About RARA

RARA’s aims and organisation

Terms of reference

RARA was founded in 2008, with the following terms of reference:

  • Membership of the Association shall be open to any resident or owner of a residential property within the area bounded by
    • Riverside to the north
    • Garlic Row to the east
    • Newmarket Road to the south, and
    • Walnut Tree Avenue to the west.
  • The aims of the Association shall be to protect the interests of residents with regard to any matter which may affect the quality of life within the Riverside Area. The Association specifically aims to:
    • Help ensure a peaceful, safe and attractive living environment
    • Encourage a strong community spirit within the area.

At the most recent AGM, attendees agreed that these terms of reference remain appropriate.

Officers, steering committee and working groups

RARA has one elected officer (appointed by a vote at the most recent AGM):

OfficerCurrent holder
TreasurerMike Evans

The activities of RARA are coordinated by a steering committee, whose members are volunteers rather than being formally elected. This group meets approximately monthly, in person and / or via video calls. We are always happy to welcome new members to the steering committee – if you would like to join, please get in touch.

Current steering committee members:

  • Mike Evans
  • Dan Frost
  • Lynnette Gilbert
  • Jim Hair
  • Al Hanagan
  • Caroline Neville
  • Olympia S
  • David Spiegelhalter
  • Gareth Stockwell

To deter spam, this page publishes neither personal email addresses nor full street addresses for individuals. If you need this information in order to contact anybody listed above, please contact the steering committee.

From this group, and bringing in other interested parties as needed, working groups (“coalitions of the willing”) are formed to focus on particular topics. Details of each working group can be found on the Local issues page.

Funding

RARA is a non-membership voluntary organization.  We don’t have a membership fee.

We need about £500 per annum to cover expenses such as communications (primarily the cost of printing fliers).  To fund this we will periodically issue a call for voluntary donations, with a suggested amount of £10 per household.  Of course, donations are always welcome. Please contact treasurer@rar.org.uk if you wish to donate.

We also raise funds for specific activities such as our campaign to stop the easyHotel development of the Coopers Furniture site and more positively a Coronation Street Party in 2023, for which we gratefully received a £500 City Council grant towards expenses.

Each financial year we produce a formal treasurer’s report which is independently inspected, and is available to view on request.  In 2023 the inspector was Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, who found the report to be satisfactory. 

Street representatives

Volunteers from each street (or section of street) in the Riverside Area help to build and strengthen connections between the steering committee and the wider body of residents. Street representatives facilitate communications in both directions, and occasionally help with tasks such as delivering leaflets.

If you would like to volunteer, please let us know.

Friends of RARA

Below are some of the local organisations with whom RARA has close links, and shared values. If you would like us to include a link to your organisation, please get in touch.

CamCycle

RARA has worked with CamCycle on issues including the GCP Greenways proposals.

Cambridge Living Streets

RARA has worked with Cambridge Living Streets on issues including the Riverside vision and the GCP Greenways proposals.

Cambridge Museum of Technology

Cambridge Museum of Technology and RARA are working together on areas of joint and shared interest for our community.  This includes sharing ideas on the developing the Riverside Vision, support for community and educational events (for example, walking tours) and fundraising opportunities.

The Museum trustees have kindly offered RARA use of the Pye Building for our Community Sundays meet-ups during the winter months, which is much appreciated.

For further details on the relationship between the museum and RARA, please contact Caroline Neville.

Cambridge Past Present and Future

RARA has worked with Cambridge PPF on issues including the Beehive Centre redevelopment proposals.

Federation of Cambridge Residents’ Associations (FeCRA)

RARA is a proud member of FeCRA.

Friends of Midsummer Common

Friends of Midsummer Common

Friends of Stourbridge Common

Friends of Stourbridge Common

RARA has worked with Cambridge Living Streets on issues including the Riverside vision and the GCP Greenways proposals – with a particular focus on the Stourbridge Common entrance from the end of Riverside.

Getting involved

We are also looking for street representatives, who can help to ensure that we are well connected to issues of importance to local residents.

We are always happy to welcome new members to the steering group.

If you would like to get involved in any way, please get in touch.

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