Index Steering Committee Members … 3 Letters of Support … 4 Andrew Lansley CBE MP … 4 David McCraith, Cambridgeshire County Councillor … 4 Dr Susan van de Ven, South Cambridgeshire District Councillor … 4 Summary … 5 Introduction … 6 Why do a Meldreth Parish Plan? … 6 How did we involve the community? … 6 Who has done the work? … 6 Where do we go from here? … 7 Description of Meldreth … 7 Location … 7 History and Settlement … 7 Recent History … 8 Services and Facilities … 8 Meldreth Maps … 9 Meldreth Parish boundary (red line) and village envelope (blue line) … 9 Ordnance Survey Map of Meldreth Parish … 10 Housing … 11 Future housing need for the people of Meldreth … 11 Types of Homes Required … 12 Acceptable Housing Developments … 12 Transport … 13 Railway … 14 Historical Context … 14 Overview … 14 Summary of Issues … 14 Bus Services … 15 Historical Context … 15 Overview … 15 Key Issues … 17 Social Car Services … 17 Issues for the Action Plan … 17 Law and Order … 18 Historical Context … 18 Main issues … 18 Leisure … 19 Facilities … 19

Leisure/sporting associations … 20 Views on Social Facilities … 21 Usage of Recreational Facilities … 21 Improving Existing Sports Facilities … 22 New Sports Clubs and Activities … 23 Conclusions … 23 Environment … 23 Footpaths and Byways … 23 Historical Context … 23 What the Survey said about Parish Footpaths … 24 Conservation and Environment … 24 Village Footpaths Map … 27 Provision of Health Services … 28 Issues for those with Disabilities … 30 Action Points … 30 Facilities for the Young … 31 Local Social Facilities … 32 Role of Village Organisations … 32 Sports Facilities … 32 Traffic and Speeding … 33 Other Issues … 33 Facilities for the Over 65s … 33 Housing Provision … 34 Good Companions Club … 34 Meldreth Businesses … 35 Employment and Turnover … 35 Travelling to work … 35 Work Experience Opportunities … 35 Skills Shortages … 35 Village Signposting … 35 Road System … 35 Rail System … 36 Bus System … 36 Services … 36 Entertainment Facilities … 36 Is the Ambience/State of Upkeep of Meldreth helpful? … 36 Dealings with the Parish Council … 37 Interest in being listed in a Directory of Village Businesses … 37 Messages from the Questionnaire about what would help Businesses … 37 Planning Issues … 37 Planning Constraints … 37

County Structure Plan, South Cambridgeshire Local Development Framework and the East of England Plan … 38 Planning Policies of SCDC … 39 Proposed Planning Objectives for the Meldreth Parish Plan … 39 Final Questions and Comments Including Some Views from Children … 40 Comments from the Village Model … 40 Some Typical Comments … 40 Summary of Key Points … 42 Detailed Action Plan … 43 Appendix 1: Key Actions & Timeline (Critical Path in orange) … 51 Appendix 2: Meldreth Clubs & Organisations … 52 Acknowledgements … 52

Steering Committee Members

The current committee that have steered the production of the plan are:

Paul Ray (Chairman, 01763 260304)
Graham Borgonon (01763 260358)
Don Braggins (01763 260333)
Joan Gane (01763 261631)
Dr Peter Grice (01763 260746)
Philippa Hart (01763 261255)
Tony Jeffreys (01763 262815)
Rob Searles (01763 260435)
Ken Singleton (01763 260604)

We are grateful to past committee members who have also contributed:

Dr Julie Draper
Tim Elbourn
John Gregory
Jilly Hall
Robert Long
Marion Oliver
Mike Pilkington
Terry Symonds

Thank you to all the villagers, village organisations and businesses who have responded by providing input during our consultations.

Thank you also to:

Meldreth Parish Council who started the process and provided additional funding
Stan Rees at Cambridgeshire ACRE for his advice and support
The Countryside Agency for the grant to make it happen
ten village businesses who made donations towards the cost of publishing this plan.

Letters of Support

Andrew Lansley CBE MP

I welcome the Parish Plan that Meldreth has produced and was pleased to learn about the research findings on the village at the Parish Plan Open Day in February. Meldreth is an attractive village with an interesting mix of history, business and industry, agricultural undertakings and village organisations.

There are pressures for further developments and housing in South Cambridgeshire. The Parish Plan for Meldreth will ensure that the people of Meldreth and their Parish Council can put their case forward on how they want Meldreth to be in the future, balancing the needs of an active community with the architectural and environmental heritage of the village.

I congratulate all those who have worked on the preparation of the plan.

David McCraith, Cambridgeshire County Councillor

I would like to congratulate the Parish Council for deciding to go ahead with the Parish Plan for Meldreth.

This does indeed present a great opportunity for the future of Meldreth residents and I recognise it also means nearly 18 months of hard work to identify the village needs and expectations, for the future. Highlighting the issues and concerns for Meldreth will, I am sure, assist in setting the priorities for the County Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, when helping to make life better for Meldreth residents.

Congratulations are also due to the residents and local businesses of Meldreth in putting forward their priorities for the future. I am sure the result will help to get things right in Meldreth in the future, and I look forward to helping you all achieve that goal.

Dr Susan van de Ven, South Cambridgeshire District Councillor

I am delighted to have the opportunity to express my support for Meldreth’s recently compiled Parish Plan.

The Parish Plan is a true village voice for the kind of place residents would like Meldreth to be in the future. It is ambitious in a time of huge development all around us, yet essential to the survival and prosperity of village life. In addition to protecting the beauty of our surroundings, residents have expressed in countless ways their hope that human contact and a sense of community will continue to be at the heart of life in Meldreth.

Our thanks must go to the dedicated volunteers without whom the plan could not have been so well prepared, and also to the many, many villagers who took part by completing a detailed questionnaire. The high response rate is testimony to the strength of feeling about the future of our community. Let’s hope that in 50 or 100 years time, Meldreth will indeed bear the stamp of our Parish Plan.

0 Summary

The majority of people living in Meldreth like the village. They like the way it is now and would like it to remain broadly unchanged. “Friendly, rural, peaceful, attractive, with a good community spirit and sense of village life” are all feelings held many villagers. Over half have highlighted their love of village or country life, or being born here, or having relatives nearby, as their main reason for being here.

Meldreth has seen many changes over the last fifty years as it has grown and orchards have given way to arable farming in the area. Whilst retaining much of its charm as a rural village, new businesses have developed, and there are now some ninety businesses offering around nine hundred jobs; unemployment is very low. Rail links with London and Cambridge provide wide opportunities, but the village is not a dormitory town. Rather, particularly for those with use of a car, Meldreth offers an excellent base in attractive countryside for work, shopping and recreation.

Meldreth has a highly valued village primary school, well-regarded village colleges in adjacent villages, plus access to sixth form colleges and private schools in Cambridge. The village has its own church, village shop, post office, butcher, greengrocer, pub, takeaway restaurant, and fruit, arable and turkey farms. These, with the many social and sports organisations, provide a good range of facilities and activities for most age groups. The Parish Plan surveys and consultations have highlighted the many good features of village life enjoyed in Meldreth. Not all is good however, and there are plenty of issues that can be addressed to remove worries and annoyances, and provide better facilities without detracting from what is valued in the village. The main concerns villagers have highlighted are:

any further increase in the numbers of travellers
lack of a family pub, serving food
speeding cars and lorries in narrow roads
facilities for youth
limited communications about social and sporting opportunities
disabled access and pavement conditions
potential loss of the post office or railway station
poor bus service, particularly affecting those without a car.

Other concerns with potential for improvement are highlighted in the Parish Plan. The challenge will be to carry out the plan to sustain and improve what is already a very good village to live in - Meldreth.

1 Introduction

Why do a Meldreth Parish Plan?

Creating a Parish Plan allows the people who live in the village to decide how we want Meldreth to be in the future and how to go about achieving it.

Without a clear sense of what the village wants and why, the Parish Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council cannot provide Meldreth with the right resources focussed on the right priorities. The efforts of people in the village to help each other, and the community in general, cannot be focussed on the right priorities without this clear sense of what the village wants and why.

We live in a world where we have to compete for resources - we must make sure we get our share from government and that we use our resources and our own efforts wisely.

During the consultation process a quote from someone in full-time work was: “I don’t want to spend my evenings sitting in committees - just tell me what I can do to be helpful, and I’ll do it!”

How did we involve the community?

we gave every household a Household Questionnaire.
$72%$ of these were filled in, involving 453 households containing 1137 people
we gave a Business Questionnaire to the 76 businesses we could identify
$82%$ responded
we had meetings with or received written submissions from 14 of the 29 village organisations
we used our Village Model at nine events and gathered 238 comments about the good, could be better and the bad aspects of Meldreth
we had 22 Primary School entrants to our art, poem and model-making competition
we gathered a further 57 comments at our February 2005 Open Day when we presented our initial findings to the 150 villagers who came to see the progress made.

We believe that every person living in the village had the opportunity to contribute their thoughts and opinions, and some took several opportunities.

Who has done the work?

The work has been done by a Steering Committee set up by the Parish Council. The committee has met practically every month since 9 December 2003. Meetings were to plan what needed to be done, review progress and allocate tasks. Committee members had a variety of backgrounds, skills and contacts.

The key activities and timelines involved in the process of producing the plan are described in Appendix 1.

Funding was obtained by a grant from the Countryside Agency (£3957), the Parish Council (£333), ten local businesses ( $£277$ to help with publishing costs) and from members’ own pockets, plus time freely given by Committee members and their long-suffering families. However, the most valuable resource has been the time given by residents, businesses and organisations in responding to questionnaires and contributing their ideas.

Analysis of the Household Questionnaire data was made possible by licensing the software “Village Appraisals for Windows” from the University of Gloucester. Most of the Committee members have good basic computer literacy skills, which saved the potentially significant data inputting, data analysis and secretarial costs of such a project.

2 Where do we go from here?

The current Committee will finalise the project accounts and ensure the raw data, data analysis and conclusions are archived in an accessible form. It is important that the data can be retrieved and used, both to underpin justification for actions and as a comparative baseline for any future Parish Plans or studies.

The Parish Council will set up an action committee to carry out the plan. This will consist of people willing to “champion” (to take the lead on) the issues - or be the prime contact for other volunteer champions.

The action committee will need some basic funding from the Parish Council and successfully to lobby for grants and funds from local government and from the local community in order to carry out the plan. However, it will be the sustained will and efforts of many people in Meldreth that will ultimately determine whether Meldreth is maintained and enhanced as the attractive, thriving and peaceful village that it undoubtedly is.

Meldreth Map

Meldreth Plan - Map

Description of Meldreth

Location

Meldreth is a semi-rural parish, surrounded by arable land and orchard farms, in South Cambridgeshire. It is located 16 km south-west of the university city of Cambridge and 6 km north of the market town of Royston in the valley of the River Mel. There is a conservation area covering the areas around the church and the village stocks.

