February 2022

5 Buckden Roundabout February 2022 From your district councillor From Your District Councillor I hope you all enjoyed a good Christmas break. There was very little to report over this period, but I recently became aware of a new CCC Grant available from last December, which helps with the maintenance of streams and watercourses and I sum- marise it below. Applications from individuals are possible, so it may be useful to a wide range of people in our area or fur- ther afield. Community Flood Action Programme This is an initiative by Cambridge County Council to increase community resilience to flooding. Originally set up in March 2021, in practice it was only in December 2021 that the fund- ing to support aspects of the programme was released, allow- ing applications for funding to be made from December 1. Riparian Watercourse Maintenance Grant CCC recognised that a key problem was identifying Riparian Owners and their responsibilities, but where this was not pos- sible or the owner had no funding, then CCC would provide limited funding for essential maintenance work to be under- taken. This Grant became available for application from De- cember 1 2021. Community Flood Groups CCC prefers to get applications from Community Flood Groups (CFG ’ s), but where these have not been set up, then CCC will give special consideration to applications from Parish Councils and also Individuals. All applications must have the written support of the local County Councillor. Application Process This is relatively simple, comprising an application form supple- mented by a guide to the benefits expected from the project. These benefits are set out on a project evaluation scorecard and are given weightings. So if the project will generate volun- teers for ongoing maintenance in the future, then it scores 10. If there are no volunteers then the score will be much lower. Applications are assessed on a number of criteria to include: • Addressing recognised flooding issues • Engaging with the local community • Ecological Benefits • Number of Houses with reduced risk of flooding Contractual Process There is a standard CCC contract and any applicant will need to take legal advice. There is an expectation that each project will have a project manager who will take responsibility for the Grant and subject to legal advice the project manager may have individual/personal responsibility. So this needs careful checking or discussion with CCC. More Information From the main CCC homepage the links are>Business>Planning and Development>Flood and Water>Riparian watercourse grant. There are three PDF documents for downloading, Ripari- an Works Funding Application Form, Project Evaluation Score- card. Draft Riparian Funding Agreement. Applications should be sent to CFAP@Cambridgeshire.gov.uk and this is also the main route for discussions. Conclusion This is a useful and practical initiative which may have applica- tions in Buckden. Hamish Masson, Councillor, Buckden Ward, HDC Buckden Neighbourhood Watch RICHARD WEST Village Coordinator 01480 811467 / 07841 866630 To contact the police: 999 in an emergency; 0800 555 111 Crime Stoppers; 0300 123 2040 Action Fraud. EMAIL burglarycrackdown@cambs.pnn.police.uk or visit www.crimestoppers.uk.org or you can telephone 101 Suspicions or concerns can be reported via the police force ’ s online web chat function here https://bit.ly/3tfssQF Or via the online reporting forms here https://bit.ly/3ck9z85 KEEP YOUR PERSONAL DATA SAFE The Police Action Fraud Alert website offers the following ad- vice: • Your device contains a lot of personal data that is highly valuable to a fraudster. It is likely that it will contain your full name, date of birth, address, bank details and passwords. It may also contain many other forms of personal data such as private photos and videos. • Keep your Software Up to date. Out of date software and applications contain weaknesses. This makes them easier to hack. Companies fix any weaknesses by re- leasing updates - make sure that you use them. Ideally enable automatic updates when they are available. OBJECTIVES OF NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH. The Neighbourhood Watch Handbook states that it has four objectives: • To Prevent Crime by improving the security of property, increasing vigilance and reducing the opportunities for crime by prevention awareness. • To Assist the Police in the Detection of Crime by pro- moting effective communication and the prompt re- porting of suspicious incidents and criminal activity. • To Reduce Undue Fear of Crime by providing up to date and accurate information. • To Improve Police and Community Liaison by providing effective communications.