DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REPORT
October 2025
Cllr Lucius Vellacott – Soham South and Wicken, Conservative
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Wicken Parish Council
The Ongoing Saga With The Bus (Which Is Ongoing Much Longer Than I Expected)
– I had initially secured a meeting with Mayor Paul Bristow on 29th September to discuss improvements to Wicken’s public transport. The CPCA unexpectedly changed it to a date in October I couldn’t make. Therefore, unfortunately I have had to reschedule it to 7th November, when Paul will come to Wicken.
– I have asked for a written reply as soon as possible before then, but (at time of writing) he is currently at Labour Party Conference to meet with ministers. As I understand it, he has got to Liverpool but not actually been allowed in yet. *cough*
– Please keep using and promoting the service regardless. I will ask for the data again at the end of the year.
Planning Matters
– I got extremely cross with a Planning Inspector for awarding planning permission for either a massive 5-bed mansion or 2x 4-bed homes on Chapel Lane, outside the development envelope. He somehow rejected an application for smaller houses on the same site (terraced). The justification was that surrounding development had also been outside the envelope, so (and I’m not kidding here) basically, a ‘bit more wouldn’t hurt’. But the terraced housing was too crowded. You can imagine how pleased I was to read that.
– I asked the ECDC Planning Manager and he is also of the opinion that the rule GROWTH 2 in the Local Plan has been wildly misinterpreted between the three appeals. On such sites, development must be in some way ‘exceptional’, which smaller housing in Wicken could be (even though that site is really appropriate for nothing). We are considering whether it is worth challenging in court. It probably isn’t.
– In much better news – I am delighted that ECDC agreed (14 votes to 13) to match-fund up to £5000 per parish to develop a Neighbourhood Plan. We decided we can afford this given the initial data on the Government’s Fair Funding Review for Councils (money to be diverted to least financially sustainable councils, basically) is better than our worst-case scenario. This is something I’ve lobbied leaders for for a long time. It’s not clear when the fund will open, probably the new year. But I am delighted for Wicken in this regard.
– After LGR it will be key to inform developers what kind of houses and services we need, especially if housing targets continue to rise (as ours has, by about 12%, even when some London boroughs have actually gone down).
Local Updates
– We held our first Councillor Surgery recently. As a reminder, these will be roughly quarterly, at the Soham Town Council offices. Barway, Padney, Upware and Wicken
residents are also invited. Issues were raised with speeding on Fordham Road (a
flashing speed sign is due to be installed) and repainting on the A142 (reported). We had one Wicken resident in attendance asking about the Battery Storage and the cycle path. More below.
– October’s planning committee was cancelled for lack of business. So the Battery Storage will come to November or December latest, once all secondary consultation responses are in. I continue to recommend refusal on the grounds of visual impact, noise and fire response times. All sides will be able to speak to a panel of 12 councillors who will vote on it. It can be appealed if refused but our MP is also against it.
– I was pleased to attend the opening of the new floor at Ross Peers Sports Centre (personally significant as it’s where I was elected, but also brilliant for the community), and to learn that the Soham Village College 3G Sports Pitch has taken its first bookings. This was made possible via ECDC’s CIL funding and will allow the clubs to train all year round as well as being open to the community.
Matters Further Afield
– The Chief Executive and Elections Returning Officer of ECDC, John Hill, has resigned after 26 years of service effective 31st December. Yes, that is longer than I’ve been alive. We thank him for his devoted service. We will recruit a replacement internally. We also have a new Chief Finance Officer, Jude Anthony.
– On Local Government Reorganisation, ECDC at its meeting supported Option B (Greater Cambridge in one, everyone else in the other). We acknowledge residents feelings about being drawn to Cambridge for work etc. But they also don’t want excessive development or Council Tax hikes, which is what Option A achieves. We will be cast aside in the wake of Cambridge if we do this.
– I worry about Peterborough’s finances, however, Option B perversely is large enough to allow highly localised working, more like we have now, plus more reasonable development and a lower hike to Council Tax. What matters to me is how we govern rural East Cambs, not cities.
– I was genuinely touched by the resident survey which put ECDC, by far, as the best Council in Cambridgeshire. Service Satisfaction was at 68%, and Council Tax value for money at 52% (double the county average, and the only council to reach a majority). The sense of community was by far strongest here, with over 70% saying they want to preserve that local feel.
– Also at our latest meeting, the Council agreed the following:
o Opposing possible Council Tax reforms allowing local authorities to set their own bands for properties (passed 14-13).
o Supporting investment in Ely North Railway Junction (passed unanimously)
o Appointment of our new Chief Finance Officer (passed 14-0, 13 abstained)
o Procedures to internally recruit a new Chief Executive after incumbent’s resignation this month (passed 14-13)
o Keeping Council Tax as low as possible, new waste service delivery, neighbourhood plan funding, transport improvements etc. in our Corporate Plan (passed 14-13)
o Going home after a 4-hour meeting (!) (passed unanimously)
Email: lucius.vellacott@eastcambs.gov.uk
