Category: News-in-brief

Help available for H&I Neighbourhood Watch schemes
Members of Neighbourhood Watch schemes in Histon and Impington, or those looking to start up a watch, can now access New Member and Coordinator Welcome Packs when they register to join.
Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators are hoping to boost the number of schemes covering streets in Histon and Impington. Photo: Cedric Foster
Neighbourhood Watch schemes can play a part in reducing and preventing local crime and anti-social behaviour. The new Welcome Packs are designed to let members know more about the Neighbourhood Watch movement and how they can make a difference in their community.
New Coordinator Packs include ideas on how residents can get more involved, how to connect with neighbours or find a local group to join. They outline the role, and include details on the support organisers can expect, as well as how to contact the leads for their broader area. They have been developed in collaboration with existing Coordinators to support those taking on the role for the first time.
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Residents should also look out for a new range of products, including postcards and flyers, launched in the next few months, that they can use to encourage others to join.

To receive the New Member Pack, or apply to become a new Coordinator, visit ourwatch.org.uk
Read also: Is it time to revive your street’s Neighbourhood Watch?
09/02/2023
HI HUB team to meet local residents
As HI HUB reaches its 3^rd anniversary, the team behind the launch and publication of this hyperlocal news and information service will be presenting a talk at Histon Library.
Explaining what’s involved in bringing this unique resource to the local community, the session – part of the library’s ‘Engage in the Afternoon’ series – will include some of the facts and figures behind the popular weekly newsletter.
It will also include an insight into how features are developed and some examples of the challenges and dilemmas that arise in hyperlocal news coverage.
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Readers and residents will be able to meet the team, ask questions, make suggestions and give feedback on their experience of HI HUB and how they would like it to develop in the future.
‘The Challenges of Hyperlocal Journalism’ will take place at Histon Library on Wednesday 15 February 2023, 2.00 – 3.30pm.
HI HUB
09/02/2023
Respected local GP to retire in Spring
Updated 1 March
Firs House Surgery Photo: Penny Reeves
Local GP, Dr Emma Baldwin is retiring as a Partner at Firs House, the surgery announced this week.
Dr Baldwin, who has been a partner at the practice since 1997, will leave at the end of March 2023.
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Residents of Histon, Impington and Cottenham have taken to social media sites to express their gratitude for Dr Baldwin’s 26-year service, as well as their sadness at her retirement.
Dr Baldwin has served the villages of H&I as well as Cottenham for 26 years. Photo: Firs House
One Histon resident said: “Dr Baldwin is an absolute legend. She is the cheeriest, most compassionate and caring of GPs – a real sunbeam of loveliness. So many of us have been lucky enough to be under her care for over 20 years.”
An Impington Firs House patient commented: “Dr Baldwin has been an exemplary GP, always offering to go the extra mile for the patients in her medical and pastoral care. We wish her a happy retirement but she will be greatly missed.”
The surgery also praised the long-serving GP, commenting: “Dr Baldwin will be remembered for her unconditional dedication, hard work and commitment to the patients of Histon and Cottenham. We hope the community will join us in wishing her the very best in her future ventures”.
New Recruit
Firs House Surgery has also announced that Dr Ben Curtis will be joining the practice as a new GP partner. He is expected to take up the post in July 2023 and will work across both Firs House and Telegraph Street surgeries.
Paying Tribute
Since publication of this article, Firs House Surgery has announced the following:
Anyone wishing to post a tribute to Dr Baldwin can do so by emailing firsppg@gmail.com with the subject title: “Dr Baldwin”.
Alternatively, from 1 – 31 March dedicated notebooks will be available for your messages at Cottenham and Histon Libraries, Cottenham Community Coffee Shop and St. Andrew’s Centre Histon. All tributes will be collated and presented to Dr. Baldwin when she retires.
Visit Firs House Surgery for more information.
09/02/2023
Plans for a new cross-country walking route to Cottenham
Histon & Impington residents would be able to use a new off-road route linking Histon and Cottenham if proposals for a new Greenway are approved.
Plans for the new route – which starts in St Ives – include a 3m-wide hard path being built parallel to the Oakington Road from Westwick to Cottenham, plus a 2m-wide grass verge for soft surface users such as horse riders.
This would mean that pedestrians could use the popular Gun’s Lane footpath to start an off-road walk to Cottenham. The proposed Greenway also links with the Cambridge-St Ives Busway at Westwick.
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This is one of 12 proposed Greenways, which aim to make local walking, cycling and horse riding journeys safer and easier – connecting villages along the route to each other and Cambridge.
A consultation on the plans has been launched by Greater Cambridge Partnership, with an online survey that will remain open until midday on Friday 31st March.
READ ALSO: One man and his borrowed dog
07/02/2023
Proposals for opening greater access to tennis courts
Proposals for introducing new technology to make it easier for the community to use the tennis courts on the Recreation Ground will be discussed at the Parish Council’s Wellbeing, Recreation & Leisure Committee on Monday 6 February.
At the meeting, Councillors will be deciding whether or not to push ahead with a tennis club suggestion for introducing online court booking and payment, and an automated court access system with entry via a key pad.
Other items on the agenda include a request for investment in ‘Cushionfall top up’ for the Rec Play Area, and proposals for a workshop to discuss the priorities and requirements of the Rec.
The Wellbeing, Recreation & Leisure Committee will meet on Monday 6 February at 7:30pm in the Community Room at the Rec. All Histon & Impington residents are invited to attend to listen to the debates. The agenda pack and related papers can be found online here. Anyone wishing to address the meeting should email clerk@hisimp-pc.gov.uk in advance.
02/02/2023
Report potholes online, public urged
The average cost of fixing a pothole is £42. H&I residents are urged to report them when they spot them. Photo: Lucy Callington
Histon and Impington residents are being encouraged to report potholes and faults in local roads caused by the recent wet and freezing weather.
Villagers can report defects to roads, bridges, cycleways and footpaths to Cambridgeshire County Council using an online tool, allowing highway inspectors to identify and repair them as quickly as possible.
If a pothole is large and deep, it will be classed as an emergency and should be fixed within five days. If it is smaller and less of a hazard, it should be repaired within 21 days.
In winter weather, if road conditions are too wet for lasting repairs, it may be necessary to do a temporary fix to keep road users safe until the weather allows for more permanent solution.
Cllr Alex Beckett, Chair of Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “After the cold spell at the end of last year, it can take time for potholes to form. We’d urge road users to be vigilant over the next few weeks and report any faults to us. We would rather have multiple reports of the same fault than none at all.”
To report a pothole, use Cambridgeshire County Council’s online reporting system.
READ ALSO: Council consultation asks where we should make cuts; Cyclist injured in pothole accident; Fill that hole!
02/02/2023
Police officers pay visit to local Primary
The children enjoyed getting up close to a police vehicle. Photo: Grace Hardy
Local police officers visited Brook Primary School in Histon last Thursday, 26 January, to talk to children in Foundation stage classes.
The visit, part of Neighbourhood Policing Week – a national campaign aiming to shine a light on the work of neighbourhood policing teams – saw South Cambs officers meet with children and teachers at the school.
The four and five-year olds were treated to a tour of a police car, and enjoyed seeing the lights flash and hearing the siren go off. The children were also shown some of the equipment used by the police on a daily basis, and had the opportunity to quiz officers on what it’s like to do their job.
One of the children said: “We got to ask questions to find out how police officers help us. They showed us the police car and we heard the loud siren!”
This visit and other neighbourhood policing activities were documented on the force’s Facebook page, with community police officers also calling in on Oakington Cubs and Orchard Park Primary School as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Week initiative.

