New Principal at Soham Village College

 The Day Soham was Nearly Destroyed

The drama of the Soham Train Explosion which almost destroyed the town during the Second World War will be recreated in a film made by youngsters from the town. Soham Action for Youth has been awarded a grant of £23,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to make the film which was be shot on location at Nene Valley Railway with a real steam train on Friday 17th March 2006. Around 60 youngsters aged 11 to 15 are taking part in the project which has seen them research the events surrounding the explosion and write and perform the script themselves. Youth worker Linda Homan said: "It has produced a real excitement about history and the children have been asking what is going to happen next." The book, called But For Such Men As These, which gives an account of the explosion, has helped the group greatly with its research and an old copy of The Newmarket Journal will feature in the film as the train driver will be seen reading it. On Wednesday 19th April 2006, the film will be screened to pupils from Fordham, Kennett and Isleham Primary Schools and to St. Andrew's and The Weatheralls Primary Schools in Soham.

The train explosion happened at 1.43am on 2 June 1944 and instantly killed Signalman Frank Bridges and Fireman James Nightall who helping to drive part of the train which was carrying bombs and had caught fire, out of the town before it blew up. Train Driver Benjamin Gimbert and Guard Herbert Clarke also helped in the operation and survived, but have both since died. Mr Bridges, Mr Gimbert and Mr Nightall all have roads named after them in Soham and Mr Gimbert and Mr Nightall were awarded the George Cross – Mr Nightall's medal is displayed at Soham Village College. Plaques to remember the men were also placed in St. Andrew's Church and at the Village College and in April 1996 gardens close to the former Ipswich Railway Station were named HG Clarke Gardens. To mark the explosion's 60th anniversary, two locomotives were named after Mr Nightall and Mr Gimbert. Soham Action for Youth provides a variety of activities for young people in the town.  Part of the grant was also used to conduct field work in Isleham where the youngsters carried out an archaeological dig.

 Expansion Plan for Soham Staploe Medical Centre

Plans have been put forward to extend Soham's Staploe Medical Centre to help cope with the town's increasing population. The centre in Brewhouse Lane has submitted a planning application to East Cambridgeshire Council to extend the building to create six more consulting rooms and 20 extra parking spaces. Practice manager Michael Wilde said: "Because of all the new houses which have been and are being built, there are more people coming into the town so we need more consulting rooms to deal with the growing population." Currently 357 new homes are being constructed on a 26-acre site between Townsend and Mereside, which is set to see Soham's population rise by 10 per cent. The go-ahead has also been given for 44 houses to be built behind The Birches and up to 100 homes could be constructed on the AA Griggs site in Townsend after outline planning permission was granted to demolish buildings there and use the land for residential development.
The practice, which is also used by villagers from Fordham, Isleham, Wicken and Chippenham, has 16,000 patients registered with it and around 1,000 people visit the centre each week. The extension would be built on a site which is currently arable farm land and car parking spaces would be increased from 43 to 63. If planning permission was granted, Mr Wilde said it was hoped work would start on the development later this year or early in 2007 and he anticipated it would take four to six months to complete the works. During this time the medical centre would continue to operate as usual. The centre employs 10 doctors and 34 staff and Mr Wilde said more staff would be taken on gradually once the works were completed. He said the money for the improvements had been raised privately and the exact cost of the works had not been finalised. 

 Historic Building's Facelift

A building used by Soham groups and organisations is undergoing a facelift thanks to a grant of £40,000. The Viva Arts & Community Group, a charitable trust which encompasses Viva Youth Theatre and runs The Viva Centre and Viva Charity Shop in Churchgate Street, secured funding for improvements at the centre from the Soham Revival and Soham Heritage Regeneration Schemes.  The schemes are jointly funded by the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership, East of England Development Agency, East Cambridgeshire District Council and English Heritage. The front of the building will now be restored to its original 1840 Wesleyan Chapel frontage and disabled access will be created through the installation of ramps. Dan Schumann, of Viva, said: "We are thrilled that we now have the money to make this happen. It will make such a positive difference to the look of Churchgate Street as well as making the building far more user-friendly and secure.  This is just the first stage of what Viva would like to do with this building, as eventually we want the whole building to be in community use as a community resource." Work started on the building a couple of weeks ago and is expected to be completed later this month. The Viva Charity Shop will continue to remain open on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, but access will be via the side entrance to the building. Community groups and organisations can rent rooms in The Viva Centre.