The Melbourn by-pass was opened in July 1988, and runs south-east of the village, severing Meldreth from Melbourn. The parish covers 1,007 hectares.

History and Settlement

The parish stretches from the River Rhee, or Cam, in the north to Ashwell Street in the south. The western boundaries follow common field boundaries with Whaddon and Bassingbourn. The eastern boundaries follow the River Mel in the south and other water courses draining to the River Rhee in the north.

Until the $1 9^{th}$ century Meldreth was divided into five groups of buildings but today, with $1 9^{th}$ to $2 1^{st}$ century infill, forms a continuous settlement of over 3 km between Shepreth and Melbourn. The parish church of Holy Trinity and two former manors identified by their moated sites occupy the north of the parish by the River Mel. Meldreth and Sheene Manors survive today and the mills of Topcliffe Manor and Sheene Manor were in use until 1942 and the First World War respectively. In North End the street formerly widened to a village green near the Malton Lane junction. Marvell’s Green at the Fenny Lane junction still has the 18th century stocks and the base of a whipping post. The first church in Meldreth probably dates from around 970. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the church is associated with the Manor that became Flambards. The present church building dates from the late $1 2^{th}$ century with extensions in the $1 4^{th}$ and $1 5^{th}$ centuries. Extensive repairs were carried out to the south wall in the $1 9^{th}$ century, when it was covered in roman plaster. The church is the only Grade I listed building in Meldreth and there are 38 Grade II listed buildings. Before the $1 8^{th}$ century, all buildings were traditionally built of a plastered timber frame with roofs thatched with long straw or plain tiled. Chiswick House, Sheene Manor and No. 33 North End date from the $1 6^{th}$ century. Farm buildings were weatherboarded and thatched until the 19th century when brick, slate and pantiles were more commonly used.

The enclosure of the open fields and commons took place in 1820 when the land was farmed from the village. The Royston-Cambridge railway line and the station were opened in 1851, opening Meldreth to wider markets.

Extensive plum and apple orchards were planted in the mid 19th century and are part of the intrinsic character of the village. The good flavour of the Cambridge Gage grown in Meldreth was widely recognised and the fruit delivered to London’s Covent Garden by train.

By 1900 there were at least two cement manufacturing and lime burning factories in Meldreth - Cambridge Portland Cement Co. Ltd. (now Cam Farm) and Meldreth Portland Cement & Brick Co. Ltd. (now Eternit) and 13 farmers employing 94 people.

3 Recent History

Post World War II expansion in Meldreth was rapid, with new housing being developed just north of the London-Cambridge railway line. Private residential estates such as The Grange, Oakrits and Flambards Close and local authority developments such as Elin Way and Howard Road have increased the size of the village since the 1960s. Other housing expansion has taken place in Bell Close and Gables Close.

Development at the southern part of the village has thus been consolidated, whereas in the north the village’s linear character has been retained.

In 1951 Meldreth had a population of 636 . By mid 1991 this had risen to 1,740 and to 1,790 by mid 1996.

The graph shows the population of Meldreth from the time of the Domesday Book. Official censuses started in 1801 so the earlier figures are estimates made by historians. In 1892 there were boundary changes and part of Meldreth became part of Melbourn.

Services and Facilities

Meldreth has a post office/shop, a butcher and 2 farm shops. It also has a public house, a primary school (opened in 1909), a recreation ground, village hall, a community room for the elderly and a church meeting room. There are some 900 people employed in the village including those working from home. The four largest employers are the Eternit building products factory, the Scope residential school at Meldreth Manor, Bury Lane Farm and Gocold.

Other key services, e.g. GP surgery, dentist, petrol station are in Melbourn or Royston. In January 2004 there was permanent accommodation in the primary school for 180 pupils and no temporary accommodation and there were 173 pupils on the school roll. Secondary education is at Melbourn Village College.

Sewage is treated by the works in Meldreth.

4 Housing

Future housing need for the people of Meldreth

This was an important part of the Household Questionnaire. Responses from the questionnaires covered $72%$ of the occupied homes in Meldreth at the time of the survey and 1137 people living in 453 households replied. The average age of people in the responding households was 42 years; $27%$ were 60 or over and $21%$ were 17 or under. $76%$ of dwellings were owner occupied and $16%$ were rented from the local authority. The two charts below show the numbers of dwellings of each category and type.

51 people said they were in need of alternative accommodation - this is $11%$ of those who filled out questionnaires. The number of single occupants of homes who needed alternative accommodation was 8 (out of 96 single occupants) and the number of single parent families in need of alternative accommodation was 2 (out of 10 single parent families). (A single parent family is defined as a household having at least one child aged 0-17 years and only one adult aged 18-64 years.) $20%$ of those seeking alternative accommodation are single occupancy or single parent homes.

The reasons that villagers need alternative accommodation were given as family reasons ( $22%$ of those needing it), $12%$ wanting a larger home, $8%$ wanting a smaller home & $34%$ for undisclosed reasons. Employment reasons do not seem to be an issue.

The difficulties to be overcome to allow people to move to alternative accommodation are cost issues (given by $72%$ of respondents), lack of suitable accommodation to buy ( $46%$ ) and lack of local authority/housing association homes ( $52%$ ). Employment again does not seem to be an issue.

Types of Homes Required

In response to the question “What kind of accommodation do you think Meldreth needs?” the biggest support was for more affordable (low cost or social) housing.

65 single occupants of homes believe Meldreth needs more affordable accommodation (68% of 96 single occupants); $80%$ of single parent families believe Meldreth needs affordable accommodation (out of 10 single parent families). Support for more affordable homes is strongest from people aged 25-44 and 45-59 and from single parent families.

In total $70%$ of those responding thought Meldreth needed more affordable homes. The biggest group of housing style required was small family homes ( $32%$ ). Only $18%$ said no further homes were needed. Other suggestions were: part-ownership, sheltered 2story retirement flats & rented flats/bed-sits.

Acceptable Housing Developments

The questionnaire also asked “What type(s) of housing development would be acceptable in Meldreth?” People were allowed to choose more than one option and there were 1545 suggestions from the 839 people who answered the question.

Acceptable Housing Developments

$□$ None ■ 1-2 Dwellings $□$ Groups of $< 8$ $□$ Larger Groups ■ Conversions ■ Affordable on Village Edge $43%$ of those answering the question thought low cost housing should be on the edge of Meldreth. 75% supported Meldreth’s current status as a “group village” which allows small ( 8 & fewer homes) and infill developments. Both of these suggestions are in line with the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan (see section on “Planning Issues”). $48%$ thought redundant buildings should be converted to housing. Other suggestions were well-mixed developments of low-cost and market housing. 399 respondents ( $40%$ ) did not answer the question. Of those that responded 299 (51%) said there should be more housing in the Kneesworth Road/Mettle Hill area (including West Way) and 105 (18%) cited the Whitecroft Road/Whaddon Road area. 17 suggested the areas of North End towards Shepreth. However the majority of these areas suggested are outside, but not immediately adjacent to, the village framework and therefore the land is not available for housing under current planning rules.

5 Transport

The chart summarises the use made by villagers of the transport services available in Meldreth. The numbers correspond to the number of people that gave answers on the questionnaire.

Use of Transport Services

Railway

Historical Context

Modern transport arrived in Meldreth as early as 1851 when the London-Shepreth Railway was constructed. This was later extended to link Cambridge with the capital. With the village on the line of the railway, it soon profited by being able to send fruit from its extensive orchards direct to the London markets. This traffic lasted for over 100 years, declining in the 1960s as orchards were grubbed up in favour of cereal crops.

The Atlas Stone Company in Whaddon, now the Eternit Company, put in a branch line in the early 1900s to carry product from the factory to the main railway at Meldreth Station; this has long since disappeared and such heavy goods traffic moves by ever larger HGVs.

During World War II the station area was extended with a branch line so that war casualties could be off loaded and sent by road to nearby Wimpole Hall, which was then in requisition as a war hospital.

Meldreth is fortunate amongst South Cambridgeshire villages in that it survived the rail cuts of the Beeching Report in the 1960s and has retained a regular service to Cambridge and London.

Overview

Meldreth is served throughout the week by an average of 28 stopping trains per day during the working week and around 20 during the weekends (1.). The station has a staffed ticket office during weekday mornings and tickets can be purchased from a ticket machine at other times.

In addition, there is free car parking space for nearly 50 vehicles on the west side of the line and there are 4 recently installed bicycle lockups which are regularly used. The station is accessed from the village either by road or a short tarmacadam footpath and a similar longer path across agricultural land from Melbourn.

A recent campaign conducted by the local Rail Passenger Committee and Meldreth Parish Council led to the reinstatement in May 2004 of the late evening train from Cambridge stopping at the station. This train had earlier been withdrawn, largely through regular vandalism and the anti-social behaviour of passengers returning from entertainment venues in Cambridge; not unreasonably, the threat of withdrawal remains in the event of any reoccurrence.

Network Rail’s much heralded Thameslink 2000 project is planned to link Meldreth along with other local stations to enable direct travel through the metropolis to the south and to cross-Channel connections. However, the construction start is subject to public inquiry reports and decision by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and looks unlikely to occur until 2007, with a finish time around 2011/12 (2.). It is expected that any station access improvements might be associated with the Thameslink project.

WAGN’s short-term franchise runs until 2006. Then, in theory, the Great Northern route and the existing Thameslink 2000 route would be connected. We need to try to ensure that Meldreth does not come off badly in any timetabling changes and indeed emerges with a more secure future.

Summary of Issues

Respondents and local businesses were 92% positive about the rail facility which Meldreth is privileged to enjoy. There was favourable mention of our current ‘Station Master’, who is clearly recognised to practise customer service above and beyond the often ‘normal’ standards of our times.

WAGN Train Times - 12 December 2004 until further notice.
Details ex Network Rail’s Thameslinkinfopack, www.networkrail.co.uk - Jan 05

“Railway line very good. Cheap way of going to centre of Cambridge and London.” “Great having a railway station with trains that run quite late” - Comments from our Village Model - 2004”

However, there were some strong views on current problems facing would-be travellers:

access for disabled
the footbridge
bicycles on trains
cost concerns
frequency of services.

Of the 858 respondents, $25%$ were concerned with access for disabled to the south-bound platform. Meldreth does have an above average number of wheelchair users - around 100, including 55 young people at the SCOPE Manor School. The station footbridge is difficult for the disabled, elderly and people with bikes and pushchairs as the steps are quite steep and bicycles and pushchairs have to be wheeled rather than carried, so these travellers have difficulties crossing to the south-bound platform to Royston and London. Suggestions that passengers could use Shepreth or Royston stations are seen as insensitive and unhelpful. $20%$ of our respondents worried about peak-time bicycle carriage; gangways crowded with bicycles are a problem for many foot passengers at busy times of the day, although people felt bikes should be encouraged on trains (3.). There was one call for cycle lock-ups on both sides of Meldreth Station, again possibly prompted by the difficulty in carrying bikes up and down the steps of the footbridge. The results of our questionnaire were taken before the January 2005 announcement of further fare increases but, even so, $35%$ had cost concerns. Meldreth is among the few South Cambridgeshire villages with a train service. 137 (17%) respondents use it daily or weekly, mostly for commuting to work or school. An additional 513 use it for shopping, social and leisure purposes. Some thought both these figures could be improved if there was better access to both platforms, particularly the south-bound one. The issue of 8-car stopping trains, requiring a longer platform, brought contrary views, with a balance towards the current situation remaining unchanged.

