East Cambridgeshire District Council Annual Report
Anna Bailey – Councillor for Downham Ward
Leader of the Council
Coveney Annual Parish Meeting
Monday 13th April 2026
Web links included in this report are clickable when viewing the electronic version. If any residents would like further information about anything in the report, please do contact me via the details given at the end.
I thank residents for their continued support and all Parish Councillors and other volunteers for all they do to support their communities and for helping to make East Cambridgeshire such a lovely place to live.
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
Central Government announced in December 2024, through a White Paper, a radical reform of local Government alongside new powers for directly elected Mayors. This huge change to local government was unexpected as it had not been included in the Labour Party manifesto and continues to take up a lot of time at the District Council!
The reforms are to establish new Unitary Councils (so the County and District Councils will be abolished) with the aim of serving population sizes of around 500,000 (although this figure later proved to be rather flexible!). Cambridgeshire and Peterborough currently have a total population of 908,000. Parish Councils are not affected by these changes.
Councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough submitted their proposals for LGR in November as follows and illustrated overleaf:
Option A: Cambridgeshire County Council
Option B: East Cambs District Council, South Cambs District Council, Cambridge City Council
Option D: Peterborough City Council, Fenland District Council
Option E: Huntingdonshire District Council
No Councils submitted Option C and it was therefore eliminated from the process.
East Cambridgeshire District Council decided to help develop Option B and ultimately selected it as its preferred option. The business case sets out many clear benefits that make option B the preferred choice of the Council including:
- Financial security: Independent analysis shows option B is the most financially sustainable option of the proposals developed by local councils this year. It would save up to £43 million a year, more than three times the saving of other options developed locally, paying back the cost of change in just four years. Future savings will be reinvested in frontline services, as residents have called for.
- Fairness for all: Option B creates two councils that are the right size to meet local needs, for both urban and rural communities. It avoids the risk of one area being left behind and ensures resources are shared fairly.
- Respect for local identity: The new councils will reflect historic communities and keep decision-making close to residents.
- Supports growth and jobs: Each council will focus on its strengths. Greater Cambridge has a world-leading science and tech economy and is a geography that directly aligns with the Government’s ambitions for the area, whilst North Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is an industrial and agricultural powerhouse – creating more jobs and homes for its market towns and cities.
- Future-proofed: Option B meets government’s tests for financial resilience, economic balance, and sustainable public services better than any other option.
- Residents agree: In a recent survey of Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire residents, 63.5% of respondents supported option B because it offers the best chance of delivering simpler, stronger councils that care about local communities, and in a survey of East Cambridgeshire residents a majority of respondents also supported option B.
- Better services: Residents told the us they want councils that are easier to contact, more responsive, and focused on frontline services. Option B commits to more engagement with our residents on the design of the new councils, as well as working at the hyper local neighbourhood level.
- Simpler, stronger councils: One council for your area means less confusion and quicker decisions.
I have concerns that Under Option A East Cambridgeshire will fall into the Greater Cambridge Local Plan footprint. This is an area set to take 150,000 new homes on top of the numbers already contained in the Local Plan (up to 77,000).
Housing need will be recalculated across the new planning area. Instead of each district demonstrating its own 5-year housing land supply, the new authority will do this across its new geography; it is not only inevitable that the new authority will look to sites in East Cambridgeshire for delivery of large numbers of new homes it is explicitly stated throughout the County Council’s Option A business case, including stating in relation to housing growth, that to allow Greater Cambridge to prosper the new unitary council must be established on a larger footprint. That new footprint is East Cambridgeshire.
The emerging Greater Cambridge Local Plan is already in trouble before it has even been adopted, losing large housing sites that will have to be replaced. Land values and constraints are lower in East Cambridgeshire.
Option A would also see local people lose local control of where those homes go – the Government, through the Cambridge Growth Company, will be deciding where the 150,000 new homes will be located.
The government has undertaken statutory consultation which ended in March and is expected to announce its chosen option in late June or early July this year. Election to the new Unitary Councils, which will run in shadow form for one year, will take place in May 2027, and the new councils will come into being formally on 1 April 2028, at which point the old Councils will cease to exist.
East Cambs District Council Leads the Way!
All seven Councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough carried out a survey in the summer last year to gather information from residents, stakeholders and businesses about the forthcoming move to unitary government.
East Cambridgeshire consistently scored top across nearly every measure: service quality, value for money, community belonging, cultural alignment, responsiveness, and councillor connection.
