Bridge road junction – funding proposed to allow safe crossing at junction CONTENTS Orchard Park School Ofsted Quality of Life Survey Bridge Road/ Cambridge Road Junction New Road Project Barrier Removal Project Anti Social Behaviour Neighbourhood Plan Review EHCP High Impact Users Project Rewarded £600,000 Flood Kit Street Trees Local Government Reorganisation
Orchard Park School Ofsted The announcement that Orchard Park Primary School has had a poor Ofsted report is very sad. The way the process works the governing board is replaced by an interim executive governing board who have the experience and skills to address the schools issues and turn things around.
My view is that the economics and challenges of running a small single form primary school are almost impossible. I know the governors and the teaching staff work really hard for the children in the school. This process is brutal and blunt and I have some serious reservations.
I intend to follow up with the council how they support governors in Local Authority schools and determine if it if possible to challenge and improve the current process for local authority schools.
Quality of Life Survey 6912 residents shared their views about living in Cambridgeshire.
Key findings from the 2026 survey include: 84% of residents say they feel happy – figure has remained consistent over four years.24% say they often feel lonely, and 26% reported struggling with their mental health – lower than last year but still having the greatest impact on younger residents.87% of residents reporting that they personally feel concerned about the cost of living – the same as last year – with over half (56%) reporting having taken action in the last year Key findings about the county council this year, included: 60% of residents say that the council keeps them well informed about the services it provides, representing a significant increase from 50% in 2025.
Residents continue to be very satisfied with registration and library services (both 87%), followed by waste management (81%), park and ride and guided busway services (80%), and street lighting (78%).55% of residents trust the council to make decisions about local services – higher than the national benchmark of 49%.49% believe the council provides value for money – up from 47% last year and 41% in 2024.Satisfaction with roads and pavements has risen for a second consecutive year to 32%, up from 21% in 2024.
Bridge Road/ Cambridge Road Junction Proposals to rework the Cambridge Road/ Bridge Road junction came to Highways and Transport committee this week. Subject to agreement from the Combined Authority and Active Travel England to reallocate money to this scheme a fully designed worked up project is ready to be delivered.
Project plans can be seen on pages 93-94 of the committee papers. They would finally allow pedestrians, wheelchairs users, those with poor mobility, buggy pushers and students going to school to cross the B1049/ Bridge Road safely.
This is a project I have fought for and I am thrilled that it is progressing.
New Road Project Similarly funding of a project to rework the approach to Impington Village college particularly along New road was discussed, there is a pause as the process will have a community engagement session to listen to local views before designs are finalised and then go to public consultation.
Barrier Removal Project Consulted on several years ago this programme is now a fully integrated county council work programme. I met with the county council and parish clerk and things seems to be going backwards in regards to modifications in Histon. I advised that at least some of the consultation work done previously may now require review.
Anti Social Behaviour The second police/community meeting took place in the last week of September. I contacted our local officers after the meeting who said that they had spoken to the families of all the perpetrators – not knowing who they’ve identified as perpetrators it’s difficult to comment how comprehensive this is. To continue to keep police attention we must continue to report and I will continue to engage.
Neighbourhood Plan Review The first of a batch of 3 meetings before half term took place Monday 5 october. Please contact me if you’d like to be involved. We are currently reviewing the existing plan before putting together a work programme.
EHCP These are the legal processes for children with special educational needs. Government delays and mixed messages, lack of funding, historic decisions about outsourcing to a commercial market and a lack of candidates to recruit all contribute to the delays in this service. The chair of this committee is working round the clock to deliver improvements and I hope to have good news to report shortly.
High Impact Users Project Rewarded £600,000 An innovative project by the communities team has been rewarded with £600,000 of funding. The county council has invested in supporting those frequent visitors to A&E who put maximum strain on the service. For example focussing on one to one support individuals with health issues related to alcoholism. This trial demonstrated that an investment of around £3000 per individuals saved £18,000 per individuals in avoided NHS costs.
This cost saving has been rewarded with signifcaitn grant funding and lives have been turned around with some cases resulting in individuals safely housed and back into work.
Flood Kit I’m pleased to report both Orchard Park and Histon and Impington are the successful recipients of flood kit funding applications. Can I request that both councils agree a process that works out how access to sandbag equivalents, high vis and other essential kits 24/7 and is known to district, county, parish and community councillors, ideally reminding them annually perhaps at the AGM.
Street Trees Whilst new street trees are a long way off in Orchard Park – unless self funded at around £7000 per tree, I have seen many examples of large trees grown in pots. I encourage the community council to consider whether there are alternatives to planted street trees which might contribute to the streetscape.
Local Government Reorganisation
Mid September government ‘paused’ local government reorganisation.
Some of those operating within local authorities are taking this to be a single year pause, others expect it to drift.
After devising a process of reorganisation which caused maximum dispute and fall out government may well walk away and attempt to push future reorganisation through different mechanisms.
This issue is unlikely to go away and I see the Cambridge/ South Cambridgeshire District Council single unitary proposal as financially disastrous.