Bus Services

Historical Context

Bus usage has decreased steadily in rural areas since World War II, as demographic shifts and work patterns have dictated. Motoring has become cheaper and generally more affordable.

Overview

The result of decreased usage has been that rural bus services for Meldreth and surrounding villages have been reduced over the last 2 years. A village campaign started in November 2003 when Stagecoach reduced their Cambridge Royston service through Meldreth and adjoining villages from 8 buses per day (Monday to Saturday) to just one bus each way per day. Villagers are left with the early bus to Cambridge (Service 27) leaving the Stocks at 7:43 am and the returning school service leaving Cambridge at 4:20 pm and arriving back at 5:11 pm. 3. WAGN Train Times Dec 2004 - ” - bicycles are carried where they can be safely accommodated free of charge…not carried between Ely & Royston on trains calling at Cambridge except the 0715 & 0045 services departing from Kings Cross.

The more frequent service (No 27), - hourly during the day - both to Royston & Cambridge, would require Meldreth residents to sprint $11/2$ miles or so from the centre of the village to the nearest bus stop in the nearby villages of Melbourn or Shepreth.

In February 2004 a petition and a bus-user survey by Meldreth Parish Council were presented to Cambridgeshire County Council and negotiations with statutory authorities and service providers continue. The campaign aim is to reinstate a limited service, without which the elderly, people without cars and young students are particularly disadvantaged.

In contrast to the railway, bus services have been gradually eroded over several years, making it difficult to travel to the two nearby centres of Cambridge and Royston without a car. The railway option suggested by Stagecoach is really not viable for many, because of town centre distances from stations and a long walk for those living at the western or northern edges of the village.

Whilst the very active joint village bus campaign, which includes Barrington and Shepreth, continues to fight for a service to key points at key times, solutions towards this service reduction may lie in a number of other initiatives working together.

In the Cambridge & South Cambridgeshire Area Transport Plan - Consultation Draft, published in February 2005, a possible medium term plan over 2004/5/6 is for improved frequency of service on the Royston-Cambridge corridor. Our action plan will need to address whether this can mean improvements for services to and from the village.

Should the government’s Regional Spatial Strategy for Eastern England ever come to fruition, there would have to be a radical re-think of the seriously diminished public transport services.

The table below is a summary of the situation taken from the Stagecoach and Cambridgeshire County Council websites in February 2005.

Meldreth Outbound
From Stocks	To Cambridge	To Royston	Service No
07:43	08:40		27
08:15		08:30	128
10:50		11:05	128
Meldreth Inbound:
From Cambridge	From Royston	To Stocks	Service No
16:20		17:11	27
	12:35	12:50	128
	15:50	16:05	128

Our responses indicated that, of the 453 households returning questionnaires, the use of cars or vans was extremely high for all purposes.

A high proportion of households had access to and use of more than one car (1.63 cars per household compared to the national average of 1.04 (4.) for all essential and leisure journeys.

With $84%$ of respondents using cars as their major means of transport and even $4%$ using bicycles, only $2%$ say they used the bus.

However, data from disadvantaged groups were much more difficult to obtain so we consider these figures to be very unrepresentative of the need by disadvantaged groups for improved services to both Royston & Cambridge. 4. By 1989/91 cars per household were recorded at 1.04 per household. - National Travel Survey

Key Issues

bus frequency to Royston & Cambridge
review of stop points
routing impediments - e.g. Shepreth bridge weight limit.

Asked if able to share cars, $60%$ felt unable and, of the remainder, $32%$ shared for social purposes, with only around $6%$ sharing for school runs.

Forty percent of the 872 respondents wanted better routes, frequency and timetables, 20% had concerns about cost and disabled access and $11%$ were concerned with bus stop location. However it was clear that $60%$ of our respondents never used a bus.

Prior to the Parish Plan project, there has been regular contact with Stagecoach and the County Council by the Parish Council and representatives from other villages and this will be continued as a high priority under our Plan.

A Self Help Group was founded 28 years ago. Initially a Luncheon Club, it expanded with a Social Car Scheme. In 2003 the Social Car Scheme for Meldreth and Melbourn was absorbed into Royston and District Community Transport (RDCT).

It provides a valuable service for a small but significant group of mainly elderly residents without their own transport who find difficulty using other services for essential medical and shopping journeys.

Users call the service 24 hours before need (but the earlier the better) and pay a modest fee to the driver. Demand generally exceeds supply. “Thirty per cent of people in the countryside do not have access to a car during the day. Source: Cabinet Office” The availability of volunteers and funding are the current limitations on the scheme. Our action plan will explore ways of expansion

We asked respondents if they would be prepared to participate in a car scheme as volunteer drivers and were encouraged to see 43 people registering interest. They will be urged to volunteer for RDCT or provide occasional help to others where this can be arranged.

Funding remains a challenge. Although the scheme delivers service to north Hertfordshire and south Cambridgeshire residents on roughly a 60/40 percent basis, funding from Hertfordshire local government and other sources is more than twice that from Cambridgeshire sources (5.).

For most respondents ( $62%$ ), car sharing appeared inapplicable or impracticable; of the remainder, some $46%$ said they shared for social purposes or shopping purposes and only $6%$ said they shared for school runs or work.

Local authorities are supporting initiatives to change commuting habits and have launched a website, http://www.tfw.org.uk/ which gives details of schemes for car sharing, encouraging the use of cycles for commuting and some grants for local schemes.

Issues for the Action Plan

rail services - southbound platform access
bus service improvements
extended social car services.

Source: Royston and District Community Transport

6 Provision of Health Services

The Household Questionnaire asked residents “If you have used any of the following services, which cover Meldreth during the last year, how do you rate the service?” 845 people replied:

Service	Good	Reasonable	Poor	Not used/ No opinion	Satisfaction Rating
Health Visitor	37	14	0	579	$100%$
Ambulance	53	14	2	574	$97%$
R&D Community transport	23	7	1	601	$97%$
Home help	53	14	2	613	$97%$
District Nurse	62	31	6	557	$94%$
Chiropody	13	18	3	597	$91%$
Maternity care	21	5	3	599	$90%$
Doctor	295	217	70	232	$88%$
Loan of medical equipment	29	5	5	595	$87%$
Physiotherapy services	38	13	18	569	$74%$
Counselling services	6	1	3	618	$70%$
Meals on wheels	2	1	3	6	$50%$

(Satisfaction rating is “good plus reasonable” as a percentage of “good plus reasonable plus poor”)

Health visitors are contacted through doctors’ surgeries and are shared with surrounding villages. They clearly provide a valued service with $100%$ satisfaction. Ambulance services are provided by East Anglian Ambulances NHS Trust and cover 3000 square kilometres in Cambridgeshire. This service was used by 69 respondents, with only 2 not satisfied. Twenty businesses also rated this service as good or satisfactory and none was negative about the service. Royston and District Community Transport (RDCT) This valuable service has been mentioned elsewhere in the Parish Plan. It plays a very important part in the transportation of patients to and from health appointments. 48 extra volunteer drivers have been identified from the questionnaire. Home Help is a highly rated service now incorporated into the Carers’ Service provided by South Cambridgeshire Social Services. It is no longer called Home Help, although many people still use that name. District Nurses cover visits to all ages of patients, mainly for medical procedures for those too frail or ill to attend surgery. With at least 100 Meldreth users, they are the second most used local health service and appear to be generally greatly appreciated. [In addition there are Rapid Response Teams in South Cambridgeshire that include nurses, carers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists who work in the community. They follow up patients who have had recent surgery or a stroke and have been discharged from hospital. The visits are initially for two weeks to allow for assessment and for a care package to be set up.]

Chiropody services: of the 34 respondents, only 3 had a poor opinion. It is not known if the respondents were using NHS or private chiropodists. There is a busy private chiropody and podiatry practice in Melbourn.

Maternity Care is mainly provided by the Rosie Maternity Hospital on the Addenbrooke’s site in Cambridge, with follow up by a District Nurse and Health Visitors, as appropriate; $90%$ of users were pleased with the service.

Doctor

The question used was not specific enough to determine which surgery the respondent visited. Most residents use surgeries in Melbourn, Royston or Harston

Whilst a satisfaction rating of $90%$ appears acceptable, it still means that 70 Meldreth residents of all ages think the service they get from their doctor’s surgery is poor.

The nearest surgery is the Orchard Surgery in Melbourn. This has a pleasant modern building with good parking and disabled access. This surgery serves Melbourn and other surrounding villages.

Several questionnaire respondents made specific comments relating to the difficulty in making appointments. Many do not like the type of appointment system used at the Orchard Surgery in comparison to the Royston surgeries. This has caused some to leave that practice.

The principle problem for those without use of a car is the limited or impractical public transport to get to any of the local surgeries. This places reliance on friends, Royston and District Community Transport or relatively expensive taxis. 136 residents say they have difficulty getting to the doctor often or occasionally. (141 have some difficulty getting to a hospital, 106 to a chemist and lesser but still very significant numbers have difficulty getting to a chiropodist, optician or dentist.)

There is now a very efficient fast-track X-ray service between the Primary Care surgeries and Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The night service for all local surgeries is supplied by CAMDOC.

Loan of medical equipment: mainly a good response with 34 respondents satisfied and 5 dissatisfied. There is a Red Cross medical loan centre in Bassingbourn, and Cambridge Mobility, plus a shop for private purchases, in Great Shelford. Some surgeries provide a limited service from their District Nursing Service.

Physiotherapy

This was the second highest percentage of respondents with a poor opinion of a health provider. Out of the 69 people who had used the service, 18 had a poor opinion. Again the question was not specific enough to determine which practice was used.

Some voiced concerns about the long waiting list for NHS physiotherapy appointments at Royston Hospital, used by both the Royston and Melbourn surgeries. The waiting list is said to be 6 months for chronic conditions. This is despite having a team of physiotherapists working there 5 days a week.

There is a once weekly service at the Melbourn surgery and some respondents used private physiotherapists in the area.

Counselling yielded a $70%$ satisfaction rate. It is not clear if this was for NHS or private sessions.

Meals on Wheels

Only 6 people said that they had used this service with only a $50%$ satisfaction rating.

Other services

In retrospect it would have been helpful to ask of people’s experience on dentistry where there is a national shortage of NHS providers.