East Cambs residents also said they are worried about being overlooked in the reorganisation with 81% of respondents saying this was a concern.
East Cambs residents report:
· the highest levels of satisfaction with services (63% v 45% average for the other councils),
· the strongest sense of community belonging (76% v 62%),
· the best value for council tax (52% v 26%) and
· the strongest sense of the importance of protecting our identity (54% v 38%).
East Cambs also scored the highest in the following areas:
· feeling council decisions reflect their cultural values
· believing the council responds well to issues
· best satisfaction levels with access to council offices/drop ins
· local Councillors having the best local knowledge
Concerns Regarding Cambridgeshire County Council’s LGR Proposal (Option A)
I remain very concerned about the approach to LGR taken by Cambridgeshire County Council, particularly relating to how the Council approved and submitted its preferred LGR proposal – Option A.
The Council voted to submit the proposal without members having seen or reviewed its contents, which represents a clear departure from good governance and accountable decision-making.
There are also concerns about how the proposal was handled with partners and the public. Several key organisations – including NHS bodies listed as endorsers – were asked to support Option A before they had sight of the proposal (or any of the other proposals). This means their endorsements cannot have been fully informed, raising questions about the validity of statutory consultation. This is particularly concerning in relation to statutory consultees, as it means they are also pre-determined ahead of statutory consultation.
The County Council only published the proposal one day before the submission deadline, leaving residents, parish councils, partner organisations and other councils with no realistic opportunity to comment. This falls well short of the Government’s expectation for openness, meaningful engagement, and local consent.
Furthermore, the County Council did not allow other Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councils to collaborate on the proposal beyond the shared data set, in contrast to Option B, which was developed jointly by six of the seven councils.
Such an approach risks undermining both the democratic legitimacy of the proposal and public confidence in the reorganisation process. Government’s expectation is that LGR proposals demonstrate:
- meaningful local engagement,
- clear evidence of collaboration,
- robust assessment of options, and
- open and accountable decision-making.
Taken together, these issues raise significant concerns about the transparency, legitimacy and robustness of the Option A submission and whether it meets the standards set by the Government for meaningful engagement, collaboration, evidence-based assessment and democratic accountability.
2026/27 Budget Agreed
Full Council met in February to agree the 2026/27 budget, set Council Tax and agree the Medium Term Financial Strategy.
Here are the highlights:
· A Council Tax freeze for the thirteenth year – the ECDC element of Council Tax bills will therefore remain at £142.14 per annum for a Band D property
· Balanced budget for next 2 years
· Zero external borrowing
· Unearmarked reserves at 10% of operating expenditure
· No cuts or efficiency targets built in
· Staff establishment budgeted in full
· Retaining free parking in our towns and city centres
· Freezing the fees in the Ely Commuter Car Parks
· Retaining free garden waste service – some 70% of Councils now charge
· Waste service funding including a separate weekly food waste collection, additional green and blue bins at no extra charge, and the roll out of black wheelie bins for residual waste
· Increase to our Internal Drainage Boards of 7.5% for their important work
· Financing for East Cambs Trading Company (ECTC) for an opportunity to build new homes with Haddenham Community Land Trust, and to finish the 27 new homes at Arbour Square in Ely – all of which are being delivered as affordable homes
I am pleased that we have been able to deliver this budget despite the changes to the funding formula by Government, which has adversely affected ECDC more than most Councils in the country. Following the review Government Funded Spending Power in the most urban Councils is now 41% more per head of population than in the most rural Councils for 2026/27.
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
Also at Full Council in February we agreed to slightly restructure the CIL funding, as we do from time to time, which means an increase going forward for the District Wide Heath, Accessible Play and Community Facilities funding pots.
We have also agreed to free up access to the Accessible Play and the Community Facilities funding pots by reducing the amount of match funding needed, as well as making it easier for Parishes that have not seen so much housing growth to access funding.
We also agreed to specifically promote the Community Facilities funding pot and to reduce the amount of match funding needed.
New Waste Service
A reminder that the Council has begun the process of delivering new bins and caddies from March onwards, in readiness for the waste changes that begin on 1st June 2026.
