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)
The East Cambridgeshire Community Fund grant application window will be open between Monday 17 January and Monday 21 February 2022.
The intention is to support the development of new or existing community services and initiatives that improve the quality of life for residents in East Cambridgeshire.
The following planning applications in the Sutton division have been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.
21/01796/CLE Coveney Meadow Croft Lodge 10A Gravel End Coveney CB6 2DN Existing use as garden to 10A Gravel End.
21/01794/FUL Sutton The Anchor Bury Lane Sutton Change of use from Public House to flexible E[b] (Café), C1 (Guest House) and Sui Generis (Public House), associated alterations and infrastructure.
21/01776/FUL Witcham 24 High Street Witcham CB6 2LQ Construction of loft extension.
21/01789/FUL Witchford 15 Barton Close Witchford CB6 2HS Construction of single storey side extension, single storey rear infill extension and new front entrance door with canopy above.
Also of general interest is a major application 21/01692/ESF in Ely for ‘land south east [sic] of Cambridgeshire Business Park Angel Drove’. The application is for ‘construction of two food retail stores (Class E.a), six non food retail units (Class E.a), gym (Class E.d), one café/drive-thru (sui generis), petrol station and car wash (sui generis), hotel (C1), and ten units for B2/B8 (including ancillary office/trade counter), new vehicular access to Angel Drove, car and cycle parking, landscape works, internal roads, foot and cycle paths, ancillary and associated facilities and site infrastructure’.
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);
The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to set out a clear plan to keep schools open in January.
It comes following reports in the Sunday Times that Boris Johnson has committed to keeping schools open, without making clear what mitigation measures will be put in place to keep Covid cases down.
Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:
“Our children have been failed again and again throughout this pandemic by Boris Johnson’s government. Of course schools should stay open but he needs to explain how and with what help for teachers and parents.
“From air purifiers to rolling out the vaccine to teenagers, this government has dragged its feet. Ministers must set out a clear plan to reassure families that schools will be kept open, instead of making yet more empty promises.”
Lib Dem Education spokesperson Munira Wilson MP tells the Government it has a week to act before schools reopen
Liberal Democrats estimate that putting an air purifier in every classroom in England would cost around £140 million, around half the price of Boris Johnson’s pet project – the new £250 million Royal Yacht.
The cost would also be a fraction of Government expenditure on a botched Test and Trace system and dodgy PPE contracts.
At present, Government guidance suggests that teachers should open external windows and internal doors to improve “natural ventilation” and schools “should balance the need for increased ventilation while maintaining a comfortable temperature” – difficult to do during the cold winter months.
With criminal record checks acting as a brake on moves to get retired teachers to return to the classrooms, and barely half of teenagers yet to receive one jab, the dangers of schools remaining closed at the beginning of January are acute.
Instead of a proper solution – purifying the air – the Department for Education has made CO2 monitors their target. While the monitors give useful information on where more air flow is needed, they do not fix the problem in themselves – especially when it is cold outside and opening a window does not solve the issue.
To add insult to injury, the DfE has opened a “market place” for Dyson purifiers that are six times the price of others on the market. But the DfE has still not agreed to pay for them.
Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Munira Wilson MP, said:
“Failure to act right now will fail our children in the future. The Government has a week to solve this, otherwise pupils will be left out in the cold and missing out on vital learning once again.
“Whether it’s ineffective CO2 monitors or pitiful catch-up funding, this is a Government that has time and time again wholesale abdicated their responsibility to our children, failing to make their education a priority and falling short with a plan for keeping our schools open.
“Teacher absences and school closures at the end of the Autumn term provided the clearest warning that Boris Johnson’s Government needed to show leadership and take urgent action. They have failed with all hands on all fronts.
“It is only a year ago that Gavin Williamson presided over the greatest superspreader event of the year, by sending our children back to school for one day then shutting them out. We must avoid a repeat of that fiasco at all costs.
“Nadhim Zahawi gave a cast-iron guarantee that schools would stay open. Unless he gets a grip on this quickly, he will be adding to the countless broken promises from this Government. Worse still, he will be breaking a promise to all our children.”
Here’s the latest update from the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group on how the Covid booster programme is going.
They say: “The team responsible for delivering COVID-19 booster vaccinations to people across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has been working around the clock to increase appointments available since the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday.
In the first three days of this week alone we have already increased the number of vaccines delivered across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough by 60%, compared to the week prior, and over 2,000 people were vaccinated at Queensgate Centre Vaccination Centre yesterday alone. We will be ramping up even further over the coming days, opening up even more appointments for people to book their boosters.
So far, over 90% of people aged 70 and over (who are eligible for their booster) in our area have had their booster, with thousands of people booked in each day to get vaccinated.
Our hospital hubs have all reopened, our Primary Care Network sites are vaccinating again, our large vaccination centres have increased their capacity and are looking to go further, and our community pharmacies are delivering vaccinations in locations at the very heart of our local communities.