There was not a specific question about pharmacies. However it is known that some surgeries have their own dispensaries with clear guidelines on ‘catchment’ areas. The surgeries all have communication with the local pharmacies to dispense their prescriptions. The Orchard Surgery provides an emailing service to their dispensary for repeat prescriptions. Some pharmacies offer a delivery service.

Other health providers available in the area are osteopaths, chiropractors, mental health services, dieticians, speech therapists and alternative therapies such as aromatherapy, yoga teachers, Pilates classes and acupuncturists.

Residents will soon be able to become a member of a fitness centre at the McSplash pool in Melbourn, and a new leisure centre is being built in Royston which should encourage further provision of fitness options.

Issues for those with Disabilities

107 (12%) respondents have a health problem/disability affecting their daily living. 51 of these are registered disabled. In addition there are 55 disabled young people at the SCOPE Meldreth Manor School.

Respondents identifying special problems for people with disabilities in Meldreth highlighted dissatisfaction with:

access to London-bound trains platform (374 responses)
uncut hedges/overhanging trees obstructing pavements (356)
pavement conditions (301)
parking on pavements (217)
access to commercial premises (147)
height of shop counters (63)
access to Holy Trinity Church (50).

The One Stop Shop entrance step was singled out in “other comments” as were adverse pavement cambers, width of pavements, and lack of pavements or drop kerbs at key danger points.

The comments about services and amenities should reflect any decision making about resources for Meldreth in the future. The recent implementation of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act should increase the urgency of the resolution of many issues.

Action Points

With about 100 registered disabled people in Meldreth, many using wheelchairs, and about 60 young people needing pushchairs, the village would benefit from the following:

access improvements at the railway station - HIGH PRIORITY
access improvement to the One Stop Shop - HIGH PRIORITY
discuss with the doctors’ surgeries any problems highlighted by the questionnaire HIGH PRIORITY
an audit of pavements followed through by a programme of pavement design improvements - HIGH PRIORITY
volunteer pavement wardens, each caring for a stretch of pavement to encourage owners to trim hedges and trees, to discourage inconsiderate parking and to clear leaves (and litter) - HIGH PROIRITY
resolution of the One Stop Shop counter height - MEDIUM PRIORITY
improved access to Holy Trinity Church - MEDIUM PRIORITY.

7 Facilities for the Young

The household questionnaire received responses from 453 households containing 1137 people. 228 people ( $20%$ ) are 17 or under; the age distribution is:

Age years	$0 - 4$	$5 - 10$	$11 - 15$	$16 - 17$
Number	55	95	60	28

These numbers do not include the young people at the SCOPE Manor school. Schools attended by respondents under 16 are:

Types of Schools Attended

Of the circa 200 under 16 s, 19 attend private primary or secondary schools. Of the children with special educational needs, 3 attend special schools, 7 attend mainstream schools. For the very young there is a thriving Toddlers Group and Pre-school organisation. Meldreth Primary School is well regarded; it had the highest number of favourable comments from the Village Model consultation. Of household questionnaire respondents who expressed an opinion, $99%$ consider that it is important or very important for Meldreth to have its own primary school.

In recent years on average only around $50%$ of the children attending the school actually come from the village itself. This makes the future of the school precarious were it to fall out of favour with families from the surrounding villages for any reason.

Reasons for the low numbers of Meldreth children at the school include the low housing stock of affordable family houses, and the increasing average age in the village generally. Furthermore, the school currently has only five classrooms for the six years that the children attend, leading to mixed-age classes. In refusing requests for the funding for a sixth classroom, the LEA has cited (amongst other reasons) the low numbers of Meldreth resident children at the school.

The village is well served by nearby Melbourn and Bassingbourn Village Colleges, which also provide sporting and adult education opportunities. Cambridge sixth form colleges and private schools complete the picture of high-quality education facilities.

855 people responded to the question “What are your views on local social facilities for the various age groups?” Of those who had definite opinions:

Facilities for	Good	Reasonable	Poor
Children up to 16	46	164	286	$58%$
Young people 17-25	9	67	406	$84%$
Aged 26-60	43	251	223	$43%$
Over 60s	107	236	92	$21%$

The rating for each group for their own age group’s facilities was virtually identical to how all age groups rated that age group’s facilities. There is a strong majority who believe facilities for 17- to 25-year-olds are poor and a majority considering facilities for those 16 and under are poor as well. Young people also value the train services into Cambridge and Stevenage to go shopping, bowling and to the cinema and other venues.

Role of Village Organisations

Apart from organisations serving the very young, Meldreth has its Youth Club, United Football Club and Riders Group. The Youth Club has 46 members aged 11-15 with an average of 20 attending weekly during term time. It is based in a cramped low-quality pavilion on the recreation ground. The pavilion, with limited changing and bathing facilities, is shared with footballers and tennis players. The football club is for “lads aged 15 to 47”; the pitch is used by 7 - to 8 -year-olds and the Youth Club at the weekends. The Rider’s Group has use of the Scope Manor School’s excellent indoor facilities, but there are limited bridleways and significant traffic hazards from inconsiderate and speeding drivers in Meldreth.

There are no Meldreth-based facilities for scouts and guides. Those wanting to take part go to Orwell and Melbourn.

There is a Sunday School at Holy Trinity Church, Meldreth. Some children and young people are in the church choir. Church members hold a holiday activity club in the Village Hall during the school summer break.

Other village organisations such as the bowls, croquet and tennis clubs are strongly geared to middle-aged and older members. Use of the Village Hall for activities tends to be pitched at older people. Organisations should be encouraged to provide taster sessions and coaching for younger participants, and to market themselves more actively to younger people including Meldreth Manor School staff.

Sports Facilities

Asked what new sports clubs and activities would be attended if they were available, the village response was strongly supportive of badminton, billiards/snooker, table tennis and judo - all of which should be attractive to the young. Many young people attend sports facilities in Melbourn, Royston and Cambridge. These include swimming, football, tae kwondo, judo, karate and drama.

The facilities available in the primary school, SCOPE Manor School, village hall and Eternit (and an eventual larger pavilion) could beneficially be worked in co-operation to provide opportunities for more sports activities.

The village should support the building of a replacement larger pavilion on the recreation ground and improvement of the recreation ground facilities. These facilities should be compared with those of other villages.

The consultation process has indicated that an area with an all-weather surface (for basketball, 5 -a-side football and skate boarding), and better playground equipment, would be appreciated. Criticism has been made of the new swings and slide at the playground and of the removal of (unsafe) playground equipment in the last couple of years.

Household respondents identified the recreation ground and children’s play space as amongst the top four priorities for Parish Council spending.

9 Traffic and Speeding

The High Street between the shop and the primary school is very congested, typically at the beginning and end of the school day and when lorry deliveries are being made to the shop. This creates hazards, particularly for the young, for horse riders, and for the elderly and disabled. Further improvement of traffic management measures and consideration of a school pelican crossing would be welcomed.

Other Issues

Other issues which the Parish Plan needs to address that are not exclusive to the young, but are important to them, are:

need for a family friendly pub
better bus service
maintaining good rail links with Cambridge
better cycling conditions
better communication about social and sporting activities in Meldreth
work experience opportunities with Meldreth businesses.

The Household Questionnaire identified 17 volunteers to help with the running of the Youth Club, which will be extremely helpful. The more that villagers and village organisations can engage with and involve the young in activities, the lower will be the opportunity for bored young people to disrupt the village.

Facilities for the Over 65s

This section reflects the views of our senior villagers on a wide variety of topics raised in our questionnaire.

Of the 1137 people living in 453 households who responded, 203 people (18%) said they were over 65 years old.

Eight people resided in sheltered housing or housing built or adapted for elderly people. This represents less than $1%$ of all dwelling types recorded by the questionnaire.

However, we know there were some difficulties in obtaining returns from elderly people so we believe our figures for the over 65 s resident in Meldreth are likely to be low.

Asked for opinions on accommodation needs in Meldreth, this group was consistent across gender and other age groups in selecting ‘affordable housing’ as a priority need (136 responses) followed by small family homes ( 57 responses).

On questions regarding street conditions $38%$ of this senior group thought pavements were poor and $18%$ cited street lights in the same category.

Over 65s rated as grass cutting and fighting crime as the highest priorities for the Parish Council, with other areas rated as follows:

Priorities for Parish Council	Responses from Over 65s
Grass cutting	120
Fighting Crime	118
Recreation ground & Children’s Play area	75
Village Hall	71
Traffic calming	59
Over 65 services	53
Conservation	45
Youth	35

Services in the village, e.g. the Post Office, were thought to be important for this group which may contain greater numbers of less mobile people.

However the key findings from 188 respondents were: Post Office Counter service monthly use:

less than 5 times: 71
between 5 & 10: 58
more than 10: 32
never: 27.

Cash Point in One Stop Shop monthly use:

30 over 65 s used the Cash Point, 138 respondents (68%) did not. (Since a ram-raid in December 2004, a cash point does not exist in the village.) Of services for the over 65 s rated by all groups, 378 had no opinion, 341 thought services good or reasonable and 91 thought services were poor. A significant $21%$ of over 65 s thought money to implement the suggestions in the questionnaire should be raised by moderate to higher Council Tax increases.

10 Housing Provision

Meldreth has sheltered housing bungalows in Elin Way, Bell Close and Whitecroft Road, with a resident warden. Some are rented from SCDC and others are on an Equity Share scheme.

There are also 13 bed-sits, a warden’s house and a community room in Elin Way, built in the early 1970s. These are being demolished, because of lack of demand for bed-sit accommodation for the elderly, and will be replaced by affordable housing (in 2006) and a new community centre (in 2005).

There are also 4 Alms Houses, on the High Street opposite the Stocks and managed by the Trigg’s Charity, and a residential care home for 25 elderly people at Maycroft.

11 Good Companions Club

Formed over 35 years ago for the over 60 s, this club attracts about 30 people to its monthly meetings ( $15%$ of over-65 respondents). The club made valuable comments, which contributed to the “Comments from the Village Model” section.

12 Law and Order

Historical Context

One police constable, known as a Community Beat Manager (CBM), is currently responsible for community policing for Meldreth (population approximately 1800) and twelve other villages grouped under the Sawston Sector of Cambridgeshire Constabulary. The others are:

Melbourn, Bassingbourn, Abington Piggotts, Arrington, Littlington, Shingay cum Wendy, Steeple Morden, Tadlow, Whaddon, Guilden Morden, Croydon, Kneesworth

Whilst many villages are small, the area covered is approximately 28 square miles connected by minor roads. The largest village is neighbouring Melbourn, a designated Rural Centre in the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan with a population of 4500 . Our CBM has a beat with a total population of around 14200 residents, which is $46%$ of the population of South Cambridgeshire (6.).

There has been a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme (NHW) in the village since the late 1980s and currently the village has 15 volunteer Street Co-ordinators, 12 of whom are registered with the police. Some parts of the village are thinly covered and more recruits are needed. Three new volunteers came forward resulting from the Parish Plan Open Day in February 2005.

