Cerney News Announcement
March 2006

Mud on Spine Road
Numerous people have complained to the Parish Council about the totally unacceptable, dangerous state of the Spine Road and other roads due to mud and debris from various quarries and building sites in and around our parish. Please be assured that your Parish Council has been active in their efforts to have the mud cleaned away and to stop the contractors responsible from continuing to deposit further debris. Unfortunately, we have no direct authority in this situation and have to rely on our colleagues in the District and County Councils to apply the necessary pressure to obtain results. We have continually lodged complaints to every authority available but with only limited success. A new joint initiative between the four main local authorities has instigated a very limited number of times when the Spine Road will be cleaned during the year. These works will be paid for out of your Council Tax. We believe that the contractors responsible for leaving the mud on the roads are the ones who should be paying, not us. Furthermore, as it is a criminal offence to deposit mud on the highway, the offending drivers should be prosecuted by the police but to our knowledge, no such actions have been taken. We will continue our efforts to seek a solution but are disheartened by the apparent lack of urgency in certain “higher authorities”.

South Cerney smells!
In February we asked that anyone experiencing bad smells from the sewers to email customer.feedback@thameswater.co.uk or ring the Thames Water Help Line on 0845 9200 800 to notify them. They have this system to accept complaints so please use it to let them know if you have a problem.

Faulty Street Lights
The free number to call if you spot a streetlight not working is 0800 542 1890. Please attempt to note the number painted on the lamp post before you call as it helps to identify the location.

South Cerney Youth Parish Council
Our latest and exciting project is the formation of Youth Parish Council. Working in conjunction with the CDC, we have had two exploratory meetings attended by several young Cerneyites and there will be a further meeting at the Committee Room at the Village Hall on Tuesday 28th March at 6.30pm. Any young person aged between 11 and 18 wishing to be part of this scheme designed to give the youth of the village a say in their own future, is welcome to attend. For more details ring Mike Stuart 860439.