Estimates of the potential cuts required to fire services across Cambridgeshire have been increased by £800,000 to a minimum of £5 million with fears this could go even higher if the government grant settlement for the service is low again this year.

The news has prompted the Tory-controlled Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority to revise its savings plans and led to reinforced opposition to front-line cuts from the county's Liberal Democrats.

Villagers in Waterbeach and Landbeach fear they may lose their 'life-line' hourly bus service to Ely after giant company, Stagecoach decided to cut it back.

From June 10, the X9 will only call at the villages in the early morning on its journey from Ely to Cambridge and late afternoon in the opposite direction. At other times it will stay on the A10 bypassing both villages.

Utility companies could be charged a daily fee for road closures while they carry out work across Cambridgeshire.

The idea has been put forward by Liberal Democrat Councillor Sarah Whitebread and would apply to companies laying new gas or water mains or carrying out similar work in the county.

Cllr Whitebread, who represents Cambridge's Market Ward on Cambridgeshire County Council, claims the move could prevent lengthy closures such as the one which brought the city's East Road to a virtual halt for weeks while new gas mains were laid.

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have called for tough guidance on letting space at Alconbury's new Enterprise Zone to prevent companies "boundary hopping" for tax advantages.

They want to give priority to new and existing businesses that will bring new investment and jobs to the area.

And they want manufacturing and production businesses to be encouraged to complement the Cambridgeshire research companies.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Belinda Brooks-Gordon is fighting to decriminalise prostitution because evidence shows it could solve problems in Cambridge's red light areas.

She says a study in Liverpool, which would designate zones in cities to allow two or three women to work together for safety and treat violence against sex workers as a hate crime, could work in areas such as Cambridge's Histon Road.

Waterbeach and Landbeach are about to lose their bus service to Ely completely in June under the new package of services announced by Stagecoach, Maurice Leeke has discovered.

The current Cambridge to Ely service will be replaced by a new number 9 service which will go straight up the A10 without calling in either village. There will be a shuttle service between Waterbeach and Cambridge with one less bus in each direction on weekdays (two fewer on Saturdays - and still no Sunday service). This will terminate at Waterbeach Green.

Cambridgeshire County Council has been accused of moving the goalposts over plans to give villagers funding for safety improvements.

Parish councils were told before Christmas that they could bid for funds to make improvements in their areas.

But problems started even before they had even submitted their bids; the county council delayed the submission date and then changed it twice.

Cambridgeshire's Tory run county council has been accused of ignoring the public's fears over safety on the Cambridge stretch of the guided busway.

The accusation comes from Liberal Democrats after a county council transport appeals panel failed to act on the guided bus safety record despite numerous accidents on the track.

Cambridge student, Warren Wilson, whose sight is failing due to a rare genetic condition, has become the latest victim of Tory county council spending cuts.

The Citi 7 bus that takes him to Anglia Ruskin University will no longer call at Duxford leaving 21-year-old Warren stranded at home in Kingsway.

On Monday 2 April 2012, the £1bn Youth Contract will start. The Youth Contract was announced last year by Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg to tackle youth unemployment.

The Youth Contract aims to ensure that all jobless young people are earning or learning again before long-term damage is done.