December 2020

16 Buckden Roundabout December 2020 Village News December 2020 The great unknown … At the time of writing we, like everyone else, are unsure how things will be in December. Currently during ‘ Lockdown 2’ we are still open for collection of pre - ordered books and limited public PC use, and we hope this will continue. November had meant to be a new golden era in our libraries – we would be open for browsing! Sadly, Buckden library only managed one ‘ open for browsing ’ session before the Govern- ment instruction to close and retreat back to the limited ser- vice we have been offering since August. But for those hand- ful of people who made it in, happy days! But, we are still here and our temporary opening hours are: Tuesday - 2pm - 6pm Friday - 10am - 2pm The service we are currently able to provide means you can: • Request books from the library catalogue using the normal on line reservations service or via Customer Services (contact details below). Normal charges have been suspended for this service. • Use our Select and Collect service to request a selec- tion of titles based on genre or author. Using the form available on our website or by calling Customer Ser- vices you can tell us what you like to read and library staff will select books based on your choices for you to collect. • Return items to Buckden library • Book an appointment to use the library computers . Note that this is currently restricted to one 45 minute appointment per day per customer Or just call in – if we ’ re not busy we will happily find you a selection of books from the shelf while you wait, or check out our window displays to see if anything takes your fancy there. However you get your books this festive season, we hope you have a peaceful Christmas and a hopeful New Year. Please note most Cambridgeshire libraries will be closed from 1pm on Thursday 24 th December, reopening on Satur- day 2 January. More information available on our website. Village Hall, Burberry Road, Buckden Tel: 0345 045 5225 www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/library From Your District Councillor Firstly many congratulations to Anne Howell Jones and all of her Neighbourhood Planning team on getting the NP to ap- proved status, even if there are Covid related delays in making it completely legal. A really fantastic effort by your very dedi- cated BP Councillors! Update on Planning Silver Street and Mill Road applications are on hold. The De- veloper has not been in contact with HDC and no further de- tails have been sent or requested, apart from confirmation of contribution requests received earlier in the summer. Mill Road will be kept on hold by HDC, until the impact of Sil- ver Street is understood and they are able to make appropri- ate assessments. Closure of Huntingdon/Godmanchester bridge The proposed closure to vehicles has caused widespread con- cern in our area because of probable knock on traffic effects. At this point the decision is temporary to test the various im- pacts. But far more worrying, if this bridge is closed to emer- gency vehicles there will a huge time lag in getting to hospital. To quote a very old pop song, don ’ t get stuck on the wrong side of the tracks and don ’ t have a heart attack! We need to lobby the team at CCC about our concerns. The Bridge is the Medieval one on the B1044/The Avenue. I understand the lead for the team working on the project is Jeremy Smith, who can be contacted via Jeremy.Smith@cambridgeshire.gov.uk . Pollution caused by Development I raised with HDC the probable environmental damage from car/exhaust pollution from traffic queuing. I made the point that existing sensors were probably located in historical loca- tions, which given changed traffic patterns might need review. Based on these current locations, records show that pollution in Buckden has dropped and is within government standards. As a community we need to start monitoring possible pollu- tion, so if you spot or smell something from the A1 or queues in the village, drop me a note on Facebook. Shell Garage and roundabout access Over the last week groundwork has been completed for the new Electric Charge Site. Planning application 20/01992/FUL, proposing 4 x vehicle charging points and associated works. Yes it was known about, but what worries me, is the size of the new ground works. Shell have not just knocked down the car wash, they have extended the usable size of the site by approximately a third. This may mean more vehicles using the site in the future, making the traffic problems worse. The thing I most love about living in Buckden is that there is always a really expert resident who knows about the matter at hand. Alloys, Solar Panels, Bats whatever there is always someone. So if you know about commercial charging points, voltage drops, or High Voltage electrical distribution systems, again please send me a Facebook message. Do get in touch if you want any help at Hamish.masson@huntingdonshire.gov.uk. Hamish Masson—District Councillor