Did you know???

Did you know?

Planing applications and other related matters, which are to be discussed at Town, District or County Council level are published beforehand. By looking on the relevant council web site, there will be links to the planing agenda. These are freely available for all Residents to read.

All images and text © cg-photography

Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU

Did you know???

Did you know...

Even at this very busy Election time Councillors Churchill and Farrer remain focused and are still working hard on your behalf..

Wednesday: Meeting with Officers at Cambridgeshire County Council re: A428 & surrounding issues - Wintringham Farm Development.

Thursday: Meeting with Officers at Cambridgeshire County Council re: Street lighting - Replacement - St Neots.

At both meetings they will be accompanied Cllr West who represents an adjoining division which includes Loves Farm.

All images and text © cg-photography

Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU

Doorstep issues... Interview with a Resident - Eaton Ford

The Residents perspective from Eaton Ford..

Ken and Bob have been out and about in the Eaton Ford area and in keeping with our policy of attending to residents needs first and foremost, here is a sample of what the Residents of Eaton Ford are talking about and what is concerning them most about this election and the times in which we live...

Mrs R: "I can not understand for the life of me why they decided to put the cinema behind Lidl's. It's too small for the site surely?"

Mrs F: "The traffic along Crosshall Road at peak times is really heavy. Getting into the High Street for 9 o'clock in the morning can be a nightmare!"

Mr B: "How is raising the price of car parking going to bring people back into the town?" 

Ms C: "Why don't we make more of the RIver here in St Neots? It's such a pretty spot. So many other towns have festivals and big events organised for all the community, surely we could have something for the people of St Neots?"

Mr J: "If they are going to build two new primary schools outside St Neots, where are the secondary school age children going to go? Longsands and Ernulf are Academies!"

Mr C: "I've had to complain about my children's safety being cause for concern when we are crossing Duloe Road enroute to school, mornings and afternoons. I hope you are going to do something about it."

Mrs S: "I like using the cycle route along the meadows between St Neots and Eaton Socon. We really should have more of them."

Mrs W: "I don't really have any issues as such but can I just say I think anyone who works for us and our town like you do, deserves a medal, it must be a thankless task at times."

Mr L: "The grassy areas at the back of our and the adjoining road never seems to be looked after by the council. It looks a mess, it's like we have been forgotten because all this back's onto the A1. People throw their rubbish over there, one or two of the trees have been broken - what a state to leave it in."

Miss T: "I think a Cinema coming to St Neots will be a great thing for the town, it will give people something to do in the evenings and we won't have to travel to Huntingdon or Bedford to see a film."

Mr B: "St Neots, 4th in a place to eat survey... That's a great result for our town."

Ms P: "Why has the old Falcon public house been left in such a state for so long? It is a lovely old building, full of character. What a waste!"

Mr L: "The cinema in St Neots is good but I do feel sorry for the local residents there. They will have to put up with a lot of noise from people using the cinema and the restaurants late at night, it's really in the wrong place. I'm sure there are better sites it could have been built on."

All images and text © cg-photography
Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU

Did you know?

Did you know?

Every morning on this blog Ken, Bob and the Residents of St Neots are going to start with a couple of items for local people which they may not know...


Carol Gamby: "We have received 1000 visits onto this blog since it's inception!"

Mrs W: "Its cheeper (60p for one hour) to park in Beales Car Park at the back of their store than the HDC car park across the road."
All images and text © cg-photography
Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU

Doorstep issues... Independent @ work!

After the election... 

Being Independent...

Having broken away from the Conservative party and standing as Independent Candidates at this election, Bob and Ken would like to take this opportunity to let their blog readers know what being an Independent Candidate means and what voters can expect from them as Independent Councillors...

Ken explains: "Being an Independent Candidate means we are no longer aligned to or members of a political party. It does not mean that we are now members of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). If elected we will be able to freely debate and deliberate the issues and decisions which will affect St Neots as a whole."

Bob continues: "As independent councillors we don't have to follow a party line, or vote with a political group, we can vote as we feel we should and without pressure being put on us. We will be able to get just as much done for the residents of St Neots, in fact I am sure we will be able to achieve even more because OUR focus will be the local interest."

