Recent planning applications

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

20/00408/FUL
Little Downham
Head Fen Farm Head Fen Pymoor
Change of use from agricultural barn to residential storage (retrospective).

20/00670/FUL
Sutton
102 High Street Sutton CB6 2NW
To erect log cabin in garden of dwelling to be used as an annexe.

20/00677/FUL
Witchford
27 Common Road Witchford CB6 2HY
Single storey extension to side and rear and re-location of existing conservatory as a greenhouse in rear garden.

20/00364/FUL
Wentworth
Sunny Acre Main Street Wentworth
Construction of one four-bed bungalow – resubmission of previously withdrawn 19/01319/FUL.

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.

Guide to local shopping as stores reopen from Monday

Banking, Business, Button, Card, Cashless, Commercial

Many non-essential retail businesses will be reopening their doors from Monday 15 June – and Enterprise East Cambs has published an online guide to help shoppers plan their trips.

The guide offers general information about how to shop safely, as well as details of which businesses will be reopening in Ely, Littleport and Soham along with their opening hours, contact details, how many people are allowed in at once, and whether contactless payment is available.

Histon Road (Cambridge) closure

Works on Histon Road Cambridge have reached their next phase which will require the closure of Histon Road to inbound motor traffic from Monday 29 June.

While the temporary closure is in place, Histon Road will be one-way, outbound only for all motor traffic. Cyclists and pedestrians will still be able to travel both ways on Histon Road throughout the roadworks period.

The road will be closed from just south of the King’s Hedges Road junction. This will allow inbound traffic to access King’s Hedges Road, and construction and farm traffic to enter the Darwin Green site.

Access to properties along Histon Road and its side roads will remain open at all times. For residents and businesses on the closed side of the road access will be permitted via site access points.

While the road is closed the diversion route will be via the A14, Milton Road and Victoria Road and will be signposted along the route as well as on the wider road network.

For more details about these works by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, visit https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/transport/transport-projects/histon-road/histon-road-construction

Bus pass time changes in Cambridgeshire

If you live in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough and have a bus pass, the times you can use it will change from next week.

At the start of the lockdown in March, both Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council worked with operators to allow concessionary bus passes to be used before 9:30AM. This meant bus pass holders were able to get to supermarkets early, and older residents were able to take advantage of the the reserved shopping slots offered to them at the time.

However, many more businesses will be reopening on 15 June. With more people likely to be using the buses, which are fewer than they were before the pandemic, along with the need to maintain social distancing, bus operators will no longer accept concessionary passes before 9:30AM from Monday 15 June onwards.

In addition, wearing face masks on public transport will become compulsory from Monday 15 June. Further details are on the Government’s website.

Recent planning applications

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

20/00649/FUL
Coveney
2A & 2B Main Street Coveney CB6 2DJ
Pair of wooden five bar gates across shared access to Plots 1 and 2 – see 16/00965/FUL (retrospective).

20/00591/FUL
Little Downham
Land rear of The Rectory Main Street Little Downham
Conversion and extension of existing buildings to form one dwelling and construction of four new dwellings.

20/00653/OUT
Mepal
Land north of The Old Barn 13 Bridge Road Mepal
Outline for appearance, layout and scale of three-bedroom, 1.5 storey, detached 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);
  • by email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
  • or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE.

Covid-19 in Cambridgeshire: figures to 2 June 2020

This week’s headlines, courtesy of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Public Health intelligence team.

  • There have been 1,196 laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Cambridgeshire – an increase of 74 since last week. That’s 183.6 per 100,000 population, still considerably less than the England average of 273.2. East Cambridgeshire still has the lowest rate in the county, with 113 confirmed cases – and has had the lowest rate in Cambridgeshire since the week beginning 2 March. (Of course this only relates to tested and confirmed cases – the real figure will be far higher).
  • The cumulative rate of confirmed cases per 100,000 population in Huntingdonshire is still the highest in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and higher than the East of England average.
  • The trend in ‘all cause’ deaths is down overall and in every district in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Trends in Covid-19 deaths alone are also down, though the trend in Fenland and Huntingdonshire is flatter than elsewhere in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
  • 31 deaths related to Covid-19 occurred among Cambridgeshire and Peterborough residents in the week ending 22 May. 10 of these occurred in Fenland, nine in Huntingdonshire, and seven in Peterborough.
  • Of all the districts in Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire have had the highest number of care home outbreaks, at 34 and 33 homes respectively, but Cambridge has the highest proportion (73.3 per cent) of care homes reporting an outbreak. The overall percentage of care homes in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough reporting an outbreak is higher than the East of England average.
  • The Care Quality Commission was notified of 309 deaths from all causes in Cambridgeshire care homes between 10 April and 29 May 2020, compared to 277 up to the end of the previous week. 99 of those deaths were Covid-19 related.

