cotonvillage.co.uk

Cambridge PPF Coton Events

Carolyn — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:03:10 +0000

Diary dates at Coton Countryside Reserve:

Monday 4^th June – Diamond Jubilee Beacon at Red Meadow Hill – walks starts at 9.30 pm – 10.30 pm from Martin Car Park, Coton Countryside Reserve

Thursday 14 June 2012 – Special opening at nearby Bourn Post Mill – from 6.30 – 8.30pm location off Caxton Road, Bourn CB23 2SU

Sunday 24 June – Guided Walk through the Reserve followed by Cream Tea

- start at 1pm at Reserve entrance off The Footpath, Coton

Saturday 14 July – Coton Countryside Reserve Safari – explore your native wildlife with the education ranger – from 10am – 1.30pm – pre-booking required. Contact: Head Ranger ranger@cambridgeppf.org or mobile 07833-598155

For more details about these events, download this brochure: Coton Events June 2012

For more events at all CambridgePPF’s properties open to the public – please see:

http://events.cambridgeppf.org/

includes

Wandlebury Country Park
Bourn Post Mill
Hinxton Watermill
Leper Chapel in Cambridge
Coton Countryside Reserve

Cricket Jubilee Fun Day!

Gabriel — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:00:41 +0000

Coton Cricket Club’s magnificent “Jubilee Fun Day” will be held on Saturday June 2nd.

We’ll have a 20-20 cricket match, some delicious barbeque food and a range of beverages to suit every palate; plus additional entertainments for kids and even some bargains on sale. The venue is the Coton Rec and the event will get underway from 1pm.

Orchard Planting – dig for Coton on March 11th!

Gabriel — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 21:31:57 +0000

Coton Countryside Reserve has organised a community orchard planting on Sunday 11 March from 11am until 3.30pm. Let’s get as many villagers as possible involved to dig holes and plant trees! Meet at the Martin Car Park.

New Cricket Season

Gabriel — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:54:30 +0000

The 2012 cricket season is almost upon us! To get everyone into shape, we have pre-season nets at the Leys School, Cambridge, on the following dates (all from 8-9pm, cost £3 per person):

Friday 30th March

Wednesday 11th April

Wednesday 18th April

Wednesday 25th April

Coton Cricket Club is always on the lookout for new members, so if you fancy playing cricket this Summer, get in touch and you’ll be sure of a warm welcome. Contact Club Secretary, Andy East, on andrew.east@cotonsports.co.uk. Check out the club’s website too: www.cotonsports.co.uk/cricket/home.html.

West Cambridge 2016-2031?

sara — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 09:01:41 +0000

Do you have a stake in the future development of Coton and other West Cambridge villages? Please read the attached draft vision document and get in touch with the Parish Council with your thoughts.West Cambridge Vision

Friends of Comberton library

sara — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:21:53 +0000

FOCAL Group

The Public Library housed in the Village College is under review.

People from Comberton and surrounding villages attended a consultation meeting in Comberton Village Hall on 25^th May and heard that the County Council will be encouraging greater community participation in the management and running of library services through volunteering and acting on Friends’ Groups and Community Management Boards.

The Library opened in 1960, and the 2010/11 library profile shows that the number of active borrowers (836) increased by 22% over the last 4 years and that 49% of all issues were of children’s books. An enthusiastic group of users from Comberton and surrounding villages want to keep the library open in the face of budget cuts and have been meeting regularly in the Library. There is now a Friends Group, a poster and publicity campaign including a presence on Facebook, and a blog http://friendsofcombertonlibrary.wordpress.com/ with minutes of the meetings to date and information about joining the group. The next FOCAL (Friends of Comberton Area Library) meeting is 24^th October. All welcome

The County Council Cabinet will discuss the future of the Library on 27 September 2011 and the Friends have been meeting with Parish, District and County Councillors to express their desire to maintain library services in the area and have had support and advice from Council and Library managers. The FOCAL Group welcomes further support.

If you do not have a library card, consider registering, there are three computer terminals in the Library available to library members
Join the Friends : we hope to arrange a programme of talks and events in the Autumn and are gathering ideas for the programme (if you know of a local author willing to visit please contact the group)
Volunteer to support the library service by supporting existing activities such as the Doorstep Delivery service to the housebound or providing expertise in fundraising
Attend Parish Council meetings if the Library is on the agenda, contact your councillors
If you know of grants or funds supporting community projects let the Friends know FriendsofCombertonLibrary@gmail.com

There will be funding cuts but if the community takes more responsibility for the running of the library we should be able to retain it and improve what it can provide for local families and visitors.