Here is what is happening:
- weekly food waste collections, we will deliver a 5 litre kitchen caddy to collect food waste, and a larger 23 litre outdoor caddy to transfer it into for collection
- a year’s supply of caddy liners
- a new 180 litre black wheeled bin for any rubbish that cannot be recycled, this replaces black bin bags and will be collected every 2 weeks
- soft plastics like carrier bags, film lids, salad and vegetable packaging can be added to existing blue bins
- continued collection of green lidded garden waste bins for free, but from 1st June, all food waste should go into the new food waste caddy
Inside the new bin, residents will get a pack giving more information about the new service and details of collection days.
Not Enough Space for Bins
Most households can easily accommodate these bins. Households that do not have room can view more information on this web page: alternative sack collections.
Help with moving bins
If no one in a household can move the bins, residents can apply for our assisted waste collection. If residents already receive our assisted collection service they do not need to register again, we will ensure their new bins are covered.
Request larger bins or more bins
The new black bins will hold around 3 bags of rubbish which should be enough for most households. We appreciate some households are larger or have additional needs and despite recycling all they can, produce more rubbish. We can provide a larger bin if there is a clear need and certain criteria are met. It is important for residents to get in touch if they feel they meet the additional capacity criteria before we start delivering the new bins from March 2026.
Residents can apply if:
- they are a larger household with 5 or more people
- they have 2 or more children in nappies
- they generate extra waste due to medical needs
- exceptional circumstances – please note, we do not take pet waste into account when assessing for a larger bin, please see further information on pet waste
All the information about the new waste service can be accessed here: New bin service | East Cambridgeshire District Council
New Homes for Local People in Ely Road, Little Downham
It was good to visit the site on Ely Road where 39 new homes are being built for the people of Little Downham and Pymoor.
· 30 homes for affordable rent
· 9 homes for shared ownership
I worked with Accent Housing and officers at ECDC to make sure local people with the strongest ties to the Parish of Lt Downham get first dibs for these new homes.
People that live, work or have close family ties in the parish will get first priority.
For people interested in applying for one of the the 9 Shared Ownership properties they can get further infomration from Homemade Homes: https://homemadehomes.com/getintouch/
For the 30 Affordable Rented properties it’s through HomeLink: https://eastcambs.gov.uk/…/find…/register-social-housing
Support for the Work of Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs)
Council agreed motion to further support the work of our IDBs and do all we can to better understand the issues faced by them and to help secure a better funding model fit for the future. The Council already sits on the Local Government Association (LGA) Special Interest Group for IDBs which has had considerable success at highlighting the issues to Government, resulting in short term improved funding levels and work on options for a more sustainable funding model in the future.
Asset Transfers to City of Ely Council
Three buildings owned by the Council that are on lease to the City of Ely Council – The Maltings, the Maltings Cottage and Oliver Cromwell House will be transferring to the City of Ely Council. City of Ely Council leases all 3 buildings from the District Council for their operation as community and tourism assets and requested consideration of longer leases (in the case of Maltings Cottage and Oliver Cromwell House) or transfer of the freehold for a nominal fee.
It was decided, in the light of Local Government Reorganisation, to offer the freehold transfer of the buildings (for the nominal sum of £1 each) or the longer leases requested.
Asset Transfer to Littleport Town Council
The Council has also agreed to the request by Littleport Town Council to transfer the following assets from ECDC to the Town Council:
· The Barn, Main Street, Littleport
· Public Conveniences, Main Street, Littleport
· Car Park, Main Street, Littleport
· Open Space, Parsons Lane, Littleport
The piece of open space is a small but important piece of land that is needed to facilitate the expansion of the GP Surgery. All the assets will be transferred for a nominal fee and will have covenants and conditions on them to ensure they are only used for the purposes given, and, in the case of the car park that the Town Council will not introduce car parking charges.
The Council felt that, given the reality of local government reorganisation, it was the right thing to do to keep these important assets in the hands of local people.
£100k Homes, Eden Square, Ely and More in Kennett
Four new £100k Homes were completed at the former swimming pool site in Ely and keys handed over to the new owners. The Eden Square site has been built by Palace Green Homes, part of the Council’s wholly owned company East Cambs Trading Company. East Cambs District Council adopted the £100k Homes model when the former Mayor of the Combined Authority scrapped the policy.
£100k Homes are first time buyer, discounted homes, and unlike shared ownership, the purchaser owns 100% of the property for the purchase prices of £100k and can build up equity during their period of ownership. The discount gets passed on to the next owner in perpetuity.
