District councillor for Sutton, Mepal, Witcham, and Wentworth (East Cambridgeshire District Council) and county councillor for Coveney, Little Downham, Mepal, Pymoor, Sutton, Wardy Hill, Way Head, Witcham, and Witchford (Cambridgeshire County Council)
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following planning application in the Sutton division.
22/00870/FUL Sutton 8 Cromwell Road Sutton CB6 2QL Construction of storage work shed (retrospective).
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);
The Secretary of State for Transport has granted planning permission (a Development Consent Order) to National Highways to upgrade the route between the A1 Black Cat roundabout and the A428 Caxton Gibbet roundabout.
This will involve a new ten-mile dual carriageway, upgrades to the existing roundabouts, and a new junction at Cambridge Road with improved access to St Neots town centre and railway station. The Secretary of State’s decision letter is here.
National Highways is due to start construction at the end of this year, with the road opening in 2026. Meanwhile surveys and investigations on site will continue until the end of this year before construction begins.
Online Q&A sessions and face-to-face public information events are planned for later this year, along with a mobile visitor centre. Updates will be published on the National Highways website and on social media at facebook.com/A428BlackCat and Twitter @A428Cat
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following planning applications in the Sutton division.
22/00888/FUL Sutton 3A Victoria Place Sutton CB6 2NP Infill single storey front extension with a bay window.
22/00892/FUL Sutton 40 Bellairs Sutton CB6 2RW Single storey rear extensions and alterations.
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);
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);
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following planning applications in the Sutton division.
22/00631/FUL Little Downham 9A Townsend Little Downham CB6 2TA Render existing garage and extend roof overhang.
22/00855/FUL Little Downham 4 Main Street Pymoor CB6 2ED Demolition of single storey side extension and construction of new two-storey side extension, plus installation of photovoltaic array.
22/00833/FUL Mepal Horticultural site between 8 and 14 Bridge Road Mepal CB6 2AR Construction of dwelling (Plot 2), previously approved under references 19/00799/OUT and 21/00969/RMA (partially retrospective).
22/00834/FUL Mepal Horticultural site between 8 and 14 Bridge Road Mepal CB6 2AR Construction of dwelling (Plot 1), previously approved under references 19/00799/OUT and 20/01571/RMA (partially retrospective).
22/00748/FUL Mepal Mepal Stores 7A High Street Mepal Proposed extension and alterations to existing store with new accommodation above.
22/00614/FUL Sutton 7 Garden Close Sutton CB6 2RF Proposed single storey extension.
22/00822/FUL Sutton 8 Haddocks Rise Sutton CB6 2EY Proposed side and rear extensions.
22/00752/FUL Sutton 1 Link Lane Sutton CB6 2NF Conversion of existing garage to annexe accommodation and construction of alterations to the infrastructure.
22/00764/FUL Sutton 4 Darbys Yard Sutton CB6 2RS Construction of two storey side extension.
22/00777/FUL Wentworth 44 Main Street Wentworth CB6 3QG Conversion of porch with 2 existing walls to fully enclosed hallway.
22/00578/FUL Witcham Witcham House Headleys Lane Witcham Construction of double detached garage/horse box store, conversion of existing garages with room above and an orangery.
22/00600/FUL Witcham 15 Martins Lane Witcham CB6 2LB Proposed driveway.
22/00565/FUL Witchford The Vicarage 75 Main Street Witchford Construction of link extension.
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);
The Office for National Statistics has published the first results to emerge from the 2021 Census.
The main points from these estimates for England and Wales are as follows.
The usual resident population was 59,597,300―the largest ever recorded through a census in England and Wales.
The population grew by more than 3.5 million (6.3 per cent) since the census ten years ago.
The population grew in every region, but most of all in the East of England, which increased by 8.3 per cent from 2011 (up by around 488,000 residents).
There were 30,420,100 women and 29,177,200 men.
The population is ageing―18.6 per cent were aged 65 years and over, compared with 16.4 per cent in 2011.
There were 24,782,800 households―up by over 1.4 million (6.1 per cent) since 2011.
In Cambridgeshire the biggest population growth was in Cambridge and Peterborough, both far ahead of the national average. East Cambridgeshire was below average at 4.6 per cent. The number of households in East Cambridgeshire however increased by 7.5 per cent since the 2011 Census.
The district had a higher proportion of residents aged 65+ than the England average, but exactly the average percentage of under-15s.
