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RACHEL CLEMENTS Local residents standing as Parish Councillors<br />
JAMIE DYER<br />
My name is Rachel Clements. I live and work in<br />
Cambourne. My family and I moved here in 2000<br />
when the prospect of a supermarket seemed like a<br />
distant dream, let alone a high street proper!<br />
My family includes my husband, Justin, and my 4<br />
delightful children.<br />
I work in the Business Park as a senior manager for a large American<br />
IT company. I must enjoy my job since I spend so much of my time<br />
there!<br />
Outside of work I am a keen, though novice, allotment gardener.<br />
My hopes for Cambourne as it grows and grows are that it develops<br />
into a self-supporting group of villages with a sense of community.<br />
That includes a Post Office and somewhere for the kids to go. I am<br />
also interested in Green Politics, although I won't be jetting off anytime<br />
soon to the polar regions in a private jet.<br />
This is my second time standing for these elections and I shall keep<br />
trying until I am successful.<br />
I wish all the candidates the best of luck. Please come along on Election<br />
Day and cast your vote!<br />
I've been living in Cambourne for three years<br />
having moved here with my wife, Jane. We have<br />
a young son and baby daughter, plus a greyhound.<br />
We came to Cambourne from the local<br />
area because we saw it as a great place for a<br />
young family to grow up and make friends.<br />
Cambourne is a great place to live, but there are some things that<br />
can be improved. I think the parish council tax is too high. Every<br />
year more people move into the villages, yet every year our<br />
personal contributions rise. I would like to look at reducing the<br />
number of tasks the Parish Council has taken on. Perhaps some<br />
can be reduced or taken on by volunteers.<br />
Having said that, there are some small things that money could<br />
be spent on to improve our quality of life - more litter bins<br />
(including one at each bus stop for example), along with removal<br />
of litter and graffiti as soon as it occurs.<br />
Now that Cambourne has a chip shop and a Morrisons, it has<br />
become a popular meeting place for teenagers from surrounding<br />
villages. I'd like to see if there is demand - from the residents and<br />
youths themselves - for providing them with an area of their own.<br />
Vote Jamie Dyer<br />
MIKE JOCELYN Local residents standing as Parish Councillors LORRAINE MORGAN<br />
As a retired finance director of a small company I am<br />
horrified at the slipshod way the Parish Council appears<br />
to make major financial decisions. Having the<br />
highest council tax in the whole of South Cambridgeshire<br />
is hardly a matter for commendation. It is<br />
difficult to find publicly available information showing what analysis, if<br />
any, is undertaken to ensure best value for residents.<br />
For instance: the major decision to employ two permanent ground<br />
staff, buy machinery and construct the necessary storage building. Where<br />
is a spreadsheet showing all the detailed costs alongside the evaluation<br />
of alternatives e.g. using contractors for the task?<br />
For instance: the provision of Parish Clerking services. Cambourne will<br />
shortly have the equivalent of two full time employees in this area.<br />
Has the basic data been collected to show how the Clerk’s time is<br />
allocated and spent? This is required to allow Council members to check<br />
whether this high wage bill is justified or if there are less costly ways of<br />
providing some of the services.<br />
Decisions may well be appropriate but with such a paucity of information<br />
residents cannot judge. How can a Parish Council claim to be<br />
providing best value if they fail to publish the evidence?<br />
Your Parish Council urgently needs to raise its standard of financial<br />
competence. All Council members have a duty to thoroughly scrutinise<br />
decisions, and the quality of information presented, before they vote.<br />
Remember it is your hard earned money they are spending.<br />
Must<br />
make sure to vote.<br />
After all this is our<br />
community<br />
The Crier has been unable to contact<br />
Lorraine, probably due to the<br />
Easter holidays.<br />
The list of Candidates was not available from<br />
the Electoral Office until 4th <strong>April</strong>. The Crier<br />
was printed on 5th <strong>April</strong> in order to be delivered<br />
on time (first weekend of the month) so<br />
the timings were unfortunate.<br />
All Candidate profile updates will be published<br />
on the web site www.cambourne.info.<br />
For those wishing a paper copy please contact<br />
the editors . Details are on Page 2 ).
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