5
FROM YOUR COUNTY COUNCILLOR
The current A14 has in parts between Huntingdon
and Cambridge 85,000 vehicles a day using the road
and 26% of this 85,000 vehicles are heavy goods
vehicles. Cambridgeshire is the fastest growing
county in the UK and the A14 is a strategic east to
west trunk road. The investment into the A14 and A1
upgrade will allow better local access and an
improved road network for through traffic. It will also
improve safety to the road network. The scheme will
put the right traffic on the right roads.
The proposed A14 scheme is 25 miles in length and
brings the A14 south from Ellington to Milton,
creating a Huntingdon by pass south of Huntingdon
and upgrades the A1 between Brampton and
Alconbury, de-trunking the current A14 road. It also
involves building a local road as a toll free alternative
and removal of accesses and junctions on the A14
and removal of the viaduct at Huntingdon.
Part of the new A14 will be tolled with a free flowing
system. The exact amount of the toll has yet to be
finalised but it is thought to be in the region of £1.00
to £1.50 and double for HGV vehicles between the
hours of 6.00 am and 22.00 hrs. The level of toll will
give value to the motorist and to keep cars on the
A14 and is estimated to bring in a revenue of 30
million a year. There will be CCTV gantry mounted
cameras with Automatic Number plate recognition
which will log all vehicles entering the tolled part of
the A14 and payment will be through an online
account or over the counter at local retail outlets in a
similar system to the London Congestion Charge.
The consultation process will engage with the
general public and give people the opportunity to
have their say on which is the preferred option for
the new proposed A14 scheme. In the spring the
Highways Agency will publish the proposed route
which will then go the government for a
Determination Consent Order autumn 2014. The
Highways Agency expect a decision in 2015 or early
2016 so construction can start in late 2016. The
construction is expected to take between 2 and 3
years.
For further information please call the Highways
Agency information line
0300 123 5000
or email:
A14Cambridgeshirehuntingdon@highways.gsi.gov.uk
Alternatively you can visit:
www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/A14-
Cambridge-to-Huntingdon-Improvement-Scheme
If you would like any more information please contact
me.
Cllr Julie Wisson
County Councillor, Buckden Division
Tel:
07725 791459
or
01767 677837
Email:
julie.wisson@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH (NHW)
All too soon the summer is now over and as the
nights draw in we face longer periods of
darkness, which can be used by criminals to
help cloak their activities. Because of this we
need to be aware of the threat and look to our
outside lighting arrangements at both the back
and the front of the house. These will be even
more relevant this year as this will be the
village’s first full winter with the reduced lighting
introduced by the local authorities.
It may be because of these darker nights that
there has now been an increase in the number
of reports of overnight thefts of car catalytic
converters, mainly from vans and 4x4 vehicles.
To protect your car try to park either in a locked
garage, driveway or well lit area. At home it is
advisable to park as close to your property as
possible to restrict access to the rear of your
vehicle.
So now is the time to ensure your existing
security lights are clean and in good working
order, and should you have general concerns,
now is the time to consider the use of driveway
or back garden alarms to alert you to suspicious
activity in these areas.
Looking back over the summer months it is
pleasing to note that there was no upward trend
in criminal activity over the past six months.
However there was a concerning increase
recently in anti social behaviour leading to a
peak of sixteen incidents reported in July. It is to
be hoped that this was a one off blip and does
not reflect a worrying change to the lifestyle of
our otherwise quiet and relatively well-behaved
village.
Contact telephone numbers
If you wish to report an incident or suspicious
behaviour,
which is not an ongoing
emergency
, please dial the
single non-
emergency number 101
. This number now
operates alongside the more familiar 999 and
has been adopted countrywide.
Your Neighbourhood Watch Committee can
also be contacted at any time as shown below:
Jim Morris
811653
Clive Williams
811828
Richard West
811467
