East Cambs District Council should delay devolution decision

With a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council planned for tomorrow, and of East Cambs District Council for Wednesday, to discuss the Government’s ‘devolution’ offer, it was only this afternoon that the Government got round to publishing the actual proposed legal Order for the devolution arrangements.

Local authorities are required to publish papers for meetings five working days in advance of the meeting.  This can only be varied in special circumstances.

Cambridgeshire County Council has rightly agreed to postpone tomorrow’s meeting (already postponed from October because the Government wasn’t ready) to Tuesday next week.  I’ve written to the Chief Executive of East Cambs District Council asking him to remove this item from Wednesday’s agenda, and postpone the district council meeting to give councillors time to read the draft Order, and council officers time to advise us.

The district council could still meet on Wednesday to consider the other items on the agenda, including the Local Plan, if it wished.

I’m awaiting a response.

My letter to East Cambs District Council

Along with other county councillors I have just received the following message from Shire Hall:

‘With the agreement of Group Leaders, the Monitoring Officer has moved the extraordinary meeting of Council to a week later, from 2.30pm on Tuesday 15 November 2016 to 2.30pm on Tuesday 22 November.  The papers already published will be considered then, with the addition of Appendix 1A, to be published later today.’

This is evidently the right decision, given that the actual devolution Order (Appendix 1A) has still not been provided by HMG in due time for local authorities in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough to consider it on the advertised date.  Local authorities have already moved their meetings from the third week of October to accommodate delays by HMG.

The decision local authorities will be asked to make is both significant and potentially long-lasting, in both financial and governance terms.  In view of this, and of the fact that this important document, which I understand is likely to include a number of changes from previous versions, has not been published in due time as laid down in the council’s constitution, I am therefore writing to request that the whole agenda item is removed from Wednesday’s Full Council agenda, and delayed to a date which will comply with our constitutional requirements.  To do otherwise would, I suggest, at best be a dereliction of our duty, and at worst leave the council open to legal challenge.

Recent planning applications

The following applications in the Sutton division have been published recently by East Cambridgeshire District Council:

16/01504/FUL
Little Downham
8 Lawn Lane, Little Downham CB6 2TS
Demolition of existing conservatory to detached dwelling and proposed extension.

16/01538/FUL
Witcham
Amberlea Country Kennels and Cattery, Ely Road, Sutton
Proposed demolition of part and extension to existing building to provide a new and permanent reception, office and sales area and an additional bedroom within the domestic accommodation.

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 webpage (the link above);
  • By email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
  • Or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

Recycling survey

East Cambridgeshire District Council is carrying out a recycling survey as part of its review of the domestic waste collection service. You can complete the survey online here, and if you’re willing to provide your name and phone number at the end you can be entered for a prize draw.

East Cambs local plan housing allocation maps published

East Cambridgeshire District Council has published maps of the sites which will be proposed for housing in the next draft of its Local Plan. The maps can be viewed here.

  • In the next 24 hours, the council will publish the reports which will accompany the maps – these will contain a lot more information.
  • Next Wednesday, 16 November, the council will be asked to approve the draft Plan as being ready to go out to public consultation.

SUTTON
The council has proposed housing North of The Brook (Linden Homes) and East of Garden Close (Endurance Estates), and employment land allocation at the Elean Business Park. Also see Mepal below. These two sites were ranked 1 and 3 respectively by Sutton Parish Council who were asked to express preferences for the various sites put forward by developers.

MEPAL
The council has proposed housing on the land bounded by Brick Lane, Sutton Road, and the A142. Despite being the other side of the A142, this land is in fact in Sutton parish. It was ranked 2 by Sutton Parish Council in its preferences for development.

WITCHAM
The council has proposed one site for housing, to the west of The Slade.

COVENEY
The council has proposed no sites for Coveney.

WARDY HILL
The council has proposed no sites for Wardy Hill.

LITTLE DOWNHAM
The council has proposed one site for housing, west of Ely Road and south of the junction with Cannon Street.

PYMOOR
The council has proposed one site for housing, at the north west end of Straight Furlong.

WITCHFORD
The council has proposed housing at two sites immediately south of the A142 north of Granta Close and Field End, and also at Land off Meadow Close; and employment space at the Sedgeway Business Park. See the Ely maps for the Lancaster Way business park. Six areas of Local Green Space have also been included.

New mental health support website for 11-19 year olds

A new website designed to improve access to mental health support for young people has launched across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

www.Kooth.com, a free, confidential counselling service, provides mental health self-help information and support online for people aged between 11 and 19.

Young people can chat to counsellors on the website from noon to 10pm Monday to Friday, and from 6pm to 10pm at weekends, 365 days a year, and join in on forums with young people experiencing similar challenges.

Recent planning applications

The following applications in the Sutton division have been published recently by East Cambridgeshire District Council:

16/01429/CLE
Little Downham
Mount Pleasant Farm, 66 – 68 Main Street, Pymoor
Certificate of Lawfulness for existing use to B1 Business Office.

