Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

I have not been informed as to how many took part in this survey.

Have you ever wondered what people across Cambridgeshire are calling 999 for? 

The force is set to run a social media ‘Postathon’, in honour of Control Room Week, to demonstrate the hard work and dedication of its control room staff.

We will update our Facebook and Instagram pages every 30 minutes summarising every 999 call that has come into the control room during that time frame. 

It is hoped that the Postathon, which will be held between 4pm-9pm on 25 October, will provide the public with an insight into the daily demand control room staff face.
In September, the demand hub received 12,478 calls to 999, 19,024 calls to 101 as well as 2,309 web chats and 2,575 online reports.

Superintendent Nick Church, head of demand, said: “We often hear about officers on the frontline, but rarely do we hear about the hard work and resilience of our control room staff, who are on hand 24 hours a day to help the public whenever they need police assistance. 

“This Postathon is important not only to raise awareness of the volume of calls we receive, but also to demonstrate the variety and complexity of some of the incidents we deal with, too. “I would like to use this opportunity to thank our control room staff, whose hard work, resilience and dedication does not go unnoticed. Their hard work is absolutely vital in keeping Cambridgeshire safe.”

You can tune in to the Postathon by following @CambsCops on Facebook and Instagram and looking out for updates on Friday (25 October). We will also be taking to our social media pages throughout the week in honour of Control Room Week, where we have shared posts featuring call handler Lyndsay and dispatcher Aimee. 

Having recently returned from maternity leave with a young family, Aimee said: “I wanted a role which would give me a good work life balance, however I still wanted a fast paced environment, and that is definitely what the control room offers.”
Call handler Lyndsay said: “when we answer calls, we never know what we are going to be dealing with. I have experienced and learnt about situations working here that I would never have thought I’d come across!”

The force is currently recruiting for control room staff, including call handlers and dispatchers. Find out more or apply on the force’s website.

Cost-row Cambridge road closed as cracks appear.

https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2024/10/21/cost-row-cambridge-road-closed-as-cracks-appear/

Parts of a new £32m bypass and bridge in Cambridge have been closed after cracks appeared.

Engineers are now monitoring the King’s Dyke Crossing at Whittlesey which is being affected by movement in the main embankment which supports the crossing.

The bridge opened in 2022 and was originally due to be built by Kier but the firm walked away from the job in 2019 after failing to agree a price for the project after raising concerns about ground conditions.

At the time a Kier spokesperson said: “Following the completion of the design phase, our pricing took the challenging ground conditions into careful consideration.”

The contract was picked-up by Jones Bros Civil Engineering who are now monitoring movement in the embankment to establish the extent of any remedial work needed.

A briefing note from Cambridgeshire County Council earlier this month said: “A temporary lane closure at King’s Dyke was implemented on 13 June 2024 as a precaution, after some cracks appeared on the edge of the road.

“This closure is in place while our contractor, Jones Bros, carry out some tests and further monitoring to identify the cause of the cracking.

“Jones Bros designers are considering the results of the testing and monitoring to help inform the design of remedial works.

“We are unable to confirm the date for remedial works to be undertaken because of the complexities in design, which need to be carefully considered in determining the solution.

“We continue to work closely with the contractor to understand why the cracks have appeared, which is essential to inform the design.”

Queen St Church extends to you a very warm welcome to our season’s second movie event this coming Sunday (27^th) – doors open at 1.30pm for a 2 o/c start. We have an interval about halfway through the screening where hot drinks and biscuits are served – a time to catch up with friends! No admission charges but donations are invited to offset operating costs. Hope to see you there?!

Screening – “What Happens Later” – cert 15.

A romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and David Duchovny.

Snowed-in at a regional airport overnight, ex-lovers Willa and Bill realize they’re still attracted to each other — but also still equally annoyed with each other. As they unpack the riddle of their mutual past and compare their lives to the dreams they once shared, they begin to wonder if their reunion is a mere coincidence or something more enchanted.

Customer comment – “What a really nice thing to be able to enjoy a movie in Whittlesey without the hassle of driving into Peterborough and get a coffee and biscuit thrown in!”

The O&S panel met today and offered some good questions to both the leader of FDC Cllr Chris Boden and Chief Exect Paul Medd.

Financial and Policy are much questioned, for example FDC have an investment program, they looked at 75 opportunities of which only 2 were considered and ending in the purchase of Warehousing which is at present giving good returns.

The O&S panel can be viewed on the FDC YouTube® Channel.

Plans have been approved to make all-day bus travel free for those who hold a concessionary bus pass.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Board approved the planslast week (October 16) – which are set to come into effect in May next year.