Suzan Griffiths

Chair of FOCAL

NB The Women’s Institute launched a Love Your Libraries campaign in June, and recently set up an epetition. To login and sign use this link: I, the undersigned, believe that libraries are an essential local educational and information resource…. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1269

Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Carolyn — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:33:43 +0000

What are they?
Solar photovoltaic cells (also called PV cells or panels) generate electricity through harnessing the energy of sunlight. The stronger the sunshine, the more electricity is produced. They provide a green and renewable way of powering the appliances in your home. And are currently an exceedingly good financial investment – read on!
PV cells come in a variety of shapes and colours, from grey ’solar tiles’ that look like roof tiles to panels and transparent cells that you can use on conservatories and glass. The lifetime of solar PV panels is about 25 years.
The strength of a PV cell is measured in kilowatt peak (kWp). That’s the amount of power the cell generates in full sunlight. The amount of electricity generated is measured in kiloWattHours (kWh – the units used on your electricity bill).
What’s the big deal about them at the moment?
The government has introduced Feed-In Tariffs (FIT) to encourage homeowners and companies to install PV panels. Energy companies will pay homeowners a fixed amount for each unit of electricity generated irrespective of whether the homeowner then uses that electricity or exports it to the grid. Payment will continue for the lifetime of the panels. With the current price of PVs and the FIT it is possible for homeowners to make about a 13% annual return on investment. So that’s payback on the initial cost of the installation in less than 8 years and then profit for the next 17 years (at least) of the installation’s lifetime!
However, the FIT for panels installed after April 2012 is going to drop. The rate will still make the installation of PVs a good financial investment but not as good as it is now. So people need to ACT QUICKLY to achieve the highest financial return.
How do the finances stack up?
A good price for a PV installation is about £3000 per kWp. Domestic installations usually range from about 1kWp to 4kWp. Each kWp should generate 850kWh* over a year.
The electricity company will pay 43.3p/kWh generated. The homeowner additionally benefits by saving on bought-in electricity (~12p/kWh) and being paid an additional amount (3p/kWh) for each unit exported. A generation meter is fitted to measure how much electricity the panels generate. After that the electricity company usually estimates that people use half the electricity generated and export the other half to the grid.
The income generated per kWp installed is calculated to be about £405 and breaks down as follows:-
• Generation tariff paid on 850kWh = 850 x 0.433 = £368
• Export tariff paid on half of 850kWh = 425 x 0.03 = £13
• Savings through lower imported electricity = 200** x 0.12 =£24
So that’s payback in about 7½ years (£3000/£405) or it can be thought of as a 13% annual return on investment.
The drawbacks of PVs
PVs are a sound investment both financially and environmentally. However, the amount of money needed for an installation is out of reach for many families. Additionally, families who rent rather than own their homes will probably not be able to get a PV installation.
Some people are under the mis-apprehension that you have to have a south-facing roof to make solar panels pay. You do get slightly reduced returns, but any pitched roof situated between east and west (through south) will make the investment financially viable. For a SE or SW roof, total energy generation is about 95% whilst for an east or west facing roof, total energy generation is about 80% of a south facing roof.
What’s happening in Coton?
The eCoton team want to see more solar panels in Coton. To enable this we are working on two schemes to make it easier for people to invest in solar technology.
The first scheme is a bulk purchase group organised by the eCoton team open to homeowners in the South Cambs villages. We will gather together a group of 50+ households to give us good negotiating power with installers. We are currently screening installers to select a reputable company that will give the best price for individual domestic installations. This will ensure system payback for participating homeowners in less than 8 years.
Secondly we are going to launch a community-owned scheme so that Coton residents can invest in PVs but for smaller amounts of money. The community pot of money will purchase either a single large installation or rent roofs in the village for smaller installations. Roof owners would benefit from free electricity whilst the community company would benefit by receiving the Feed-In Tariff income. Villagers would effectively be shareholders in a small-scale power company and would be paid annual dividends.
We need to act quickly to make the most of the investment potential before the FIT lowers in April 2012. You need to sign up for either scheme by the end of September. If you want to be in the bulk purchase group, or participate in the community power company either as an investor or roof-owner or have any queries please email ecoton@hotmail.co.uk or contact Amanda Fuller on 01954 211969. There will be an information meeting in the Village Hall on Wednesday 14 September at 7:30pm.
In the meantime if you would like to pursue your own purchase we can recommend the website www.comparemysolar.co.uk. A list of recommended installers can be obtained by emailing ecoton@hotmail.co.uk.
Amanda Fuller & the eCoton Team

* This is the standard figure that companies are allowed to quote in the UK. From experience in Coton, installations here generate more like 900kWh/kwp.

