Tomorrow evening (21 April) I’ll be making the following proposal to East Cambridgeshire District Council. I very much hope it will be supported by the District Council’s ruling group.

There is actually a Changing Places toilet in The Hive sports centre on the A10 near Ely. But it’s not been added to the national Changing Places map. Nor is it signposted on the appropriate page of the district council’s website. And of course if you’re in the middle of Ely on a day out, then having to pack everything up, drive to the other side of the A10, and negotiate with the staff on the entrance to let you in without charging you a fee is hardly convenient.

It would be great if we could do better than this.

This Council notes that:

• Not every Council owned or managed public toilet in East Cambridgeshire is accessible for people with disabilities.
• The Government has decided that large accessible toilets for severely disabled people—known as Changing Places toilets—will be made compulsory for large new buildings, such as shopping centres, supermarkets, sports and arts venues. The Changing Places interactive map at https://www.changing-places.org/find indicates that there is not a single Changing Places toilet in the whole of East Cambridgeshire, and that the nearest Changing Places toilets for residents of the district are at Eddington, Bar Hill, and Mildenhall. Furthermore East Cambridgeshire is the only district in Cambridgeshire for which no Changing Places grant funding was awarded by Government in March this year.
• The charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK is encouraging venues providing accessible toilets to install new signage—two standing figures and a wheelchair user with the words Accessible Toilet and the logo ‘Not every disability is visible’. This is to help stop stigma and discrimination towards people with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and other invisible conditions. There have been instances nationally where such individuals using an accessible toilet have been accused by staff members of being ineligible to use them.

This Council believes that:

• Provision of good quality, accessible, well-signed public toilets is important not only as a human right, but also for its potential to attract tourists to East Cambridgeshire and enable East Cambridgeshire residents to enjoy the amenities of the district.
• Every public toilet should be accessible for people with disabilities.
• Severely disabled people and their families or carers should be able to spend time in public places confident that a Changing Places toilet is available within a reasonable enough distance not to curtail their visit.
• People with invisible disabilities should be able to use accessible toilets without fear of stigma or discrimination.

This Council resolves to:

• Review disability access to every public toilet provision in East Cambridgeshire, and where this is not in place draw up a plan for installation of disability access arrangements, or make arrangements to replace the toilet with one which can be adapted and which is within a reasonable distance from the inaccessible toilet.
• Engage with businesses and partner organisations across East Cambridgeshire to identify premises, regardless of ownership, where a Changing Places toilet could be installed; work with them to access Government grant or other funding; and ensure that any Changing Places toilets so installed are properly signposted for visitors.
• Ensure that existing public toilets are signed in line with Crohn’s & Colitis UK guidance; ask town and district centre retailers and leisure outlets to do likewise with their accessible toilets; and seek advice from Crohn’s & Colitis UK on the information and training this Council should provide to council staff members to enable them to understand these conditions and to prevent potential embarrassment for those who suffer with them.

The following planning application in the Sutton division has been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.

22/00365/FUL
Sutton
34 Garden Close Sutton CB6 2RF
Demolition of existing garage, porch and rear extension. Construction of larger porch and single storey rear and side extensions.

Further information can be found on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, comments should be addressed to the district council and not to me.  Comments may be made

• online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
• by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
• or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

The following planning applications in the Sutton division have been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.

22/00018/FUL
Little Downham
Downham Feoffees School Main Street Little Downham
Retain existing mobile classroom.

22/00388/FUL
Little Downham
Land north west of Springfields Straight Furlong Pymoor
Extension to existing building for storage of drainage equipment.

22/00397/FUL
Little Downham
24 Pymoor Lane Pymoor CB6 2EE
Proposed access gate, brick piers and front fencing.

22/00340/FUL
Little Downham
The Common House 1A Second Drove Little Downham
Front porch infill, garage conversion and external alterations.

22/00314/FUL
Witchford
24 Sutton Road Witchford CB6 2HX
Loft conversion.

Further information can be found on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, comments should be addressed to the district council and not to me.  Comments may be made

• online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
• by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
• or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

The following planning applications in the Sutton division have been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.

22/00348/CLP
Little Downham
Greetwell Cottage 1 Marshalls Lane Little Downham CB6 2SP
Construct a timber frame and clad workshop/store.

22/00357/FUL
Little Downham
Countrylass Cophall Drove Little Downham
Detached two storey new build dwelling and carport with access and associated site works.

22/00345/FUL
Sutton
Site south east of 91 The Row Sutton CB6 2PB
Construction of three-bedroom two-storey detached self-build dwelling, carport/workshop and siting/residential use of one mobile home for duration of works, and associated works.

Further information can be found on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, comments should be addressed to the district council and not to me.  Comments may be made

• online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
• by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
• or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

What plans does your community, or your local organisation, have to respond to the Ukrainian crisis?

Cambridgeshire County Council, Ely Primary Care Network, and East Cambridgeshire District Council have issued a short questionnaire which you can find here.

A follow up visit from ‘peers’ about the Council’s Corporate Peer Challenge report has identified positive progress by the Council.

Local Government Association ‘peers’ (experienced councillors and officers from other councils) submitted their final report in 2021. In a six month follow up visit to the Council they have provided their feedback on the progress made since their original report. This follow-up visit focused on a number of key areas, including Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy, Shared Services and Place Shaping with the Council’s partners.  

Peers have reported how pleased they are to see some actions successfully completed, including the appointment of a new Chief Executive dedicated to Cambridgeshire and the completion of a review of ‘This Land’ resulting in a series of recommendations with actions already under way.  

The Joint Administration is recognised for having delivered urgent work on budget setting, and on developing a new Corporate Strategy to set the direction for future priorities and delivery and creating more opportunities for members and officers to work closely together.  