It was lovely to meet Jasmine and Lauren who are now neighbours and the proud new owners of their first homes in Ely. They are both local and they both work within a stone’s throw of their new homes – they can roll out of bed and get to work within minutes!
The first three new £100k Homes are also now available in Kennett, with six more to come in the future.
Affordable Homes Pledge Fulfilled
The Administration of the Council previously pledged that it would work towards achieving over the 30% policy requirement for affordable homes when it built new homes on the former MoD site in Ely. I am pleased to say that all of 27 new homes now nearing completion will be made available for affordable rent.
In a bid to help local families, 100% of new homes on the site will be made available as affordable homes – far exceeding the 30% threshold developers are required to build as part of Section 106 agreements.
Each of the properties will be available for social rent, helping to meet the growing demand for affordable housing across Ely and the wider district.
The new scheme will comprise 8 one-bedroom flats, 10 two-bedroom flats and nine three-bedroom houses, the first of which are expected to be available in 2026.
A new East Cambridgeshire District Council Fund to Support Neighbourhood Plans
Parish and town councils which have yet to embark on a Neighbourhood Plan can apply to the Council for up to £5000 towards the development of a Plan. The Council has agreed to set aside a £50,000 Neighbourhood Plan Fund after Government funding and support for parishes was withdrawn as part of the 2025 spending review.
A Neighbourhood Plan is a document that sets out planning policies for an area and can:
· protect local green spaces
· encourage better designed places
· bring forward housing that genuinely meets local needs
It is written by the local community and helps get the right types of development in the right place. More information can be found on the Council’s website here: Neighbourhood Planning | East Cambridgeshire District Council
The Link, Stretham, New GP Surgery
The final piece of the funding jigsaw was agreed by the Council for the delivery of The Link in Stretham. The District Council is providing £1.4m towards the project which is being planned and delivered in full by Stretham & Wilburton Community Land Trust (CLT).
The Link includes:
· Doctor’s Surgery – a branch of the Haddenham GP Surgery
· Complementary Health Units – wellbeing/alternative treatments
· Cafe / Meeting Space – food, drink, WiFi & community events
· Work Unit – for rent by a local business
· Orchard – adjacent to the Surgery, for patients and staff
The CLT is hoping the new building will be completed by the end of 2026.
National Recognition for the Council’s Support for Community Led Development
The Council has been recognised for its support with community led development and commended as ‘trailblazing’ in a new independent report presented to Government.
The report focuses on the Kennett Garden Village development, which is a 500 home, high-quality, low density, near net zero scheme based on garden village principles.
Once completed this infrastructure first scheme will deliver 350 open market homes, 150 affordable homes which includes 60 affordable homes that will be owned and managed by Kennett Community Land Trust (KCLT), and 9 £100k Homes. It also includes a primary school, a perimeter road, village green, village centre, land for healthcare and improvements to the junction, known locally as The Bell Inn Junction.
KCLT led the scheme from the very first day and were involved in every step of the process and worked tirelessly to build a vision for this flagship development that has the community at the heart of it.
The 60 affordable homes that are being acquired by KCLT will be available for those who have a local connection, enabling eligible people to live and/or work in the areas that they have a strong connection to. The site is well underway with first occupations taking place in 2025.
Sanctuary Housing
A seminar for Councillors was held by Sanctuary Housing following two meetings that I held with the senior team at Sanctuary to voice the concerns of Councillors about the performance of Sanctuary. Of particular concern are the number of empty Sanctuary properties across the district, which in April 2024 stood at 229. Of these 229 properties, Sanctuary has renovated and let all but 10, which is great progress. With over 4,000 properties across the District Sanctuary can have around 100 properties empty at any one time, but the aim is for every empty property to be re-let within 14 days unless it requires major works when the target is 28 days.
As ever, if any residents need any support with their Sanctuary owned property I am here to help.
Bereavement Centre
The Council is building a new Bereavement Centre near Mepal, designed to provide compassionate end-of-life services and to serve as a publicly accessible green space for residents. It is due to open in late summer this year.
This project is about so much more than the crematorium. This is about securing, protecting and enhancing a beautiful, much loved and special site for the community, now and into the future. As a designated wildlife site with nationally important species using it as home the site is unique.
The site will be an environmental and community sanctuary – open and accessible to all.
