Hemingford Abbots Parish Council

St Margaret’s Church Hemingford Abbots – Welcome Pack

Posted by Pearl Muspratt – PCC St Margaret’s Church

St Margaret’s Church has prepared a welcome pack; this takes the form of an information leaflet which, in addition to general information also gives times and forms of services. It comes with welcome gifts of a mug, and a tea towel.

The mugs and tea towels will also be on general sale.  The tea towel has a beautiful illustration of the village, designed by David Hamilton as seen on on the board by the bus stop in the middle of the village.  The mug shows the church on one side and the pub on the other.  They are £5 each, a bargain!  And they make a lovely present for friends, especially if they have visited the village, maybe been to the flower festival.  

If you know of anyone who has recently moved to the village, or if you wish to purchase a mug or tea towel, please email Pearl Muspratt at pearlmuspratt@hotmail.com

Posted by Sue Peel- Chair Hemingford Bowls Club

The new outdoor bowls season will be starting from 17 April and we are looking to welcome new players, either new, returning or experienced to our friendly club. 

We are holding an open day on Sunday 21 April from 2 pm so why not come along and give it a go? 

There will be many opportunities to play in friendly roll ups, friendly matches against other clubs and in club and league matches.  

Each Friday at 9.45 for a 10am we hold a weekly social roll up and this is an ideal opportunity to come along to meet members and have a go at bowling. There will also be a roll up each Saturday at 1.45 for a 2 pm start as well as coaching/improving sessions on a Tuesday evening at 6pm. The club does have some sets of bowls for use; you will just need flat soled shoes and we ask that shirts have a collar and shorts/trousers are smart casual. We look forward to welcoming you. 

For more information contact Sue smpeel8159@gmail.com

Following on from the discussions at the Parish Council meeting in November, the Council have now submitted an application to Cambridgeshire County Council, as part of the Local Highways Initiative (LHI) programme. The application requests that Highways consider changing the remaining 30mph section of the High Street (from Chapmans to the S bends) to 20mph, and to also include a 20mph speed limit for New Road, which would run south from the junction with High Street to the entrance gate to the village.

The window for applications runs until 15th March 2024, at which point all 20mph LHIs submitted in the County will be considered for progression.

The Parish Council also raised with Highways the concerns local residents have for the junction of New Road with the High Street. We were advised that should the Council wish to submit an application for the junction specifically, it would need to be submitted via a separate LHI application.

12th January:

As part of our follow up to recent sewer issues on Rideaway, Anglia Water responded to HAPC’s continued concerns as follows: 

Access to the sewer mapping

This is normally only made available externally on an ‘as needs basis’ (e.g. to developers), but if HAPC writes to Development Services via the Anglian Water website, hard copies could be made available. (Note: our Chair or Parish Clerk will undertake this in the next seven days).

Further Work

No further work is planned for Rideaway. Contrary to the verbal report of the engineer in December, Anglian Water considers that the pipe is OK and any debris identified by the camera within the sewer pipe was just an outcome of the fracture and the integrity has not been affected.

HAPC commented on our concerns about the potential condition of the sewers across rest of the parish, after previous incidents on Common Lane and Rideaway Drive. However, a full survey will NOT be undertaken due to cost and lack of resources. Rather, local searches will be completed as and when potential incidents or elevated concerns arise.

Rideaway Drive: as part of general discussions around Rideaway, several residents reported repeated issues with blockages. These should be reported to Anglian Water and as provided that these relate to shared pipes, they will be investigated by Anglia Water.

Please do contact the Parish Clerk if you wish to discuss this matter further, or you need assistance in reporting any related issues.

Summary of discussions with the Anglia Water on-site manager at 11.30am on 6th December:

• The sink hole is approx.  5ft deep, 6ft across; sewer and gas pipes are visible in the void.
• A separate sewage system exists for Royal Oak Lane: the flooding there yesterday was due to excess rainwater being pushed into the drainage system, so it should not pose a serious health warning.
• Water and sewerage should not be affected for any residents.
• Anglia Water are working to reduce the number of tankers by installing appropriate piping and storage.
• Anglia Water are responsible for and have the authority to complete all repair work.
• Repairs should be completed by Xmas.
• We asked if Anglia Water can scan the remaining roads for any other voids (the Parish Council will submit this as a formal request).
• Best source for updates from Anglia Water is as follows:

https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/help-and-advice/report-an-issue/

Please feel free to call us if you have any questions or concerns and we will try to help.

Marcus Whewell        Chair marcus.whewell@hemingford-abbots.org.uk

Maxine Blewett          Clerk parishclerk@hemingford-abbots.org.uk

From April 2024 Huntingdonshire District Council will be introducing a garden waste subscription service.  Residents will be able to start signing up for the service in December 2023 and there will be an Early Bird discount to residents who sign up before the end of January 2024. This discount will see residents pay £50 for the year instead of £57.50.  

Find out more here: Garden Waste Subscription Service – Huntingdonshire.gov.uk 

An intruder was seen in the garden at the back of a house on the High Street at 12.15am Monday night/Tuesday morning; the intruder left quickly when approached. 45 minutes later a nearby resident in Common Lane found an unknown car parked in the drive of their house. The car was driven off as soon as the resident went to investigate. Both incidents have been reported to the police.

Please let the police and/or the Chairman of the Parish Council Marcus Whewell know of any similar or suspicious incidents, in case these are not isolated events. In the meantime, be extra vigilant in checking that doors and windows are securely locked, check cameras and please support neighbours who may be vulnerable or appreciate support.

Click here to read the article.

The response from HDC can be viewed here.

Huntingdonshire District Council’s Cabinet Members agreed to introduce a fortnightly garden waste subscription service that will come into effect in April 2024.

Unlike household waste and recycling, there’s no legal requirement to collect garden waste so councils can charge for collections. Rather than remove the service, the council will keep the service for those that need and value it.

The optional service equates to under £5 per month at £57.50 for one garden waste bin to be collected fortnightly for the whole year. The council is also exploring incentives such as early bird offers and residents will also be able to share bins with neighbours.