Friendship – Page 2 – Mill Road Bridges

Beehive Centre – Redevelopment (Update)

Drop-In events and webinars

Your invitation to a public exhibition and digital consultation

Railpen would like to invite you to view updated plans to transform the Beehive Centre into an exciting new destination that will provide more than 5,000 job opportunities. We
are proposing a mix of new retail, leisure, and community spaces, as well as laboratory and office space for companies in the science and technology industry – all surrounded by new green public spaces, a public community square and wetlands.
Railpen, from latest publicity.

The Beehive Centre is adjacent to Sturton Town to the north of Mill Road on the Petersfield (city) side of the railway.

Find out more about Victorian Cambridge & the Building of Sturton Town.
Find out more about the old Beehive Pub, on the corner of Ainsworth Street.

Public Drop-in Events:

No prior booking required.

Friday 14 July, 4pm – 7.30pm
The Old School Hall, St Barnabas Centre, Mill Road, CB1 2BD

Saturday 15 July, 10am – 2pm
East Barnwell Community Centre, Newmarket Road, CB5 8RS

Webinars:

Monday 17 July at 6pm
Thursday 20 July at 12.30pm

About Railpen

Railpen are trusted with the safekeeping, investment, and administration of several pension schemes supporting over half a million people connected to the railway industry.

As a pension fund, we focus on delivering long-term social value and, unlike many developers, we do not face the same pressure to generate short-term profits for shareholders or outside investors.
Railpen, from latest publicity.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about the consultation or the proposals, Railpen want to hear from you.

✆ 0800 689 5209
Email: info@beehivecentreconsultation.co.uk
Web: beehivecentreconsultation.co.uk

This post is for the purposes of informing the Mill Road community. Mill Road Bridges as a group, neither supports nor opposes Railpen’s proposals.

Whilst the post is open for comments, there is no guarantee that these will be seen by people from Railpen.

Mill Road Fringe – Summer Shindig

Poster of this event. The linked PDF is (mostly) machine readable. — Click the poster to read/download a printable PDF version

Mill Road Fringe is hosting a Summer Shindig on Sunday 9^th July 2023 on Romsey Rec, in the from 4-8pm with fabulous live music led by Colonel Spanky’s Love Ensemble.

Come and browse the charity stalls, explore volunteering opportunities, try some yoga stretches with James from Cambridge Yoga Project, discover the natural world with Bushcraft, and have a go at juggling and circus skills with tuition from Cambridge Community Circus.

There will also be pebble painting, outdoor games and plenty of space to set up your chairs and picnic rugs.

Please note: Barbecues are prohibited and there is also now a ban on single-use plastics in all Cambridge parks. Please aim to leave Romsey Rec cleaner than you found it, so please take your litter home.

More information here on the Summer Shindig page.

Talking Together – February/March 2023

Yes. Talking, with other older adults, about shared interests. On your telephone. Not Zoom. Not Microsoft Teams. Not FaceTime. Not WhatsApp. Not Skype.

Just your telephone. Landline or mobile.
And it’s free!
But registration is required.

Image is of info from page 1 of the linked PDF.
Click the image to view/download a 2-page PDF of the latest programme of talks.
The PDF has selectable text, so should be compatible with a screen-reader. — Click the image to view/download a 2-page PDF of the latest programme of talks

COPE (Cambridgeshire Older People’s Enterprise) is delighted to announce the latest series of TALKING TOGETHER, a new initiative that brings older adults together for engaging and stimulating conversations about topics of shared interest. This free programme offers weekly telephone-based discussion groups which are joined from the comfort of your home. No special technology is needed, just your own telephone. Each group, scheduled for 45 minutes, is facilitated by skilled leaders with whom participants can share their ideas, opinions and experiences.

Image is of info from page 2 of the linked PDF.
Click the image to view/download a 2-page PDF of the latest programme of talks.
The PDF has selectable text, so should be compatible with a screen-reader. — Click the image to view/download a 2-page PDF of the latest programme of talks

Do you know an older adult who doesn’t have internet access who would enjoy these phone chats? Or someone (perhaps yourself) who just prefers a chat?

Take a look at the full leaflet by clicking either of the images above.

You and/or your friend can register by filling in the form, and posting it to:
COPE, St Luke’s Community Centre, Victoria Road, Cambridge CB4 3DZ
(If you don’t have access to a printer, just write your details on a sheet of plain paper.)

Or you can put your details in an email to cambridgecope@hotmail.co.uk or by phoning COPE on 01223 364303. (You can leave a message on the answering machine if there is no volunteer manning the COPE telephone (10.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.)

PS: Do you know someone who COPE might approach to lead a set of conversations on a subject about which they have some knowledge? If so, why not email COPE with your suggestion using this link?

