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News from before November, 1996

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[archive index]Charity for the homeless asks for another shelter to be built in Cambridge - (24/10/96)

The number of people being turned away from the shelter at the Zion Baptist Church has caused the charity 'Wintercomfort' to make plans for a new shelter to be built under the Elizabeth Way bridge. The charity say that 124 people had to be turned away from the existing shelter during July and August this year because there was no room for them.
It will take at least two years for the shelter to be built if the planning application is accepted.

- Information from the Cambridge Evening News of 17/10/96

[archive index] Iron age farms found at Cambridge site - (24/10/96)

Pottery and animal bones from two iron age farmsteads have been at the site of a proposed park and ride facility on Newmarket Rd. The discoveries were made by Birmingham University's field archaeology unit.

- Information from the Cambridge Evening News of 18/10/96

[archive index] Schools' cash crisis - (24/10/96)

The Cambridgeshire director of education has sent a letter out to all head teachers warning of possible hard times ahead. He said that the financial outlook for schools is bleak unless the Government gives the county the Area Cost Adjustment - a cash supplement which neighbouring counties already get.

- Information from the Cambridge Evening News of 22/10/96

[archive index] Soldiers to Bosnia - (24/10/96)

Soldiers from 39 Engineer Regiment based at Waterbeach have been deployed to Gornji Vakuf in Central Bosnia and Split in Croatia. They will be carrying out a wide range of tasks including upgrading roads, repairing bridges, and rebuilding community facilities.

- Information from the Cambridge Evening News of 18/10/96

[archive index] Row in Cambridge over cash to refugee support group - (10/10/96)

Cambridge City Council has rejected an application for money from the Cambridge Refugee Support Group. Commenting on the decision, the Labour councillor Adrian Lucas is reported as having said:
"Thirty-three per cent of our people in Cambridge lie below the poverty line
"Where do our priorities lie? With these people or with mysterious refugees."
Roman Znajek of the Liberal Democrats (whose parents were refugees) said:
"The idea that someone from outside the community is automatically 'mysterious' is not something we should be encouraging.
"There are refugees out there who are in need, who need to be supported, and I think it is rather sad that the Labour Party should have drawn this line in the way it has."
The Cambridge Refugee Support Group can be contacted on 01223 315877.

- based on information from 'The Cambridge Evening News' of 4/10/96.

[archive index] Cambridgeshire children hit by poverty - (4/10/96)

The health of up to 36,000 children in Cambridgeshire is in jeopardy because they live below the poverty line. The 'poverty line' is defined as an income of less than half the national average.
A plan is being drawn up by the Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authjority to tackle this problem. A report to the authority from a public health consultant said that although the county is relatively affluent, the number of children living in poverty is high. However the CHHA is already one of the regions biggest spending authorities on children. Hence improvements could be made by reallocating the £11m rather than necessarily spending more.

- based on information from the 'Cambridge Evening News' of 26/9/96.

[archive index] Money for voluntary groups in Cambridgeshire - (24/9/96)

The Cambridgeshire social services department wants to know if there are any more organisations eligible for a share of the money they provide for local voluntary groups. The department has already sent out over 200 bidding forms for claiming a portion of the voluntary organisations budget. Groups who have not received forms and who want some of the money are arged to apply.
The size of the budget has not been decided yet. Last year it was £1.55 million.
The deadline for applications is 31st. October. Information is available from the senior committee officer on 01223 317293

- informatiion from the 'Ely Standard' on 19/9/96.

[archive index] New language facilities for non-English speakers - (24/9/96)

Better translation services are to be made available to public services in the county as from today. The Cambridgeshire Interpretation and Translation Agency (CINTRA) will provide 24 hour access for all public services to interpreters in Serbo Croat, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Farsi, Gujerati, Italian and Mirpuri Punjabi.
The service is being laid on by the county council.

- information from the 'Cambridge Evening News' of 20/9/96.

[archive index] Cambridge 'Reclaim the Streets Demonstration' - (17/9/96)

Last Saturday Mill Rd. was blocked for five hours while the 'Reclaim the Streets' protest group held what they called a party.
The demonstration provoked a huge response from the police involving officers from several counties and the Essex police helecopter. The police eventually charged on around 200 protesters who refused to leave when asked.
According to yesterday's 'Cambridge Evening News' the Cambridge MP, Anne Campbell has said she will write to the chief constable to ask why the police presence was so heavy in dealing with a small number of troublemakers especially when people are desperate for more regular policing in the city.
She also said, 'This kind of protest, especially when it turns ugly, puts off people and harms the cause.'