 Calling All Keen Gardeners

St. Andrew's Church are intending to hold an 'Open Gardens Day' in either June or July 2006 to raise money for the St. Andrew's Church Development Fund. If you are proud of your garden and would like to show it off to the public and help a good cause at the same time then please contact either Mrs Alison Evans on Tel: 01353 723376 or the Reverend Tim Alban Jones MBE on Tel: 01353 720423, E-Mail: . It doesn't have to be half an acre or be in pristine condition but should be of interest to other gardeners and reasonably close to the centre of Soham.

Want to communicate with your local Neighbourhood Policing Team???
Do you want to know what is happening in your local area???
Would you like to receive regular crime and community information that is local to you???

E-Cops is the answer!!!

E-Cops is an E-Mail scheme from Cambridgeshire Constabulary for your community. Cambridgeshire Constabulary is extending its successful E-Cops scheme to cover the Soham area. Your local Neighbourhood Policing Team would like to inform you what is happening in your area. E-Cops gives us an opportunity to do just that and gives you an opportunity to communicate with us.

Complete the on-line registration form by visiting:- www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/ecops/

When you sign up you will receive an E-Mail confirming that you have joined E-Cops. From then on you will be sent regular E-Mails from your local Police Officer. You will be able to respond to these e-mails with information and feedback.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Creating a safer Cambridgeshire

 New Soham Homes to go up for Keyworkers

Keyworkers are being given the chance to get on the property ladder in Soham, thanks to a new affordable housing scheme. A partnership has been formed between East Cambridgeshire District Council, the Cambridge Housing Society and the Flagship Housing Group to build a new estate in the town. The homes will be built in Gadwell Way, and 36 of the 121 homes will be for keyworkers, including nurses, police officers, social workers, teachers and prison staff. The first three keyworker homes have been finished and the plans for the rest of the estate include 19 two-bedroom homes, 14 three-bedroom homes and three four-bedroom houses.

 Section 106 Contributions

Soham Town Council

When East Cambridgeshire approves a new housing development in Soham the developer is asked to make a contribution towards infrastructure in the town. This is known as Section 106 contribution. Much of this is used for highways, education, health, etc but some is used to provide benefits to the local community. Soham Town Council is very aware of the number of new houses which may be built in Soham in the future and therefore, there may be possibilities to make use of the resulting Section 106 finance. So Soham Town Council would like to hear from any community groups who have development plans. It is important this finance is used to benefit as many people in the community as possible so we would like to hear from different groups. The Town Council will compile a list of projects which may be suitable and those chosen for a short list will be asked to provide detailed costings of the project. You should however, bear in mind that as funds will be limited there can be no guarantee of financial support. Please contact the Town Clerk to discuss any ideas you may have for suitable projects.

Thank You
Soham Town Council

 St Andrew's Church Development Fund

First of all, St. Andrew's Church, would like to say a big 'thank you' to all those people who have been so generous in their support of the St. Andrew's Church Development Fund. I have been immensely touched by the response of people. We have received one or two large donations and the total to date is about £24,000. This is wonderful. Thank you very much indeed. We still need, however, to raise a considerable amount more in order to reach our target for the fund.

A number of people have expressed reservations about the cost of the project. I would like to try and address those concerns if I may:
When dealing with a Grade I listed building we are obliged to use only the very best materials. We cannot be slipshod or slapdash with our precious heritage. If our ancestors and forbears had cut corners with their building project we would not have such a fine building to look after or pass on to the future. St Andrew's is the only Grade I building in Soham and we have a duty of care to make sure that it is in good order for generations to come.