COPE is a registered Charity run by volunteers. Registered Charity No. 1110887

City Council community grants

Could you, or your group, help to improve people’s lives, locally?
If only you had a little bit of funding…

Click the image to visit the Cambridge City Council Area Committee funding webpage

Fuller details, application forms and a webinar presentation explaining how to apply can be found on the Cambridge City Council Area Committee funding webpage. You can also contact grants@cambridge.gov.uk for further information or phone the team on 01223 457875.

Grafton Centre Redevelopment – consultation

Photo of existing Grafton Centre main entrance on Fitzroy Street — Existing Grafton Centre main entrance on Fitzroy Street
Click the image to visit the Grafton Consultation website

Trinity Investment Management (not connected to Trinity College) acquired the Grafton Centre in 2022, and are now consulting on changes to the centre that keeps a smaller number of shops, retains the gym and cinema, but converts much of the building into laboratories for science research.
The proposals include:
Reducing the number of shops to reflect the growing number of empty units at the centre – but retaining some retail and leisure, including the cinema and gym, alongside improved public spaces around the centre
Improving the connectivity for cyclists and pedestrians, restoring some of the historic connections that were blocked when the Grafton Centre was built
Repurposing as much of the existing structure as possible – to limit disruption to neighbours and minimise the amount of carbon-intensive demolition and construction
Delivering much-needed research space for promising science start-ups – a sector which is growing and needs more lab space across the city
Trinity Investment Management

Find out more by visiting the Grafton Consultation website.

Online webinar

Trinity Investment Management are holding an online webinar over Zoom where the project team will talk through the proposals and answer questions.

Date: Thursday 24^th November 2022
Time: 6:30-7:30pm

You can join the webinar using this link.
Questions may be submitted in advance by email to contact@graftoncentreconsultation.co.uk, or during the meeting using the Zoom chat function.

You may also use the developers’ Feedback Form, or contact them by phone on 07771 323980, or email contact@graftoncentreconsultation.co.uk.

Aerial view Masterplan with retail marked in green and the cinema marked in pink — Masterplan with retail marked in green and the cinema marked in pink
Click the image to visit the Grafton Consultation website

Whilst this post is open for comments, and readers are welcome to debate the issues around the proposed development, this does not guarantee thatTrinity Investment Management will be able to engage with them on this platform.

Beehive Centre – Redevelopment

Public exhibition and digital consultation

Image of leaflet, headed:
THE BEEHIVE CENTRE PUBLIC EXHIBITION & DIGITAL CONSULTATION
With aerial view of location
More text:
Railpen would like to invite you to a public exhibition and digital consultation on our updated proposals for the redevelopment of The Beehive Centre. — Click the image above to view/download a 2-page PDF with full details.

The Beehive Centre is adjacent to Sturton Town to the north of Mill Road on the Petersfield (city) side of the railway.

Find out more about Victorian Cambridge & the Building of Sturton Town.
Find out more about the old Beehive Pub, on the corner of Ainsworth Street.

In June 2022 we held our first stage consultation on our proposals for The Beehive Centre at which we outlined our principles for development and asked for the local communities input to create a scheme that brings social value and tangible benefits to the local area and Cambridge.
The consultation was well attended and we heard and captured a wealth of insights and ideas from local people about what you value about The Beehive Centre today, and what you would like to see in the future. This feedback has informed our updated proposals which we are ready to show you at our upcoming consultation.
We strive to work with the people of Cambridge to reimagine a key strategic site, embracing sustainable and inclusive design through a vision to the creation of a new local centre with accessible, green and useable spaces to strengthen Cambridge’s status at the forefront of the science, technology and innovation sector.
four communications on behalf of Railpen

Public exhibition

Thursday 24^th November – 2:30pm to 6:30pm
Friday 25^th November – 2:30pm to 7:30pm
St Barnabas Centre, (Old Schoolroom) St Barnabas Church, Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2BD
No prior booking required.

Digital consultation

The digital consultation webinar will take place on Wednesday 23^rd November – 6:00pm to 7:00pm

To register your interest for the digital consultation, the QR code on the PDF can be captured with your smartphone/tablet. Otherwise it resolves to: https://qrcodes.pro/nPGeLI.

If you are unable to attend either consultation nor the public exhibition but want to learn more you can email thebeehivecentre@fourcommunications.com or phone 01223 960001.

Many of you will be aware that Railpen, who invest the Railways Pension Schemes’ assets, will be redeveloping the Travis Perkins site adjacent to Devonshire Road for long-term tenanted residential accommodation, and that, whilst this has been broadly welcomed by the community, some of the details of Rail Pen’s initial plans were felt to be in need of improvement. Of course, this is an entirely different project to the Beehive Centre, but we’ve referenced it to give context on Rail Pen.