The NHW occasionally receives generalised alerts from the police but communication remains a concern, especially when major incidents occur.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary run a public access website which posts selected reported crime incidents. Meldreth NHW has monitored the site for some years and reports an average of $3 - 5$ incidents per month in the village. These range from house burglary and theft of garden machinery to vandalism and petty nuisance crime.

Whilst we have had two major incidents in recent months concerned with the village shop, the general level of crime is in the lower quartile of the figures for the Sawston Sector and also for South Cambridgeshire. However, it is interesting to note from the recent South Cambridgeshire Crime & Disorder Audit published by the Cambridgeshire Crime Research Team in Autumn 2004 that more offenders live and commit more offences in South Cambridgeshire than the total for all the other Cambridgeshire districts including Cambridge itself!

Police schemes are available for members of NHW and others to visit the Hinchingbrooke Headquarter Control Room and arrangements can be made to accompany police on patrol.

Main issues

Highlights of respondents’ concerns were:

low confidence in police response
Ioutish behaviour by gangs of youths
fear of crime still high in senior age groups
low constabulary detection rates.

Asked to rate police coverage in the village, $2%$ rated it good, $17%$ reasonable and $20%$ had no opinion. $62%$ thought it poor.

Asked what crime concerned people most, respondents’ replies are clearly shown by the chart below: 6. Source: SCDC website: Village Leaflets - February 2005.

Concern of Crime

Theft & vandalism concerned most at 52%. Rowdiness, graffiti & drunkenness, 28%, 18% & $13%$ , respectively, and $20%$ were not concerned. When asked for areas in which villagers felt unsafe, the question prompted 91 additional comments. $82%$ did not feel unsafe or had no opinion. For those who commented, the main areas mentioned were Mettle Hill, the railway station area and the recreation ground. These latter two areas do sometimes attract groups of youths who might appear intimidating to elderly people.

Areas considered unsafe during darkness were:

the footpath between the station and Melbourn - particularly the A10 underpass
the footpath alongside the recreation ground (Whitecroft Rd to High Street)
areas around the British Queen public house and the Village Hall.

Street lighting was raised as an issue by many respondents and areas poorly lit feature among the list above. However, addressing this issue will need to take into account a significant minority who dislike the glare of street lights and enjoy the sky at night.

13 Leisure

Facilities

Meldreth has the following sport and leisure facilities:

recreation ground that has a sports pavilion, a football pitch, a skate board ramp, a basket ball hoop and a children’s play area. This recreation ground is centrally located near the village hall
village hall with its own kitchen area and meeting room. The hall has a stage, lighting and can accommodate up to 150 people
British Queen Public House - located centrally on the High Street
two asphalt tennis courts
Melwood - a wooded area adjacent to the River Mel that is managed and run by the Melwood Conservation Group
croquet lawn in the grounds of the British Queen pub

bowling green opposite the church
sports club owned by Eternit
horse riding provided at Scope’s Meldreth Manor School
various public footpaths, the most popular of which runs along the River Mel from Melwood to the church.

Leisure/sporting associations

Meldreth has the following sport and leisure associations:

Art Club that meets regularly in the village hall
Bowls Club that manages and maintains the village bowling greens
Croquet Club that manages and maintains the village croquet pitch
Tennis Club that uses the two village tennis courts
Good Companions over 60s
United Football Club that uses the recreation ground’s football pitch
Riders Group for horse riders
Women’s Institute
Youth Club that meets at the Sports Pavilion.

There are other private organisations that provide further leisure and sporting activities within the village such as keep fit classes and ballroom dancing. These associations believe that publicity and sharing of information about and between the organisations is weak. Meldreth Matters is a very effective local medium, but clearly needs to be supplemented. The associations are looking for more members and co-ordinators and this would be helped by improved publicity. There is a strong consensus amongst these associations that:

village notice boards need to be rationalised and improved
greater use should be made of the Parish Council website, www.meldreth-pc.org.uk; most organisations are listed, but only nine provide information on what they do or whom to contact
a coherent “Village Diary” would help avoid clashes of events and help draw in more participants
a brochure of village organisations to supplement the website could be useful, particularly for new arrivals to the village. In addition to better publicity, some organisations recognise the need to offer “taster” sessions and particularly to target younger people. Organisations could consider cooperating more by multi-activity days or by providing extra helpers for each other’s outings. Individual organisations have other specific issues as follows:
Bowls Club would welcome better street-lighting and parking around the church
Football Club needs help with fundraising and finding sponsors
Riders Group has many problems caused by inconsiderate drivers and the lack of bridleways
Tennis Club would welcome access to better changing facilities, less aggressive speed bumps in the access to the Village Hall car park, court lights and the repositioning of the skate board ramp (to avoid distracting noise and reduce the propensity for broken glass around and on the courts)
Croquet and Tennis Clubs would welcome roadside signs indicating their location.

The questionnaire asked for views on Meldreth’s social facilities for children, young people, adults 26-60 and those over 60. 855 people responded ( $87%$ of a total of 987 people) and the results of those who had definite opinions are as follows.

Facilities for	Good	Reasonable	Poor	Good and Reasonable
Children up to 16	46	164	286	$42%$
Young people 17-25	9	67	406	$16%$
Aged 26-60	43	251	223	$57%$
Over 60s	107	236	92	$79%$

The ratings of each age group for their own age group’s facilities were virtually identical to how all age groups rated that age group’s facilities. There is a strong consensus of reasonable satisfaction about the facilities for the Over 60s and dissatisfaction about those for young people. There are very mixed views about facilities for children and 26 - to 60 -year-olds.

The household questionnaire also asked for the worst thing about Meldreth. 157 people expressed a desire for a good pub, whereas no-one expressed an opinion that the pub was good. The British Queen is criticised for being unwelcoming, dingy, dirty and rundown with 12 comments on the lack of food and many noting that they would welcome a pub to which they could take friends and that would be a focus for social interaction in the community. A further six comments that criticised the pub were made during the Parish Plan Open Day. The business questionnaire highlighted general dissatisfaction with the British Queen by the business community. Generally, businesses do not use local pubs or restaurants to entertain, with only two businesses using the British Queen ( 20 go elsewhere). 30 responses commented on the British Queen - none of these comments was complimentary and all echo the Household Questionnaire findings. The British Queen is clearly not addressing many of the needs of Meldreth.

Usage of Recreational Facilities

The questionnaire asked the respondents how often they used the following recreational facilities:

Melbourn Village College swimming pool (McSplash)
Malton Lane golf course
Tennis Club
Horse/pony riding
Football Club
Youth Club
Croquet Club.

867 responded ( $88%$ out of 987 ) whether and how often they used the various recreational facilities. Most people did not use the facilities and the count of those that did is as follows:

Facility	Weekly	Monthly	Occasionally	Total Users
Melbourn swimming pool	90	29	168	287
Golf course	26	22	76	124
Tennis club	17	11	72	100

Facility	Weekly	Monthly	Occasionally	Total Users
Horse/pony riding	11	1	18	30
Bowls club	15	1	13	29
Football club	19	2	8	29
Youth club	13	5	6	24
Croquet club	4	1	15	20

The Melbourn swimming pool is clearly an asset to Meldreth, as are local golf courses and the tennis club as they each provide recreation for over 100 people each. Other clubs attract many fewer participants and most are known to be seeking new members. In particular, the youth club is used by a very small minority of the village’s young people.

Improving Existing Sports Facilities

The questionnaire asked how sports facilities in Meldreth could be improved. There were 280 suggestions or comments ( $28%$ out of 987 responses) of which the highlights were:

33 people would like to see fuller use of existing facilities (recreation ground, schools, village hall and Eternit)
27 people would like to see a new sports hall or leisure centre being built
25 people would like to see more facilities for the young, including encouraging participation via taster sessions and tennis lessons for the young (three people)
23 people would like to see more information about existing facilities and clubs to be made available, particularly for recent residents
20 people would like to see a gym or fitness centre being provided
20 people would like to see more facilities and clubs generally
19 people would like to see a better pavilion and changing facilities
13 people would like to see better lighting on the recreation ground including tennis court lights (six people)
10 people would like to see the creation of cycling track/cycle paths
9 people would like to see a swimming pool being built
6 people have identified that the children’s playground needs to be improved with the swings being replaced
6 people would like to see an all-weather area for basketball, 5 a-side football and skate boards.

New activities that were identified were: girls football team, netball, Tumble Tots, badminton, cricket, ladies golf, jogging circuit, putting green, rugby posts, running track, junior tennis club, indoor tennis, table tennis, trampoline club, and daytime yoga. 11 respondents said facilities were OK as they are - in the context of the size of the village and access to Melbourn facilities. There is a clear call for improving the current pavilion, either replacing it with something larger or going to a substantial sports hall/leisure centre. This is a strategic decision for the village that needs careful thought. The facilities available in the school, village hall, Meldreth Manor School and Eternit should beneficially be worked in co-operation to provide opportunities for more sports activities. The village hall balance between sports and other activities should be examined to maximise its utilisation.

More advertising by clubs and their providing tasters and training (including for the young) should be arranged.

New Sports Clubs and Activities

The questionnaire asked which new sports clubs/activities respondents would attend in Meldreth if they were provided. 369 responded ( $37%$ out of 987 ) and the numbers for each are as follows:

Club/Activity	Number
Badminton	199
Billiards/snooker	131
Table tennis	78
Judo	31

Respondents were asked if there were any other sports they would attend, if they were provided. The following sports were identified:

Sport	Number
Gym/fitness centre	27
Yoga	15
Swimming	7

Many other indoor and outdoor sports, forms of dancing and indoor pastimes got a mention. Badminton, billiards/snooker/pool and table tennis facilities should all attract reasonably strong participation if they were provided in the village. For other sports, better publicity of what is available in surrounding villages should be beneficial if it is not cost-effective to provide these in Meldreth.

Conclusions

there is a clear need for a better pavilion or Leisure Centre on the recreation ground. This would help to provide better facilities for the football club, the youth club and the tennis club
communications about what is available, where and when need to be improved. This could be done by completing the Parish website with organisation details, rationalising and improving the village notice boards, addressing communications to new villagers and the formation of a better village diary
there should be a fuller use of the village facilities for a wider range of activities. For example, nearly 200 people would be interested in playing badminton if it were provided
British Queen needs to be made a major village focal point. It needs to be enhanced to become a family-friendly establishment serving good, moderately priced food, with an improved garden and car park.

14 Environment

Footpaths and Byways

Historical Context

Meldreth is fortunate in having a network of footpaths which connect to the surrounding villages. There are however no byways within the parish although part of Harcamlow Way and the Icknield Way Path briefly border just south of Bury Lane Fruit Farm and cross under the railway line.

There is one Permitted Path from Malton Lane to ‘Five Fools Meadow’ in Barrington which runs north alongside the brook forming the parish boundary just west of Brimble Hill.

Although some paths are clearly not used frequently, most are passable and none has been obstructed by landowners, as has been sometimes been the case in some other areas. Indeed, many paths are cross-field and landowners have been generally very good at maintaining the required clearance through crop land.