Population density in the district increased marginally, but was still far below the England average.
Councils and other bodies will use these figures, and others in the Census, to plan for local services. In the meantime, the interactive maps in this initial announcement provide lots of interesting information.
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following planning applications in the Sutton division.
22/00557/FUL Coveney Hereward House 6A Main Street Wardy Hill Alterations including bay window, Juliet balcony, and solar panels on garage roof.
22/00561/FUL Mepal Broadmead Boarding Kennels Witcham Road Mepal Construction of three bed dwelling.
22/00749/FUL Sutton 50 High Street Sutton CB6 2RA Roof garden with spiral staircase access.
22/00538/FUL Witcham Land west of Hillcrest Mepal Road Witcham Installation of solar panels and wind turbine.
22/00729/FUL Witchford Land parcel between Granny’s End Road and A142 off Marroway Lane Witchford Construction of two three-bed bungalows with garage, parking and access road including acoustic fence.
22/00745/ARN Witchford Ridgeway Farm Common Road Witchford Conversion of machinery storage building to residential 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);
Bottisham councillor John Trapp and I visited the Sunnica exhibition at the Mandeville Hall in Burwell yesterday, about the changes to Sunnica’s planning application for a solar farm spanning the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border.
These changes result from National Grid’s statement that it will not accept the original plan to extend the Burwell sub-station, which is where the electricity generated by the installation would enter the grid.
This extension was Sunnica’s original Option 1. Option 2 was an extension on the other side of the sub-station.
Sunnica have now come up with a new Option 3, which is now their preferred option and would mean three changes to the plans.
Remove the extension to the Burwell sub-station as in Option 1.
Transmit electricity between the sites at 400kV rather than 132kV.
Install additional electrical infrastructure at three of the four sites in the application.
Sunnica are consulting on this change until 6 July. Details of the consultation are at https://sunnica.co.uk/ and responses should be made in writing by one of the following means:
On 21 April, Cllr Matt Downey and I proposed a motion to East Cambridgeshire District Council about the need for accessible public toilets across the district.
Conservative councillors refused to debate this proposal at the meeting, but referred it to the Council’s Finance & Assets Committee.
The Committee meets tomorrow, and it’s disappointing to see that they will substantially water down the proposal.
Our motion rightly drew attention to a matter in which the Council’s Conservative administration has failed the community of East Cambridgeshire, and indeed all those who come to visit our district.
There is only one fully accessible ‘Changing Places’ toilet in the whole of East Cambridgeshire —at The Hive leisure centre on the A10.
East Cambridgeshire was the only district in the county to receive no Government funding at all recently for provision of more accessible toilets—because it didn’t even bother to apply.
Cllr Downey and I proposed a motion which would have put the council in a strong position as a community leader on this issue. However, it’s clear from their amendment that Conservative councillors don’t want to be community leaders, which is deeply disappointing.
Their amendment removes from our motion our proposals to:
Work with businesses and others across East Cambridgeshire to identify premises where a Changing Places toilet could be installed.
Collaborate with them to seek grants or other funding.
Signpost Changing Places toilets for the benefit of visitors.
Ask retailers and leisure outlets to sign their toilets in line with Crohn’s & Colitis UK guidance.
Seek advice from Crohn’s & Colitis UK on information and training for Council staff.
All these were positive proposals which would have benefited residents and visitors alike.
We are realistic enough to know that we cannot achieve the better solution we proposed while we do not run the council. The Conservative amendment will be forced through by sheer weight of numbers.
We will vote against the Conservative proposal to water down our motion, though we will support the motion when it has been amended because it’s better than nothing.
But we will commit to revisiting this as and when we lead East Cambridgeshire District Council, and we promise the people of East Cambridgeshire that we will be better than this.
The rate of inflation rose to 9.1 per cent in May, according to the latest Office of National Statistics figures. Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Christine Jardine MP responds.
“Rishi Sunak is standing by while millions of people suffer from eye-watering levels of inflation. He either hasn’t got any sense or any heart to not intervene.
“This Chancellor has hiked taxes time and time again, refusing to slash them to help with the cost of living emergency, even when we know slashing VAT is a sure-fire way to help families while keeping inflation under control.
“Instead the Chancellor, his Prime Minister and his colleagues continue to sit on their hands while the country suffers. They are not fit for purpose.”