How Independent works...

There are a number of Independent Candidates standing for County election in Cambridgeshire, including four standing from St Neots hoping to join the 2000+ Independent Councillors within councils across the country. Close to St Neots is a large group of Independent Councillors very effectively working together in St Ives.

Ken explains: "There are seventeen councillors on the Town Council in St Ives, of those only four are party members, 2 Conservative and 1 each of Labour and Lib Dem. If you look at the year on year improvements and achievements, which have taken place in that town, it provides a clear demonstration of what can be achieved on a local level for the good of every resident in the town. We believe it will greatly benefit St Neots to have Independent Councillors here."

St Ives has a wide range of events and activities organised for the good of the town, much like we do in St Neots, but with far less destructive arguing and personality clashes taking place on the council. Typical events include: Farmers Markets, Armed Forces Day, a Carnival & Music festival and a Michaelmas fayre! So on the face of it, the two Cambridgeshire market towns are very similar, yet St Ives with a population of 15,900 has almost half the population of St Neots. 

Bob adds: "The town Council of St Ives is very much like our own but without politics playing a major part in the decision making process." 

Currently our County Council has 69 Councillors from various districts. Although the majority of the Council is Conservative, 28 Councillors are from different parties or are Independent. With all County Council seats open at this election the political map could easily be altered, particularly as a great many people believe that locally and nationally, things are not being managed in the right way.

Has being Independent changed Ken & Bob's philosophy?

Ken says: "Our way of working will not greatly change although there will be some differences. We will address residents concerns and issues as they come in. Attend  Council meetings and focus our respective expertise on the areas which matter."

Bob explains: "We are not making promises we can't keep and we are not claiming we will deliver this or that. What we are saying is that people voting for us, will get the best that we can give, for the good of the residents of all of St Neots. We will do our best to sort out their problems if and when they have them. We will vote for what we believe is the best thing for St Neots. We will provide our readers here with regular updates and assure voters we will do our best. We will be voting as we believe we should. We will be voting for the people who voted for us."
All images and text © cg-photography
Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU

Doorstep issues... Interview with a Resident - Little Paxton

The Residents perspective...

Ken & Bob have been talking to Little Paxton residents. With their permission we have reproduced some of their comments here to illustrate a flavour of what the people of Little Paxton are talking about and what concerns them...

Mr. B "I want my views and opinions to be heard. My vote is important to me."

A new bridge... What's the cost???

Mrs C: "I don't like politicians that say what they think you want to hear while promising that they will be able to fix anything and everything. You know all the time there is not the money for them to be able to do that. I am not that gullible!"

Ms G: "I don't usually get involved but I do cast my vote according to what I think is best when it comes to local elections. I think politics should be kept out of it."


Miss T: "This election seems to be different. There are so many issues in and around St Neots which are dividing people. I just want to know I can vote for someone I can trust to do a good job for our village!"

Mr. S "Another 4000 houses in St Neots? What's going to happen to the town?"

Swans in the garden...

Mrs G: "I had one fellow canvassing on my doorstep he assured me he was going to get a new bridge because of the flooding... He was talking about the traffic jams in St Neots. When I asked him about the cost of the scheme and where was the money going to come from, all he said was 'I'll get it if I have my way... It took me five years to get the cinema built, so you'll have to be patient.' What's the good of that? Why promise to do something now? I've lived here since 1986 - the river always floods, it's like he'd only just realised it."

Ms R: "I thought a cinema in St Neots would be great but now I have seen it I'm not so sure - why did they put it there? The traffic will be a nightmare!"

Miss P: "How can a building that size be in the wrong place? Somebody must have known before now. I'm glad I don't have to live there."

Paxton Pits... Our village treasure...

Mrs S: "We have lovely facilities in the village if people want to use them. The pits is a lovely place for walking, it's a treasure."

Mrs V: "What can be done about the bridge? Why are they saying it can be done now - why not before?"

Anon: "If the councillor lives in the village he will care about the village - just like the parish councillors do." 


