Category: Cambridgeshire

A parish council said the concerns are ‘being taken seriously’Cottenham in Cambridgeshire(Image: Cambridgeshire Live)Police have increased patrols in a Cambridgeshire village following several concerns that were raised regarding anti-social behaviour. Cottenham Parish Council said it is aware of “many residents” being worried about the recent anti-social behaviour in the village.It said these concerns are “being taken seriously”. Cambridgeshire Police said they are aware of recent incidents in Cottenham involving damage to local facilities, including the cricket club, play equipment and a shed.Police were also called to reports of a quad bike and motorbike being “ridden recklessly” across a village recreation ground on Wednesday, June 3. Cottenham Parish Council previously claimed that the incident caused damage and created a “serious safety concern”.The council, who said the vehicles were being driven “recklessly”, reported the incident to the police who received “quite a few” calls about it. Officers attended but those involved had left the area, according to Cambridgeshire Police.In a new statement, Cottenham Parish Council said: “We know many residents are concerned about the recent anti-social behaviour in the village, and we’d like to reassure everyone that these concerns are being taken seriously.”The Parish Council has been in regular contact with our Neighbourhood Policing Team, and we are working closely together regarding the issues that have been reported.”A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Anti-social behaviour is a priority for many of our neighbourhood policing teams across Cambridgeshire, and we know it’s something residents want us to focus on.”While we don’t believe Cottenham has higher levels of anti-social behaviour than similar villages, we are aware of a small number of recent reports involving damage to local facilities, including the cricket club, play equipment and a shed.”The police force and parish council has urged anyone who experiences anti-social behaviour to report it to Cambridgeshire Police by calling 101 or reporting it online. Cottenham Parish Council added: “Every report helps to build a clearer picture and supports any action that may be taken.”

The plans were submitted to the council in June 2026Plans have been submitted to convert Blenheim Court in Peterborough into apartments(Image: Google Maps)Plans could see an office building in a Cambridgeshire city converted into apartments, if approved. A proposal has been submitted to Peterborough City Council requesting permission to convert Blenheim Court in Peppercorn Close, Peterborough.The plans would see the building become 20 apartments made up of 10 studios and 10 one-bedroom apartments. The change of use application, if approved, would turn the building from commercial use to residential use.The proposal was submitted by applicant Shaz Nawaz last month. The application states: “The project is the change of use from commercial office space to residential dwelling houses (apartments). The site comprises of two office units, 05 & 06 Blenheim Court.”Each unit will have 10 individual self contained apartments (5 studios and 5 one bed apartments), total 20 apartments across both office units.”The site offers vehicle access and 20 parking spaces split evenly between the two sites, which the applicant said is “enough to cover the proposed 20 residential units”. The site lies within flood zone one, the lowest level and so has no known flood risks, the applicant claims.The site is located nearby to amenities such as Maskew Retail Park and Boulevard Retail Park and a range of restaurants including Subway and The Lounge. Queensgate Shopping Centre is also just a short drive away.The city council will now consider whether the plans can be approved.

The leader of Peterborough City Council has offered an apology to Peterborough motorists who will be inconvenienced by the upcoming Queensgate roundabout roadworks.

Dr Shabina Qayyum took the opportunity to acknowledge how disruptive the scheduled works are likely to be as she addressed colleagues at a Full Council meeting on Wednesday, July 1.

She said: “Works will get underway next week for the City Link project, the first phase of the £65m scheme to breathe new life into our railway station, and the land around it. There will be disruption for people while the works are taking place. We’re sorry about that; we cannot avoid that.”

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Beginning on July 6, the works will see the Queensgate Roundabout – one of the busiest in the entire city – reduced to just one lane for around a year. The lane closure will enable the subway underneath the roundabout to be filled in with more than a thousand tonnes of concrete, and accommodate other landscaping works to regenerate the area.
Cllr Qayyum said: “We will look at how we can flex and adapt during the works to keep disruption to a minimum. We’re asking people to leave extra time for their journeys and avoid the area if possible.

“This project will transform our city centre and create a more welcoming and safer route from the train station. Please support this game-changing, once-in-a-generation, re-generation project for our city.”

Dean Franklin, air conditioning entrepreneur and winner of the BBC series The Apprentice, also said he could see air conditioning becoming the norm in UK homes.”Nowadays, you wouldn’t dream of buying a car without air conditioning. It pretty much comes as standard,” he told BBC Newsbeat last week.”I think that’s going to be the case going forward in people’s homes.”The UK’s highest ever June temperature was recorded on 26 June at 37.7C (99.9F), smashing the previous high of 35.6C (96F) set in 1957.Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Cambridge Police are investigating a fatal shooting near the intersection of Broadway and Norfolk Street early Saturday morning.