We remain focused on delivering vaccinations to those most at risk from COVID-19, with our Primary Care Networks and community provider colleagues continuing to deliver vaccinations to our housebound patients, as well as those living in care and nursing homes.
The new guidance announced on Wednesday that people no longer have to wait in the vaccination centre for 15 minutes following their vaccination means we can increase capacity further. People will be given an explanatory leaflet telling them what to look out for if they feel unwell after their vaccination. People are also advised not to drive for 15 minutes after their vaccination due to a risk of fainting.
At this moment in time, we are not offering boosters on a walk-in basis to ensure that as many eligible people as possible can access boosters in a planned and managed way. However, patients who still haven’t had either their first and second dose can get them on a walk-in basis at a number of our larger centres, and we’re still seeing a good uptake of first and second doses each day. In the first four days of this week, over 1,200 people took up the offer to have their first dose in our area.
To ensure that as many pregnant or breastfeeding women can access the vaccination as possible, we have put in place Fast Pass arrangements that allow pregnant women and women who breastfeed to skip the queue.”
The CCG is still recruiting volunteers to support the biggest and fastest vaccination programme in the history of the NHS. If you are interested in volunteering do sign up via the Royal Voluntary Service website.
The following planning applications in the Sutton division have been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.
21/01643/FUL Sutton 16 Sutton Park Sutton CB6 2RP Garage conversion with internal and external alterations (re-submission of previously approved 21/01287/FUL).
21/01745/RMA Sutton 22 Link Lane Sutton CB6 2NF One dwelling.
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);
The following planning applications in the Sutton division have been published by East Cambridgeshire District Council.
21/01726/FUL Sutton Faerch Plast Elean Business Park Sutton To install portacabin buildings for a temporary period of 104 weeks to allow improvements to the existing welfare facilities.
21/01600/FUL Witchford Site west of 7-10 Skylarks Witchford Four single-storey affordable homes.
21/01735/FUL Witchford 153 Main Street Witchford CB6 2HP Single-storey front extension, first floor extension and conversion of garage.
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);
Covid cases in Cambridgeshire schools are now at their highest since the start of the pandemic.
Over the last month County Council officers have been busy interpreting Department for Education updates and sharing these with schools. This has included Ofsted deferral arrangements, information on new laptops for schools, funding for supply cover, and transport requirements.
The Council has also updated guidance for schools on attendance during this period of the pandemic.
The announcement from the Prime Minister on Wednesday has not fundamentally changed the approach for education. All secondary school age pupils will be tested when they return to school. Secondary schools will be allowed a staggered start for the first week of term. The impact of Omicron is likely to lead to further measures in schools and Council officers plan to brief heads early in the new term.
The County Council is allocating vouchers to eligible families on 17 December from the Household Support grant. Each eligible pupil will be allocated £30 for each eligible parent. The Council is issuing letters, and translating them into the languages spoken by the highest numbers of eligible families. Two of these translations were done by County Councillors.
In addition to the food vouchers, the Household Support Fund also offers help with food, energy bills and other essentials to those earning less than £17,940 or on certain benefits. More information about the Household Support Fund here.
The first example of a Roman crucifixion in the UK has been found in a Cambridgeshire village.
The remarkable and historically significant discovery was made during archaeological excavations carried out ahead of a new housing development in Fenstanton, situated between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Archaeologists investigating a previously unknown Roman roadside settlement, which includes five small cemeteries, discovered in one grave the remains of a man with a nail through his heel.
Only one previous example like this of crucifixion has been found worldwide, in Israel, although two possible instances have also been claimed in Italy and Egypt. However, the Fenstanton example is the best preserved.
The exciting discovery follows on from previous historically significant digs across Cambridgeshire in recent years which have uncovered preserved Bronze Age buildings and artefacts at Must Farm in Whittlesey, pristine prehistoric occupation sites and burial monuments in Needingworth Quarry, and new Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlements that emerged during the course of the recent A14 road improvement scheme around Cambridge.
The grave of the man who was crucified was discovered during excavations in advance of a new housing development by Tilia Homes (previously known as Kier Living) south of Cambridge Road. The excavation was led by David Ingham of Albion Archaeology.
Osteologist (human bone specialist) Corinne Duhig from Wolfson College, Cambridge, said: “The lucky combination of good preservation and the nail being left in the bone has allowed me to examine this almost unique example when so many thousands have been lost. “This shows that the inhabitants of even this small settlement at the edge of empire could not avoid Rome’s most barbaric punishment.”
Inside the cemeteries, 40 adults and five children were buried, with a specialist study showing that some family groups were present. The Roman graves, now fully excavated, also included a number of archaeologically significant artefacts.
The results of the excavation will be formally published when analysis of the site’s finds and evidence has been completed. Speaking for Cambridgeshire County Council’s Historic Environment Team, archaeologist Kasia Gdaniec said: “These cemeteries and the settlement that developed along the Roman road at Fenstanton are breaking new ground in archaeological research.
