From Thursday (19 November) a local contact tracing service will launch in Cambridgeshire, to reach people whom the national system staffed by Serco has failed to contact.

Cambridgeshire’s local councils will be contacting people who have tested positive for COVID, giving them help, advice, and support to self-isolate.

Council officers who have undergone special training will follow up on people who have tested positive but have not responded to the national service, and will ask them for details of their close contacts.

Initial contact will be by phone, text or email asking people to call a local number. If this fails, officers carrying council ID will make house to house visits to reach those people who have tested positive and will give advice and support. They will also be asked to share details of others they have been in contact with.

Anyone who has been contacted and is concerned about this can call the council or local community hub on 0345 045 5219 to check the identity of the tracer.

The local contact tracing service in Peterborough has been up and running since August and has been very successful in tracing people when the national service did not.

Support for people in self-isolation

Support is available for people who need to isolate and don’t have friends, family or neighbours to help.

• The network of council support hubs can help people get food and medicine, or even find volunteers to walk dogs. See also https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/content/community-support-group-details for details of local support groups in East Cambridgeshire.
• In addition, each district council is running a Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme which entitles people who meet certain criteria to a one-off payment of £500. (Those who don’t meet the criteria to claim from the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme, but are still adversely affected as a result of not being able to work, can apply for a £500 discretionary payment.) See https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/content/coronavirus-financial-assistance for more information in East Cambridgeshire.

Remember: no-one contacted by genuine Test and Trace staff will ever be asked for money or their bank details. Tests for Covid-19, whether at a mobile testing unit, official drive-through centres or elsewhere, or ordered online or by phone, are always entirely free.

Covid cases in schools week commencing 9 November

• Cambridge: 20  
• East Cambridgeshire: 12  
• Fenland: 8  
• Huntingdonshire: 19  
• Peterborough: 46
• South Cambridgeshire: 13  

Estimated cases in East Cambs Tuesday 17 November

From King’s College London COVID Symptom Study app

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

20/01480/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 roads and footpaths, open space, sustainable urban drainage system and associated landscaping, infrastructure and earthworks (resubmission of 19/00754/OUM)

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.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Independent Commission on Climate is carrying out a survey of public views – and there are just two days left to respond.

The survey closes at 5:00PM on Monday (16 November). It doesn’t take long to complete – just go to https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca-gov-uk-6985942.hs-sites.com/cpicc-have-your-say and answer the questions.

If you are a group or organisation with more to say, the Commission is also issuing a Call for Evidence.

A crossing at Lancaster Way that will address the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, and horse-riders could be on the cards, following pressure from many people including Ely Cycling Campaign, the British Horse Society, and Liberal Democrat councillors.

An amendment was proposed by Cllr Ian Manning (Lib Dem, Chesterton) at the meeting of the County Council’s Highways & Transport Committee on Tuesday 10 November. It means that the County Council will now ask the funders, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, for a ‘Pegasus’ crossing that can be used by horse-riders as well as walkers and cyclists – and liaise with Ely Cycling Campaign and the British Horse Society over the design and location.

This is what I said to the Committee to try to persuade them of the need for a better design than the dismal effort originally consulted on.

“The design for the Lancaster Way roundabout as published for consultation was clearly the wrong one, as evidenced by the fact that of those who expressed a view in the recent consultation, it was opposed by a 2:1 majority.

There are at least ten reasons why the junction design put out to consultation was the wrong choice, and why it received such a strong negative public response. I am conscious that I only have five minutes to address you, so I will narrow these down to the following.

The concept of ‘improvement’ of this roundabout has only ever been viewed through the prism of increasing capacity and speed for motor traffic. For pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians trying to cross busy lanes of traffic onto reduced verges, the original design self-admittedly makes matters worse.

If the promised additional jobs are created, most of those employees will travel by car as this is the mode the original design promotes, and because the roundabout will make active travel more difficult and more dangerous.

The original design ignores successful solutions implemented elsewhere in Cambridgeshire, including on the A1307 by Babraham Research Park.

It ignores the commitment of the Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan to active travel, the direction of the government’s Gear Change report, the National Planning Policy Framework, the district council’s Local Plan, and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2019 Summary for Policymakers, which all promote sustainable transport and reduction in car use.

And at a technical level it also fails to comply with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, and with Local Transport Note 1/20.

Fortunately the residents of East Cambridgeshire are more committed to sustainability than that, and have given the original design a big thumbs-down.

The report before you seeks to address the deficits in the original design, and the objections of consultation respondents, by adding a signalised crossing on the eastern arm of the roundabout. However, this is specified as a pedestrian crossing, offering little help for cyclists, and none whatever for equestrians needing to cross from livery facilities south of the A142.

A better solution, supported by both cyclists and equestrians, would be to place a crossing on the western arm of the roundabout, with a path on the north side of the roundabout to connect it with the existing path. This is a route already taken informally by a number of existing pedestrians and cyclists. This should be a Pegasus crossing, capable of accommodating cyclists and horse-riders as well as pedestrians, with push buttons high enough to be capable of being pressed by someone on horseback. Such a crossing has recently been installed at the Babraham Institute roundabout.

A Pegasus crossing on the western arm would at least demonstrate some alignment with the Combined Authority’s Local Transport Plan. It would also assist in furthering the aims of the Rights of Way Improvement Plan, reconnecting pre-existing paths bisected by the A142, and offering entry from south of the A142 into the triangle between Mepal, Ely and Pymoor which has enormous potential for leisure and other uses.