Mr J: "I would rather have someone living in the village and telling it straight. The flooding issue is a problem for a short amount of time every year. Long term personally I think they should be looking at flood defenses for the people of Little Paxton not promising pie in the sky! I know not everyone would agree with me but I would rather have a councillor who will stand up and say I will do my best without promises, assurances or asking for patience!"

Mrs P: "Why do we have to pay 80 pence to park in Riverside and 60 pence to park in town? It doesn't make sense." 

Mrs C: "I like to take my grandchildren to the park, I had such a surprise when I saw all the lovely new equipment for the outdoor gym - there were people using it too."

Miss H: "I had a difficulty when my bins were not emptied. They were left behind and the council wouldn't come out and collect the rubbish. It was there for ages, I got fed up with waiting for them to turn up so in the end I called Ken. Not only did he sort the problem out but he came round and apologised personally, I was really impressed!"

Mr C: "I was asked if I had anything I wanted to discuss. I only had one question... If you get elected will Little Paxton ever see you here before its election time?"

Mr W: "Ken seems to be able to get things done. When I had my own problem he was out with his dog. I didn't like to bother him but he said he would rather know."

All images and text © cg-photography
Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU

Doorstep issues... High sore Cinema...

Right idea... Wrong place!

Residents from the town end of Priory Park ward are extremely concerned about the size and scale of the new cinema complex being built in the heart of our town. Ken and Bob joined residents in reviewing the situation and have discovered for themselves what is upsetting so many people. Some of their issues have been reported in the local media this week.

One resident complained: "If they are going to spend 8 million quid on a Cinema, why oh why did the council agree to shove it into such a small space?" 

Feelings are again running very high over the development. Another resident commented: "We are the ones who have to live with it - Look at the size of that! Too close to the houses and far too big!"

A developers 'blunder' has meant that the development has two buildings, which have been located too close to the existing properties. As a result the project has been returned back to the planning application stage.

Ken commented: "Bob and I fully understand the residents concerns. It seems that but for the eagle-eyed dedication of the residents of East Street and the professionalism of HDC's buildings inspectors this could all too easily have been a disaster for our town. The financial implications over this 'blunder' are potentially huge. It seems from the documentation that we have seen, the developers must have been aware of this problem at an early stage, due in part to the scaffolding not being allowed to be erected on an adjacent site... It seem to be that the buildings footprint was moved from it's approved position to accommodate this."

It's sadly notable that those Councillors who were quick to champion the project, irrespective of all the concerns which have been raised since before its inception, are now as quiet as mice and no where to be seen. Although Ken and Bob fully understand that this is a developers problem.

Questions in the news & On our leaflet...

Bob agrees: "All the affected residents have largely been ignored, their very real fears over the size of this development and the future of it, have been brushed aside as unimportant in the desire to insert this massive 'potential' into St Neots. The believe they have been misled. Rightly, these residents are deeply hurt!"

There is little doubt that such a project being built during these very difficult times is or should be a good thing for all the residents of St Neots, but not at such a high cost to those closest to it.

Bob continues: "Ken and I have said all along, this is a very good thing for our town but it has been located in the wrong place! Opportunities could have been found to have a more sympathetic development on this site, one which could have provided just as many employment opportunities. More employment opportunities as well as a bigger cinema complex in another location around the town and the potential of a new supermarket which would have provided much needed competition to the major out of town retailer we have at the moment. The opportunities could so easily have been greater than we have here - If only some councillors had listened! It's nothing short of a good opportunity wasted."

The developers of the project are hoping this is only a temporary hick-up while the residents are hoping the planning application is rejected and an alternative site considered.

Cambridge Street view...

The final comment goes to the last resident Ken & Bob spoke to, she said: "It was nice here, before all this started. Town on the doorstep at one end of our road and a play park at the end of the field at the other. It was better when the recycling centre was  operating off Huntingdon Street, it might have been a bit smelly and been a bit noisy at times but it was never an eyesore on this scale!"

All images and text © cg-photography

Promoted by Carol Gamby on behalf of Ken Churchill and Bob Farrer all of 83 Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1DU