A survey organised by the Ramblers Association was made for the Millennium year. Local people contributed for the parish paths and a bound document for all the county paths was presented to the county archives in 2000.

Before the Parish Plan project was started the Parish Council had already signed up to the Parish Paths Partnership (PPP) and general improvement work on surfaces and signage started in summer 2004 and is continuing.

Initially, a small number of Parish Councillors and others volunteered labour but, as a result of the Parish Plan project, 93 more people expressed interest in helping and subsequently successful meetings have meant that Path wardens have been appointed to monitor path conditions regularly.

Major work so far has been the surfacing with wood chippings of Path No 6 which runs along the River Mel and revetment work to shore up a short stretch of the path running very close to the river bank.

Path No 6 is by far our most popular and picturesque village path. Attractive at any time of year, it runs through field and wood, on the eastern bank of the River Mel from Topcliffes Mill across the railway continuing along the river to Station Road or Melbourn.

Further work is planned to upgrade stiles, gates and some surfaces.

What the Survey said about Parish Footpaths

$56%$ of respondents knew path locations
$35%$ sought signage improvements
horse riders want bridle paths
high interest in paths - 93 volunteering to maintain
disabled access very limited by stile/gate design.

Further comments indicated interest in having a circular foot route around the village and there were roughly equal calls for better surfacing or leaving things as they are.

The Parish Paths Partnership is already well established in Meldreth and will be the principal partner in carrying through any action plans raised by the Parish Plan process.

Conservation and Environment

Historically Meldreth was an important fruit growing area and mainly surrounded by fruit orchards and market gardens. Strong evidence of this is shown on the 1887 map of the parish. In the 1970s fruit growing was already in decline, orchards were grubbed up and land converted to cereal crop.

So, like many south Cambridgeshire villages, Meldreth is no exception in being short on woodland and rich in surrounding agricultural land. What little woodland remaining in the parish is privately owned with no public access.

However, there is strong interest in conservation and environmental issues and the village has a conservation group dedicated to preserving the only woodland in public ownership as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR).

Owned by Cambridgeshire County Council and leased to the Parish Council, this 0.8 hectares of deciduous woodland (named Melwood) west of the railway and adjacent to Footpath No 6 and the River Mel is being actively managed by the Melwood Conservation Group both for the benefit of the village of Meldreth and local wildlife.

A Management Plan has been produced and it is hoped that LNR status can be achieved in 2006/7. The Group encourages members of the public to take interest in the site by organising one or two public events in the wood every year.

In keeping with the general views of villagers responding to the questionnaire, mention should be made of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which is immediately adjacent to the northern parish boundary, namely Shepreth L-Moor.

It is as much a resource for Meldreth as it is for the neighbouring parish and constitutes the only other public access land reserved for wildlife and residents in the vicinity.

The land consists of ancient grassland, ranging from dry to damp, a chalk stream, and hedge and scrub originally given in 1823 as livestock grazing for the cottagers of Shepreth.

It is managed by the Wildlife Trust, and Meldreth Parish Council has contributed to a recent appeal made to purchase further similar land the other side of the railway which runs at the eastern edge. Footpaths connect to Shepreth just outside Meldreth’s parish boundary. “…more natural spaces are necessary for the health of the community, but unfortunately most places contain facilities for the motor car to the exclusion of these very important “wild” spaces.” - Comment from the questionnaire

Questions on the environment revealed the views below:

Countryside features	Important
Meadows, green fields	$87%$
Small Woods - Melwood	$84%$
Hedges	$83%$
Ditches & Watercourses	$79%$
Orchards	$76%$
Traditional Farm Buildings	$72%$

Ten percent of respondents felt these features were not special or had no opinion.

Environmental Improvements	Response
Look after woodlands	$69%$
Keep hedges short & tidy	$56%$
Preserve old orchards	$50%$
Plant more trees	$50%$
Single trees in special places	$49%$
Plant more hedges	$35%$
Allow hedges to grow naturally	$24%$
Specify others: *	$23%$

A planned action will be required to find out where people think such street furniture should be placed and in what numbers. Additions of this nature represent ongoing costs in servicing and maintenance for the parish precept.

Wildlife protection	Response
Look after woods, fields, lakes & watercourses	$75%$
Campaign against litter & rubbish	$73%$
Manage meadows for wildlife & people	$65%$
Create local nature reserves	$57%$
Create grass borders around fields	$41%$
Create new ponds	$37%$
Discourage too many people using the countryside	$8%$

Melwood by Faith Mutti (Meldreth Primary School)

Village Footpaths Map

This map shows footpaths within the parish, with their numbers, and was drawn up for the Millennium celebrations.

A definitive map can be accessed from the Cambridgeshire County Council website: http://online2.camcnty.gov.uk/cam

15 Meldreth Businesses

Meldreth-based businesses were identified from the Yellow Pages, village magazines, walking around and anecdotal evidence. 84 businesses (including the schools and farms) were identified but 8 were found to be no longer trading in Meldreth. The 76 active businesses were sent questionnaires and 62 replied - a response rate of $82%$ . The process undoubtedly missed several home-based businesses and it is probable there are about 90 active businesses in the village.

12 of the respondents are manufacturers, of which 9 are also distributors. There are a further 12 distributors.

Employment and Turnover

The businesses employ 566 full-time and 204 part-time staff and expect to employ 595 fulltime and 268 part-time staff in 5 years’ time. Current turnover of the respondents is $£42$ million/year.

The four largest employers (Eternit, Scope (Meldreth Manor School), E. W. Pepper (Bury Farm) and Gocold) have a combined turnover of $£34.5 m$ and employ 585.

Allowing for missed businesses and those that did not reply, estimated numbers for the village are:

90 businesses, turning over $£50$ million/year from 600 full-time and 300 part-time employees

Travelling to work

Of the respondents’ 780 full- and part-time employees:

248 were thought to live in Meldreth, of which 104 live on the premises or work from home
43 walk to work
52 cycle
18 use the train and 52 the buses
511 drive to work using a car, motorbike or van.

Work Experience Opportunities

13 businesses offer work experience or work shadowing opportunities and a further 6 may be willing to offer opportunities.

Skills Shortages

15 businesses identified skills shortages in the area. These include skilled food services operatives, manual labourers, fruit growing, butchery, livestock, D1 driving license holders, engineers, fitters, qualified accounts staff, care staff, nurses and physiotherapists.

Village Signposting

11 businesses indicated customers, suppliers, visitors or hauliers experience difficulty in finding them. This may be due to businesses needing better signs, the Parish Council needing to give permission, or more signs being needed generally in the village.

Road System

44 find the roads in Meldreth satisfactory, 8 do not. Speeding, poor parking, speed bump design, poor maintenance and street lighting were identified as issues.

Rail System

45 find the rail facility satisfactory, 3 do not. Lack of a full-time ticket office and the need for more trains are issues.

Bus System

18 say the bus system is satisfactory from a business perspective. The 9 who do not all highlight the limited number of buses or routes. For most small businesses the bus service is irrelevant.

Services

Businesses were asked for their opinions on a range of services; their responses where they use the service were:

Service	Good	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory	Good or satisfactory
Ambulance	10	10	0	$100%$
Fire brigade	10	9	0	$100%$
Courier	22	21	1	$98%$
Telephones	27	21	3	$94%$
Electricity	21	24	3	$94%$
Internet connection	21	19	4	$91%$
Water	22	17	4	$91%$
Gas	14	5	2	$90%$
Sewage/foul water drains	11	20	4	$89%$
Postal	15	28	8	$84%$
Rubbish disposal	3	25	6	$82%$
Storm water drains	5	20	13	$66%$
Police	10	12	15	$59%$

Generally businesses are satisfied with these services. Echoes of the Household Questionnaire are evident in the indifferent rating of the police and storm water drains. Specific issues highlighted were:

length of time to get telephones fixed
difficulties in disposing of asbestos roofing sheets
lack of recycling help from South Cambridgeshire District Council
SG post code and limited post deliveries
drains in North End and Chiswick End and the sewer in North End
frequency of power cuts.

Entertainment Facilities

Generally, businesses do not use local pubs or restaurants to entertain. 2 use the British Queen, 20 go elsewhere. 30 responses commented on the British Queen - none of these comments was complimentary and all echo the Household Questionnaire findings.

Is the Ambience/State of Upkeep of Meldreth helpful?

17 businesses say yes and 34 find it neutral; none finds it unhelpful. Several replies said their clients comment favourably and one stressed

“a positive situation is always helpful to a business in giving a good impression to customers”.

Dealings with the Parish Council

Of those who have experience of dealing with the Parish Council, 14 always find them helpful, 6 sometimes and 1 never. Comments were “Clerk is exceptional” and “Council should pay attention and act on what’s told them”.

Interest in being listed in a Directory of Village Businesses

About 30 businesses would like to be listed on a village website, a suitable notice board and/or brochure - about 20 do not.

Messages from the Questionnaire about what would help Businesses

need low-cost office and other facilities
improve telecom and security
improve the appearance of access roads to the village
don’t flout planning regulations
improve the pub, which should serve food
need a good venue with catering facilities for small meetings
low-cost housing
preserve the rail service
open the post office during lunch hours and provide road tax facility
CB postcode
better signposting and village communication
roads need resurfacing; humps need removing
clients see Meldreth as a pleasant, quiet and tidy village to visit
planning issues.

16 Planning Issues

Planning Constraints

Meldreth is surrounded by high-quality (grade 2) agricultural land and lies in the “Area of Restraint” south of Cambridge. Being in an Area of Restraint means that housing development can only take place within the village envelope as defined in the SCDC Local Plan (see map). Exceptions are made for affordable housing developments that are next to the boundaries of the envelope and sites for gypsies, travellers and travelling showmen which are subject to different planning rules (Policy HG 23 in the SCDC Local Plan). Meldreth is situated within the East Anglian Chalk Landscape Character Area. The Conservation Area, established in September 1975 and covering North End from Bury Farm southwards past the Stocks and down the High Street to The Gables plus part of Fenny Lane, protects the low-density linear character of this part of Meldreth. Sites of Archaeological Interest include areas at Flambards Close and east of High Street and north of the Sewage Treatment Works.

In the lists of Listed Buildings published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport there are one grade I (Holy Trinity Church) and thirty-eight grade II buildings.

County Structure Plan, South Cambridgeshire Local Development Framework and the East of England Plan

The planning system is in a period of change with the County Structure Plan being taken into the East of England Plan covering the whole region.

The Cambridgeshire County Structure Plan wants 20,000 new homes to be built in South Cambridgeshire in the period 1999 to 2016. Cambridge City is to have 12,500 new homes in the same period. The table below shows where the new homes will be.