16/01423/OUT
Little Downham
Land north of 26 Straight Furlong, Pymoor
Outline proposal for 3 detached dwellings with garages.

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 webpage (the link above);
  • By email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
  • Or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE

Recent planning applications

The following applications in the Sutton division have been published recently by East Cambridgeshire District Council:

16/01391/OUT
Little Downham
Land rear of Hythe House, The Hythe, Little Downham
Outline application for two storey dwelling along with associated parking access and site works.

16/01424/OUT
Little Downham
Heathergay House, Straight Furlong, Pymoor CB6 2EG
Demolish two storey dwelling and construct 2no. two storey detached dwellings.

16/01405/FUL
Sutton
Land to East of 2 Tower Road Sutton
Construction of a four bedroom, two 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 webpage (the link above);
  • By email to plservices@eastcambs.gov.uk;
  • Or by post to the Planning Department, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE.

County council refuses to give the Government £7 million of your money

Wrapped Notes
While I was away (home to Jersey for a few days), an interesting thing happened at the county council.

Until recently, a large amount of the council’s money has come from the Government. It’s called the Revenue Support Grant or RSG.

The Government said a couple of years ago that this would reduce to zero over the next few years. But to help councils plan effectively, the Government also said it would offer councils a four-year financial settlement, if they wanted to accept it, so that they would know clearly where they stood until 2020.

In December last year, the Government said that this four year settlement would mean a grant of £15.31M this year, £3.92M next year, and £0 after that.

However, late last month the Government changed its mind and said that Cambridgeshire’s grant would be minus £7.17M for 2019/20. In other words, the county council would have to pay the Government over £7M of local taxpayers’ money.

And the county council would have to decide whether to take this settlement or leave it, by last Friday. If it didn’t take it, the Government suggested, any settlement that replaced it would be even less favourable.

That’s a week to make a significant decision affecting important services in Cambridgeshire for years to come. With a threat of worse to follow if the council doesn’t do what it’s told.

A senior county council committee met last Thursday to discuss what to do.

  • The Conservatives proposed to accept the settlement and hand over the £7.17M, but then withdrew this proposal.
  • Liberal Democrats, seconded by Labour, proposed to refuse the settlement but argue that Cambridgeshire shouldn’t be given a worse settlement as a result, because of the county’s underfunding and its importance to the growth of the economy generally. This proposal was agreed by 9 votes to 8. (The Conservatives were the eight).

So the Government may ‘punish’ us for not handing over local taxpayers’ money nicely. We don’t know yet. But that doesn’t sound like a fair or sensible way for the Government to do business. And the Government certainly shouldn’t be telling the council to smile nicely while it’s being bullied into handing over your money.

Reverse Advent Calendar

Reverse advent calendar

This year, on Tuesday 1 November, I’m starting my Reverse Advent Calendar in support of Ely Foodbank – and I’m really hoping other local residents will too.

The Reverse Advent Calendar is an idea that is catching people’s attention as they start to plan for Christmas and thoughts turn to those who find this time of year a huge strain on resources. The idea is simple: one item placed in a hamper or box per day during November, to be donated to a local Foodbank at the end of the month, ready for the Foodbank to distribute during December.

The Foodbank uses their contacts through agencies, and clients to ensure the food is directed to those who need some reassurance at this time, that they will be able to enjoy something a little extra over Christmas.

This idea isn’t just for Foodbank users; anyone who knows someone who could benefit can contact info@elyfoodbank.org.uk and give their details.

Here are some suggestions for what to put in your box, put together by Ely Foodbank, but get creative and feel free to put your own list together!

  • Day 1 – Advent Calendar
  • Day 2 – Christmas Pudding
  • Day 3 – Chocolate Coins
  • Day 4 – Christmas Cake
  • Day 5 – Toothbrush
  • Day 6 – Shower gel
  • Day 7 – Fruit Juice
  • Day 8 – Toilet rolls
  • Day 9 – Wrapping paper
  • Day 10 – Tinned ham
  • Day 11 – Jam
  • Day 12 – Coffee
  • Day 13 – Tea
  • Day 14 – Mincemeat pies
  • Day 15 – Box of chocolates
  • Day 16 – Deodorant
  • Day 17 – Box of crackers
  • Day 18 – Crisps
  • Day 19 – Tinned fish
  • Day 20 – Biscuits
  • Day 21 – Candy canes
  • Day 22 – Toothpaste
  • Day 23 – Biscuits
  • Day 24 – Custard

Once you have filled your box or hamper, you can bring it along to the Foodbank Store, Barton Road, Ely on Fridays 12.30-2.00pm. If you live in Little Downham, St Leonards Church is receiving filled boxes or hampers by the end of November.  If you live in Sutton, a local drop-off event may be organised – look out for details! For other drop-offs, please phone 01353 468626 for more information on delivery and times.