As a public building it seems little short of a scandal that we do not have the proper means to make a cup of tea and wash up afterwards, never mind the fact that there is no loo in the building. If I had been given £10 for every time a visitor has asked about a loo, I am sure our Development fund target would be halved! I would very much like to see this wonderful building being used far more than just on Sundays, but we need to be more accessible and that means, installing a loo and small kitchenette.

£180,000 may seem like a huge sum of money for the organ. Indeed it is a very large sum; but we need to remember that this is a long-term investment. The organ will last at least a hundred years without needing anything more than routine maintenance so if you consider the cost of the instrument spread over a hundred years, it is a far more modest sum - £1,800 a year. When considering the cost of hiring an electronic organ while the present instrument is out of action, the annual cost would have been in the region of £5,200 - and we would have nothing to show for it at the end of it. To purchase a suitable electronic organ (even if we were to be given permission from the church authorities) would have cost about £25,000 and the life-span of such an instrument would not have been more than ten or fifteen years. A replacement would, no doubt, cost more in fifteen years time. It is therefore cheaper in the long-term to go for a good pipe organ which will have a much longer life-span and will be more in keeping with the building. In addition, it may surprise many people to know that you can easily spend £100,000 on a piano, never mind a church organ! These things cost money.

Some people may feel that our target seems so large, that there is nothing that they can do to make a difference. This is not true. Perhaps not many people can afford to write a cheque for £1,000 just like that - though some can, some have (for which, many thanks) - and some can easily afford more. But many of us could perhaps afford say £20 a month. Over a four year period that adds up to just under £1,000. If that were given under the Gift Aid Scheme whereby we can claim the tax back from the taxman at no extra cost to the giver, then the total value is slightly over £1,200. Similarly, £15 a month for four years works out at just under £1,000 after the Gift Aid has been added. As part of our Development Fund appeal we are inviting people to consider making regular monthly payments for a limited period in order to be able to help significantly towards the target.

There is a leaflet available in St. Andrew's Church giving details of the plans and also how you might like to help with the St. Andrew's Church Development Fund. We would particularly like to draw your attention to the Gift Aid section on the form. If you are a taxpayer then you can increase the value of your gift at no extra cost to you. The Chancellor of the Exchequer adds an extra 28p to every £1 that you donate when you sign the Gift Aid declaration; so a gift of £50 becomes worth £64; a cheque for £100 actually brings £128 into the Fund.

For More Detailed Information Please visit the Development Fund page of St. Andrew's Church Website

You can help us complete this project by sending one of the following to:-
The Vicarage, Cross Green, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5DU

 Donations
These should be made payable to:-
'St Andrew's Development Fund'
If you are a taxpayer your gift will be increased by completing the Gift Aid form:-

 Standing Order
These should be made payable to:-
'St Andrew's Development Fund'
If you are a taxpayer your gift will be increased by completing the Gift Aid form:-

 Interest-Free Loan
These should be made payable to:-
'St Andrew's Development Fund'

You can always make a donation inside the Church whenever it is open.

Further Information & Details are Available from the Vicar:-

The Reverend Timothy Alban-Jones MBE
St. Andrew's Church Vicar
The Vicarage, Cross Green, Cambridgeshire, Soham, CB7 5DU

Tel: 01353 720423
E-Mail:

Thank you for your Support for this Major Initiative

 The Prince's Trust

Mike Farrington has been appointed a Prince's Trust worker for South and East Cambridgeshire. The Trust is a Charity trying to help disadvantaged young people between 14 and 30 years of age to access education, training and employment through a variety of different schemes, including business start up support, small grants and twelve week personal development courses.

The Prince's Trust targets young people who are:-

Educational underachievers, including people with low basic skills, those truanting and those excluded from school Offenders or ex-offenders, including serving prisoners Unemployed, particularly those out of work for six months or more In or leaving care

The Prince's Trust currently runs three programmes in Cambridge aimed at helping young people in our target groups. These are:-

a) Business Programme: Funding and support to help young people start their own businesses. Available for young people aged 18-30.
b) Development Awards: Cash awards of £50-£300 to help young people to access education, training and work. Available for young people aged 14-25.
c) Team: A 12 week programme of personal development (26 weeks for New Deal participants). Available for young people aged 16-25.

