City Council voted to approve Cllr Andrea Reiner to be a Conservator of the River Cam at this week’s full council meeting. Cllr Reiner said, “I am looking forward to representing the residents of Cambridge on the Cam Conservators. The river is a hugely important resource for all residents and I look forward to contributing to its ongoing maintenance and conservation.”

City Council also voted to approve four new members of the public to join the Cam Conservators. The other new members are: Anthony Brown, James Macnaghten, Malcolm Schofield and Amy-Alys Tillson. The new members’ term of office will begin on 1 January 2013.

The Cam Conservators are the statutory navigation authority for Cambridge between Mill Pond and Bottisham Lock, with lesser responsibilities up-stream to Byron’s Pool. This is the mission statement of the Cam Conservators:

“The Conservators:

– will maintain the River Cam between Mill Pit and Bottisham Lock in a navigable state to suit the size and number of boats legally entitled to use this stretch of the river;

– will aim to strike a balance between the needs of the various river users, and between them and the riparian owners;

– will seek to manage the river in a manner sensitive to environmental interests.”

You can read more about the Cam Conservators on their website.

At this week’s full City Council meeting, Cllr Andrea Reiner seconded a motion that called for Cambridge City Council to take steps to make sure every worker receives at least the living wage.

The plans to raise the lowest council pay to the current national living wage of £7.20 per hour comes in recognition of the high cost of living in Cambridge.

Cllr Reiner said, “The state of the economy is dire and the cost of living in Cambridge is high; this measure would help workers on the lowest wages by lifting them. There are also studies that show that the living wage is good for employers as well, because it improves staff morale. I hope that by taking a step in this direction Cambridge City Council can act as an example to other employers and put a bit of upward pressure on wages generally.”

Members were asked to call on the city’s MPs to support the motion and campaign for the living wage in the city.

The motion was passed unanimously. Living Wage Week will be marked across the UK between November 4 and 10.

October marks the start of a new exciting partnership for the Future Champions programme with the Sir Arthur Marshall Grass Roots Fund agreeing to sponsor the programme for the next three years.

The Cambridge Future Champions programme is designed to help fund gifted and talented able-bodied and disabled young athletes competing at county or regional level, living in Cambridge city, the opportunity of a grant to aid in their coaching and training.

The programme is open to all athletes aged 11 to 25 to help support their evolving talent and assist with costs to allow them achieve excellence within their sport.

The Future Champions judging panel meets twice every year to consider applications and those who are successful can qualify for between £100 to £500 towards coaching and equipment costs to aid them their chosen sport. The money is often put towards sports equipment, transport costs and tournament entry fees.

Since the programme began Cambridge City Council has been fortunate to fund a variety of athletes competing in a range different sports including swimming, triathlon, athletics, roller hockey, kayaking and many more. To date, thirty young athletes have received grants since the programme began.

Councillor Rod Cantrill, Executive Councillor for Arts, Sport and Public Places, said: “This excellent partnership with the Sir Arthur Marshall Grass Roots Fund will enable the Future Champions programme to continue to provide funds to talented young athletes from around the city, and enable them to have access to better training opportunities, equipment, and help them progress and excel in their chosen sports.

“These young people are all up-and-coming athletes, and with continued support could well be our future Olympians and Paralympians in Rio 2016.”

For more information about the scheme, read the City Council’s funding for sport page.

As noted in an earlier post, a street lighting column obscured the feature plaque of a listed building in King Street, and a new light threatened to perpetuate the error.

To quote from the details of the listing:

Dated 1790, but with some later alterations. Grey gault brick with red brick dressings. Two storeys, four windows to block, three light Gothic casements. Panelled Gothic doors. Pantiled roof. Two plaques commemorating Thomas Jakenett and his wife, the original foundation in 1469 and their present rebuilding in 1790 (RCHM 95).

Thanks to residents for bringing the problem to the attention of Councillors Sarah Whitebread and Colin Rosenstiel, who made sure the new column was repositioned to the side of the plaque. Before and after photos (above) show the problem fixed.