** This figure for saved electricity is based on experience of a family with both parents working. This is lower than the estimation by power companies and is variable depending on home usage.

The Dry Garden

Carolyn — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:12:34 +0000

Water is a precious resource locally and globally. Rainfall in Cambridge has averaged only 557 mm annually over the last 30 years and Cambridge’s climate is classified as ‘semi-arid’. With the recent spring being the driest in over a century, it is pertinent to be looking at how we reduce reliance on costly mains water in our gardens.

Despite a permanent hosepipe ban in the beautiful Dry Garden here, it nevertheless flourishes. This is principally down to selecting plants that can survive short-term drought and to using appropriate horticultural techniques, such as applying thick, moisture-conserving mulches and planting closely to help reduce loss of water from the soil.

Of the 100 different species in the planting mix, many are Mediterranean natives such as Lavender, Thyme and Blue Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites). Drought-tolerant characteristics to look out for in water-wise plants include small leaves that reduce water-loss, silvery, reflective foliage that minimises solar gain, or hairy leaves that trap moisture. Bulbs and annuals both demonstrate life-cycles that avoid summer drought by surviving as underground storage organs through the hot summer months, while annuals tend to grow, flower and set seed early in the year to ensure the next generation. There are also a number of British endemics like Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima), the Sea Buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides), that are included on the basis of many years observation of what grows easily here in our conditions.

A pergola forms the backdrop to the Dry Garden and is draped with drought-tolerant climbers such as Clematis armandii and Vitis purpurea that provide light shade for the table and chairs here. This affords the perfect spot from which to take notes on how to incorporate water-wise gardening into your own garden at home, plus the planting list is available from the Garden’s website at www.botanic.cam.ac.uk

Juliet Day, Development Officer, Cambridge University Botanic Garden

The Botanic Garden is open 10am – 6pm through the summer months, and until 8pm on 3 and 17 August. Admission is £4 (£3.50) or join the Friends & help the Garden grow! To discover this week’s Plant Picks from the Head of Horticulture, please visit the website at www.botanic.cam.ac.uk

Tortoiseshell Cat Found

Carolyn — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:28:50 +0000

A tortoiseshell cat and her 3 kittens (white with various colour patches) have been found living in the hedge just behind Polhill at Coton Orchard Garden Centre. We think from her skittish nature (she runs off when approached) that the mother has been living outside for a while, but she may belong to a Coton resident. The kittens look healthy, probably a few weeks old.

Please call into the Garden Centre ASAP if she may be yours or you wish to give them a home.

Polhill at Coton Orchard Garden Centre

Cambridge Road

Coton

Cambridge CB23 7PJ

Tel. 01954 210234

Fax. 01954 212332

www.polhillcentre.co.uk

Faster broadband for Coton

sara — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:49:59 +0000

BT Openreach yesterday revealed the names of a further 156 locations in the country which will benefit from its next phase of roll-out of super-fast fibre broadband services, and it includes Madingley Exchange.

Several of the exchanges in the list will be fibre-enabled by the end of 2011, whilst the remainder are expected to be upgraded before the end of 2012. Openreach will provide a more specific date for the enablement of each exchange six months prior to an exchange being upgraded to fibre broadband.

Madingley Exchange Race to infinity teamThe new locations announced today include the 10 exchange areas that won the recent BT Race to Infinity competition, where members of the public were asked to cast votes for their community to be upgraded to the BT Infinity fibre broadband service. Madingley Exchange was one of the original 6 winning exchanges in the Race to Infinity which concluded in December 2010. A further 4 exchanges which had a significant number of votes cast were subsequently included by BT.

The connections to the exchanges will be a combination of fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) which offers speeds of up to 40Mbps and fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) which offers speeds of up to 100Mbps.

Openreach confirmed that of the 156 strong list, only the 10 winners of BT’s Race to Infinity competition, will get the faster FTTP connectivity, while the rest of those on the list will get slower FTTC. These speeds will allow customers to benefit from an enhanced online experience when uploading or downloading files, gaming, social networking or watching streamed video.

This is much welcome news for the communities served by Madingley Exchange, and even more thrilling news to members of the MadX Race Group who worked tirelessly for several weeks in bitter winter conditions of 2010 canvassing and collecting votes from all the residents in Caldecote, Childerley, Dry Drayton Estates, Hardwick, Coton and Madingley thus ensuring our winning position in the Race to Infinity.

Our communities can now look forward to enjoying the best that super fast broadband technology has to offer.

http://racetoinfinity.org.uk/bt-openreach-confirms-madingley-exchange-in-next-rollout-phase-for-superfast-broadband