Some recommendations are ongoing, such as the Council’s shared services arrangements with neighbouring Peterborough City Council. Peers also heard about the increased focus on working in partnership with other agencies and, in particular, the positive developments with the Combined Authority and the new Integrated Care System for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“I am pleased with the progress we have achieved, and we will continue our work on the actions and recommendations from Peers as we are determined to work collaboratively to deliver against our challenges.” said Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council.

“In relation to our shared services arrangement with Peterborough there is still more work required, and now that we have Stephen Moir in place (as Chief Executive) he is playing a key role in leading this review. We have always been clear that where these services are helping to deliver strong outcomes for residents and communities, or resilience for the councils, they will continue to be an option,” added Cllr Elisa Meschini, Deputy Leader of the Council.

“We also need to continue our work on the financial challenges we are facing and will be working on a three-year medium-term financial strategy. This letter is a tribute to the hard work of committees across the council – their members and the officers who support them. The findings from the follow up peer challenge visit were welcome, and we will continue to act upon them.” said Cllr Tom Sanderson of the independent group on the council, the third group leader of the Joint Administration.

The LGA Peer Challenge final report letter to Cambridgeshire County Council has been published today and can be viewed here.

Cambridgeshire County Council leader Lucy Nethsingha and I today joined campaigners against the proposed incinerator in Wisbech, to tour the site and listen to residents’ concerns.

Virginia and Michael Bucknor and members of the campaign team greeted us, and we followed in convoy to the location at the bottom of New Drove. The proposed facility is very close to a host of neighbouring businesses, and no more than 750 metres from Thomas Clarkson Academy, the largest school in Wisbech.

Back in the offices of nearby WEP Fabrications, we discussed the issues raised by the campaign team. The traffic impact, with hundreds of HGVs bringing large loads of waste and removing the resulting material. The proximity to local industry, including many dealing in foodstuffs for whom an incinerator would be a significant challenge. The potential loss of local jobs and businesses and the damage to Wisbech’s economy. The dominance of the incinerator chimneys, potentially twenty-five metres higher than Ely Cathedral.

The application is not one which the council, either district or county, will decide. That will be down to the Planning Inspectorate, with local county and district councils only consultees rather than decision-makers. Some say the applicants have deliberately chosen this route to reduce the opportunity for local influence. It’s clearly a major concern for the campaigners.

Even in the years before COVID, the health of our local population changed, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Health in East Cambridgeshire is in the top 20 per cent for England. But it decreased in the year before the pandemic, with a Health Index score of 106.0. That’s down 1.9 points on the previous year.

Our area is ranked 61st most healthy out of 307 local authority areas in England, according to newly released data from 2019. But our health scores vary significantly for different aspects of health, with higher scores for physical and economic aspects, and much lower scores for access to services and green space, personal wellbeing and mental health.

Lots more detail at the Office for National Statistics interactive web page – choose East Cambridgeshire (or anywhere else you like!) from the drop-down menu.

The following planning applications in the Sutton division have been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.

22/00266/FUL
Little Downham
Old Sunday School 75A Main Street Little Downham
Replacement of rear and side elevations white timber framed windows and door with dark grey PVCU grained windows and door of different design.

22/00305/AGN
Little Downham
Green Acres Straight Furlong Pymoor
Construction of agricultural storage building.

22/00302/FUL
Witchford
37 Common Road Witchford CB6 2HY
Single storey rear extension and internal alterations.

Further information can be found on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, comments should be addressed to the district council and not to me.  Comments may be made

• online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
• by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
• or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

Cambridgeshire County Council held its Full Council meeting this morning.

A selection of the highlights.

1. The Chair of the Council, Cllr Stephen Ferguson, made a statement at the start of the meeting about the invasion of Ukraine, concluding “We in Cambridgeshire support the actions of the UK, EU and wider international community in backing Ukraine’s democratically elected government against this unprovoked invasion.”
2. We amended the council’s Constitution to rule out motions to Full Council meetings about current planning applications. This doesn’t stop local councillors speaking up on behalf of their communities – of course it doesn’t. But it will put an end to attempts to make council policy on planning applications at Full Council meetings, without all the facts. The proper place to make planning decisions is the Planning Committee.
3. Cllr Ros Hathorn (Histon & Impington) successfully proposed a motion calling for a report on how the County Council can support the rollout of new repair cafés and the operation of existing ones. Repair cafés offer huge benefits, environmental as well as social. Great news.
4. Cllr Alex Bulat (Abbey, Cambridge) was also successful with her motion on voter eligibility and registration among EU citizens in the UK. As this motion said, we need a UK-wide approach to extend voting rights in local elections to all qualifying foreign nationals, as in Scotland and Wales.
5. Cllr Hilary Cox Condron (Arbury, Cambridge) persuaded the council to adopt the Public Sector Duty on socio-economic inequalities to help it address socio-economic disadvantage. Cambridge has huge inequalities among its population, and Fenland has several areas which are among the most deprived in the country.
6. Cllr Edna Murphy (Bar Hill) drew attention to the large number of dying trees along the rebuilt A14 where the National Highways tree planting initiative has failed. Her successful motion asked for facts and figures on this from National Highways, regular progress reports, and council officers to engage in ensuring the promised tree planting is successful.
7. Cllr Alan Sharp (Woodditton) proposed the only unsuccessful motion of the day. It called on the council to ‘oppose road pricing in all its forms in the Greater Cambridge area’. But it offered absolutely nothing positive instead. It had literally nothing to say about rising levels of traffic congestion in Cambridge, the lack of attractive public transport options, or dependence on ownership of private vehicles from which many people are increasingly priced out.

The live stream of the meeting was somewhat interrupted by poor wifi at the Burgess Hall in St Ives, but various parts of the meeting can be found here. The papers for the meeting are here.