New Homes to be built:	Cambridge City		South Cambridgeshire
Within the built up area of Cambridge. Including parts of South Cambridgeshire	6,500		2,400
		8,900
On the edge of Cambridge - needs changes to the Green Belt boundary	6,000		2,000
		8,000
In the new village of Northstowe (between Longstanton & Oakington)			6,000
Growth of the 5 selected rural centres and “windfall” sites in the villages			9,600
TOTAL	12,500		20,000

There is some bracketing together of Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire owing to the number of potential locations close to the city boundary.

The South Cambridgeshire Local Development Framework (LDF) plans that a limited proportion of the overall development will take place at Rural Centres. Melbourn was identified as a potential Rural Centre, but was not selected in the Preferred Options public consultation in October and November 2004. Cambourne, Fulbourn, Great Shelford & Stapleford, Histon & Impington and Sawston were the 5 villages chosen for growth based on the services and facilities they provide. The LDF is due to be adopted in June 2006 following further public consultation and public examination.

Other parts of the housing requirement will be met through “windfall sites in the villages”. The “East of England Plan” or draft revision to the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the East of England, is produced by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA). It was open for public consultation until 16 March 2005. This plan builds on the LDFs of the whole region and covers the period 2001 to 2021.

Under the plan, South Cambridgeshire is required to provide an average of an extra 1,175 homes a year from 2001 to 2021 - 23,500 extra homes in total. This is the highest total of any district in the East of England.

The first plan (RPG14) was “banked” in February 2004; but an extra 18,000 homes were requested by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, causing a review. However both the extra 18,000 extra homes and an extra runway at Stansted have been rejected by EERA.

The driving force for this high growth in homes required is that the East of England is the third most prosperous region in the UK (after London and the South East) and homes are expected to be needed for 421,500 new jobs by 2021. 478,000 new homes, of which half are already built or are in plans, are to support these jobs in the East of England. This means an extra 23,900 new houses/year, doubling of the number affordable homes and more sustainable transport.

However the East of England Regional Assembly suspended its endorsement of the plan in December 2004 due to lack of central government funding for essential infrastructure particularly regarding improved transport - but is committed to the public consultation on the draft plan in order to gauge responses and gather comments on the proposals. Meldreth

Parish Council has put in objections to the plan that question the ability of South Cambridgeshire to take this growth with the existing and planned infrastructure and without encouraging more long-distance commuting - particularly to London.

Planning Policies of SCDC

With the services that we have, Meldreth has been identified in the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan as a Group Village. This means residential development and redevelopment up to a maximum scheme size of 8 dwellings will be permitted within the village framework (see map). Development may exceptionally consist of up to 15 dwellings, if this would make the best use of a brown field site.

The village is constrained by surrounding high-grade agricultural land and being in the Area of Restraint, any new residential development can only take place within the village’s identified envelope (see map). SCDC say they will resist back land development, particularly in the northern part of the village in order to retain its strong linear character.

The Parish Plan supports the stated SCDC planning policy on Meldreth. This is as follows:

The Local Planning Authority will resist strongly any development between the A10 bypass and the built-up area of Melbourn in order to retain high-grade agricultural land, to protect the important open and rural aspect of this area and the shallow valley of the River Mel and to maintain clear separation between Meldreth and Melbourn. They are concerned that Melbourn may “creep” towards Meldreth. Similarly, the District Council will resist any proposals for roadside outlets on the A10 bypass in open countryside.
One area (of approximately 1.0 hectares) north of Chiswick End is allocated for residential development (of 30 houses). Planning permission will not be given until an agreement (under Section 106 of the Planning Act) has been signed ensuring that the whole of the site, including the area at present in employment use (by Holland’s), will be given over to housing. Development of this site will be subject to affordable housing being included and planning permission will not be granted until a legal agreement has been signed to make this happen. Note: this has been in the LDF since 1989.

Proposed Planning Objectives for the Meldreth Parish Plan

To ask the Parish Council to prepare a Village Design Statement to ensure the design and layout of housing schemes should be influenced by the wider character and context of the local village landscape. Schemes should also achieve high-quality design and distinctiveness, avoid inflexible standards and promote energy efficiency. Village Design Statements are important in supporting the village’s wishes in planning applications and appeals.
Meldreth has grown by 1996 to $270%$ of its 1951 size. This has been more rapid than the surrounding villages of Shepreth (172%), Whaddon and Orwell (223%). The continuing development of infill sites with up to 8 houses per development, as allowed for Group Villages such as Meldreth, will change the character of Meldreth. Meldreth should seek to limit the growth of residential developments within the village framework to the sustainable recycling of brown-field sites bringing positive overall benefit to the village, in the form of affordable housing.
Local landowners and businesses are to be encouraged to consider selling or developing land that would qualify for affordable housing - that is land immediately adjacent to the village framework or brown-field sites. The Parish Council should seek ways to work with SCDC to find ways to encourage this.

17 Final Questions and Comments Including Some Views from Children

Comments from the Village Model

The Village Model is a map of the village on a polystyrene board. People were invited to write their comments on coloured flags and put them on the map. Comments were either Good (keep it that way!) or So-So (could be improved) or Bad (do something about it!).

The Model was used at the Church Fete, the two schools and at meetings with six organisations (Youth Club, Good Companions, Women’s Institute, Tennis Club, Riders’ Group and the Meldreth Village Association). It attracted 238 comments, of which $27%$ were Good, $24%$ were So-So and $49%$ Bad.

Some Typical Comments

Hazards for horse riders ( 27 adverse)

“Outside Eternit a car came round blind bend on wrong side very fast. It managed to swerve, but my horse panicked and shot forwards - both of us in ditch!” “A car tried to overtake me beside another parked car by the shop. I could touch the car with my handhe was so close. The police cautioned the driver for bad driving. Always get a witness if you can”

Speeding ( 20 adverse)

“Whitecroft road - speeding cars and heavy lorries” “Traffic goes too fast past the church and stocks” “Mettle Hill and Whaddon Rd - Speeding drivers especially near corner before Eternit and hill near Royston Fencing”.

The pub ( 20 adverse)

“Shame we don’t have a welcoming pub with good food in the village” Poor/limited facilities for young people ( 17 adverse) especially associated with the recreation ground and pavilion “The rec. - needs better play equipment”

Traffic-calming design ( 11 adverse)

“Need to re-site/modify because of restricted view at Station end of High St”

Lack of Bridleways for safe horse riding ( 9 adverse)

“More bridleways linking villages to enable riders to get off the main roads”

Very dangerous corners and intersections ( 9 adverse)

“Dangerous crossing for children and mothers at Fieldgate” “Accident black spot at Whitecroft Rd junction with Fenny Lane” “Safer pedestrian crossing at College Farm bend in North End” “Railway bridge dangerous for both cyclists and pedestrians” “Exit from Bell Close difficult due to car parking in front of shop”

The Primary School (9 positive)

“Meldreth School is fantastic”

The Bus service to Cambridge and Royston (8 adverse)

“(Need) regular buses into Cambridge and Royston. At least four times a day. When I was young that’s how we got to see our school friends in other villages” “One thing about Meldreth - poor bus service”

Pavement conditions including overhanging hedges ( 8 adverse) “Hedgerows not cut along Whitecroft Rd footpath/pavement” “(Poor) condition of pavements for wheelchairs and prams”

The railway ( 8 positives)

“Great having a railway station with trains that run quite late” “Station Master Dave Piggott -what a star! A real service to the community”

The look of the village and its flora and fauna ( 8 positives)

“Really gorgeous village - the trees are fantastic, especially in the autumn” “A very pretty village overall. Lovely place to live and excellent community spirit”

Concerns about future for the (closed) Mettle Hill Travellers’ site (7 adverse)

“We don’t need another Cottenham. Once the travellers’ site was closed, crime went down in the area”

Other positive comments

“We like our tennis club!” “The River Mel walk” “The shop is important” “Having a lovely Village Hall” “Untouched and unspoiled at the church” “Very friendly village” “Xmas in Meldreth” “Meldreth Matters is super” “Supportive attitude of the village community” (to the Manor school)

Some comments from the young

“Train being close is good” “You get friends here” at the Primary School “We like school” “Meldreth - it’s b****y boring” “It is boring - there is nowt to do” “Get a place 2 socialise more than the youth club” “Good Indian take away” “We like our house!” “The good thing about living in Meldreth is having your friends”

Holy Trinity by Laura Betts and Catherine Mannix (right)

18 Summary of Key Points

any further increase in the numbers of travellers
lack of a family pub, serving food
speeding cars and lorries in narrow roads
facilities for youth
limited communications about social and sporting opportunities
disabled access and pavement conditions
potential loss of the post office or railway station
poor bus service, particularly affecting those without a car.

19 Detailed Action Plan

(A “champion” under “Resource Implications” means someone who will lead action on behalf of the village)

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)	Resource Implications (costs if known)	Planning Authority Involvement
Business
Follow up work experience opportunities	Discuss with Village Colleges and provide them the contacts	High	Spring 05	Village Colleges
Youth Club	Champion	No
Improve communications about businesses	Set up website, notice boards and possibly brochure with details of businesses wanting to be advertised	Medium	Autumn 05	Webmaster
Parish Clerk
Businesses	Champion	No
CB postcode	Lobby Post Office; if not why not, so reasons can be publicised	Medium	Autumn 05	Post Office	Champion	Possibly
Highways & Footpaths
Pavement improvements short term	Create pavement warden team to keep pavements clear of parked vehicles, litter and overhanging hedges. Check storm drains are working	High	Summer 05	Landowners
Highways Dept	Volunteer pavement wardens & Coordinator	No
Pavement improvements long term	More pavements at key danger spots & improve design of some existing pavements. Possible links to Shepreth and Eternit. Prioritise and cost	High	Autumn 05	Highways Dept	Action team
Programme costs	Possibly

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)
Highways & Footpaths cont.
Speeding traffic & traffic calming	Review effectiveness of traffic calming measures against experience and identified danger spots.
Create next phase of improvement, prioritise & cost.
Consider speed traps and ASBOs?
Include feasibility of school crossing	High	Summer 05
Spring 06	Highways Dept Police
Neighbourhood Watch	Action team Costs	Yes
Flooding caused by unmaintained gullies, drains and ditches	Audit problem, produce prioritised work plan, execute and monitor	Medium	Summer 05	Highways Dept
CCC
Adjacent
Landowners	Champion	No
Lack of bridleways	Create wish list, test feasibility and action where possible with landowners	Medium	Summer 05	Riders Group Landowners
Parish Paths Partnership	Champion from Riders Group
Borrowed JCB & operator	Yes
Heavy lorries in village streets & country lanes	Revisit 1999 survey
Census to identify flows and owners
Identify potential for restrictions
Consult owners/users
Change flows
Monitor effectiveness	Medium	Summer 05
Winter 05
Spring 06
Summer 06
Winter 06
In 2007	Highways Dept Police
Highways Dept
Owners/users
Highways Dept
Highways Dept	Action team
Signage costs	Yes, if changes proposed

