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:

1. Work with businesses and others across East Cambridgeshire to identify premises where a Changing Places toilet could be installed.
2. Collaborate with them to seek grants or other funding.
3. Signpost Changing Places toilets for the benefit of visitors.
4. Ask retailers and leisure outlets to sign their toilets in line with Crohn’s & Colitis UK guidance.
5. 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.”

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

22/00702/CLP
Mepal
47 Laurel Close Mepal CB6 2BN
Construction of single-storey rear 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);
• by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
• or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

As temperatures rise this week, Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service is reminding residents of important fire and water safety advice.

See their full advice here including how to prevent outdoor fires, and being ‘water aware’ at stretches of open water.

Fire chiefs also recommend downloading the free what3words app so that emergency services can locate you in case of difficulty.

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

22/00598/RMA
Coveney
Meadow Croft Lodge 10A Gravel End Coveney CB6 2DN
Approval of the details for reserved matters for appearance, landscaping, layout and scale in respect of Plot 1 of planning application 18/01302/OUT.

22/00509/FUL
Coveney
9B Main Street Coveney CB6 2DJ
Change of use from tourist accommodation to residential dwelling (retrospective).

22/00514/FUL
Little Downham
33 Main Street Pymoor CB6 2ED
Single storey rear extension.

22/00529/FUL
Little Downham
Paddock Lodge 2A Black Bank Road Little Downham
Proposed rear extension with mezzanine floor, revised scheme of previously approved 21/01405/FUL.

22/00671/FUL
Mepal
22 High Street Mepal CB6 2AW
Demolition of existing rear extension, construction of new ground floor rear extension, infill side extension, first floor extension above existing garage, garage conversion, and replacing garage door with window.

22/00663/FUL
Sutton
27 Mepal Road Sutton CB6 2PZ
Raised height of dwelling, installation of new first floor windows, and single storey rear extension.

22/00665/FUL
Sutton
24 The Brook Sutton CB6 2PU
Front porch, two storey side and rear extension, single storey rear extension, and extended outbuilding.

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

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

22/00649/FUL
Witcham
5B Martins Lane Witcham CB6 2LB
Construction of partially single and partially two storey rear 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);
• by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
• or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

As part of its #LetsGetOutdoors campaign, Cambridgeshire County Council is encouraging nature enthusiasts to send in photos of their local green spaces.

The best entries will feature on the new Cambs Open Space website. The top three photos will also earn rewards from the National Trust and Nene Park.

The new photo competition will run from 19 May to 23 June, with the National Trust offering a pair of tickets to Winter Lights at Anglesey Abbey, and a boat trip for four people at Wicken Fen. Nene Park Trust is offering a private trip on board their very own electric boat, Wyndham – an opportunity to take an otter’s-eye view of Nene Park, its thriving wildlife and inspiring landscape, for up to twelve people.

Other entries will also feature on the Cambs Open Space website and up to three runners-up will be offered a poster copy of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough GreenGround Map showing the network of parks and open spaces in the county.

• Photos must be of parks and open spaces in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
• Please avoid any pictures which involve faces of adults and children.
• Please provide a name and location of the park or open space photographed.

Photos should be sent to FutureParks@Cambridgeshire.gov.uk and the winning entries will be judged by local nature experts.

The new national Boiler Upgrade Scheme is now open to homeowners in England and Wales.

£5,000 grants are available to fit clean heating systems when homeowners come to replace their oil and gas boilers. The scheme has a committed budget of £450 million over three years from 2022 to 2025.

Homeowners can check their eligibility for the scheme, which covers air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, and biomass boilers.

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

22/00496/FUL
Little Downham
43 Ely Road Little Downham CB6 2SN
One holiday lodge to be used as a holiday let.

22/00626/FUL
Sutton
121-123 High Street Sutton CB6 2NR
Nine dwellings, garages, and associated works following the demolition of the existing dwellings.

22/00608/FUL
Witchford
114 Main Street Witchford CB6 2HP
Change of use from post office to health and beauty salon.

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

• Drivers shelling out £44 per tank on taxes as petrol prices soar
• Brits paying more in taxes per tank than most European countries
• New poll finds one in two blame government for petrol price rises

British drivers are paying £44 in tax on petrol every time they fill up their car, new figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

Most motorists in the UK are forking out more in taxes per tank for petrol than most other European countries, including Ireland, Italy and Spain. Meanwhile diesel drivers are paying over £45 in taxes per tank, more than anywhere else in Europe.

Brits paid 80p a litre in taxes on unleaded petrol in April 2022 as prices continue to soar. For a typical car with a 55 litre tank, the Treasury is cashing in on £44 each time someone fills up at the petrol pump. Even after Rishi Sunak’s fuel duty cut, people were paying 55p more in taxes each time they filled their car than last April, and £2.20 more than two years ago.

The research is based on official figures published this week by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. These show the price of unleaded petrol in the UK compared to other European countries in April 2022.

Half of all voters blame Government

A new poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed one in two (52 per cent) blame the Government for rising petrol prices.  The polling even finds one in three (33 per cent) Conservative voters blame the Government for high petrol prices. Two in three (67 per cent) Labour voters and more than one in two (55 per cent) Liberal Democrats agree. 

Liberal Democrats say the figures show that the Chancellor is ‘cashing in’ from soaring prices at the pumps. The party is calling for an emergency cut to VAT to 17.5 per cent, saving families an average of £600 a year by slashing prices in the shops and at the petrol pump.

“It is rural communities I fear for most”

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Hard-pressed families and pensioners are facing a summer of agony at the petrol pump. Meanwhile Rishi Sunak is cashing in as drivers fork out over £40 a tank in taxes. It is rural communities I fear for most with fuel prices at record highs. Those commuting longer distances to work are seeing more of their income go on fuel just as the cost of living crisis worsens. 

“Conservative ministers have been a complete shambles on this. This Government is arrogantly refusing to cut VAT, just like they refused for months to put a windfall tax on oil companies. This tax cut must be their next U-turn.” 

Note: Savanta ComRes interviewed 2,674 UK adults aged 18+ online between 20 and 23 May 2022. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK by age, sex, region and social grade.