Mike Farrington is available on 07899 794389 or alternatively E-Mail:  .
The Princess Trust is a registered charity, number 1079675

 Compost for Cambridgeshire!

The Cambridgeshire Master Composter Programme is looking for new recruits! The Programme is run by HDRA Consultants in conjunction with Cambridgeshire County Council and all the District Councils. Now in its fourth year, the Programme aims to promote home and community composting by training volunteers to work as Master Composters, who provide local, friendly advice and support to people who already compost and those who want to start. We currently have 150 volunteers who have contributed over 3000 hours in promoting composting across the county, and are looking for more.

If you have an interest in environmental issues, enjoy encouraging other people and have a little time to spare, why not join our friendly network of volunteers in promoting home composting? Becoming a Master Composter is a great way to meet new people, learn valuable skills and benefit from being part of a team that makes a difference. Anyone over the age of 18 can become a Master Composter; you don't need to be an expert Composter (or be composting at all) or have any volunteer or community group experience.

As a volunteer you will receive training in home composting and related environmental issues (provided by HDRA - the organic organisation), a Master Composter resource pack and several training trips; including visits to a composting site and one of HDRA's organic gardens. All training expenses will be paid for; you only need to provide your time. Once the training has been completed, you will be expected to spend 30 hours over the following year promoting home composting. These activities will be tailored to your individual skills and could be anything from giving a demonstration to your next-door neighbours to giving a presentation to a class of school children or helping promote further compost bin sales. Upon completion of the training and 30 volunteer hours you will be awarded the title Master Composter and be invited to receive your certificate at an award ceremony.

If you are interested in becoming a Master Composter please contact: Penny Holmes

E-Mail:
Tel: 024 7630 8202
Fax 024 7630 8225
Address: HDRA Consultants, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry, CV8 3LG

 Anti Social Behaviour - Incident Referral Form

East Cambridgeshire District Council is working in partnership with East Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership and Cambridgeshire Constabulary along with a number of other agencies to reduce anti-social behaviour in the District.

You can now fill in a reporting form for any incident of Anti-Social Behaviour by clicking on the icons below:-

	Anti Social Behaviour - Incident Referral Form Microsoft Word 97-2003 .doc Format (171Kb)
	Anti Social Behaviour - Incident Referral Form Adobe Acrobat .pdf Format (21Kb)

It should be completed as accurately as possible at the time of the incident, and passed to either:-

 Has Your Computer Caught a Nasty Infection??? - Find Out & Get a Cure for it!!!

Internet Security - Click the on the Computer to Find Out More

A recent survey conducted by a leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) found that approximately 20% of home computers were infected by a ‘virus’ or ‘worm’ and over 80% of them were infected with snooping programs such as ‘spyware’ and ‘trojans’.

Despite this, more than 2 out of every 3 home users thought they were safe from online Internet threats. The survey showed a gap between the home computer user’s knowledge and understanding of the risks, the actual online threats that are out there on the Internet and the level of protection they had for their computers.

Rarely a month seems to go by without yet another ‘virus’ threat to computer users hitting the headlines but with a few sensible steps and some ‘anti-virus’, ‘firewall’ and ‘anti-spyware’ software installed on your computer, you can help stop it becoming infected and prevent it from being hacked.

If you’ve never bothered with ‘anti-virus’ software and don’t know what a ‘firewall’ is don’t worry. We’ll explain what ‘worms’, ‘trojans’ and ‘spyware’ are, as well as tell you how you can prevent them from infecting your computer.

 The Open Out Scheme - Helping Stop Hate Crime!

Dear Reader! I would like to introduce myself, my name is Marie, and I have recently taken on the role of Open Out Co-ordinator for the Cambridgeshire area. The Open Out Scheme itself has been running since 2001, some of you may have heard of it, but for the rest of you here’s a little overview!

