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)
A survey has been launched asking parents how much they currently pay to access their funded childcare place.
It will help Cambridgeshire County Council understand and improve the local market for funded early years and childcare places – known by the Government as free childcare.
Parents and carers are encouraged to complete the survey on the Council website by Friday 28 April. The findings will feed into further work by the Council with early years providers, improved information for families, and future policies and guidance on funding, as well as feedback to central government. The survey can be found at https://forms.office.com/e/DbXa0VMyxe.
The—as yet unconfirmed, but almost certainly correct—rumour of the closure of the current GP practice operation at Priors Field in Sutton with effect from 31 March has come as a huge shock to the local community, including me as a patient as well as a local councillor.
Residents are clearly concerned, and have a number of questions, not all of which can be answered at this moment.
Cllr Mark Inskip and I have launched a petition to NHS England, and to Sutton’s MP (who also happens to be the Secretary of State for Health), calling on them to save GP services at Priors Field, which you can sign here. Please sign and share widely.
To be absolutely clear, neither Cllr Mark Inskip nor I had any prior notification of the closure, confidentially or otherwise. I learned the rumour from Facebook on Tuesday evening like most local residents. And at this stage, some of what follows can be based only on speculation. It is however the best information I have to date, and I have been in contact with the local Director of Public Health about the situation, asking her to clarify the processes involved.
The decision to cease a GP practice does not rest with the council, or with the Government, or even with the NHS. Under the legislation which created the NHS in 1948, GP practices are effectively small businesses contracting with the NHS, and are under no more responsibility to tell councillors about their plans than the local hairdresser or garage would be. Decisions about the business rest with the GP partners, and are theirs alone.
The decision of a GP practice to cease to operate from a premises does not automatically mean that there will no longer be GP provision from that premises. Firstly, the ownership of the building is a matter for the GP partners.
Secondly, the local Integrated Care Board is responsible for planning and delivering health and care services in Cambridgeshire, and I would expect them to be involved in helping to ensure ongoing health provision for local residents. Through the Chair and Vice Chair of the Adults & Health Committee of the County Council, I’m making contact with the Integrated Care Board to understand their input.
Thirdly, funding of primary care provision rests with NHS England, which is why the petition is addressed to them.
Questions have also been asked about the planning consent for expansion of the premises which was given by the council some while ago. The planning consent follows with the building, so whoever owns the building will be able to carry out the consented works so long as the planning permission has not run out. They can also seek to renew the consent if it runs out of time, or submit a fresh application for different works.
Other concerns have centred round the financial commitments sought from developers (Community Infrastructure Levy or CIL funding) towards health care in the village. As Cllr Mark Inskip has said on Facebook, East Cambs District Council maintains a list of infrastructure projects that will potentially benefit from this funding. One of the projects is the extension of Sutton surgery. If the development goes ahead, the contribution has to be made. The GP practice, whoever was running it, would need to apply to the district council to release those funds.
As a patient and a councillor, I am aware of the huge interest in this matter, and will provide updates as and when I receive them.
You can find further information on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, please write to the district council and not to me. You can comment
online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
Cambridgeshire County Council today set its budget for the 2023/24 financial year. This is what I said about the services for which the committee I chair—Environment & Green Investment—is responsible.
This has been a challenging budget year, with the apocalyptically ill-advised Truss-Kwarteng budget plunging the nation even further into the economic mire.
Inflation is now running at over ten per cent. Supply chains and labour markets have been ravaged by Brexit, as well as by Covid and the war in Ukraine. Britain’s economy is predicted to see the worst performance of all G7 countries, even Russia which is at war and being sanctioned by the world.
Once again the Government has kicked the ball of fair funding for councils into the long grass. It has told us it has increased our spending power by over nine per cent—less than inflation, and half of that increase made up by assuming we will set the maximum permitted council tax increase.
I want to express my thanks to my Environment & Green Investment Committee colleagues and the council’s officers in the directorate for all the hard work they have done this year. I would like to think my Vice Chair Cllr Gay, Cllr Ferguson as the Independent spokes on the committee, and Cllr Corney and previously Cllr Goldsack as the opposition spokes.
Together with our commercial partners, we have continued to decarbonise schools in Cambridgeshire, including at Ramsey, Harston & Newton, and Comberton, with more schemes on the way.
We have seen the Swaffham Prior community heat scheme come to fruition, with the first homes connected. Solar car ports at Babraham Park & Ride are now under construction, and the smart energy grid at St Ives is expected to be energised this summer. North Angle Solar Park is due to complete shortly afterwards. These have been challenging projects in the prevailing economic conditions and I am grateful to the officer team for all they have done to bring these schemes to their present state. Our capital programme includes proposals in the coming years for work at Trumpington, Stanground, Woodston, and Fordham.
We continue to work with partners on flood and water management issues which are so important to local residents, and I was delighted to attend the first Cambridgeshire conference for the growing number of local Community Flood Groups, into which we have put resource over the course of this year.
The Just Transition Fund, which the Conservative opposition wish to axe, has been there to support this work, and money remains in this fund to enable this to continue.
