Why this option for East West Rail?

The East West Rail Company has announced the route between Bedford and Cambridge, as well as more detail on the Oxford-Bedford sections.

This project is being imposed on us by the treasury to suit its own agenda. All other stakeholders’ interests are subordinate to this, including several Government departments, local councils, the Environment Agency, residents and taxpayers.

The treasury wants the maximum amount of high-value housing to attract the top-rate tax payers, and the railway will help them deliver.

The new towns and other developments along the railway will suit London, some Oxford and some Cambridge commuters, but ignore infrastructure for existing communities and impose untold environmental damage.

Even at current cost expectations, for the same money, 500 people could make an Oxford-Cambridge round trip by electric taxi every working day for 100 years. And that's without ride-sharing. Video-conferencing is, of course, even more sustainable.

In the last two years, EWR has looked again at approaching Cambridge from the north and concluded that it was cheaper, less environmentally damaging and quicker to construct.

Similarly, they looked again at taking the old Varsity line route out of Bedford and concluded that was also much cheaper. Despite this, they have gone for the most expensive option – Bedford north and Cambridge south – adding up to £2.3 billion to the capital cost.

There is one change (not as a result of any consultation feedback; nothing changed because of that): the chosen ‘alignment 1’ from the previous consultation has been modified to add a detour to a more southerly location for the new development at Tempsford.

This is to be less constrained by St Neots, allowing more green fields to be built over. So much for our Prime Minister’s preference for brownfield sites.

Tempsford is not the only community to be swamped by colossal housebuilding. Many others are threatened by mega-developments, including Cambourne and Ridgmont, that are outside of, or have been rejected by, Local Plans - approved by the Government.

Cambourne and Tempsford combined could be bigger than Cambridge is today. Further, EWR admits that most of these houses will not be for rail commuters to Cambridge, although that is the stated objective in the economic case, but overspill from London owing to easy access to the A1 and East Coast Main Line.

 

Thank you for all your support
The Trustees of StopTheArc Group Ltd

 

Limited lifespan on hospital panels

The five NHS hospitals that are deemed close to collapse were built using RAAC concrete panels which has a limited lifespan.

Hospital infrastructure maintenance is massively underfunded and behind schedule.

So why is the new Hinchingbrooke Hospital going to be built with these panels? Is it because Steve Barclay and Jonathan Djanogly know that they won’t be in power if and when the hospital is built?


Terry Cooper
Eaton Ford

 

Report from the Huntingdonshire Philatelic Society.

At the meeting of the society on May 23, the guest speaker was Alan Hall who displayed 'Australian philatelic exhibitions 1895-1936'.

Sydney held the first two day non-competitive one in December 1894. From the 1905 exhibition we were shown a mailing card and an invitation card.

For the 1911 one, they produced four labels in different colours, along with a 32 page catalogue and the first-ever souvenir cover which were all shown. 

Next he displayed an official programme for the 1921 Melbourne exhibition.

For the 1932 Sydney exhibition, we were shown a registered cover and two sheets of labels in red and blue advertising the event.

Newcastle held the event in 1934 and we were shown examples of the special cancellations for the exhibition along with a letter sent out for a committee meeting for  the  event. 

Sydney hosted the exhibition again in 1938 and there were 321 competitive entries for the competition. There were two printings of the commemorative covers and we were shown both along with a registered cover sent from the exhibition.

The Queensland Philatelic Society held an event in 1938. There was a Post Office installed in the exhibition and special registration labels were provided.

These labels showed a koala bear and were printed perforation and non perforation.

A cover with the registration mark number one was sent to King George VI for the Royal collection.

He ended with a 70th birthday cover celebrating 70 years of service to philately 1911-1981.

This was a very interesting insight to Australian philatelic exhibitions.

Our next meeting is on June 13 when Ed Hutchins, who is president of the Revenue Society will display 'Things that interest me'.

We meet at Hemingford Abbots Village Hall (PE28 9AH) with the meetings starting at 7.15pm.

New members always welcome. For further information, please contact David Birkert on: 01480 468037

David Birkert

 

Get back in the office!

I can now report the the council parks department has once again cut swathes of stripes in Beatty Woods.

This, I assume, is to allow walkers access to it. Unfortunately, their machines do not collect the cuttings, leaving the area looking like a hay field and leaving cuttings all the way up Beatty Road.

What will happen at the end of May? I pay more than £2,700 in council tax and frankly I expect better than this load of wokery being foisted on the electorate.

Me thinks its time for a revolution.

All the people that should be doing their jobs in their respective offices should get back to them and earn their keep.

This goes for civil servants and local Government employees. The pandemic is over, but their gravy train seems to be rolling on. 

An example:  If an unemployed person in St Neots needs to sign on, they have to go to Huntingdon.

If their staff are too busy to help him with a CV, they send him to the local library to get the volunteers to help. 

Many people of a certain age don't have computers or unable to use the internet.

What sort of world is this?

Mike Friend

Beatty Road