Around 5:30 a.m., Cambridge Emergency Communications received a call for a person laying on the ground near the intersection of Broadway and Norfolk Street. Officers were dispatched to the area, and Paramedics from the Cambridge Fire department declared the person dead on scene. The victim had an apparent gunshot wound, according to Cambridge police.

There were not many details initially released, but an active investigation is underway by the Cambridge police, Middlesex District Attorney’s office and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

Additional information will be shared when it becomes available.

Police are asking anyone with information surrounding this incident to contact the Cambridge police department at (617) 349-3300.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust formed in 2006The East of England Ambulance Service is marking its 20th birthday(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) has celebrated two decades since its formation.On Wednesday, July 1, the Trust marked 20 years since it was first established through the merger of three services: Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic Service NHS Trust, East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust, and Essex Ambulance Service NHS Trust.Simon Chase, Chief Paramedic and Director of Quality at EEAST – who witnessed the 2006 merger first-hand – has worked for the ambulance service for more than 30 years.He said: “The ambulance service has changed significantly over the past 20 years and continues to evolve, adapt and improve. What has remained constant is the dedication of our staff in serving their communities, many of whom… have devoted decades to the ambulance service and experienced its transformation first-hand.”One person who has been part of that journey from the very beginning is paramedic Brent Sylvester. Now a Hospital Ambulance Liaison Officer (HALO), Brent transferred from Essex Ambulance Service at the time of the merger.He said: “I love the job today as much as I did when I first started with the Essex Ambulance Service in 1986. You experience both wonderful and difficult moments, but that is all part of the role. Making a difference to patients’ lives, at some of the best and worst times, is incredibly rewarding.”Brent admitted he had seen much change over the course of his working life: “The ambulance service has changed so much during my career, and the care we provide today is more advanced than ever and continues to improve.”Since 2006, EEAST has worked in close partnership with the region’s three air ambulance charities: East Anglian Air Ambulance, Magpas Air Ambulance and Essex & Herts Air Ambulance:Dr Simon Lewis MBE, Executive Medical Director of Magpas said: “EEAST isn’t simply a partner to Magpas Air Ambulance, they’re part of the foundation on which everything we do is built. Operating alongside EEAST crews every single day, our partnership runs far deeper than shared geography; at every level of our organisations, we share a common goal of improving outcomes for patients by providing outstanding pre-hospital care 24/7.”As EEAST marks this milestone, Magpas Air Ambulance is proud to be part of its story.”

David Pearce from Cambridgeshire posed as a caretaker to target children at a Barking lido in 1990Author: Catherine Wylie, Press AssociationPublished 2 hours agoLast updated 1 hour agoA sex offender who pretended to be a caretaker or a police officer to exploit children has been jailed for 18 years after DNA evidence identified him almost 30 years later.David Pearce, 70, from Cambridgeshire, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to seven sex offences, the Metropolitan Police said.Prosecutors say that on April 23, 1990, at Barking park lido – while masquerading as a police officer or a caretaker, Pearce told four children, two boys and two girls – aged between eight and 11, that keys were missing before assaulting them.The children ran to a nearby police station to report what had happened, enabling officers to gather statements, put a cordon in place and prevent the scene becoming contaminated.Semen was discovered on a bench in a changing cubicle and forensic officers extracted a DNA profile but it did not match to anyone on the database.The case was filed pending further investigative opportunities coming to light after initial lines of inquiry were exhausted.One-in-a-billion DNA matchIn 2019, police said Pearce was arrested for a separate offence of voyeurism and the DNA he provided was a one-in-a-billion match to the suspect at the lido.Detectives then reviewed similar reports and found victim statements from a 1996 incident which followed an identical pattern of offending.In this case, the 13-year-old victim said a man had forced her into shrubbery in a Barking park and assaulted her as he claimed to search for a pair of lost keys.Pearce was questioned in relation to the 1996 incident not long after his initial arrest in 2019, and police said the victim-survivor attended an identification parade where she confirmed Pearce as the man who had assaulted her.The forensics, successful identification, plus the circumstantial evidence which showed Pearce living in the area in 1990 and owning a food truck situated close to the park in 1996, provided detectives with enough to charge him.Predatorimage of Pearce from 1990Detective Constable Tony Anionwu, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Unit, said: “Pearce was a predator who disguised himself as someone in a position of trust to exploit and assault young children.“His actions had a lasting impact, and I would like to thank the victim-survivors for their unwavering resilience and profound patience while we strived for justice.“Our dedicated team of officers have handled this case with sensitivity. As a force we remain committed to securing justice for anyone who has experienced a sexual assault, no matter when they occurred, and over the past five years we have more than tripled arrests and charges for this crime.”Forensic scientist Bridget March, who was responsible for the DNA match in 2019, said: “Forensics play a key role in investigations, with our team of professionals meticulously examining items to locate and present evidence, backed by science.“The advances in science and discovery of the match to Pearce’s DNA profile ultimately paved the way to secure admissible evidence.”Police said Pearce denied a further four counts of indecent assault, six counts of attempting an act of indecency with a child and two counts of indecency with a child relating to 12 other children, all offences alleged to have taken place in the 1990s.Police said the prosecution chose to leave those charges on file after his guilty pleas were entered.Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.