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)	Resource Implications (costs if known)	Planning Authority Involvement
Highways & Footpaths cont
Footpaths	Extend network and improve accessibility and condition	Medium	Started	Parish Paths Partnership	Volunteers already identified	If network extended
Signposts and road names	Audit existing signage to propose improvements to find village facilities and businesses, improve traffic flows and deliveries
Prioritise and action	Medium	Autumn 05
Spring 06	Highways
Department,
Cambridgeshire
County Council	Use footpath volunteers and Village Association Sign costs	Yes
Conservation & Environment
Streams and meadows	Review “linear park” along Mel (including Melwood) to identify improvements to path, appearance of Mel, more grass field boundaries, tidier woodland	High	Summer 05	Parish Paths
Partnership
Melwood
Committee
Riparian
landowners	Volunteer labour and some costs
Expand scope of Melwood Committee?	Probably not
Litter reduction	Segment village into pavements, footpaths, Rec. and other areas, and address through permanent action teams. Consider stimulus of entry to Best Kept Village competition	Medium	Summer 05	Parish Paths
Partnership.
Parish Council
(to dovetail with their efforts)	Volunteers for each segment.
Involve children?
Landowners	No

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)	Resource Implications (costs if known)	Planning Authority Involvement
Conservation & Environment cont
Seats	Review current provision of seats/benches in the village, prioritise, plan and carry out improvements	Medium	Summer 05		Action team Costs	No
Village streetscape	Consider introducing “village pride” scheme to improve streetscape by improvements and repainting. Consider stimulus of entry to Best Kept Village competition	Medium	Summer 05	All residents (particularly on approaches to village and through routes)	Champion Costs to be borne by occupants	Not unless major changes to buildings proposed by residents
Industrial areas of village	Part of “village pride” scheme to improve streetscape. Consider stimulus of entry to Best Kept Village competition	Medium	Summer 06	Businesses	Champion Costs to be borne by businesses	Not unless major changes to buildings proposed
Dog bins	Review provision and extra needs highlighted by Household Questionnaire, plan and do	Low	Autumn 05		Champion
Limited costs	No

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)
Sport & recreation
Better pavilion or Leisure Centre on recreation ground	Test project to replace the pavilion against a new leisure centre for costs/benefits	Key strategic decision	Summer 05	Football Club
Youth Club
Tennis Club	Champions
Fundraising
Grants	Yes
Improve communications on what is available, where & when	Complete Parish website with organisation details, rationalise and improve notice boards, address communications to new villagers, Village diary	High	Summer 05	Parish Clerk
Webmaster
Clubs &
Organisations	Action team
Notice board costs.	No
Fuller use of village facilities for wider range of activities	Establish scope for co-operation amongst facility providers, publicise what’s available and promote sports/activities not currently undertaken	High	Summer 05	Primary School
Manor School
Village Hall
Eternit	Champion	No
Pub as a major village focal point	The pub needs enhancing to become a family friendly establishment serving good moderately priced food, with an improved garden and car park	High	Summer 05	Publican
Brewery
Licensee	Action team	Possibly

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)	Resource Implications (costs if known)
Youth
Facilities for youth	Benchmark Meldreth against other villages, produce prioritised plan. Encourage village organisations to provide taster sessions and coaching	High	Summer 05	Youth Club
Village sports organisations	Action team
Programme costs	No
Facilities for the very young	Benchmark Meldreth against other villages, produce prioritised plan	Medium	Summer 05	Toddler’s club and young mothers	Action Team
Programme costs	No
Community Safety
Access for 100 disabled and 60 pushchair users	Improve access to One Stop Shop and southbound railway platform	High	Summer 05	WAGN
SCOPE
One Stop Shop	Disability consultant
Grants and improvement costs	Possibly
Resolution of the future of the Mettle Hill Travellers’ site	Turn site to an alternative use acceptable to the County Council and villagers	High	On-going	CCC
Residents Assoc.
Developers	Development costs	Yes
Police and fear of theft and vandalism	Scope and cost of greater police presence/resources needs to be identified. Benchmark against other villages, produce plan	Medium	Summer 05	Neighbourhood Watch	Champion
Implication for rates?	No

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)	Resource Implications (costs if known)	Planning Authority Involvement
Community Safety contd.
Street lighting improvements	Produce costed, prioritised plan (include Rec. and Station Yard) and carry out programme of improvement	Low	Winter 05
Autumn 06	Highways Dept	Champion
Programme costs	No
Transport
Bus service improvements	Improved frequency of buses to Cambridge and Royston	High	Ongoing	Stagecoach	Action Team
Residents Ass. ?	No
Extended social car service	Expand the provision of volunteer drivers for medical and shopping visits for those without transport e.g. by extending use of Royston Community Transport and “Tesco runs”. Village mini-bus?	High	Summer 05	Royston Community Transport	Volunteer drivers
Action Team	No
Rail services	Press for 8-car stops & southbound platform improved access	Medium	Summer 05	WAGN - Railway Passengers User Group	Champion	No
Education
Ensure SCOPE remains fully integrated in village	Encourage Manor School to adopt more open door policy and share facilities. Encourage village organisations to market themselves to Manor School staff	Medium	Summer 05	SCOPE
Village organisations	Champion from Manor School	No
Housing
Affordable housing for villagers	Increase provision of affordable private and housing association houses	High	Ongoing	SCDC
Developers	Development costs	Yes

Issue	Action/How	Priority	Action Start Date	Partners (in addition to Parish Council)	Resource Implications (costs if known)	Planning Authority Involvement
Health
Some dissatisfaction with Melbourn Surgery	Share survey results with Melbourn surgery and encourage improvements	Medium	Summer 05	Melbourn Surgery	Parish plan Committee to give feedback	No
Parish Council
Action the plan	Parish Council sponsored team to carry out the plan	Essential	Spring 05		Volunteers to be Issue Champions
Church and Community
Retention of Post Office	Lobby hard and consistently to retain village post office which is valued by villagers and businesses alike	High	On-going	All Councils
MP	Champion	No

Appendix 1: Key Actions & Timeline (Critical Path in orange)

	2004							2005
ACTIVITY	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May
The questionnaire
Finalise draft questionnaire
Obtain quotes and decide on printer
Pilot the draft questionnaire
Finalise the questionnaire
Print the questionnaire
Obtain electoral roll/ divide it up
Distribute and collect
Input and analyse results
Feed back results and key issues
Supporting Awareness & Consultation
Decide how to consult village organisations
Create road show
Consult village organisations
Meldreth Church Fete June 19
Meldreth School Fete July 3
Open Day scope/bookings
Open Day preparation
Parish Plan Open Day (Sunday 20 Feb)
Publicity Plan for questionnaire
Publicise questionnaire
Create Business questionnaire
Deliver/collect Business questionnaire
Analyse Business questionnaire results
Decide about competitions & model making
Competitions and model making
Design and write Parish Plan
Agree outline structure and process
Obtain quotes and decide on printer
Obtain preface from Andrew Lansley
Obtain endorsements CCC & SCDC
Section on “About Meldreth”
Section on Background to Plan
Section on Methodology & Timetable
Write up results of consultations
Write up results of questionnaire
Draft Recommendations
Obtain Sponsorship for plan costs
Test draft plan with Parish Council
Finalise and proof check
Get OK from Countryside Agency
Print plan
Distribute plan

Appendix 2: Meldreth Clubs & Organisations

Adult Choir	Junior Choir	Residents Association
Art Club	Melbourn and Meldreth Self	Sunday School
Bell ringers	Help Group	Tennis Club
Bible Reading Fellowship	Meldreth Matters team	Toddlers Club
Bowls Club	Mobile Warden Scheme	United Football Club
Conservation Group	Neighbourhood Watch	Village Association
Croquet Club	Parish Charities	Village Hall Trust
Friends of Holy Trinity	Parish Council	Women’s Institute
Church	Parochial Church Council	Youth Club
Friends of Meldreth Manor	Playgroup
School	Pre-school
Good Companions	Primary School P.T.A.

Details of how to contact these organisations are in the monthly publications “Meldreth Matters”, the excellent village magazine, and “The Melde”, or on the Parish Council website: www.meldrethpc.org.uk

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the businesses that generously made donations towards the cost of producing this plan

AP&D Burlton Arable Farmers (Tony Burlton)	260445 262092	Fresh and frozen turkeys and turkey products Wheat and barley
Alan Hazelwood	260751	Architect specialising in residential projects, historic buildings and projects to assist disabled people
Ann Barnes	261073	Reflexology and aromatherapy
Cam Valley Plums (Tim Elbourn)	262964	Orchard fruits including Elbourn Apples
Churchill Plumbing and Heating (Chris Churchill)	07775743099	Heating and plumbing
E W Pepper Ltd (Jeremy Clayton)	07951812623	Farming including Bury Lane Fruit Farm
Gocold Ltd (Nick Davis)	262516	Ice cream & frozen food wholesalers
JR Technology Ltd (Johnnie & Paul Rogger)	260721	Composite materials production engineers
Scope Meldreth Manor School (Eric Nash)	268000	Education of disabled young people
Sprint Printers (Penny Wells)	263339	Printing and wedding stationery

and to all Meldreth villagers, businesses and organisations who contributed their opinions and ideas.

- Few people specified improvements other than seats & bins; which were suggested as examples.
↩

Meldreth Neighbourhood Plan

Explorer

Meldreth Parish Plan 2005

Steering Committee Members

Letters of Support

Andrew Lansley CBE MP

David McCraith, Cambridgeshire County Councillor

Dr Susan van de Ven, South Cambridgeshire District Councillor

0 Summary

1 Introduction

Why do a Meldreth Parish Plan?

How did we involve the community?

Who has done the work?

2 Where do we go from here?

Meldreth Map

Description of Meldreth

Location

History and Settlement

3 Recent History

Services and Facilities

4 Housing

Future housing need for the people of Meldreth

Types of Homes Required

Acceptable Housing Developments

Acceptable Housing Developments

5 Transport

Use of Transport Services

Railway

Historical Context

Overview

Summary of Issues

Bus Services

Historical Context

Overview

Key Issues

Social Car Services

Issues for the Action Plan

6 Provision of Health Services

Doctor

Physiotherapy

Meals on Wheels

Other services

Issues for those with Disabilities

Action Points

7 Facilities for the Young

Types of Schools Attended

8 Local Social Facilities

Role of Village Organisations

Sports Facilities

9 Traffic and Speeding

Other Issues

Facilities for the Over 65s

10 Housing Provision

11 Good Companions Club

12 Law and Order

Historical Context

Main issues

Concern of Crime

13 Leisure

Facilities

Leisure/sporting associations

Views on Social Facilities

Usage of Recreational Facilities

Improving Existing Sports Facilities

New Sports Clubs and Activities

Conclusions

14 Environment

Footpaths and Byways

Historical Context

What the Survey said about Parish Footpaths

Conservation and Environment

Village Footpaths Map

15 Meldreth Businesses

Employment and Turnover

Travelling to work

Work Experience Opportunities

Skills Shortages

Village Signposting

Road System

Rail System