[archive index] Head injuries unit for Ely to open in November - (12/9/96)

A new unit for rehabilitating people who have suffered from head injuries will open at the Ely Princess of Wales Hospital on November 19th. The £50,000 centre will provide types of treatment that are new in Britain.
The unit, to be called the Oliver Zangwill Centre, will use new multi-disciplinary and holistic methods of treatment based on developments made in Arizona.

- Information from an article in the 'Cambridge Evening News' of 10/9/96.

[archive index] Smashing windows in Soham and the break down of law and order - (6/9/96)

Last Friday night I was woken up by shouting in the road. That's not unusual on a weekend night in Soham High Street where I live and work.
However, the shouting didn't stop. I was annoyed - not only for being woken up - but because I had guests staying with me that night. It can't have been very nice to have had large scale vandalism and the prolonged screaming of obscenities going on right outside their window for two hours until two o'clock in the morning
Eventually I got out of bed to see what was going on. I could see two smashed shop windows and a gang of six to eight youths taunting a solitary policeman who, as far as I could see, had a sidewinder baton held out in both hands in front of him. The youths obviously fancied their chances against the policeman and were apparently desperate for him to make the first move. They seemed to think they had the moral high ground since the policeman had his baton at the ready (out of self defence possibly, I thought) and was therefore, in their eyes, plainly the aggressor.
Yesterday's 'Ely Weekly News' said the incident flared up when a local youth was arrested after shop windows were broken and that no one was injured during the two hour stand off. 'As a result of the incident, two further local youths were arrested and dealt with for further public order offences'.
I have lived on Soham High Street for four years now. I have seen fights from my window. Once I saw someone jump out of a car and leave it abandoned in the middle of the road - presumably having stolen it. However, the the most common iniquity by far seems to be the smashing of shop windows. Not necessarily to loot the contents of the shop, as far as I can tell. Any nice big plate glass window within a hundred yards of a pub that has recently called last orders seems to attract the attention of the smashers. The laundry, green-grocer, chippy, stitchcraft shop and pet shop have all been targets as well as the supermarket and off-license.
Cambridgeshire chief constable Ben Gunn has been deciding where to allocate 87 new officers within the local constabulary. I'm sure that a better police presence in Soham on Saturday nights would make local shopkeepers a lot happier - not to mention increase the chance for residents of getting a good night's sleep.

- by Ben Aldhouse.

Recent press articles on related topics include:

[archive index] Professorship sponsor loses cancer law suit - (11/8/96)

A subsidiary company of British American Tobacco, Brown & Williamson have to pay out a total of $750,000 to a Florida man and his wife after he claimed he was misled into thinking smoking was safe and hence contracted lung cancer due to smoking.
Cambridge University have recently accepted funding from BAT for a chair in international relations

.

- Information used here was found in an article in 'The Guardian' of 10/8/96.

[archive index] Ely minor injuries unit back on course - (11/8/96)

Protests from local MPs and the people of Ely have caused a reprieve for a proposed minor injuries unit at the city's Princess of Wales Hospital.
A meeting between the chief executives of the Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority and Lifespan Healthcare resulted in agreement that the injuries unit could go ahead if Lifespan found funds for it from within their existing resources.
Mr. Stephen Thornton, chief executive for the CHHA has been quoted as saying, 'While this is good news for Ely, it doesn't remove the crisis we face coping with this winter'. Since his meeting with the Lifespan chief executive he has had a letter published in the local press appealing for the thoughts of local people on how they think resources should be spent.

- based on articles in the Soham Advertiser and the Cambridge Evening News last week.
see - Health Authority postpone Ely minor injuries unit - (4/8/96)

[archive index] Health Authority postpone Ely minor injuries unit - (4/8/96)

The Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority will postpone, for at least a year, a minor injuries unit that was due to be opened at the Ely Princess of Wales Hospital this autumn. The decision, announced last Tuesday, was made as part of a plan to make up for a £3 million deficit in the authority's budget for this year.
The decision to open the unit was hailed with much publicity last March. (Read the entry in ECOLN's archives.) Staff to run it have already been taken on at the hospital.
Through out the week the local press have published scathing responses to the CHHA's decision. The authority justified its move on the grounds that the unit would not not be life-saving and that they had to protect more vital services.
A short article in yesterday's edition of the Cambridge Evening News reported that the CHHA would meet Lifespan (the trust that will run the injuries unit) to see if enough money can be found.

- based on a number of articles published in the Ely Standard and the Cambridge Evening News since last Tuesday.

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