Congratulations to Sutton Scouts on the approval of their plans for a replacement Scout Hut at Sutton Gault! Fantastic news for the Scouts and for the village as a whole.

How do we reduce congestion, improve air quality, and provide better public transport in and around Cambridge?

That is the question the Greater Cambridge Partnership is asking, following its initial gauging of public opinion earlier this year called Choices for Better Journeys.

A group of people will come together for four days in September and October at the Greater Cambridge Citizens’ Assembly and help solve this key issue for the area. They will hear evidence, work with other participants and come up with recommendations. They will have the opportunity to meet with individuals from all walks of life who live and travel regularly within Greater Cambridge, have discussions and hear from expert speakers. Their recommendations will be presented to the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s Joint Assembly and Executive Board shortly before Christmas.

Potential members of the Citizens’ Assembly will be chosen through a ‘civic lottery’. Invitations will be posted to households in the area randomly selected from the postcode database. From those who register interest, a sample is randomly selected which resembles the local population in miniature (e.g. by age, area, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic group). 

In the meantime, there are a number of ways to get involved with the Greater Cambridge Citizens’ Assembly.

• Now to 31 July: Calls for Evidence – suggest what evidence you think the Citizens’ Assembly should consider. This will be considered by the Advisory Group to ensure the evidence the Assembly hears is fair and balanced. The evidence survey is already online here.
• 1 August – 31 August: Share your Travel Stories – let the organisers know your personal experiences of travel within Greater Cambridge (good and bad) and what you would like to see changed.
• 1 August – 31 August: Apply to be an Observer – there are a limited number of spaces for members of the public to come and observe the Citizens’ Assembly in action. Parts of the Assembly will also be live streamed.

For more information about the Citizens’ Assembly, call 01223 699906 or email contactus@greatercambridge.org.uk Further details are also available at
https://consultcambs.uk.engagementhq.com/greater-cambridge-citizens-assembly

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

19/00915/FUL
Little Downham
3 Acred Close Little Downham CB6 2SE
Proposed two storey rear extension.

19/00890/OUT
Little Downham
Land south-west of 1 Straight Furlong Pymoor
Outline permission for three detached two-storey dwellings.

19/00906/FUL
Little Downham
Site adjacent to 10 Pymoor Lane Pymoor
Construction of two-storey detached house .

19/00948/FUL
Little Downham
24 Straight Furlong Pymoor CB6 2EG
Single storey rear extension and creation of a first floor and new access.

19/00968/FUL
Little Downham
70 Cannon Street Little Downham CB6 2SS
Construction of child’s timber climbing frame, swing and slide with raised platform / fort .

19/00799/OUT
Mepal
Horticultural site between 8 and 14 Bridge Road Mepal
Construction of two detached dwellings.

19/00830/OUT
Mepal
Site north-west of 16 Bridge Road Mepal
Construction of two four-bedroom detached dwellings.

19/00918/FUL
Sutton
122 High Street Sutton CB6 2NW
Proposed rear extension/sun room and front extension.

19/00931/FUL
Sutton
3 Nunns Way Sutton CB6 2PH
Existing gym/store to be used as ancillary accommodation.

19/00926/AGN
Witcham
Site north of 6 The Green Wardy Hill
Proposed grain store.

19/00947/FUL
Witchford
4 Sedgeway Business Park Witchford CB6 2HY
Change of use from B1 to D2 assembly and leisure, for use as an aerial dance and fitness/yoga studio.

19/00962/FUL
Witchford
1 Elm Close Witchford CB6 2JH
Garage conversion with pitched roof, internal and external 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.

The county council’s Commercial & Investment Committee met this morning, and in a rare outbreak of unanimity every decision was taken without a dissenting voice.

The committee agreed:

• To proceed with the procurement of a new contract for water and sewerage services for the council next year, with the aim of saving money over its 160 premises, the opportunity of better data about water usage, and optional services to help reduce water consumption;
• To renew the county council’s electricity supply contract with ESPO, the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation of which the council is a member;
• To retain the council’s three Outdoor Centres (at Grafham Water, Stibbington, and Burwell House) and put in place a business improvement plan to move them from deficit to surplus – a welcome reprieve when earlier options included the possibility of closure of one or even all the centres;
• To proceed cautiously with the next stages of the development of a proposal for North Angle Solar Farm – though we agreed to my colleague’s suggestion that we should also ensure the council’s new Energy Working Group kept this under review, in view of increasing connection costs and reduced expected returns;
• To approve a one-year extension to the council’s Energy Efficiency Fund.

We were concerned at the failure to set a date for the committee’s quarterly meeting with the council’s development company This Land. And Cambridgeshire Music attended at our request to explain their overspend on last year’s budget – a very large percentage overspend indeed, but of a comparatively small part of the council’s overall financial commitments.

Mepal Parish Council heard tonight from property consultants Plansurv and not-for-profit housing provider Havebury about their interest in developing land at Brick Lane Mepal for around 55 affordable homes.

No planning application has yet been submitted, and is unlikely to be before the autumn. However, there were already a number of questions from residents, in particular:

1. Can the access be from Witcham Road rather than along Brick Lane, perhaps with traffic lights to control traffic?
2. Why has the design changed so that instead of the green space being in the centre for children to play, it’s now dispersed around the outside of the site?
3. Will there be funding for local schools from the development?
4. What will the parking provision be like?
5. Why is it proposed to remove the hedging along Brick Lane and replace it with alternative planting?
6. How long will the construction period be, and how will the site be managed to minimise disruption?