An amendment to provide a Pegasus crossing to the western arm of the roundabout, rather than a pedestrian crossing to the eastern arm, is absolutely critical in addressing the objections that have been made to the original design. It has the support of local representatives of the British Horse Society, as well as of the Ely Cycling Campaign, and I would urge members to amend the recommendation to this effect. The Council should then work with local equestrian and cycling representatives on the design of such a crossing to ensure it is fit for purpose.

Finally, the recent works to the BP roundabout at the junction of A10 and the A142 have caused months of misery to residents on unofficial cut-through routes both north and south of the A142. I would ask officers to liaise with affected residents and parish councils at the earliest opportunity to discuss working practices and how residents can be protected as far as possible from the negative effects of these road works while they are ongoing.”

Cambridgeshire Lib Dems are calling on the ruling Conservative group on Cambridgeshire County Council to listen to the views of road users other than car drivers, and move the location of a pedestrian crossing on the Lancaster Way business park roundabout in Ely.

Further, given the number of equestrians in the area, the type should be a ‘Pegasus’ crossing – accommodating horse riders as well as cyclists and pedestrians.

A decision on the roundabout design is to be made at tomorrow’s (Tuesday 10th November) meeting of the Highways & Transport Committee of the County Council. 

Cllr Lorna Dupré, County Councillor for the neighbouring parish of Witchford, said: 

“The proposals initially put out to consultation prioritised motor traffic, making this roundabout actively hostile to pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. They should not go ahead in that form.

”The revised proposal to be put to the Highways & Transport Committee tomorrow simply adds signals to the existing pedestrian crossing to the east of the roundabout. This isn’t good enough, and doesn’t meet the needs of cyclists or of horse-riders using the livery yards near the roundabout.

”A Pegasus crossing to the west of the roundabout would be better for all road users.”

Regardless of the improvement of moving the crossing, concerns remain, explained Lib Dem highways lead Cllr Ian Manning:

“The original design was opposed by the majority of people who responded to the consultation, because it so completely failed to meet highways standards, planning guidance, or the Local Transport Plan adopted by the Combined Authority which is paying most of the costs of the scheme. 

“Its primary aim was to improve capacity and speed for cars, whereas the Local Transport Plan requires the needs of walkers, cyclists, and horse-riders to be prioritised.

”Combined Authority and County Council Conservatives need to move beyond lip-service, and start practising what they preach.”

Cllr Manning will be moving an amendment at the meeting to move the location of the crossing to the west side of the roundabout.

The decision on Lancaster Way is to be debated at tomorrow’s Highways & Transport Committee of the County Council https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/ccc_live/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/1533/Committee/62/SelectedTab/Documents/Default.aspx

Cllr Manning’s amendment will read (additions in bold):

Approve the addition of a signalised pegasus crossing to the west of the roundabout within the scope of the project and cover this with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority through a change request. Officers should consult with Ely Cycling Campaign and the British Horse Society on the design of the crossing.

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

20/01421/FUL
Little Downham
14 Second Drove Little Downham CB6 2UD
Change of use of existing agricultural storage shed from agriculture to a mixed use of agriculture and vehicle servicing and repairs (retrospective).

20/01360/FUL
Sutton
33 Bellairs Sutton CB6 2RW
Front porch and enclose area under the existing first floor extension.

20/01405/FUL
Witcham
Chestnut Lodge 3 Martins Lane Witcham
Single storey rear extension, garage conversion and loft conversion.

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.

Under the new COVID regulations Cambridgeshire County Council’s library service can no longer allow customers to come into libraries to browse and select their own books. The service will therefore be reverting to the arrangements offered over the summer lockdown.

• Opening hours: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/libraries-leisure-culture/libraries/visit-a-library
• Select and Collect – https://cambridgeshire-self.achieveservice.com/service/Select_and_Collect or call 0345 045 5225
• Select and Collect from Mobile Libraries
• Public Access to Computers on an appointment basis  Please book online or call 0345 045 5225
• Digital Services – https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/libraries-leisure-culture/libraries/library-online

The library service will not be charging for reservations and overdues.

East Cambridgeshire District Council is asking members of its Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities for feedback on the impacts of coronavirus on their everyday lives.

This follows a nationwide report by Public Health England which shows the disproportionate effect that COVID-19 has had on the BAME community and on existing health inequalities.

The survey, which will run until 18 November, seeks views from members of the BAME community in East Cambridgeshire, in order to gain a more comprehensive picture of the current situation and what additional support is needed.

The responses will be collated into a series of recommendations to the Council’s COVID-19 Working Party, which was established following a proposal by Liberal Democrat councillors.

The recommendations will then be referred to the Council’s Finance and Assets Committee.

Residents can take part in the survey online at https://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/community/bame-covid-19-survey

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s household recycling centres will remain open during lockdown under their existing health and safety measures.

The booking system for vehicles and trailers requiring e-permits at all sites remains in place, as does the requirement for booking for all vehicles at Alconbury, Bluntisham, Milton, St Neots, and Thriplow.

For full details, customer advice and links to the booking system visit https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/waste-and-recycling/household-recycling-centres 

From 1 January, business with countries in the European Union is going to get a whole lot more expensive and complicated.

East Cambridgeshire District Council’s business support unit Enterprise East Cambs now has a new web page about the end of the transition and what businesses will have to do https://www.enterpriseeastcambs.co.uk/uk-transition/changes-ahead.htm

And there’s also a link from that page to the Government’s master checklist of all the new forms, declarations, and everything else businesses will need to do if they want to keep doing business with our European neighbours https://www.enterpriseeastcambs.co.uk/ugc-1/1/2/0/Transition%20Period%20Master%20Checklist.pdf

Bonus!