Whilst this post is open for comments, and readers are welcome to debate the issues around the proposed development, this does not guarantee that four communications or Railpen will be able to engage with them on this platform.

Mill Road Community Centre – Update

Opening in the New Year!

OPEN FORUM Nº2

Wednesday 16th November 2022, 7:30pm
Old School Hall, St Barnabas Church,
Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2BD

Please come and join Petersfield Area Community Trust and Romsey Mill Trust to find out more details about all the exciting opportunities.

Poster:
MILL ROAD COMMUNITY CENTRE
OPEN FORUM Nº2
Image of the new centre overlaid with "Opening in the New Year!"
Wednesday 16th November, 7:30pm
Old School Hall, St Barnabas Church, Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2BD
Please come and join us to find out more details about all the exciting opportunities for volunteering; our proposed community programme; how the centre will operate & pay its way; an opening event, & even more…
Further details: info@PACTcambridge.org
ALL WELCOME
Your New Community Centre Needs YOU! — Click the image to download a printable copy of this poster

Please consider printing and displaying a poster to publicise the meeting. Share widely to let all of your friends, colleagues, neighbours and social media contacts know about the meeting.

What can you do to help make the Mill Road Community Centre a success? Email info@PACTcambridge.org.

Mill Road Winter Fair is back!

BUT… Your help is needed

Put the date Saturday 3rd December 2022 in your diary.

Mill Road Winter Fair is run entirely by volunteers. Could you become one of the fabulous team of people who give just two hours of their time to help steward on the day of the Fair, Saturday 3rd December 2022?

Click through to Volunteer for the 2022 Mill Road Winter Fair to sign up for a slot on this year’s stewarding rota. Could you encourage a friend to do it with you?

What’s on at the 2022 Mill Road Winter Fair? (Click the question to find the answer.)

Map of Mill Road Winter Fair 2022 showing locations of events, These are described in the what's on link above. — Map of Mill Road Winter Fair 2022

Mill Road Rocks

Have you seen Mill Road’s very own rock garden just outside Ditchburn Place?

Transforming a hitherto derelict pocket of land by the entrance gates to Ditchburn Place, the Mill Road Rock Garden has been developed by local resident Fiona Smith and volunteers from the Mill Road Fringe, and is brought to you thanks to Love Mill Road – the charity which nurtures and celebrates the Mill Road community – and the generosity of Scotsdales Garden Centre.

Photo of painted rocks, in recycled frames, on a background of slate fragments. — Photo: Lenja Bell

Over the last few months local community groups, including Ditchburn Place residents themselves, have been painting rocks which are featured in the recycled frames. You can spot all sorts of different designs from slogans of encouragement, to cartoon characters to birds and animals and flowers. The Rocks are painted in acrylic paint and sprayed with varnish to keep them from fading.

Rock painting has been around for centuries but saw a revival during lockdown. It is something which is accessible to everyone and at every age. Rock painting has been proved to support mindfulness with positive benefits for mental health. It is also a great family activity.

Besides the residents of Ditchburn Place, Mill Road based Lifecraft, The Edge Café and Romsey Mill have taken part. From further afield Rowan Humberstone – Arts centre and forest school for adults with learning disabilities – Arts and Minds – using the arts to help people living with mental health challenges – and Cambridge Manor Care Home have all painted rocks for the garden. Mill Road Fringe thanks everyone involved including the volunteers who have put it all together. The site awaits its permanent sign which we hope will be designed by someone with local connections.

There is room for the garden to grow!

Just help yourself to one of the blank stones near the end by the gate, bring it back once you’ve painted it and place it in one of the frames. If you know of a group that would like to take part, please email info@millroadwinterfair.org

Displaying the rocks at Ditchburn Place will enhance the local environment and improve a piece of land that was previously barren. It is visible, so people walking along can enjoy looking at them and long lasting, as we can encourage anyone in the community to add their own rock. We hope it will be a feature of interest along Mill Road for everyone to look out for and enjoy.

To find out more about the Mill Road Fringe visit Mill Road Fringe – Mill Road Winter Fair

If you have ideas for future projects, please email info@millroadwinterfair.org or info@lovemillroad.org.uk

Mill Road Community Centre

Let’s get organised!

Petersfield Area Community Trust are holding an ‘Open Forum’ on Wednesday 5^th October, 7.30-8.30pm in the Old School Hall, behind St Barnabas Church, Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2BD.

The meeting is open to all local organisations and individuals who would like to contribute to activities in the new Mill Road Community Centre, which should open before the end of the year.

The Community Centre will be jointly managed by Petersfield Area Community Trust and Romsey Mill.

Click on the image to download a printable PDF of this poster.

For further details, email info@PACTcambridge.org.

Please note: this is not about potential plans for the old Mill Road Library. (See our earlier post Mill Road Library – a community asset.)