Community matters
www.melbourncambridge.co.uk
Practical Solutions Group Melbourn Practical Solutions Group is a group of representatives dedicated to improving life in Melbourn with a special focus on support for young people. We are comprised of Parish, District and County Council officers and councillors, Melbourn Village College staff and students, Police Community Support Officers, and representatives of Melbourn Magazine and Website, Melbourn Area Youth Development (MAYD) and the Melbourn Village Plan steering group. The group meets several times a year and regularly invites along people who have something different to offer to the community. If we are approached about a problem then we try and help by bringing people together, which in itself is often the first step toward finding solutions. At our October meeting the PSG heard from Claire Nunes, CEO of Relate Cambridge, a counselling service offering family support; and also Bryony Graham, Arts Development Manager at Melbourn Village College who coordinates the European Union funding grant for the college, ‘A Common Territory,’ which involves themes of citizenship and community. At every meeting we receive a police report. This gives us a picture of problems and concerns. In October, problems related mainly to minor incidents, apart from burglaries at the post office and golf club. The PSG was concerned that some of the minor reports specify when an incident has involved young people, but doesn’t do the same when adults are involved – creating perhaps a misleading impression of young people causing a greater share of the problems than is actually the case. No other demographic profile is singled out. Also at every meeting we have the chance to hear from Melbourn Village College students about recent college activities. In October we heard from the Head Girl and Head Boy on the recent college Open Day and the confidence required to speak to a large audience, and also how the college promotes older students mentoring younger ones. If you have any issues which you think the PSG should give attention to, please let us know.
Answering your questions about www.shapeyourplace.org Our team has been very busy this autumn meeting with local groups, responding to issues, helping to report on local community events and making your ShapeYourPlace website
even more interesting and easy to use. I would like to thank everyone who got in touch with us this autumn to raise issues, ask questions and tell us about all the great activities and events going on in your community I would also like to use this opportunity to share our answers to some of the frequently asked questions about ShapeYourPlace.
How do I report an issue? It is easy to report an issue online – all you need to do is to fill in our simple online form in the ‘Have Your Say’ section. Are there any examples of how ShapeYourPlace helped local communities in other districts? ShapeYourPlace has some real success stories to tell. Some of the successes are where local people have alerted local services to some of the issues they face. For example, the site has helped with getting pot holes filled, clearing up fly tipping, alerting police to dangerous driving on the A141 and helping local people in Chatteris to work with local councillors to improve public transport. Following a recent online discussion between some local residents and a GP surgery in Chatteris, a better appointment system is now in place at the surgery. In Whittlesey there have been some lively online discussions concerning a proposed housing development at Showfield Site. These debates have helped to inform the decision-making process and have resulted in the planning application being refused.
What happens to issues and ideas after they are submitted? Issues and ideas posted on the website are passed to the local agency who is best placed to respond. Within 10 working days a response will be posted by Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridgeshire Constabulary or Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. If an issue or idea can be dealt with, it will be tackled as quickly as possible. All issues and ideas are also forwarded to the local County Councillor, District Councillor and Town / Parish Clerk inviting them to join in the conversation. ShapeYourPlace is a website designed to help you improve your neighbourhood. Join South Cambridgeshire’s conversations on: http://southcambridgeshire.shapeyourplace.org/ Please get in touch with me if you have other questions about ShapeYourPlace. Anna@ShapeYourPlace, 07769304132 Anna.allen@cambridgeshire.gov.uk melbournmagazine
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