go we will try and make sure there are no further unnecessary delays, but until the route is handed over by BAM Nuttall we are very much in their hands. Cambridgeshire deserves the very best and the costs of correcting BAM Nuttall’s defective works will be deducted from the contractor and not paid for by taxpayers.

County On Line Planning Complaints Form

Cambridgeshire County Council, as the local minerals and waste planning authority, has recently introduced an on-line form for reporting breaches of planning control.  You can use this from to report breaches of planning control which relate to minerals or waste activities, and County Council developments within Cambridgeshire.

To access the complaint form please follow the steps below. Log onto the County Council’s web site at http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/ Alternatively click on the following link or copy it into your web browser   https://forms.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/customer/servlet/ep.app?ut=X&type=404092

You can still report breaches of planning control which relate minerals or waste activities and County Council developments by telephone or in writing.

 

Transforming the way the County Council works – have your say

The focus of our transformation will be on what our local communities want and we must all make sure every penny of every pound works in the most effective way possible. All services will face change; some will end, or be provided through other partners and the voluntary and community sectors. We’ll be making sure that we prioritise services for the most vulnerable and those that most need support.  This will mean moving away from some universal services and targeting particular groups of people, for example in the support we offer for children and young people.

We will be devolving decision making, commissioning and the running of some services to local level, where people are best placed to decide which services they need.  For example, we are considering subsidising fewer bus services and looking instead at developing more integrated community-based approaches to public transport. We will be making sure that services are provided by those who are able to offer best value.  Sometimes this will be us; other times this will mean working with other partners and agencies.

We’ll help communities to step in where we can’t provide services. We’ll listen more, instead of taking a top down approach. We’ll work more closely with individuals and carers on personalising care, so that people can take their own decision on what is right for them.  For example, by rolling out even greater use of direct payments and self directed support, we can give more people choice and control over their care needs. We’ll focus on preventing people needing high levels of care and support and, when people do need it we’ll intervene early, helping to “re-able” them to live independently.

We are already a lean authority compared with many of our neighbours, so we will be starting this work from a base which is already low cost. Everything will be geared to better outcomes for our frontline, while we streamline the back office and sharing services with others to reduce costs.

Consultation,  we need your views.

This year, we are launching a consultation online at, www.sharesim.arachsys.com/login/camb10.jsp which means that more people will be able to take part. The results will be analysed and published by Cabinet in January. I urge you all to take part in the consultation as it will impact on how services are delivered.

County Budget

The County Council is facing unprecedented challenge. The impact of the national debt, combined with the twin pressures of increased demand for our services and inflation, means we have a target of saving £160.6 million over the next five years. That is why I want to talk to you about how we are going to meet this challenge. There is no doubt that to meet these tough challenges we are going to have to transform the way we work. This is at the heart of this year’s budget process, now open to consultation. We will become a slimmer, even more efficient Council; one which puts communities at the heart of creating and delivering services, and prioritises help for the most vulnerable people in our communities.

We want to be a genuinely local Council, handing power for decision making, budgets and service provision to the most local possible level. These changes will have big implications for the way we work, and we estimate that over the next year up to 450 people will be affected as the Council transforms. This figure is likely to increase over the next two to three years. Redundancies are an inevitable consequence of the challenge we face, but we will do all we can to mitigate the impacts. Of course, not all of the reductions will result in redundancy.  We’ve been freezing posts as they have become vacant and some staff will retire or move to a job elsewhere.

 

Salt Update

The Local Transport Minister, Norman Baker, wrote to Leaders of Highways
Authorities on 15 December setting out what central Government was doing
to assist.  This letter reports on the conclusion of David Quarmby’s
further independent audit of current resilience, which was published on
21 December; and, in particular, followed up on the commitment to
provide further guidance on spread rates for salt.
Following David Quarmby’s review of the level of service supplied across
the country last winter, our staff have adhered to the recommendations,
particularly keeping our spread rates as low as possible. Currently only
10 grammes of salt per square metre  is used where as they would have
normally use 15 grammes or even 20. They have also spent significant
time coordinating between the areas to ensure they go with the most
effective treatment for each area rather than a single treatment
suitable for all. This has means that more salt is spread where snow has
been heaviest.
The work with our District colleagues has meant the more heavily used
pedestrian areas, footways and cycle ways have been treated, only using
a small amount of the basic salt resources and a sugar/brine mixture,
which has improved the service provided in the urban areas.
All this is allowing us to stretch our resources as far as possible and
so hopefully we are now able to wait until the New Year before being
having to consider if we have to reduce the routes treated.
The teams did one run last night at the 10gramme rate and current salt
stock is 2350 tonnes.

Happy New Year to you all

I wish you all a happy new year. I had a fantastic time over the holiday, in large part because all the youngsters came to stay / visit and our first grandson made several appearances. He did look wonderful in his santa outfit at the tender age of four weeks. With so many difficulties in the world it is so heartening to see my daughter take to motherhood so wonderfully. I can’t wait to buy young Ollie his first cricket kit and take him to nets. I might need to wait a couple of years first.

 

South Cambridgeshire Lib Dems split

Our own Lib Dem County Councillor Sue Gymer clashes with Nick Clegg. Sue Gymer,  the Chair of the South Cambridgeshire Lib Dem constituency party, said Mr Clegg’s decision to go back on his promise to fight tuition fee rises was morally wrong. That may or may not be the case but it is clear that despite being in coalition the Lib Dems have not yet learnt the need for collective responsibility. We know the Lib Dem ruling group in Cambridge City have very different views from the Lib Dem group at the County Council and it now seems they can’t support their national leadership.

Why is this important? Well, I guess it would be nice to know what the Lib Dems stand for and that is not obvious depending on who  you talk to. What is clear is that they are 110% experts in complaining and moaning and pointing out why they think thinks are wrong and completely unable to suggest credible alternatives that might make things better. When they do manage to string a few thoughts together it is usually in an uncoordinated way with other policies and other Lib Dem groups. A potential pressure group they might be – a realistic party for governing they are not.

Read the Daily Mirror on the Gymer / Clegg dispute http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2010/12/11/nick-clegg-fighting-for-his-political-life-after-tuition-fees-betrayal-sparks-fierce-grassroots-backlash-115875-22775576/