Soham Town Council updates – November 2025
The Bus Saga Is Still Ongoing
– At the time of writing I am due to meet the Mayor on Friday 7th to discuss improvements to/replacement of the Tiger on Demand. I will report our discussion after this.
Planning Matters
– The Battery Storage is going on and on and on and on and also on. New technical documents are STILL being consulted on and it has had four extensions of time. I am expecting a December committee date. Nothing is materially changing – the biodiversity impact is high, fire response time is high, noise is higher than the report thought…
– I met a representative of the Brook Street developer (Pigeon) quite by accident, and briefly discussed the delays to starting which he assured me have now been resolved.
– No other updates at this time.
Local Updates
– Please ensure local SVC students are aware of possible antisocial behaviour by adults on the recreation ground in Soham. I am working with the Police to ensure no crime is committed in this regard.
– I have followed up reports of speeding on Fordham Road and of various pothole reports which have not been addressed in the statutory timeframe. This is wildly unusual as I am sure you agree…
Local Government Reorganisation and other things further afield than the safe haven of Soham
– The County Council narrowly supported Option A (East Cambs with Greater Cambridge). The vote was 31 in favour (30 LD, 1 IND), 26 against (10 CON, 7 REF, 5 Lab, 2 Grn, 2 IND), 2 abstaining (1 LD, 1 Grn).
– I continue to support Option B (us with Hunts, Peterborough and Fenland). Actually, I support an immediate General Election. But in the absence of this I (reluctantly) support Option B:
o 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
o It will raise Council Tax the least – we have frozen our portion for 12 years
o It will limit our housing growth to acceptable, rural levels
o It still allows us to work with Cambridge, which we love, but which has vastly different needs (72% of our residents felt a strong sense of community, more felt they would be overlooked in LGR, over 50% stay local for leisure etc.)
– I met the Secretary of State for Local Government (Steve Reed MP) who is not my favourite person. He gave a 20-minute speech about how he was empowering communities, took 3 questions (2 from Labour councillors) and then left before I got a chance to seek his commitment to localised working (ie: planning rules, access to Ely offices etc.) within the new councils. I have forwarded it to the Chair of the Local Government Association who is from Chester Council and looked at me like I was from Neptune when I said the word ‘rural’.
I am always available for a chat via lucius.vellacott@eastcambs.gov.uk.