To meet your local policing team, get the latest crime statistics or find out what is being done to tackle crime in your area, click here or visit the Policing South Cambs Facebook page here.
02/02/2023
Camtrust roof repairs go ahead thanks to Beer Festival
Don Kelly of the Histon Beer Festival Committee presents a cheque for £1,500 to the Camtrust team. Photo: Camtrust
Local charity, Camtrust has recently been awarded £1,500 by the committee behind Histon Beer Festival. The money will go towards repairing the felt roof of a workshop at their headquarters on Cambridge Road Impington, which is leaking and badly in need of repairs.
Camtrust is a small charity and social enterprise based in Impington. It offers life and work skills for adults with disabilities, helping them to build skills for independent living. The charity is probably best known, in the village, for its refurbished bike sales and repairs.
The leaking roof was discovered recently and repairs are considered essential but very costly for the charity.
The Histon Beer festival is run by a team of volunteers and is hosted by the Red Lion pub in September every year. It raises thousands of pounds which are donated to local charities and good causes.
Lilly Mungovan, Charity Manager for Camtrust said: “We approached the committee to see whether they might be able to help, and were delighted when the committee agreed a donation of £1,500 towards the cost of repairing the roof.
Camtrust has operated since 1995 and offers support and skills to adults with disabilities. Photo: Lucy Callington
“On behalf of everyone at Camtrust, I’d like to say a big thank you to Histon Beer Festival and its customers who contributed towards the donation. Because of you, we’re able to organise the roof repair quickly and our bike team will enjoy a drier workshop very soon!”
For more details visit: www.camtrust.co.uk
See also: https://www.hihub.info/features/how-the-beer-festival-broke-all-records
02/02/2023
Changes to bin collections mean easier and more frequent battery recycling
Histon & Impington residents can now leave small plastic bags containing used batteries on top of any of their bins – green, black or blue – for weekly collection by crews on their usual rounds.
Previously, Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service asked households to bag used batteries and tie them to the handles of their blue bin only.
Batteries that can be placed out for collection at the kerbside include AA and AAA, C and D, and button cells, but not mobile phone or laptop batteries or any batteries attached to a device. These should be recycled as small electrical items.
The new system doesn’t apply to residents of flats with shared bins, who should take them to public battery collection points, such as Tesco in Histon, where staff will recycle used batteries if customers take them to the counter.
Cllr Henry Batchelor, Lead Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Licensing at South Cambridgeshire District Council said: “…only half of the up to 1 billion batteries thrown away in the UK each year are recycled correctly. Some of those that end up in bins get damaged and catch fire. We’ve seen this first-hand with fires in our bin lorries, including near Orchard Park back in October…
“We hope that by making batteries easier to recycle regularly we can help residents to safely recycle all their batteries.”
26/01/2023
County lines workshops offer support for concerned families
Photo: Neil Moralee on Visualhunt
Parents and carers who would like to understand more about county lines drug dealing are being invited to attend two free interactive webinars. These will explain what criminal exploitation – including county lines – is, and what is happening in the local area.
They will also cover how offenders groom and exploit children; help people spot signs that a child might be at risk; and explain where to get advice and support. The interactive sessions will also enable participants to ask questions, share concerns and connect with others.
Speakers include Lindsey Dalton, the CEO of Pace – a national charity supporting families affected by child exploitation; Duncan Evans who works at the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre; and Sarah Pritchard, a social worker at Barnardo’s children’s charity.
The webinars will be hosted live over Zoom on Wednesday 1 February from 7-8:30pm and again on 8 February. You can register your interest in the event via Eventbrite.
26/01/2023