A person is five times more lilely to be killed when hit by a vehicle at 30mph than at 20mphSeveral roads in Cambridge could see their speed limit reduced to 20mph (stock image)(Image: Rob Browne/WalesOnline)A list of roads in Cambridge could see their speed limit reduced to 20mph. As part of a cross-Cambridge project, the new reduced speed limits are being proposed after 100 people were seriously injured across the routes over the last nine years.The routes which are included for the new reduced limits include those which have received the most community support, as well as several known accident hotspots.20mph limits are proposed for the following roads:Barton Road (from Grantchester Road to Kings Road)Brooklands AvenueChesterton LaneChesterton Road (Mitcham’s Corner to Magdalene Bridge)Coldhams Lane (Cromwell Road to Brook’s Road roundabout)Corona RoadCroft Holme Lane (part of Mitcham’s Corner gyratory)East Road (and Grafton Centre service roads)Gonville PlaceHills Road (Lensfield Road to Brooklands Avenue)Lensfield RoadMilton Road (Mitcham’s Corner junction only)Newnham RoadNorthampton StreetQueen’s RoadTrumpington Road (Trumpington Street to Brooklands Avenue)Trumpington Street (Mill Lane to Trumpington Road)Victoria Avenue (Mitcham’s Corner junction)A consultation is now open for locals to share their thoughts. It will run from July 1 to August 5.Councillor Alex Beckett, Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways & Transport Committee, said: “There are far too many deaths and injuries on our roads. It’s clear that 20mph limits can make a huge difference in improving safety especially for our most vulnerable road users – children.“We’ve taken on feedback from the past engagement and have created a bespoke scheme for the city. The revised proposals focus on routes where over 100 people have suffered serious injuries since 2017 and where 20mph limits would make a big difference in keeping people safe.“I urge everyone to let us know their thoughts on the proposals as part of this consultation so we can understand the views of local residents, businesses and community groups and then make the best decision for everyone.”A person is around five times more likely to be killed if they are hit by a vehicle at 30mph than at 20mph. In parts of London, where 20mph speed limits have already been introduced, the number of children killed by crashes in these areas decreased by 75%. The number of children injured in crashes in these areas also reduced by half.After the consultation, the results will be reviewed by road safety officers and councillors including the Cambridge Joint Area Committee. A decision on whether to go ahead with all, some or none of the proposals will be taken by the Highways & Transport Committee in the winter, with any changes to the roads made in early 2027.

Britain’s Longest Known Iron Age Log Ladder Found in Cambridgeshire | Arkeonews

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The school could accommodate up to 72 pupils and have 12 classrooms07:00, 02 Jul 2026Updated 07:12, 02 Jul 2026Part of the former Queen Mary’s Nurses Home in Church Lane, Papworth Everard (stock)(Image: Google)A former nurses’ home could be turned into a new school for over 70 pupils. Outcomes First Group has proposed to turn the former Queen Mary’s Nurses Home in Church Lane, Papworth Everard into a SEN school.The nurses’ accommodation was used for staff at Royal Papworth Hospital. The applicants, which are a national provider for purpose-designed SEN schools, seek to change it into a new school for up to 72 pupils.The school would cater for children who have autistic spectrum conditions (ASC), complex needs and learning disabilities. The application said: “Whilst the site is likely to be registered with Ofsted for up to 72 pupils, in practice the school would not have all pupils on the site at any one time, as pupils would also engage in off-site activities and learning and some would not attend on a five-day a week basis.“In addition, the school would gradually build to its full quota of students over a two-year period. It is anticipated that the number of staff on site at the school at any one time would be in the order of 40.”If approved, the school would have up to 12 classrooms, breakout rooms, dining facilities, staff areas, kitchen, reception and a medical room. Pupils would be educated in small groups and by specialist teachers.Another big part of the plans is a change of the garden into a multi-use games area and play space for “recreation and education purposes”. The school will be open from 8am until 4.30pm on Mondays to Fridays. Staff would be there for longer between 7am and 6pm. Parking has also been considered in the plans.The applicant added: “It is proposed to retain the existing areas of hardstanding on site with some adaptation to meet car parking and access requirements. Parking and manoeuvring space will be regularised as shown on the submitted plans and will include the widening of the access off Church Lane and provision of a one-way system to facilitate drop-off and pick-up of pupils.“Electric vehicle charging points will be provided within the car park along with parking for mini-buses.”