The Brick Lane site was in the council’s emerging local plan as a site for 50 homes. However, the council abandoned its own plan earlier this year. This means the plan currently in force is the old 2015 local plan, which doesn’t allocate Brick Lane for development, and which draws the development envelope around the village to exclude it.

This means any proposal for housing here will come to the council as a departure from the local plan, and will need some very convincing reasons if it is to go ahead.

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority has launched a consultation on its draft Local Transport Plan.

The consultation is seeking views on the future of transport in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over the next 30 years, as well as the priority transport schemes proposed by the Combined Authority.

The consultation period runs until Friday 27 September. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback by email or by completing an online questionnaire. A number of meetings are also taking place around Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The remaining dates are as follows:

• Peterborough: Thursday 4 July, 3:00PM-8:00PM, Peterborough Town Hall
• Cambourne: Saturday 6 July, Cambourne Library
• Cambridge: Thursday 11 July, 1:00PM – 6:00PM, Cambridge Central Library, Lion Yard
• Whittlesey: Friday 12 July, 3:00PM-8:00PM, Whittlesey Library
• Huntingdon: Saturday 13 July, 10:00AM-3:00PM, Huntingdon Library
• Peterborough: Tuesday 16 July, 3:00PM-8:00PM, Peterborough Town Hall
• Cottenham: Thursday 18 July, 3:00PM-7:30PM, Cottenham Community Centre Coffee Shop
• Ely: Saturday 20 July, 10:00AM-3:00PM, Ely Library
• Cambridge: Wednesday 24 July, 2:00PM-7:00PM, Cambridge Central Library, Lion Yard
• St Ives: Thursday 25 July, 3:00PM-8:00PM, St Ives Free Church
• March: Saturday 27 July, 10:00AM-3:00PM, March Library
• Peterborough: Saturday 7 September, 10:00AM-3:00PM, Peterborough Town Hall
• Chatteris: Wednesday 11 September, 3:00PM-8:00PM, Chatteris Council Chamber
• Cambridge: Saturday 14 September, 10:00AM-3:00PM, Cambridge Central Library, Lion Yard

To find out more, and to read the draft Local Transport Plan click here.

If you would like a copy of the Local Transport Plan on audio cassette, in Braille, in large print, or in another language please contact LTP@cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk

A Frequently Asked Questions page for the Local Transport Plan can be found here. 

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

19/00785/FUL
Little Downham
Agricultural Building Pymore Lane Farm Pymoor Lane Pymoor
Demolition of existing agricultural building, erection of two-bedroom dwelling and temporary siting of mobile home (part retrospective).

19/00812/FUL
Little Downham
15 Second Drove Little Downham CB6 2UD
Extension to existing property – revised scheme resubmission of previously refused 18/01496/FUL.

19/00826/FUL
Mepal
Land west of Whitegate Farm Witcham Road Mepal
Demolition of two nissen huts, construction of two dwellings with associated parking and amenity area.

19/00804/FUL
Witchford
Land parcel between Grannys End Road and A142 off Marroway Lane Witchford
Erection of four detached dwellings with detached garages, car parking and associated amenity space.

19/00866/AGN
Witchford
Ivydene Grunty Fen Road Witchford
Steel framed portal general purpose agricultural building.

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.

19/00782/FUL
Mepal
3A Rectory Fields Mepal CB6 2BT
Single storey extension to rear.

19/00734/FUL
Sutton
Site west of Crown Yard Depot Station Road Sutton
Proposed eight containers and yards.

19/00777/FUL
Witchford
Georjon 21 Main Street Witchford
Single storey extension to front.

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.

19/00711/FUL
Coveney
Site east of 9 Main Street Wardy Hill
Construction of a three bedroom, two-storey detached dwelling, remodelled access and associated works.

19/00653/FUL
Little Downham
2 Third Drove Little Downham CB6 2UE
Construction of one four-bedroom, two-storey detached property and associated works.

19/00685/FUL
Little Downham
24 and 26 Main Street Little Downham CB6 2ST
Construction of a two-storey rear extension to 24 and 26 and alter the boundary line of the fence.

19/00698/FUL
Little Downham
67 and 71 Main Street Pymoor CB6 2DY
Installation of new gates, erection of summerhouse to no 71 and installation of hedgerow and post and wire fence to form part of northern boundary to no 67.

19/00725/FUL
Mepal
Pond Farm 3 High Street Mepal
Proposed side and rear single-storey extension, new front porch and detached carport.

19/00769/FUL
Mepal
Site south of 20 Brangehill Lane Mepal
Proposed four-bedroom dwelling.

19/00745/OUT
Mepal
The Granary Whitegate Farm Witcham Road Mepal
Demolition of existing structures and erection of up to three dwellings with parking and associated works.

19/00747/FUL
Sutton
66 St Andrews Close Sutton CB6 2QX
Internal first floor alterations and external elevational changes.

19/00754/OUM
Witchford
Site north of 196-204 Main Street Witchford
Outline planning application with all matters reserved (except for access) for up to 44 residential dwellings, new internal access road and footpaths, open space, sustainable urban drainage system and associated landscaping, infrastructure and earthworks.

19/00741/FUL
Witchford
Site to rear of 32-33 Manor Close Witchford
Proposed three-bedroom dwelling (resubmission of previous application 17/02076/FUL).

19/00676/FUL
Witchford
Land south of Mills Barn Mills Lane Witchford
Construction of equestrian building comprising stable, feed/tack room, hay loft, horse trailer store for personal use only.

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.