District Councillor Contact Details
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us using the details below.
Martin Cahn: Cllr.Cahn@scambs.gov.uk 07826 748407
Sunita Hansraj: Cllr.hansraj@scambs.gov.uk 07584 671322
Pippa Heylings Cllr.Heylings@scambs.gov.uk 07837 228416
Concerning Government plans for additional 250,000 homes in Cambridge
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, made a surprise announcement with a programme entitled ‘Cambridge 2040’ that proposed that Cambridge would form a major centre for the growth of biotechnology to kick start the UK’s economic recovery. Some would argue that this is already happening. In this announcement, Gove talked of 250,000 new homes in a new ‘Urban Quarter’. A ‘Delivery Group’ sitting outside of the Local Planning Authority, with £5M of funding, has been set up to push this through, with measures including developing a Master Plan, buying land and providing a “sustainable transport network that sees current congestion becoming a thing of the past”. In answer to concerns about the water supply crisis – that were identfied in 2019 by your South Cambs District Councillors as a result of the Stantec Water Management Study conclusion that water is a “deal-breaker” in terms of housing numbers – Mr Gove is setting up a “water scarcity working group. What is puzzling is that South Cambs District Council is already planning for an ambitious target for building homes based on the objectively assessed housing needs study for the area. This housing target has been the subject of negative attacks from the local Conservative MP, Anthony Browne. Cllr. Bridget Smith, the Leader of SCDC, has said that on the face of it the proposal by Mr Gove seems to centre on what it is already planned to deliver, but until more information is provided, the Council remains concerned.
Future of STZ and the review of Making Connections
The GCP Joint Assembly that took place on Thursday 14th September saw a re-affirmation of members for the vision to improve public transport but a lack of political support for the revised Making Connections proposals for funding bus and active travel improvements via a peak hours only congestion charge. The revised proposals aimed to address concerns raised in the consultation by also including exemptions for accessing the hospital, 50% discounts for vans and 50 free days, among other changes. The Joint Assembly is not the decision-making body. It is there for scrutiny and to advise the GCP Board. However, the lack of support for the revised proposals evident at the Joint Assembly from both South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats and the City Labour group means that it is very unlikely that the revised proposals will proceed. As you can imagine, there is a huge amount of work going on among the partner councils and the Combined Authority to focus on improvements to bus services that the consultation response was crying out for. In the GCP, the officers are now investigating what alternative means of funding might be considered to fund the transformation of public transport and active travel, easing congestion and improving air quality in a fairly funded way.
Four day week
You will be aware that the trial of a four day week is now being extended to the refuse collection staff, which has involved a review of collection arrangements. In Histon and Impington this has not involved much change – solely that the green and blue bin collections are being repeated in successive weeks on the 15th and 22nd September. Minister Lee Rowley has been expressing opposition to this concept and has written to the Council asking them to stop. South Cambridgeshire and the City (it is a joint service) have decided to continue the trial and to then review the results.
There is a large degree of cross-party support at national level among members of the Local Government Association for South Cambridgeshire’s desire to try to resolve its staff recruitment and retention problems by this process, it being regarded as a matter of local authority judgement that should be left to individual authorities.
As always, it is important to highlight that this is a trial that is reviewed regularly in terms of indicators and local Councillors are vigilant to ensure that the level of service is maintained for residents.
Neal Drive, Orchard Park
A planning decision in last Wednesday’s Planning Committee may have been of interest to Councillors. Permission was granted for 80 flats off Neal Drive, Orchard Park in which there were 47 car parking spaces. The applicant then applied, using a procedure known as a Section 73 application, to alter the proposal and to nearly halve the number of car parking spaces and reduce the amount of green landscaping. The application was refused in particular because of concern about the likely incidence of parking problems in the area – which may be of interest where planning applications approved under one particular set of constraints are then subject to applications to change the proposal to conform to another set more favourable to the developer. Martin Cahn stood down from committee for this application and spoke in support of the Community Council’s position. That may be a useful precedent to bear in mind for future applications.
Relief at Removal of No Entry and Trespasser Signs at Holiday Inn Field
Together with Yvonne Murray Chair of Parish Council, Pippa Heylings had a productive and informative meeting with both the General Manager and the Events Manager of Holiday Inn. This resulted in the removal of the No Entry and Trespassing signs that had gone up over the last couple of weeks and had caused concern. These had gone up as a result of health and safety concerns by the construction team working on the new hard surface path that has been created around the field. The new circular path was constructed by a client who holds private events there – with the permission of Holiday Inn. Communication, dialogue and good relationships with businesses and landowners like Holiday Inn are really important as they are key members of our community. In our meeting, it was recognised that there could have been better communication about the need for and duration of these temporary signs.
It is important to recognise that this field is private land belonging to the owner of Holiday Inn and that many residents have appreciated and continue to appreciate the possibility of being able to use it for walking, dog-walking, running (and foraging for delicious wild blackberries). Its beholden on us as a community to show respect for the land we’re accessing in terms of litter, poo bags and also respecting privacy and security when there are private events held on the land. The field has been, and will continue to be, used for private events during the year. Access will be restricted for the duration of these events (as there has been damage to property and security concerns for clients). The Holiday Inn team has committed to providing the village with advance notice of their events.
Mobile Wardens and Wild Minds
These are two council schemes that provide support for the elderly (Mobile wardens) and young people with mental health difficulties (Wild Minds). Applications for these have been declining and the Council is keen that all who need this support are able to avail themselves of it. Histon and Impington already gets such support, but if you know of further needs, this would be worth bearing in mind.
Oxford-Cambridge Partnership
In response to Michael Gove’s comments on Cambridge 2040, Central Bedfordshire, South Cambridgeshire, Cambridge City and Huntingdonshire have set up an informal leader’s cooperation group to respond to issues relating to the eastern end of this partnership.
Refugee housing
South Cambridgeshire has been successful in bidding for money to buy refugee housing, in particular for Afghans and Syrians (53 houses by mid-August). More money is to be spent, and the houses will become part of the general council housing stock once their use for refugees finishes, so in addition to being a valued support for these refugees in need, this is a useful addition to our housing resource.
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