Our Natural & Historic Environment and Biodiversity & Green Spaces teams are doing fantastic work. We now have an interim tree strategy, and will be working towards a final strategy once we have confirmed the level of existing tree cover so that we can set an appropriate target. I was pleased to carry out two tree-related visits last week—one to the Tiny Forest at Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School, planted by the pupils, and the other to unveil a plaque to mark the planting of a tree at Duxford Community Centre to commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Our County Planning, Minerals & Waste service has been kept busy responding to the large number of development consent orders submitted in Cambridgeshire, and grappling with the effects of numerous significant changes in waste regulation and enforcement on the PFI contract we have been bequeathed and which was designed for a former era. We will be investing in Household Recycling Centre provision at March and Milton.
The budget before us today enables all this work to continue and develop. This Joint Administration puts the climate challenge and our environment at the heart of what we do, and I am proud to support this budget.
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following planning applications in the Sutton division.
23/00120/FUL Little Downham Land north east of 1 Seventh Drove Little Downham Demolition of an existing dwelling and erection of detached dwelling and garage. Change of use of agricultural land.
22/01424/FUL Sutton 28 The Orchards Sutton CB6 2PX Proposed rendering to the front and rear of dwelling.
23/00121/FUL Witcham Yew Tree House 2 Silver Street Witcham Conversion of outbuilding to studio annex ancillary to main dwelling.
You can find further information on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, please write to the district council and not to me. You can comment
online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following related planning applications in the Sutton division.
23/00080/OUT Sutton Land adjacent to 152 High Street Sutton Construction of a pair of semi-detached dwellings and associated works.
23/00097/FUL Sutton Watergull House 26 The America Sutton Replacement double garage with sun room to garden and new porch to front door of dwelling.
You can find further information on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, please write to the district council and not to me. You can comment
online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following related planning applications in the Sutton division.
23/00056/FUL Little Downham 24 Straight Furlong Pymoor CB6 2EG Single storey extensions to side and rear including re-roofing with external alterations.
You can find further information on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, please write to the district council and not to me. You can comment
online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
Cllr Alex Beckett and Cllr Neil Shailer, chair and vice-chair of Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, have issued the following statement today.
“In the winter a lot more road defects and potholes form, and this is being seen across the country. This is due to wet and freezing weather causing those worn areas of road and pavement surfaces to break up.
“We know how important our roads are, which is why we carry out regular inspections of our roads, bridges, cycleways and footpaths. Defects identified and reported to us are repaired as quickly as possible.
“We have increased the number of gangs dealing with both temporary and permanent fixes, and we are using our two dragon patchers.
“Our dedicated highway inspectors are working hard to keep the roads safe, but we can’t be everywhere at all times, which is why we encourage the public to report any potholes or highway faults using our online tool. It’s easy to use and flags any faults which have not yet been marked. We would rather have multiple reports of the same fault,than none at all – https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/highwayfaults
“After the cold spell at the end of last year, it can take time for damage in the road to go on and form into potholes. We’d urge drivers to be vigilant over the next few weeks and report any faults to us.”
Cambridgeshire County Council pothole facts
We fixed more than 45,000 potholes last year. Last week our dragon patchers repaired 700 defects in three days.
In general terms, if a pothole is large and deep, we will fix it within five days. If it is smaller and less of a hazard, we will fix it within 21 days.
We mark up the potholes in different ways. Those repaired in five days are not marked as our repair is immediate. Yellow means we will repair it in 21 days. We always aim to fix potholes within five and 21 days.
We aim to fix emergency faults as soon as possible, and always within five days.
We always aim to repair potholes with a permanent fix first time. However, in the winter this can be difficult due to the weather and numbers of potholes. At this time of year, we sometimes have to make temporary fixes to keep people safe, to keep up with the numbers, and because road conditions are too wet for permanent repairs. Permanent fixes will then be programmed in and delivered when the weather allows.
The total amount of money we have specifically to fix potholes is £2.2million. This is part of a larger highway maintenance budget which includes planned maintenance, patching, drain clearing etc—around £30million per year for maintenance of 4,500km of road. The average cost of fixing a pothole is £42.
East Cambridgeshire District Council has published the following related planning applications in the Sutton division.
23/00011/VAR Little Downham Land south east of Guildacre Mill Hill Little Downham To vary condition 1 (development to be carried out in accordance with the drawings and documents listed) and 9 (the development to be used for personal equine use and not for commercial purpose) of previously approved 22/00555/FUL for change of use of land to equestrian use.
23/00012/FUL Wentworth Witcham Toll Service Station Ely Road Witcham Toll Formation of jet wash bay including 2.7m high screens.
23/00005/FUL Witchford Land west of 163 West Fen Road Ely Change of use from agricultural to enclosed dog walking field.
You can find further information on the district council’s planning pages. If you would like to respond formally to the council about any planning application, please write to the district council and not to me. You can comment
online using the council’s public access web page (the link above);
Dews Coaches have announced bus timetable changes with effect from tomorrow Tuesday 3 January. These will affect the Ely Zipper 2 all along the route from Chatteris to Ely and back, all day.
The new timetable is as follows.
The route now includes a school service to and from Ely College at the beginning and end of the school day.
