Ian Nimmo-Smith

The Governors of Milton Road Primary School have decide after lengthy consideration to agree to a request from the Local Education Authority (Cambridgeshire LEA) to create a third class for Reception entry to the school in September 2008.

In order to accommodate applications for school places from families living within the designated catchment area, up to 90 children will be admitted in the reception year rather than the 60 that the school was originally planning for.

The LEA is responsible for admissions to the school and had approached the governors with this request because of demand for places from within the school’s catchment area, which was excessively high this year, and across the City as a whole.

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A local resident has drawn my attention to this sign which appeared without prior notification. It’s rather prominent and out of keeping with the rest of the area. Planning enforcement officers however tell me that it is in a category that does not need specific planning permission (it has deemed consent). As the hedge it is sitting in has rather overgrown onto the footpath I have asked county highways officers to investigate whether the sign is in fact on highways land. In case you’re wondering, that is the stump of one of the Milton Road trees in the foreground of the picture. I am campaigning with King’s Hedges ward Councillor Mike Pitt to get the replanting started.

I was speaking recently to someone who works in Cambridge but lives in St Ives. He was surprised that taxis whether hailed or on a taxi rank were sometimes declining to accept him as a fare. He had previously worked in London, Nottingham and Sheffield but never encountered this kind of response. I asked the licencing officer about this and here is their response.

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I have been asked what public toilet facilities there are for people visiting the Newmarket Road Retail Park.

While there are no local authority run public conveniences there I understand that the following units all have toilet facilities for use by customers.

• Homebase
• Boots
• Starbucks
• Pizza Hut

I am told that Pizza Hut and Starbucks are required to provide toilet facilities as a planning requirement (bearing in mind their usage), though this is not a requirement for either Homebase or Boots.

There is no external signage for the toilets as these are primarily for customers of the particular premises. there is a security guard / building manager on site who will point people in the right direction when they enquire.

I am compiling a list of locations in West Chesterton where the state of road surface is poor and in particular where there are potholes that need urgent attention. Click on the Report a problem link on my home page and tell me about it.

Bateson Road and Gurney Way are the only roads in West Chesterton on a recently published list for a citywide programme of surface dressing. Work was due to take place on 17 and 18 June.

I have received complaints that the sewer construction works at the top of De Freville Avenue and in Chesterton Road at the beginning of May started at an unreasonably early hour and went on till late.

The work is to connect the sewer for new housing being built along Sandy Lane. When finally (six weeks later) goaded to respond, the County Council’s highways personnel have shown a very unconcerned attitude. Not only did they fail to respond to complaints at the time, but they have been unable to date to tell residents or me if there are standard hours of operation for this kind of works. That would certainly be the case if the activity were controlled by planning consent like the works in Sandy Lane.

It seems that considerateness is low down on the list when it comes to works in the highway.