I hope you are well in this run up to Christmas. I cannot believe how quickly it comes round!
Not everything has been as comforting recently. I always treat the phrase ‘empowering communities’ with a degree of caution (outright disbelief?) when it comes from this Government.
It does not strike me that combining rural Wicken and Upware with other nearby councils is going to empower us at all. Larger is not better. Local is better.
Under the County Council’s Option A, East Cambs would be linked with Greater Cambridge. That would be tolerable if the government wasn’t planning to build 150,000 additional homes with no local input. Land is cheaper in East Cambs than South – the problem here does not need explaining – we’ve had our fair share.
I don’t like any of the Options. But I will be backing Option B (putting us with Hunts, Fenland and Peterborough), and residents have the right to know why:
1. It puts us with rural councils, in a large enough area to necessitate localised working (ie: we won’t be ruled by Peterborough, like we would with Cambridge) – allowing for local planning rules and local access to services like we have now
2. It will raise Council Tax the least – we have frozen our portion for 12 years
3. It will limit our housing growth to acceptable, rural levels
4. It still allows us to work with Cambridge, which we love, but which has vastly different needs
Ultimately, Government will take the decision. But with most residents staying local for leisure, and over 72% feeling a strong sense of community, I will always act to preserve the interests of East Cambs, which is increasingly being seen as the stubborn obstacle.
We are not an obstacle – we are an example.
While this hangs in the background, I continue to do the day job, reporting speeding, bin issues, antisocial behaviour and potholes. I have ‘called-in’ the application for Battery Storage. This means a panel of 12 councillors will decide the outcome of the application. I continue to strongly recommend its refusal. The noise report is questionable, the impact to biodiversity is intolerable and the response time if there is a fire is simply too high. If it is appealed, I will continue to fight the Government on our behalf for a refusal.
I was also pleased to attend Ross Peers’ opening of their new sports hall floor in Soham, and continue to push the County Council to protect our duck population.
I was very cross that the Government overturned our decision to refuse large housing on Chapel Lane, outside the agreed development envelope for Wicken. I will continue to push for the right development; without some, we can’t have infrastructure investment, but it must be sensitive to the character of our village and small enough that people can actually afford to buy it.
When Local Government Reorganisation happens, the Parish Council will remain. This means they can continue with their Neighbourhood Development Plan, which will regulate development in Wicken for decades to come. I led a campaign to get the District Council to help fund these efforts, after the Government withdrew funding for such plans.
Fortunately, we recently agreed a match-fund up to £5000 per parish for this purpose. We back our communities to do what’s best for themselves, even if Government do not.
Anything you want to talk about? I am always available for a chat via lucius.vellacott@eastcambs.gov.uk.
It remains an enormous privilege to serve Wicken and Upware on the District Council. Thank you for your ongoing support.
