Bar Hill

Bar Hill is just over 40 years old and, from controversial beginnings, is now a vibrant village with a strong feeling of community.  A look in the Bar Hill News confirms the willingness of residents to organise and run many societies and organisations, giving freely of their time for the benefit of others.  Bar Hill has many excellent facilities for its residents - a library, youth club, health centre and dentists' surgery (unfortunately recently left the NHS and gone private), a church and community centre, and a village hall (recently extended and refurbished), a primary school, two pre-school nursery schools, a sports and social club, a public house with restaurant, a 5-aside football pitch, tennis courts, children's play areas, as well as a Mall of small shops and a large supermarket.  In the supermarket we have a pharmacy and an opticians.  At the entrance to the village is a hotel with sports/recreation facilities, and an industrial area of offices, factories and warehouses, all giving opportunities for employment.

There is a wide variety of housing in the village to suit all tastes and requirements, from one-bedroom starter flats through to larger 4/5 bedroom houses.  There are also flats and bungalows for elderly residents which are warden controlled.  Many people in the village have moved several times, having found the accommodation they required as their families grew.

The Parish Council has its office in the centre of the village, opposite the health centre, and amongst its many duties is the care of Parish Council-owned land, trees and hedges.  Bar Hill is somewhat unique in this area: many villages simply have a village green which is the parish council's responsibility and the other green areas often belong to residents.  Bar Hill has large areas of grass which have to be cut regularly during the growing season, and the current contract for that costs the village just under £21,000.  Previous Parish Councils have planted trees all over the village in an effort to make it less bare with the result that Bar Hill is a very green and pleasant place to live.

Our Community Beat Officer confirms that in terms of crime, Bar Hill compares very favourably with other similar villages, and crime in the residential area is low.  As well as a Community Beat Officer Bar Hill also has a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO).

Bar Hill has a regular bus service into Cambridge, and there are also buses to Huntingdon and other adjacent villages.  Being so close to the A14 is a mixed blessing: it is a good link to the Midlands, North, South and East but, as we know only too well, along with many other roads in the country, it does become congested at peak times.  Plans to widen and improve it which are at the consultation stage are to be welcomed.  Changes are on the horizon too with the proposed building of a new village between Longstanton and Oakington (Northstowe), and with the proposal for a guided bus system.

We live in changing times but Bar Hill has seen plenty of those and I have no doubt will cope with those to come.  Our population has wide and diverse interests and opinions, and your Parish Council is keen to know how you feel about proposals, and will consult the residents on decisions which will have an important impact on them.

The Clerk to the Parish Council can be contacted by

Telephone - 01954 780456

Email -

Letter or in person - The Parish Council Office, Hanover Close, Bar Hill, Cambridge, CB3 8SE (the office next to the Octagon Community Centre - office hours Monday to Thursday 10 am to 12 noon, or by a mutually convenient appointment).