Widen My Path

Bicycles, Bikes, Cycle, Row, Cycling, Baskets, Retro

Where should the Council make more space for walking & cycling, for physical distancing?

CycleStreets, a not-for-profit social enterprise based in Cambridge, has created an interactive map for residents to suggest where safer provision for cyclists and pedestrians is needed. You can add your own idea for your village or a nearby village or town, or upvote an existing idea.

I’ll be encouraging the Council to consider these suggestions, as well as the results of its own recent bus, cycling, and walking surveys.

Widen My Path is at https://www.widenmypath.com/

Black Lives Matter

Today I joined Liberal Democrat councillors from across Cambridgeshire in a virtual demonstration of support for Black Lives Matter.

The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of the police has caused many of us to ‘check our privilege’ and to stand up with people of colour around the world against racism, prejudice, and discrimination.

It was particularly shocking therefore to see on this very day footage emerge from not seven miles away, of a law-abiding black man being stopped by police in King’s Avenue Ely five years ago and asked to provide identification, on the grounds that ‘young black men were coming up from London’ to deal drugs.

My colleague Cllr Matt Downey in Ely has taken up the issue, and I wrote to the Chief Constable, who replied to say that he and his team will be reviewing the circumstances. I await the outcome of that review with interest.

COVID-19 track and trace: be alert for scams

Internet, Computer, Screen, Monitor, Www, Communication

Scammers are already on the prowl purporting to be from the forthcoming Track & Trace system, and trying to part people from their money or personal data.

In some cases they are calling people saying that they’ve been in contact with someone with COVID-19 symptoms, and need to pay a large amount of money for a test by giving their credit card details over the phone.

Having seen a number of messages on social media describing these attempts, I’ve alerted the County Council’s community protection manager.

A message will be going out to Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Against Scams Partnership (CAPASP), supporters, No Cold Calling Zone coordinators, and on social media to warn about this and with advice to avoid becoming a victim.

Remember:

  • The genuine Track & Trace is free of charge.
  • Look out for these coronavirus scams (from Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert web site).

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries raised eyebrows a few days ago when she claimed that it would be obvious that calls would be from the official Track & Trace operation because they would sound ‘professional’.

Scammers are professionals too, and very skilled at what they do.

Birth registrations in Cambridgeshire to open up again

Baby, Baby Girl, Sleeping Baby, Cute, Newborn, Naked

Cambridgeshire County Council registration services team is set to re start birth registrations from next week, in a way which meets coronavirus restrictions and keeps parents, their young babies and registration staff safe.

From today (Friday 5 June), parents will be able to call the Council’s Contact Centre on 0345 045 1363 to arrange a 30-minute birth registration appointment at Cambridge, Huntingdon, Ely or March. 

Opening hours are 8:00AM – 6:00PM Monday to Friday and 9:00AM – 1:00PM on Saturday. Initially all bookings will have to be made by phone. All appointments must be booked in advance with dedicated time slots, to ensure that social distancing and hygiene measures can be assured for everyone who attends.

Appointments will be available from Monday (8 June) onwards. Once booked you will receive a confirmation email giving you your dedicated time slot and the process to follow on arrival, which will include waiting outside the building. It is advised that everyone attending wears a facemask or other suitable face covering while on site.

Priority will be given to parents of babies who were born in February, March or April, and the registration service will seek to offer them an appointment as soon as possible, over the next four to six weeks.

Parents whose babies were born in May or June will be booked for mid-July onwards. If you are one of these the council would ask you to wait for at least a fortnight before phoning to book your appointment.

The baby and any other children should not be brought to the registration offices. If you are married, only one parent should attend; if you are not married and the mother wants to include the natural father’s details then both parents will need to attend.

If either parent is in the shielded group, or you have no-one to look after the baby and any other children, you will need to book an appointment for August. You can use the NHS number given when your baby is born to claim child benefit and other government benefits until the registration can take place.

If you book an appointment and begin to display coronavirus symptoms, or are contacted by the new Test and Trace service and are asked to isolate because you have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, you must call and move your appointment.

Staff will be able to deal only with customers who have a pre-booked appointment and at the time offered, so you will need to be prompt, and not arrive without an appointment.

As a safety precaution, the service will not be handling cash so only card payments for certificates (£11 each) will be accepted. You can get someone else to do this on your behalf if you have no debit or credit card.

More details can be found on Cambridgeshire County Council’s website