Open Out is a countywide collaborative project. The main project ‘collaborators’ being, Cambridgeshire Police, Cambridge Racial Incident Support Project (CRISP) and Cambridgeshire County Council. The scheme was set up primarily to tackle the under-reporting of hate crimes. Hate crime is defined as ‘…any crime where the perpetrator’s prejudice against an identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised’. You can be a victim of hate crime because of your religion, race, gender, disability or sexuality.

Some people feel uncomfortable reporting hate crime incidents directly to the police, there are a number of reasons why this might be the case. For example, a person may not feel confident that the police will take the appropriate action. They may fear that making a complaint will make the situation worse. They may even worry that they will not be believed or taken seriously. Therefore Open Out was created to tackle these kinds of problems and try to redress the balance.

Hate crime incidents can be expressed in many ways, from name calling or threatening behaviour, having your things taken or damaged to being beaten up. If you or someone you know has been the victim of an incident you can report it in complete confidence. If you report an incident it can be investigated fully and you can get the service you deserve and the support you need. However, if you wish to report an incident and have nothing else done your decision will be respected and the incident will be recorded for statistical purposes only.

You can pick up a report pack from one of our Open Out centres. The packs contain a lot of useful information and contacts as well as a self addressed envelope and self-report form. All information received is strictly confidential. If you want to know where centres are just look for the true vision eye posters in community buildings such as Victim Support in Cambridge and the Cathedral Centre in Ely! You can also report online at www.report-it.org.uk. Or you can report directly (or just have a chat about Open Out) to myself Open Out Co-ordinator Marie Mckearney Telephone: 01223 823552 alternatively you can E-Mail me marie.mckearney@cambs.pnn.police.uk. You can also contact my Huntingdon or Peterborough colleagues. Huntingdon Open Out Maxine West Telephone: 01480 396490 or E-Mail her maxine.west@hhp.org.uk. Peterborough Open Out Karen Whatley  Telephone: - 01733 742591 email karen.whatley@peterborough.gov.uk.

Hate crime hurts. Reporting it enables Open Out agencies to highlight areas of concern and take appropriate steps. Hate crime is UNACCEPTABLE. By reporting it - no matter how small an incident seems - you may be able to prevent these crimes from happening to someone else and help make Cambridgeshire a safer place for all the community!

Open Out is sponsored by the Community Safety Partnerships of Cambridge City, South Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire

 Stub It Out - For Good

Giving up smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health, and the benefits will start to show very quickly. Smokers who want to kick the habit can now get access to NHS services by contacting their local GP surgery in East Cambridgeshire & Fenland Primary Care Trust, or by calling the new ‘Quit Smoking’ Freephone Number - 0800 1690169. For the first time, all 17 GP surgeries within the local Primary Care Trust area now provide advice and support to any patient who wants to give up smoking through trained smoking cessation counsellors. If you are a smoker why not contact your local surgery to find out more, or call the helpline on 0800 1690169. Alternatively please call: Claire Mead, Healthy Lifestyles Co-ordinator on: 01353 654208. For further information about the Healthy Living East Cambridgeshire (HLEC) initiative please contact Kate Nichols on 01353 616349 or alternatively E-Mail:  .

www.gosmokefree.co.uk
www.ash.org.uk

 Make a Difference to a Child's Life

Children and young people come into the core of Cambridgeshire County Council's Fostering and Adoption Team for a wide variety of reasons - some for a few days, others forever. They are currently looking for new carers from all walks of life and a wide variety of backgrounds, to provide loving and supportive homes for children of all ages and abilities throughout the county. You could be a manual worker, a nurse, an accountant or teacher; you could be married, single, living with a partner or from an ethnic minority - all they ask is that you can provide the love and support that these children deserve. Perhaps you can provide temporary overnight care for a child in an emergency, or maybe for a number of weeks or months. Other children need permanent foster care or are seeking adoption. Alternatively, can you provide just a few hours a week to offer respite care to families in need of a break, or guidance and direction to an adolescent with behavioural difficulties? All their carers receive financial support, training and ongoing help and advice. If you want to make a real difference and feel you are up to the challenge of becoming a carer, or if you just want to know more, call Freephone 0800 0520078 for an informal chat or visit their website at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk