East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following planning applications in the Sutton division.

24/00841/FUL
Coveney
8 Straight Drove Coveney CB6 2DR
Single storey extension to rear, porch canopy to front, replacement treatment system and associated works

24/00769/FUL
Little Downham
CN Seeds Ltd 18 Main Street Pymoor
Change of use from agricultural store to laboratory building – retrospective

24/01325/FUL
Little Downham
Land north east of 1 Seventh Drove Little Downham
Replacement dwelling

25/00015/FUL
Mepal
Site south of 20 Brangehill Lane Mepal
Three bedroom bungalow

24/01316/FUL
Mepal
Wisteria House 3 Brangehill Lane Mepal
Cart lodge

24/01328/FUL
Mepal
13 School Lane Mepal CB6 2AJ
Installation of rooflights to existing attic rooms

24/01345/OUT
Sutton
44 The Row Sutton CB6 2PD
Outline application with all matters reserved except access and scale for the erection of two dwellings (re-submission of 22/01044/OUT)

24/01334/FUL
Witchford
Land north of Beldoms House Mills Lane Witchford
Change of use of former agricultural building to dwelling

You can find further information on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, please write to the district council and not to me.  You can comment

• 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

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has today announced plans to accelerate growth in and around Cambridge, including a revival of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc abandoned by Boris Johnson, and green-lighting of plans for development at Waterbeach and Cambridge’s Beehive site. 

This announcement is a recognition of Cambridgeshire’s significance to the UK economy. But it’s also an urgent attempt by the Government to revive flagging economic growth, and much of what has been announced by way of infrastructure to support intensified development around Cambridge consists of schemes already planned or under way.

It’s not clear whether the money is there for the whole route of East West Rail to Cambridge, and residents and businesses need certainty about this so that they can plan for the future.

House-building plans in and around Cambridge are already ambitious, developed through the local planning process. The infrastructure in the Chancellor’s announcement is needed to meet these existing plans. For example the proposed Fens Reservoir—still in the early stages of consultation—will not be supplying water until the late 2030s, and is intended to enable the existing housing targets. Additional development will require further investment to ensure communities have access to sufficient water, health services, and transport.

Commitment to the Cambridge Cancer Hospital is welcome, but our health services, from GP surgeries and access to dentists, to accident and emergency facilities in our hospitals, are already struggling.

And the establishment of further unaccountable delivery bodies to progress the Government’s plans does not bode well for genuine public engagement and democratic input. This is particularly concerning as the Chancellor’s announcement comes just at the point at which the Government is tearing up the fifty-year-old map of local government and reorganising local councils which will take several years to set up and start work.

Today it was the turn of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways & Transport Committee to scrutinise the council’s business plan and budget for 2025/26 and the years following.

The proposed business plan includes investment of more than £56million in highways maintenance to tackle the significant backlog of repairs and address residents’ concerns. This includes:

• £14.5M in revenue for the day-to-day management of the highway. Of this, an additional £550,000 will be invested to improve how residents experience the service as customers, including replacing the twenty-year-old fault reporting system; and an additional £450,000 on drainage, flood resilience, trees, greenery, and weed management.
• £42M of capital investment, of which an additional £20M will go into planned capital maintenance of the highway—roads, pavements, drainage, bridges, safety barriers, traffic signals, public rights of way, and cycleways.

We recommended a number of priorities for extra investment: bus shelters, an increase in the Local Highways Initiative scheme, trees, drains, active travel, soil impacted roads, road markings, pothole management, and street lighting.

Committee chair Cllr Alex Beckett said: “Although we do not receive sufficient funding from Government to meet the needs of the growing population in Cambridgeshire, we are committed to ensuring the council delivers value for money in the services it provides. That is why the majority of this committee supports the proposals today.”

We also discussed and approved the council’s draft response to the East West Rail non-statutory consultation. The line was originally going to be diesel, but is now proposed to be powered by battery and overhead wires—we need to keep pressing for full electrification. The new line is bound to cut existing community ties, in the same way the A142 sliced through well-used paths and rights of way: I said we need to listen to local communities about the effects of this. The draft response pushes back on the environmental impacts of the development, including for barbastelle bats (a question I was asked at a recent Full Council meeting). And we need to make the case for good links to the railway stations by cycle, on foot, and by bus.

Thanks to information technology, the last few years have seen a huge transformation in the amount of information about our own health that we can access.

When it comes to finding trusted health information online, the first port of call is always NHS website for England – NHS, where you can find out about conditions, symptoms and treatments, and how your medicine works. 

It is also important to be able to access your health records and manage your medical appointments. NHS login allows you to access your NHS account and NHS services online. Go to the NHS website or download the NHS app to set up your NHS login. Visit Setting up an NHS Account – NHS England Digital to find out more.

One of the questions I’m often asked is why all new homes aren’t automatically built with solar panels. I agree they should be.

