Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

Here is another opportunity for ALL residents to have a say and input into The Whittlesey Neighbourhood Plan.

Your educated guess is as good as mine – one thing is for certain it won’t be any of the Councillors who have been ‘de-selected’ in standing at next years District Elections.
There appears to be (2) favourites in the running – our own Whittlesey County, District and Town Councillor Mr Chris Boden – whether he has time to spare I don’t know as he has many other ‘Hats’ to wear and to take on this very time consuming role I don’t think there are enough hours in the day – something has to give – should he be successful.

Then there is the other front runner Councillor Chris Seaton who has been a Fenland Councillor since 2007 and has a wealth of experience behind him and is a cabinet member.
Then again there could be a outsider who decides to have a go….Cllr Steve Tierney once mentioned has said he will not be a candidate..

Maybe with the ‘recent’ ‘purge’ of FDC Conservative Councillors being ‘de-selected’ and that’s (3 if not 4) maybe the ‘old school’ has had its day and Conservatives are looking for a fresher face to fill this important position.

Maybe ‘if’ ex FDC Cllr Martin Curtis was still there – he would have made a stand – still maybe (I don’t do rumours) Martin Curtis will return as a candidate at next  years District elections – watch this space.

Apologies for a longish post – but worth 5 minutes

Phantom Debt Fraud    
Action Fraud has recently experienced an increase in the number of calls to members of the public by fraudsters requesting payments for a “phantom” debt. The fraud involves being cold-called by someone purporting to be a debt collector, bailiff or other type of enforcement agent.
The fraudster may claim to be working under instruction of a court, business or other body and suggest they are recovering funds for a non-existent debt.

The fraudsters are requesting payment, sometimes by bank transfer and if refused, they threaten to visit homes or workplaces in order to recover the supposed debt that is owed. In some cases, the victim is also threatened with arrest. From the reports Action Fraud has received, this type of fraud is presently occurring throughout the UK.

It is important to recognise that there are key differences between the various entities who seek to settle debts or outstanding fees in England and Wales. These differences range from the type of debt they will enforce to the legal powers they possess. To learn more, please take a look at some of the helpful information and links on the Step Change Debt Charity website;

• Make vigorous checks if you ever get a cold call. Bailiffs for example, should always be able to provide you with a case number and warrant number, along with their name and the court they are calling from; make a note of all details provided to you.
• If you receive a visit from a bailiff, they must always identify themselves as a Court Bailiff at the earliest possible opportunity. Ask to see their identity card which they must carry to prove who they are, this card shows their photograph and identity number. They will also carry the physical warrant showing the debt and endorsed with a court seal.
• If you work for a business and receive a call or visit, be sure to speak with your manager or business owner first. Never pay the debts yourself on behalf of the business you work for; some fraudsters have suggested employees make payment suggesting they can then be reimbursed by their employer when in reality the debt is non-existent.
• Exercise caution believing someone is genuine because you’ve found something on the internet; fraudsters could easily create fake online profiles to make you believe them.
• Double check with the court, company or public body they claim to work for to confirm whether the call is legitimate; if you use a landline make sure you hear the dialling tone prior to dialling as the caller could still be on the line and you could potentially speak to the fraudster(s) to confirm the non-existent debt. Also be sure to independently search for a telephone number to call; never use a number provided by the caller without carrying out your own research.
• Do not feel rushed or intimidated to make a decision based on a phone call. Take five and listen to your instincts.
• If you know you have a debt, keep in regular contact with your creditor and be sure to establish the debt type at the earliest opportunity if you are not aware. This will help you to understand who might be in contact with you regarding any repayments or arrears.

Your opportunity to have YOUR say – Yes it counts – it takes 2 minutes only to fill in the survey.
Reading the documents takes much longer all can be viewed on FDC’s Website.
Survey closes 6th February.

http://www.fenland.gov.uk/yourviews2018

Whittlesey Reading Group

Buttercross Reading Group

Whit Knits

Engage in the Morning

Lego Club

Alice in the Cuckoo’s Nest –
Whittlesey Library & Community Hub
Where : Whittlesey Library & Learning Centre
When : 13 February 2018 , 7.30pm
Price : £7 or £4 concession
Description : A Librarian Theatre production inspired by the works of Lewis Carroll.

Wiggle & Giggle – formerly Storytime

Community Safety Contact Point – Whittlesey Library & Community Hub
Where : Whittlesey Library & Learning Centre, 31-35, Market Street, Whittlesey.
When : Ongoing regular activity.
Price : Free
Description : Members of the Community team from Fenland District Council and the local PCSO are holding a drop in and will be available for advice and an opportunity for members of the public to report issues.
Future dates are May 17th 11 – 12; June 21st 10 – 11 and July 19th 10 – 11.

As reported on several occasions, ‘The Monastery’ is well advanced in becoming the latest small hotel to come to town. Seen here in 1981 with Craig & Co Estate Agents next door – bought my first and only property through them..

Sorry to see that not only Wrights closing down , The small DIY/Builders Merchants on Broad Street has also gone and the latest to be closing is a long established ship.
The Lighting Centre.

I look forward to hearing David Ostler giving a talk to The Whittlesey Business Forum meeting in February.

Last week full of good news, this week not so good news….

Hopefully these businesses will soon be replaced.

WTC Planning Meeting 07th February – Several interesting items..

This weeks nostalgic photo taken some 20+ years ago, when visiting Monument Valley, Connie & I were very honoured to meet and talk with the local Navajo Indians.

They did me a great favour when ‘I’ accidentally locked ourselves out of our hire car….they would not take any payment from me and left us with smiles on their faces….
Happy memories – again.

Hope you all have a good weekend –

Our condolences to good friend Andrew and Sue Overton, Kevin (son) Annett (daughter)on the passing away of long term resident of Eastrea and Coates, Mr Herbert Overton, who sadly pass away on the 30th January, peacefully at Peterborough City Hospital aged 92. ‘Bert’ had lived in Eastrea and Coates for over 65 years.

Connie and I had visited him twice during the week, a sad loss to us all.

Click On Picture to enlarge

As part of TfL and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s commitment to make travel accessible to everyone, there are now 72 step-free stations across our Tube Network.
Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street were the most recent stations to become step-free,
ensuring that some of our busiest stations are fully accessible.
Our £200m investment in delivering step-free access will mean that by 2022 over 100 Tube Stations will be step free.
To see more about Tfl Improvements Click Here

With so much development along the western end of Stonald Road – both Whittlesey and Fenland Councils are keen to make improvement to the play area at the Water Tower Play Park.
Please see below… It is very important that as many people have their input –
Thank You…

I am grateful to Cllr Chris Boden who has followed up my comments about confusion of signage in respect of the B1040 Thorney Road/North Bank Road – Being Closed and Re-opened….
We will all wait and see the next time indeed North Bank is closed – whether the Peterborough Boys do in fact cross the border into Whittlesey and place signage as
detailed below…

“We have some progress on the signage issue for North Bank closures!
Peterborough City Council are indeed responsible for placing and removing signs at the KellyVision roundabout (and also slightly further north on the B1040 hear Hemmerley Drive) relating to the closure of North Bank – I honestly don’t know for sure why this is so, but I don’t really need to dig into that!
The City Council’s Water Management Engineer has spoken to their Network and Traffic Team Manager and they were unaware of the issue around signage recently.
As such the Water Management Engineer will speak to their Highways Maintenance Team and reinforce the details around the diversion route signage for road closures at North Bank.”
Cllr Chris Boden