December 2019

Buckden Roundabout

December 2019

Neighbourhood Watch

Buckden Neighbourhood Watch

BEWARE AMAZON PRIME SCAM

Action Fraud is warning people about a new scam that charg-

es individuals for an Amazon Prime subscription.

The organisation has received hundreds of reports of a scam

where victims receive an automated phone call claiming

they’ve been charged for an Amazon Prime subscription.

The phone call informs people their personal details have

been fraudulently used to subscribe to Amazon Prime, howev-

er they can cancel the transaction by pressing 1 on their

phone keypad.

When victims do this, they are automatically connected to

criminals posing as Amazon customer service representatives

who then remotely access their computer and steal their per-

sonal and financial details.

ACTION FRAUD ADVICE

•

Never install software as a result of a cold call

•

Always question uninvited approaches in case it’s a scam

•

If in doubt contact a company directly using a known email

address or phone number

•

Feel confident to refuse unusual requests for personal or

financial information.

HALLOWEEN

I am sad to write the following, many kind residents left

sweets for children on their doorstep only to find children or I

can say young people stole all the sweets and on occasions

the container. There is photographic Evidence of the young

people who stole the sweets what happens next year. Just

hope young people will apologise to the residents they stole

from and not behave in this way again.

RICHARD WEST Village Coordinator 01480 811467 working with CLIVE WILLIAMS 01480 811828

To contact the police: 999 in an emergency; 0800 555 111 Crime Stoppers; 0300 123 2040 Action Fraud.

burglarycrackdown@cambs.pnn.police.uk

or visit

www.crimestoppers.uk.org

or you can telephone 101

FROM YOUR COUNTY COUNCILLOR

Confusing and difficult times ahead

November and December are normally the months when Cam-

bridgeshire County Council committees try to work out how to

provide services to the public for the following financial year

(starting April 2020). This is always a difficult task as we have to

juggle with several variables: the demand for services; grants

for local government from central government; the decision by

the Council on tax increases (if any).

This year, in addition to all those variables, we have a General

Election in December and although the main focus of attention

will be the Brexit dilemma, the outcome of the election will

also affect many other aspects of public life – adult social care,

care for young people, schools, NHS, housing etc. So, planning

is even more difficult this year.

What we do know for sure is that demand for the services pro-

vided by the County Council is increasing owing to the impact

of prolonged austerity on the most deprived in our community.

Alongside what we might call the ‘macro-problems’ which

affect all communities across the country, we have the ‘micro-

problems’ – the everyday local issues which affect the quality

of life and safety of local residents. These vary slightly from

village to village, but usually include dangerously worn-out

road markings and unfilled pot-holes, as well as what we might

call the more ‘cosmetic’ shortcomings (slime-covered road

signs, overgrown verges, damaged street names, unweeded

public areas).

Another new and important dimension this year is the increas-

ing public awareness of environmental issues and climate

change. All the County Council committees are charged with

bearing these in mind as they do their planning. So, for exam-

ple, renewed attention to improving bus services is back on the

agenda in order to get people out of cars. Similarly, road plan-

ning must give greater attention to cycleways and pedestrian

safety.

I honestly cannot foresee what will be happening in these as-

pects of our collective life in 2020 and onwards. The one thing I

do feel sure about is that we will no longer be able to expect

what we have been used to for many years. The ingenuity and

resilience of local communities, greater personal action at the

local level and, I fear, greater financial demands will be in the

forefront of our thinking.

‘We live in interesting times …’

If you wish to raise any local matters with me personally and

would welcome a face-to-face conversation, I come to the par-

ish council meeting, the 2

Tuesday in the month. At other

times, please ring me on 07765 833 486 or write to me at pe-

ter.downes@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

Peter Downes, November 14th, 2019

Thanks from Marie Curie

Many thanks to Buckden Marina, its staff, all the other help-

ers, and those who so generously donated, for making the

Marie Curie Coffee Morning such a great success. We raised

£830 towards St Mary's Church charity fund raising appeal

for this charity.

What a great achievement!

Thanks from Gordon & Elaine Dudley

We would like to thank all of the children, tots to teenagers,

who visited us at Halloween. Over 90 in all. Their costumes

and make-up were fantastic and the smiles and greetings

were heart-warming. They all thanked us for their treats.

What a lovely evening!!