New pipes were put in and we haven't had flooding since.

It took a while to happen as the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, the buck is passed between the river authority, councils and the highways authority.

Sometimes it only takes half a brain and commonsense to sort things out.
Hedges and ditches were the responsibility of landowners and farm hands hedged and ditched. Drains that were cleaned out every week are not done now because the land has been sold.

Roads used to be swept every day. Now leaves and rubbish all go down the drains and into the river.

The buck is passed from one authority to the other. All they are interested in is making money – hard earned tax payers money.
Mrs M Wick
New Street
Godmanchester

Where are these extra officers?
>> I read that Ramsey has been part of some kind of restructuring programme and that there are an additional 20 police officers based at Ramsey (Town Crier, January 24).

Would Cambridgeshire police please clarify for the residents of Ramsey and surrounding villages, how many of these so called officers are actually police officers and how many civilian staff such as PCSOs?

And how many are based at Ramsey but not specifically working in Ramsey?
Even though some do work between 8am and 5pm, (or 10pm at the latest) from Mondays to Fridays, it means that for approximately 16 hours a day Ramsey is still undermanned – mainly when its needed the most.

And again it is civilian staff helping at the front desk.
I do hope my facts and figures are wrong. If they are, please explain why Ramsey police station is persistently closed at 5pm on Mondays to Fridays and all weekend.

If the police have all these officers at Ramsey why is the door locked and closed and no cover after 5pm?
Are they all on the same shift?
It's all very well saying we have all these officers in Ramsey but where are they?

It's time to stop making excuses and get bums off seats and onto the streets.      
E B Howard
Star Lane,
Ramsey,
 

Trade policy leads to poverty
>> Christian Aid has shown that Kenya's important cotton industry has been damaged by the United States Government subsidising cotton exports.
This has brought poverty to many, deepening hostilities and now damaging democracy.

Similarly the US Government-subsidised rice exports led to the ruin of rice farmers in Haiti and damaged democracy there.

Christian Aid, Oxfam and the World Development Movement believe that poor countries must be able to develop their own agriculture and industries behind protective tariff barriers.

Richer countries continue to promote damaging free trade policies.
The Trade Justice Movement is asking people to write to the Prime Minister to ask him to urge the European Commission to see that no poor country has to face higher EU tariffs if they do not agree to Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) - a new unfair trade deal the Commission is promoting.

This demands poor countries take downs their tariff barriers and accept more exports.

For more information about this issue and details of local collections and events for world poverty, write to me at 53 Elm Close, Huntingdon PE29 7AR.
Brian Smith
Huntingdon

Infrastructure needs work
>> I was interested to read the article in relating to traffic congestion in St Neots (St Neots Town Crier, January 24).

Whilst the immediate problems of gridlock can be put down to recent road closures due to flooding and maintenance there is, I believe, an underlying problem.

It is important to review our road infrastructure to see how it will support an ever expanding St Neots in the future. I personally believe that one fundamental weakness is the lack of vehicular crossing points across the River Great Ouse. I therefore wish to put forward a suggestion for an additional road crossing across the river into the centre of town.

The problem: The journey into St Neots from the west is characterised at peak times by queues of cars waiting to get across the river bridge into town. Often this queue can reach back to Eaton Ford Green.

Travellers coming into St Neots have for thousands of years been met by the natural barrier of the River Great Ouse. Even today only three vehicular crossing points exist for those wishing to visit the town from the West – the crossing at Little Paxton Mill; the river bridge at Eaton Ford and the crossing on the bypass near Tescos.

With now improved access to Bedford, and to some extent Cambridge, there is a danger that St Neots may lose out financially as those in its western hinterland find it quicker to travel elsewhere.

Additionally, as we have experienced, it is not uncommon for the Little Paxton crossing to be closed due to flooding. This creates additional pressure on the Eaton Ford crossing.

The solution: Build another road crossing from Crosshall Road (at its junction with Milton Avenue) in the west to join up with Tan Yard on the east bank. This would also provide direct access into Tebbutts Road and New Street.

The benefits: this proposal would provide direct access to the Waitrose area car parks and also the car parks in Tebbutts Road without traffic having to enter the Market Square/High Street area, thus reducing congestion in our main street. 

This would not only reduce congestion through St Neots, it would also offer the possibility of temporary closures of the Market Square and High Street to permit community celebrations such as fairs, the carnival or Christmas lights switch-on to be done in a traffic free environment.
Stephen Selley