All 16- and 17-year-olds in England will be able to get a first Covid jab by Monday 23 August.

The Government decision gives teenagers two weeks to build up partial immunity before school starts in September.

About 100,000 eligible teenagers will receive texts inviting them to book at one of more than 800 local centres. NHS England also has a website to help locate the nearest available walk-in centre. Further sites will come online over the coming days and weeks.

Children aged 12 to 15 who are clinically vulnerable to Covid-19, or who live with adults at increased risk, will also be entitled to the vaccine. This group cannot attend walk-in centres. The NHS will invite them for a first dose by 23 August, ahead of the new school year.

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

21/01157/FUL
Little Downham
Land to the south of Caraby The Hythe Little Downham
Replacement of current stable block with new stable building.

21/01182/FUL
Little Downham
Replace timber windows to rear conservatory double glazed, replacement of single door to garden with timber double French door.

21/01043/ARN
Sutton
North Farm The Gault Sutton
Conversion of an agricultural building to form two single-storey dwellings.

21/01174/CLP
Sutton
The Grove Bury Lane Sutton
Proposed works to existing ancillary domestic outbuilding and internal works.

21/01178/FUL
Sutton
Deli@65 65 High Street Sutton
Alterations, new ducting system, odour control measures to existing café, and alterations and additions to form first floor flat, access, parking and site works.

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.

East Cambridgeshire District Council’s trading company has finally submitted a planning application to turn the much-loved Mepal Outdoor Centre into an unpopular and unwanted crematorium.

The application is being pushed through by Conservative councillors and will eventually be published on the council website. The Council’s planning department recently ruled that the application did not need an Environmental Statement.

Work began in secret on the crematorium proposals two and a half years ago, and was kept under wraps for over eighteen months. Conservative councillors deliberately held it back from the Council’s published plans so the public would not know it was happening. The ‘consultation’ that the Council published earlier this year was branded a sham by many residents, as it gave no opportunity to express any opposition to the crematorium.

The Council has spent nearly a quarter of a million pounds so far planning its crematorium. This is far in excess of the amount authorised by the Full Council in July 2020. The Council plans to spend a further £6.5 million on the building.

Developer contributions meant to improve local communities will instead be turned into what Conservative councillors hope will be a profit machine to subsidise council tax. However, the site of the proposed crematorium is just twelve minutes from the existing Fenland crematorium in March, and a new crematorium in Huntingdon will open later this year.

The eventual publication of the planning application will give local residents an opportunity to object to the application.

Well this is interesting. What is the carbon footprint of where we live?

The Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions has produced a new place-based carbon calculator. This looks at a single year in carbon emissions across England, to help us understand where our community’s footprint comes from, and how we can reduce it.

The latest available statistics are for 2018, and are calculated down to LSOA or ‘Lower Super Output Area’ level. That’s very local indeed – check your area and see!

The report card for the main part of Sutton looks like this (A+ is better than average, G- is worse than average).

The website compares your local area with the rest of the district, with England, and with similar areas. For the main part of Sutton, that comparison looks like this.

The horizontal black line represents the UK’s target footprint per person as set out in the Committee on Climate Change’s 6th Carbon Budget, which covers 2032 to 2037. So how do we reach there from here?

This looks to be a really useful tool for helping local communities consider their carbon footprint. That’s something I’m keen to do, and have already had conversations with County Council officers about.

The Wild World Heroes Summer Reading Challenge 2021 is here!

• Sign up now at your local library, mobile library or online
• Read amazing books
• Collect awesome rewards
• Discover ideas for taking care of our environment
• It’s free to take part!

Visit Summer Reading Challenge – Cambridgeshire County Council for more information and to sign up online.

Log on to the Wild World Heroes website for activities, games or ideas for what to read.

See Cambridgeshire Libraries Families Facebook page @CambslibFamilies for ideas of great activities you can join in with this summer.

On Wednesday 18 August a six-month Examination begins into Highways England proposals for a major road scheme on the A428 between the Black Cat roundabout south of St Neots and Caxton Gibbet.

The project involves a new 10-mile dual carriageway on the route between the two roundabouts, and a number of junction changes.

The scheme is classed as a National Significant Infrastructure Project, which means the application will be decided by the Planning Inspectorate, not by local councillors.

More information about the scheme is available at https://highwaysengland.co.uk/our-work/a428-black-cat-to-caxton-gibbet/

How Are You East Cambs (HAY) (click here for the link) is a new website which plans to lists everything in East Cambridgeshire that promotes positive physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

From activities and groups to yoga, singing, sports clubs, arts groups, and more – you can even find somewhere to talk, find a friendly face, or get a cup of tea.

So if you run an activity in East Cambridgeshire that you would like featured on the new site, please fill in this form.  It is free to list and will take about twenty minutes – time well spent to create a one stop shop for local community activity.

How Are You East Cambs is part of a collaboration between Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (NHS) Foundation Trust and Cambridgeshire County Council.

Interesting fact of the day: sixty years ago in 1961, one in four homes in the Ely Rural District of Cambridgeshire didn’t have an indoor toilet or a toilet attached to the building.

And nearly one in three homes didn’t have a fixed bath.

The old Ely Rural District (more or less) covered the current Sutton division, plus Haddenham and Wilburton, Stretham, and Littleport. (Area outlined in black below.)

Information courtesy of the Office for National Statistics.

Cambridgeshire County Council is working with an organisation called Community Catalysts to develop micro-enterprises delivering social care in our communities.

The Community Catalysts project is part of the wider Happy at Home project across East Cambridgeshire, which aims to support older people across the county to be happy at home for longer.

What is a micro-enterprise?

These micro-enterprises will be set up by local people who want to provide care and support where they live. They could be sole traders, co-operatives, or social enterprises. They may offer personal care at home, help in the home or garden, peer support groups, art classes – or just a friendly face, a cup of tea, and a chat.

Micro-enterprises encourage collaboration and involvement in the community. They contribute to local economies, and help those who would like to start up new social care businesses. Even if you don’t have a background in care, they can give you the chance to help others while earning a living. And if you need care at home, micro-enterprises offer ongoing personalised help delivered by members of their own community.

How do I get started?

Thinking of starting your own community micro-enterprise in East Cambridgeshire? Interested in finding out more? Help and support is at hand. The project will offer advice to existing enterprises, and practical support to those starting a new micro-enterprise.

Contact Debbie John, Project Manager, on 07990 515632 or get in touch by email.

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

21/01035/FUL
Little Downham
Land adjacent 2A Black Bank Road Little Downham
Proposed tractor store.

21/01129/FUL
Sutton
85 The Row Sutton CB6 2PB
Two-storey side extension and single-storey front extension.

21/01030/FUL
Witchford
23 Barton Close Witchford CB6 2HS
Single and two-storey side extensions and insertion of front and rear dormers to create a first floor.

21/01161/FUL
Witchford
167 Main Street Witchford CB6 2HP
Two-storey rear extension and front porch.

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.