East Cambridgeshire District Council has been working steadily, and successfully, to provide the facilities our growing district needs. Over many years we have invested millions of pounds in infrastructure, community buildings and open spaces that make a real difference to everyday life for local residents.
These investments include new roads, car parks, footpaths and cycleways, footbridges, a district leisure centre, improved recreation grounds, country parks, village hall upgrades, GP surgeries, a youth centre in Littleport, a new theatre in Soham, museums, an apprenticeship hub, a new bereavement centre, land for a new cemetery, and funding for nature conservation. Alongside this, we have provided millions of pounds directly to Town and Parish Councils to enable them to deliver projects shaped by their own communities.
In November last year, the final piece of funding was agreed for one such project: The Link in Stretham. This long-awaited development will provide a brand-new GP surgery for the village, operating as a branch of Haddenham. It will be a modern, multi-purpose community facility, including purpose-built consulting rooms, complementary health units, a community meeting space and café, an orchard for staff and patients, and a work unit to be rented to a local business.
The Council is contributing £1.4 million towards The Link, which is being delivered by local people through the Stretham and Wilburton Community Land Trust. Despite the clear benefits of this scheme, Liberal Democrat Councillors, including the Lib Dem member for Stretham, chose not to support the funding at the Council meeting last year.
This opposition was not new. The Liberal Democrat Group has consistently refused to support funding for The Link, and no clear explanation was offered in November. Given their track record, perhaps this should not have come as a surprise. Over the years, they have voted against or failed to support a wide range of initiatives, including Council Tax freezes, Ely Southern Bypass, The Hive district leisure centre, the Lake View Bereavement Centre, the £100k Homes scheme, regeneration of the former MOD housing site in Ely (including phase two funding for 100% affordable homes), new homes at Barton Road in Ely, the A10 roundabout upgrade, and numerous parish-led and community projects. The list is long.
The Liberal Democrats have been particularly vocal in their opposition to the Lake View Bereavement Centre, currently under construction just outside Mepal. When it opens later this year, it will offer local residents a tranquil lakeside setting within a designated county wildlife site. Facilities will include an eco-crematorium, natural burials area, a pet cemetery, flower meadows and woodland walks, with space also available for low-level recreation and fishing.
This centre is being funded in full without external borrowing and will provide a vital local service, as well as a future income stream for the Council. Above all, it is intended to be a calm, supportive place for families at some of the most difficult moments in their lives.
Opposition parties will always say they are acting in the best interests of residents, and robust debate is a healthy part of local democracy. But as time passes and people across East Cambs enjoy the new facilities, the open spaces and community buildings, it is worth reflecting on the choices made along the way.
I do sometimes wonder – do those who opposed these projects also use the new roads, car parks, country parks, GP surgeries, museums, theatres, village halls and recreation facilities? Might they one day need to use the new GP surgery in Stretham or the Bereavement Centre near Mepal?
If they do, I hope they will recognise that, despite the noise and opposition at the time, the Council stayed focused, determined to do the right thing for the people of East Cambridgeshire.
Cllr Anna Bailey
East Cambs District Council, Member for the Downham Ward
Leader of the Council
Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
Chairman of East Cambs Community Land Trust
Deputy Chair Political of Ely & East Cambridgeshire Conservative Association
email: anna.bailey@eastcambs.gov.uk