“Burial practices are many and varied in the Roman period and evidence of ante-or post-mortem mutilation is occasionally seen, but never crucifixion.
“We look forward to finding out more when the results are published. Hopefully, there will be a museum exhibit to showcase the remains soon, and we are working to arrange this. We are grateful to the developer for funding these important investigations as part of their planning obligation.”
Chair of the council’s Environment & Green Investment Committee Cllr Lorna Dupré said: “This is yet another remarkable discovery in Cambridgeshire, proving once again what a rich history we have to share and helping to give the county international attention.
“I can’t wait to find out what the final results of the excavation will show, and we will look to find a permanent home for them so they can be put on display and inspire people for generations to come. “I would like to thank all involved in finding these artefacts and helping to preserve them.”
Background
Fenstanton is a quaint, historic roadside village whose High Street follows the route of the Via Devana, which linked the Roman towns of Cambridge and Godmanchester. In 2017, Albion Archaeology carried out excavations in advance of a new housing development by Tilia Homes (previously known as Kier Living), south of Cambridge Road. Some of the more noteworthy findings included enamelled brooches, large numbers of coins, decorated fine ware pottery and large amounts of animal bones displaying specialist butchery methods. These, along with a large building and formal yard or road surfaces, indicated the presence of an organised Roman settlement with obvious signs of trade and wealth. This settlement might have been maintained as a formal stopping place along the road to service travellers around which the village grew, and there is some evidence to suggest that it developed at a crossroads.
Forty adults and five children were buried in the five small cemeteries that dated to the third to fourth centuries AD, while three isolated burials and a cremation also occurred. Ancient DNA study of the skeletons identified only two family groups, despite this being a small rural settlement where you would expect many people to be related. A man and woman buried next to each other in one cemetery had a first-degree relationship – either as mother-son or as siblings – while two men in adjacent graves in another cemetery were second-degree relatives, so could be either half-siblings, uncle-nephew or grandfather-grandson.
Overall, the population had signs of poor body health, terrible dental disease and some showed signs of malaria. Evidence of physical trauma including fractures was also seen in most of the bodies. One particular skeleton of a man had been laid out in his grave like all the rest. However, a large iron nail penetrated the right heel bone (calcaneum) horizontally, exiting below the protrusion called the sustentaculum tali. His skeleton revealed other injuries and abnormalities that indicated he had suffered before he died, while his legs had signs of infection or inflammation caused by either a systemic disorder or by local irritation such as binding or shackles.
Although crucifixion was common in the Roman world, osteological evidence for the practice is unlikely to be found because nails were not always used and bodies might not appear in formal burial settings. Unlike the most famous Christian example of the crucifixion of Jesus, who was unusually nailed by his hands and feet to a cross, victims or prisoners were more commonly tied by the arms to the crossbar of a T-shaped frame called a patibulum and their legs braced and tied, sometimes nailed, to either side of the upright post. This was part of a cruel, ancient method of slow punishment of both miscreants of shameful crimes and a vast number of slaves who were crucified because of minor misdemeanours. This form of punishment was eventually abolished by Constantine I in the 4th Century AD.
Corinne has researched the evidence of crucifixion from this period around the world, finding only three other examples: one from La Larda in Gavello, Italy, one from Mendes in Egypt and one from a burial found at Giv‘at ha-Mivtar in north Jerusalem, found during building work in 1968. Only the last one is a convincing example of crucifixion, she said, because the right heel bone retained a nail which was in exactly the same position as that from the Fenstanton burial. It was usual practice to remove any nails after crucifixion for re-use, discard or use as amulets, but in this case the nail had bent and become fixed in the bone.
Cambridgeshire has been granted an extension of its Covid ‘Enhanced Response Area’ status for three weeks, to Christmas Eve.
This does not mean more restrictions for local residents than in the rest of England. But it does mean continued intervention in schools. 42 per cent of all Covid infections are in the 0-17 age group. It also means continued support for vaccination teams, contacting households in areas of low uptake. And Cambridgeshire has benefited from extra communications on preventing Covid spreading.
The application to extend the county’s status was made by the area’s Director of Public Health, supported by leading politicians. Work in schools will include identifying close and household contacts, and enabling daily rapid Covid testing, including in primary schools.
Vaccination uptake in 12–15 year olds has increased rapidly in most areas during the county’s ERA status. “Pre-ERA we were considerably below both the England and East of England average for the numbers of 12–15 year-olds who were vaccinated. Now all areas in Cambridgeshire are above the England average, and most are also above the East of England average too,” the Director of Public Health says.
“We are pleased this extension will allow us to continue measures that have only just got going and need longer. This will support schools where there are significant issues with Covid until the Christmas break, and continue to drive up vaccine uptake.”
