Another magnificent coffee morning at Scott Court on Friday, organised by the fantastic Nellie’s team in support of Macmillan. Cakes, books, raffle – and all in a good cause.

Photo credit Ian Stacey, with thanks for permission for use.

The Cambridgeshire Energy Switch is a scheme procured by Cambridgeshire County Council. It aims to help the county’s residents save money on their gas and electricity bills by using the collective bargaining power of residents to bid for better gas and electricity prices. The scheme is open to all residents, including those on either credit or pre-payment meters.

So far over 700 Cambridgeshire households have saved money on their energy bills through previous energy switches, with each household seeing fuel bill savings of £157 – £224 each year.

Registration is completely free, with no obligations. The outcome of the auction is calculated based on the personal usage that you provide and is compared to the tariff that you are currently on. You have no obligation to accept the Cambridgeshire Energy Switch offer that is available, simply use your annual statement to compare prices and decide if the offer is good enough to warrant a switch. Collective Switching enables energy providers to offer you a unique tariff, outside of their four core tariffs, which can be better value than all existing options.

At the end of the registration period the supplier offering the lowest priced tariffs will win the auction and you will receive an email on 23 October 2015 with an offer, if you accept then ICHOOSR will then take care of the entire switch for you, meaning the whole thing is as smooth and hassle-free for you as possible!

You will need to register by midnight on 12 October 2015. You can register online at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/switch or you can contact Energy.Switch@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or call 01223 703874.

East Cambs District Council has received a re-submission of a previously withdrawn scheme (reference number 15/00039/FUL) for a site rear of 61 High Street. Details are on the council’s website.

East Cambs District Council has received an application for a roof extension and alterations to the rear of 61A High Street.  Details are on the council’s website: the reference number for the application is 15/01026/FUL.

I’ve responded to the County Council as follows about the proposal for a prohibition and restriction of waiting order at the top of Oates Lane.

“I am writing as one of the two district councillors for Sutton to support the proposal for a prohibition and restriction of waiting order on the High Street in Sutton at the junction with Oates Lane.  This area experiences significant problems with parked vehicles which can restrict access for buses, emergency vehicles and other traffic at the point where the road narrows.

I understand that the local church has made representations to the parish council about the need to enable parking within the area to which the order is applicable for the purposes of weddings and funerals.  I would support this request.

Finally, there is a concern that the prohibition of waiting on the High Street at Oates Lane will push parking into Fairfield*.  I would hope that this would be kept under review and any subsequent request to address problems of this sort be viewed sympathetically.”

*I’m aware that this risk also includes the top of Lawn Lane, and that the parish council needs to keep a watch on the effect of the new Order on the whole area.

This afternoon I joined Juliet Browse and Jayne Chapman from Ely Calais Refugee Action at one of the group’s collection points at Stretham to see just a small part of the amazing generosity of East Cambridgeshire residents towards the refugees fleeing conflict in Syria.

Local people have made a wide variety of donations, from toothpaste to tents and from golf clubs to bicycles – so much so that the group has had to call a temporary halt to donations to give them the opportunity to sort through what has been provided so far.  One kind resident in the district has offered his ‘man and a van’ services to take the items donated to a collection point in London.

Meanwhile, donations of money can still be made to CalAid.  And if you’re on Facebook, Ely Calais Refugee Action group has a Facebook group with over 600 local members already.

I’ve asked the district council a series of questions in the last few days about its intentions regarding the refugee crisis, and whether it is proposing to join other councils in offering assistance.  And I’ve already been asked by a couple of East Cambs residents how they go about offering a spare room to a refugee.  If that is something you are considering doing, you can contact the council’s housing team via the main switchboard 01353 665555 – they can offer free landlord advice and information.

The next meeting of East Cambs District Council’s Planning Committee on 2 September will consider an application from Amberlea Country Kennels and Cattery.

(Amberlea is not in Sutton ward, but in next-door Downham Villages – the boundary between the two wards runs between The Chestnuts and Rose Barn).

The application is for change of use of a field from agricultural to kennels use (for dog exercising and training), a new access from the existing field access, a proposed solar array of eighty photovoltaic cells, reed bed waste disposal, the creation of additional parking, and new fencing and gates.

The application is to be determined by the Planning Committee because the council has decided that it will not delegate to officers the power to grant permission for solar panels that are not on a domestic or commercial building. All such applications, however small, have to be referred to the committee even if, as in this case, the panels are behind a building.

Details of the application are as usual online – the planning reference number is 15/00438/FUM.

Plans to prohibit waiting at any time on the High Street at the church and the top of Oates Lane have moved a step closer today. The county council has issued a consultation letter and map of the proposed restriction as part of the legal process of making the order.

This is a parish ‘local highways initiative’, which aims to stop the parking congestion that often causes problems in that part of the High Street – sometimes preventing buses getting through at all.

The church expressed its concern to the parish council about what would happen with weddings and funerals; the county council has said that the waiting order can be drafted so as to allow for these events.

On that basis, this is a welcome proposal and I shall be writing to the county council to express my support for the parish’s scheme.

Rolls of 52 black sacks for the next twelve months will be arriving with Sutton residents in the week beginning Monday 12 October. If you have not received your sacks by Monday 19 October contact the council (customerservices@eastcambs.gov.uk or 01353 665555). The last day for claiming non-delivery of sacks is Friday 13 November. Clear sacks for people on bag-based recycling services will be delivered separately, but over similar timescales.

East Cambridgeshire District Council is currently carrying out a review of its public toilet provision – six sets of public toilets in Ely, and one each in Fordham, Burwell and Littleport.

Options the council is considering include closure, or (in Ely) charging for use.

I’ve just been appointed to the working party that is doing the detailed work before making recommendations to the council’s Commercial Services Committee.

I’d be interested to hear your views about public toilet provision. The council will be carrying out a brief consultation, and I hope to have some early copies available for people to complete at my Meet Your Councillor surgery this coming Tuesday (11 August). I’d like to use this event as an opportunity to hear what local residents have to say.

What do you think?  Should the council keep our public toilets free to use?  What if that means they can’t upgrade them?  Or are they fine as they are?  Should they be shut down if they cost too much money to run?

I’d like to know what you think: why not come along to my Meet Your Councillor surgery on Tuesday 11 August, 6:30-7:30pm at the community room at the school.