CONTENTS: NHS issues, Local Government Reorganisation, Waterbeach Busway, St Ives busway, Tenant Farmers, Motion on play, Council awards,  Sale of Old Shire Hall, Thank you

NHS Issues – I will be meeting with our MP Ian Sollom and Firs House at the end of the month to discuss local issues. This ties into work Ian is doing with Northstowe, Longstanton, Bar Hill and Willingham to push the government to change legislation and funding rules so that access to the NHS meets population demands in growth areas.

Local government reorganisation –  Following an email from an Impington Parish Councillor I have been reassured that parish councils will engaged in this process following the May elections.  Although yet to come to full council (so things can change) the county council is likely to submit a response saying that we have ruled nothing in or out in terms of local government reorganisation ie waiting until after the May elections to begin to consider a response.

If you fancy having a go at carving up the map yourself see below.

Unitary authorities combine District and County council functions into a single authority. Government wants :

• New authorities organised along existing district areas
• At least 500,000 people in the area 
• Peterborough is already a unitary authority although it’s size could change.  
• A mayoral combined authority must consist of at least two unitaries.     Our Combined Authority area is Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

Waterbeach busway – the decision was taken to progress this scheme at full council and I spoke and voted in favour of it as if we are going to build new towns we must have proper public transport links.  I have diarised regular meetings with the Greater Cambridge Partnership who are responsible for the delivery of this to focus on the detail of this.  Pertinent issues include drainage, cycle accessibility, safety and bus connectivity I have already managed to get design tweaks and identified some glaring omissions such as the lack of an interchange connecting all buses on the St Ives and Waterbeach busway.  

St Ives busway Safety – our thoughts are with the family and friends involved in the tragic incident on the busway in early March.   This month the court case involving the County Council and the Health and Safety Executive will come to the High Court.  I am pushing for local safety issues to be listened to and have heard rumours about new safety measures including fencing off ‘break throughs’ which will reduce the connectivity between the two sides of the busway.  So far I haven’t been able to get a clear response on what is planned.

County Farms – as the council with the largest tenant farms estate farming is an important to Cambridgeshire and the County Council.  I attended the annual tenant farmers meeting in Landbeach.   Martin Lines from Nature Friendly Farming Network spoke and was inspirational in the way he is changing how he is farming.  Time and again we hear inspirational stories from county farm tenants.  There is something almost magical about the combination of a county farms estate managed by a team committed to a  ‘Greener, Fairer and Caring Cambridgeshire’ and an active farm estate with tenant farmers who have opportunities to move around, take on farms of different sizes and try new things.  Farming like all parts of society must change to reach net zero and we hear at these meetings what that looks like and it is full of hope, excitement, joy and unexpected discovery.

Benefits of Play – a motion I took to full council has lead to work including workshops on play.  A report on the benefits of play came to the Communities, Social Mobility and Inclusion committee.  I talked about how the pump track workshop had been helpful locally.  The county council is a statutory consultee in planning decisions and I asked them to consider how things such as land ownership affect how land is used in communities and suggested they need to be bold in their requests for land for playing. 

Council shortlisted for 4 national awards in four of the categories of the Local Government Chronical Awards

Community involvement- 2 projects form the Fenland Youth Work Network supporting young people aged 11-18 who are at risk of serious violence, exploitation and involvement in county lines.

Health and social care- Cambridgeshire Shared Live Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse Project, working with survivors of domestic abuse with learning disabilities and/or autism

Future places, innovative connectivity projects including a private 5G Open Radio Access Network (RAN), development of an augmented reality experience and embraced mobile coverage analysis

Innovation –  Cambridgeshire’s ‘Dig Once’ policy integrating fibre ducting into new transport infrastructure projects resulting in a large CO2 reduction and significantly less disruption to road users.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 11 June. 

Sale of Old Shire Hall – as Chair of the Assets and Procurement committee we agreed an exclusivity period with a buyer for Old Shire Hall for the second time in 8 months.  It is interesting quite how similar selling big corporate properties is to selling your own home in terms of the ability for sales to fall through although the County Council is now a lot sharper.

Thank You This will be my last monthly report of this electoral cycle.  It has been a pleasure to represent Histon, Impington and Orchard Park at the County Council and I would like to encourage everyone to make sure they are on the electoral roll and to participate in democracy by voting in the May 1 County Council and Mayoral local elections.

INFORMATION

Report a Highways fault If you see a problem; blocked gully/ drain, pot hole or other Highways issue please report it using the tool below.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/roadworks-and-faults

Adult care assessment Call centre: 0345 045 5202  8am – 6pm Mon to Fri,  9am – 1pm Sat

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/adults/organising-care-and-support/care-needs-assessment

Do get in touch with me directly if you have any problems, questions or concerns.

I’ve got a problem who do I contact? Organisational structure in Cambridgeshire is complicated, just ask the question.  Email me, a District Councillor or the Parish Clerk we’ll all point you to the right person (or try to).

Government Structure in Cambridgeshire  detailing responsibilities

County Council; education, transport, highways, heritage, social care, libraries, trading standards, ­waste management, maintaining their estate.

District Council; council tax payments, household bin collections, housing and housing benefits, council leisure facilities, environmental health, residential planning, local emergency, community policing contact point.

Parish/ Community Council; looking after community buildings, open spaces, allotments, play areas, bus shelters, community projects.

Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) ‘The local delivery body for a City Deal with central Government worth up to £500 million over 15 years to deliver infrastructure (decarbonising transport), 44,000 new jobs, 33,500 new homes and 420 additional apprenticeships.’ Partnership between Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, University of Cambridge

The Combined Authority, Cambridge and Peterborough, our elected Mayor (CPCA)  A board consisting of representatives from the District, City and County Councils and Peterborough Unitary Authority, headed by the Mayor. 

Responsible for – Business support, skills, housing, transport strategy-liaising with Department of Transport, environment, international, digital connectivity, resilience, research and strategy and new homes.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Cambridge and Peterborough To support and challenge the Chief Constable to provide effective and efficient policing services for the area. 

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority the governing body responsible for the fire and rescue service, made up of County Councillors and Peterborough City Councillors.