- from ECOLN's archives of last March.
[archive index] MP's pay rise
- Local MPs against it - (12/7/96)
On Wednesday Members of Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of
receiving a 26% pay rise. However, the MPs for the area ECOLN covers voted
almost unanimously against the pay rise.
- South East Cambridgeshire - James Paice (Con) - against
- North East Cambridgeshire - Malcolm Moss (Con) - against
- Bury St. Edmunds and Newmarket - Richard Spring (Con) - against
- Cambridge - Anne Campbell (Lab) - against
- South West Cambridgeshire - Sir Anthony Grant - for
- based on information published in the Cambridge Evening News on 11/7/96
[archive index] Health workers
continue fight for pay rise to match inflation - (12/7/96)
Health workers in Cambridge recently turned down a pay rise of up to
2.95% in order to carry on their struggle for one of 6.5%. They are fighting
for a pay settlement which will make up for previous offers they have accepted
which have been below the rate of inflation.
based on an article in the Cambridge Evening News of 9/7/96
[archive index] Hospital chiefs
criticised - (12/7/96
Cambridge Labour MP Anne Campbell has written to the chief executives
of Addenbrooks and Hinchingbrooke Hospitals to ask them to review their
management procedure because of the high level of cancelled operations.
James Paice, the Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire has
criticised Addenbrookes of 'bad management' after he was informed that
one of his constituents had had an operation cancelled five times this
year.
- See Sandi Irvines fictionalised story based on actual events - 'Re
Iain Francis, appendectomy'
[archive index] Science park
for Landbeach - (9/7/96)
Suon property developers have bought the 49 hectare Landbeach Marina
site off the A10. The land has planning permisssion for 32 ha of research
and development complex to be built and for 16 ha to be used as a wildlife
park and for recreation.
- based on an article in the Cambridge Evening News of 4/7/96.
[archive index] Lights-off
scheme cancelled - (9/7/96)
The plan to have one in eight street lamps kept switched off and a
number of roads to be left ungritted through out the county has now been
scrapped after the county council was awarded Supplementary Credit by the
Government to the tune of £400,000.
Councillors are still concerned about the lack of money in the transportation
department since the Supplementary Credit is only a one off payment. Lights
may have to go out and roads left ungritted in following years.
The Cambridge Evening News has reported plans by prospective city area
radio license holder, Cambridge Community Radio, to air a three-times-a-week
soap opera.
Director of the station, Anne Garvey said, ' It's going to be a very
funny way of looking at Cambridge life, where the kind of eccentric characters
you get in the city will come to the fore.'
Last Thursday's 'Cambridge Evening News' reported that Anglian Water
had received 21 calls from customers who had found worms in their tap water.
The black half centimetre to centimetre long worms were said to be midge
larvae from Grafham Water reservoir and represented no risk to health.
However, the water industry regulator, Ofwat, said that affected customers
were entitled to compensation.
In the following day's edition, Cambridge MP Anne Campbell was reported
to have attacked Anglian Water for 'pressurising' people into metering
and pushing up prices to pay for repairs. The attack was part of a criticism
in the Commons of the way the countries water supply has been run since
privatisation. She said that Ofwat was next to useless being more concerned
with defending itself than the consumer.
In reply, Anglian water said that the region was getting the best service
it had ever had.
Ely recently failed to get money from the Government for closed circuit
television security cameras for the city after a break down of communication
between the local chamber of trade and industry and East Cambridgeshire
District Council.
The Chamber's £45,000 bid was turned down because no official
local partner was listed in the application. The District Council was to
have been entered as the official partner. However, in spite of the council's
acquiescence to be a part of the project, they allegedly told the Chamber
to remove any wording from the application suggesting that they were partners
- on the grounds that they had not been officially asked.
It turned out that a letter of support with a promise of £8,000
from the council was not considered as the required formal partnership
agreement.
- based on an article in the Soham Advertiser of 27/6/96.
[archive index] Pollution in
Cambridge - (1/7/96)
Levels of lung damaging PM10 diesel particulates in Parker Street have
recently been recorded as high as 140 microgrammes per cubic metre. The
recommended maximum is just 50 microgrammes per cubic metre.
- based an article in the Cambridge evening news of 28/6/96
[archive index] Littleport
goes ahead with developments despite setback - (1/7/96)
After a failure by the town to secure £1million from the Rural
Development Commission, Littleport will go ahead with the following projects
with help from East Cambridgeshire District Council.
- Conversion of the old barn in the Main Street car park to house toilets
and amenities
- Attracting inward investment to a Wisbech Rd Industrial site
- A grant scheme for new businesses.
Further funding will be sought from the Rural Development Commission,
the government development agency English Partnerships and Europe.
- based on an article in the Soham Advertiser of27/6/96.
[archive index] Health authority
calls for ban on tobacco advertising - (1/7/96)
Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority members have agreed to continue
to campaign for the Government to ban tobacco advertising and increase
tobacco taxes.
The authority's director, Dr Ron Zimmern said, ' As tobacco smoking
remains the dominant and most securely established cause of any cancer,
the most effective way to reduce future incidence lies in preventive strategies
focused on young people.
- based on an article in the Cambridge Evening News of 27/6/96
This week's 'Soham Advertiser' tells us that a Sutton man has been
taking Channel 4 camera men on a flying safari over the Fens in search
of the fabled 'Fen Tiger'. The results of their work are due to be shown
on 'Absolutely Animals' on July 10th.
[archive index] County 'robbed'
by the Government - (1/7/96)
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire are among counties currently receiving
extra money under the Government's Area Cost Adjustment formula because
of high living costs. Cambridgeshire councillors and MPs believe the county,
which receives no money under the scheme, is being unfairly treated.
The campaign to see Cambs. right is set to be stepped up as the Government
finalise a review for local funding.
Council Labour leader Janet Jones said Cambridgeshire folk were being
'robbed'. The council's chief executive, Gordon Lister, estimates that
the authority stands to gain £16 million a year.
The Department of the Environment issued a statement saying they 'are
currently looking at all aspects of the Area Cost Adjustment'.
- based on an article in the Cambridge Evening News of 26/6/96.
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