Last week, Max Wilkinson MP (Lib Dem, Cheltenham) saw his ‘Sunshine Bill’ receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons. This would have forced developers to install solar panels on new-build homes, leading to lower household bills, less reliance on dirty fossil fuels, and greater energy security for our country.

The Government failed to support the Bill.

Later this year the Government will be announcing amendments to its Future Homes and Future Buildings Standards. Liberal Democrats will be keeping a watchful eye on whether Labour will do anything to require solar panels on all new-build homes. It’s so obviously the right thing to do.

The new Tiger On Demand bus service is now available in East Cambridgeshire!

Tiger On Demand is a flexible transport service for residents in rural and under-served areas. The service allows passengers to book journeys between designated virtual stops, offering a reliable and convenient alternative to traditional fixed-route bus services.

• Flexible booking options: Residents can book their journeys
  • On the Tiger On Demand app
  • By calling the dedicated booking line 01480 595 440
  • Via the website at www.tigerondemand.co.uk

• Operating times: Monday to Saturday, 6:30AM to 7:00PM

• Affordable fares: £2 per journey for adults, £1 for children aged 5 to 16 or Tiger pass holders, free for under-5s or concessionary and disability bus pass holders.

For full details please visit: https://transport.cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/buses/tiger-on-demand/

Pay by debit or credit card when booking over the phone, or via the App. Unfortunately drivers are not able to accept cash or card payments.

A decision on the Development Consent Order (DCO) application by Anglian Water for the Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant Relocation Project has been postponed by Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed.

A decision is now expected on 14 April 2025.  

The further extension is to enable the application to be analysed in light of the revision of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which was formalised on 12 December 2024. A full copy of the Secretary of State’s statement can be found here: Written statements – Written questions, answers and statements – UK Parliament.    

The relocation of the waste water treatment plant will enable South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council to develop a new low-carbon city district on Cambridge’s last major brownfield site located in North East Cambridge.

Cold homes can affect mobility and put older people at greater risk of falling. It’s important to be extra careful to avoid falls during winter months.

Do you know what increases the risk of falling? Are you worried for a friend, a family member or an elderly neighbour? Encourage them to use the interactive risk checking tool to help identify their risks. Access the online tool for tips to prevent falls at www.steadyonyourfeet.org/cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire libraries offer a free rubber stopper replacement service for walking aid users to help them stay steady on their feet. Visit Free walking aid rubber stoppers | Cambridgeshire County Council to find out more.

Expert advice on Awaab’s Law, tackling damp and mould, and retrofitting

Landlords from East Cambridgeshire are being invited to a free information event to find out how to prepare for upcoming changes to Awaab’s Law and effectively tackle damp and mould in their rented properties.

Hosted by the Cambridgeshire Private Sector Housing Group, which represents councils across the county, the countywide ‘Dealing with Damp and Mould’ forum will take place on:

• Monday 13 January 2025
• 1pm to 5pm
• The Maltings, Ship Lane, Ely CB7 4BB

The event is open to both private and social landlords and will offer expert guidance to help landlords meet legal responsibilities while improving the safety and wellbeing of tenants.

The afternoon will see keynote presentations from:

• Nadhia Khan, Executive Director of Customer and Community, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing: Nadhia will share insights into her organisation’s experience of dealing with significant failings in handling complaints related to damp and mould, providing a valuable perspective on lessons learned.
• Ian Sanders, Principal Environmental Health Practitioner, Hull City Council:
  Ian has a wealth of experience in all aspects of damp and mould and acted as an advisor and contributor to the recent government’s statutory guidance.
• Steph Salmon, Retrofit Project Manager, Cambridge City Council: Steph will present a range of retrofitting options available to landlords, focusing on improving energy efficiency and tackling the root causes of damp.

Awaab’s Law was introduced last year as part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It followed the tragic death of a toddler who died in December 2020 due to prolonged exposure to mould in the social home his family rented from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.

The law requires social landlords to fix hazards that pose a danger to tenants’ health with a strict, legal time limit. But with its extension to the private rented sector expected under the Renters’ Rights Bill, the forum provides a vital opportunity for landlords to stay informed, network with industry experts, and ensure compliance with the new regulations.

There will be an opportunity for Q&As after each keynote presentation and the chance to network with other landlords and housing professionals. Refreshments will also be available.

Places at the event are limited, so early registration is encouraged.

To register: email ProjectResidential@cambridge.gov.uk before 5:00PM on Thursday 9 January.

Freezing temperatures are forecast by the Met Office in Cambridgeshire until Wednesday 8 January and health experts are urging people to be Winter Wise and look out for others. 

Val Thomas, Acting Director of Public Health for Cambridgeshire County Council, has issued advice to help residents look after vulnerable friends and neighbours as well as themselves.

Read more here.