Here’s what it will include:
· Eco-friendly cremator – the greenest of its kind
· Natural burial areas
· Pet cemetery area
· Woodland walks & flower meadows – open to the public year-round
· Fishing and bird watching areas – for peace, reflection, and recreation
· Function room – for family gatherings, remembrance events, and community use
· Limited number of services a day – so every family has time and space
There is no facility like this in our district; local families currently travel long distances during difficult times.
The Centre is being paid for entirely from developer contributions through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). Our decision to adopt CIL has been incredibly positive for the Council and our communities, raising over £35m to date with much more to come in the future. CIL is about delivering infrastructure to support growth; the Bereavement Centre and its associated uses do exactly this.
Our district is growing; the Council has worked hard to support delivery of local community projects, including new community centres, leisure centres, cycle routes, footbridges, schools and learning hubs, GP Surgeries, new and improved roads, sports facilities, cemetery land, the Viva theatre in Soham, the Ely Museum upgrade, cycleways, footbridges, Ely Country Park, and more. Nearly £6m has been given directly to Parish Councils to support their projects. The Council also has significant funds put aside and will continue to provide support for new and improved health facilities, water and flood management infrastructure, accessible play equipment and other community assets. With 3,000 new homes going into north Ely alone, significant CIL receipts will continue to be received by the Council (or its replacement) well into the future.
The Bereavement Centre will provide income to the Council from year two onwards, helping us protect local services. We’ve frozen the District Council’s part of Council Tax for 13 years – and projects like this help us keep it that way.
Losing a loved one and facing grief is hard. We have an amazing opportunity in an incredible setting to support people at a time of need, and I hope and believe this will become a much-loved facility, that people return to, to pause and reflect and to remember their loved ones.
East Cambs Doing Well on its Work for the Environment
East Cambridgeshire District Council was found to be among the top 30% of district councils in the country when it comes to taking action on climate change.
A report published by Climate Emergency UK ranks the council 43rd out of 164 district councils. You can view more detailed information here: https://climateemergency.uk/action-scorecards/
Our overall points score was up 1% on the previous results of 2023 and, due to a time lag in processing the data it means the latest scorecard has not taken account of the Council’s decision to move its refuse collection vehicles away from diesel to HVO fuel, which has generated significant carbon savings in the past year and will be seen in next year’s results.
Meeting with the Environment Agency
I met with various representatives of the Environment Agency (EA) in early August last year to discuss various matters, including:
· Full Council motion calling for EA to stop discharge of sea toilets into the river Ouse
· Management of the Ouse washes assets
· The Fens 2100 work
· The ECDC work on an East Cambridgeshire Reservoirs Network
Local Bus Service Improvements
The timetable can be accessed here: 10 – Ely – Little Downham – Ely – A2B Bus and Coach – Bus Times
Residents in Coveney, Wardy Hill and Way Head are able to use the Tiger on Demand service on Thursdays to go to Ely – the take-up so far has been modest so I encourage all residents to try to make use of it.
Further information about Tiger on Demand can be found here: Tiger On Demand – Combined Authority Transport, or by phoning: 01480 595 440.
East Cambs Reservoirs Network
The Council is undertaking a project to assess the potential for developing a network of agricultural reservoirs in East Cambridgeshire.
As you will be aware the region faces a significant water storage challenge. There is no shortage of water across the Fens, the problem is one of storage and management. At present large volumes of excess water is currently pumped into the North Sea.
The proposal for a network of agricultural reservoirs could potentially supply the incremental demand for drinking water in Cambridgeshire, until such time that a major reservoir is delivered at Chatteris in around 2040, and at a fraction of the cost to build.
Access to additional water could be provided by a group of large farmers, held in a network of mid-sized agricultural reservoirs, based across the catchment area of drains, dykes and rivers managed by the Internal Drainage Boards.
Additional reservoir capacity will support the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) aims for dynamic land use, which can help mitigate CO2 emissions, raise water tables, providing for more water in the landscape, while also benefitting biodiversity.
We have engaged consultants to conduct a pre-feasibility study which will identify the scale and scope of a proposed network, including potential land where agricultural reservoirs can be built, and an assessment of how much water this might hold.
The project will engage with a range of local, regional and national stakeholders – District and Parish Councillors, Internal Drainage Boards, landowners, MPs, Defra, OFWAT, the Water Services Regulation Authority and the Environment Agency – to assess the level of support for the project. This will further identify technical challenges and risks that will need to be considered as part of an outline business case including costs and benefits, commercial opportunities and management considerations.
The report can be accessed here: A network of local reservoirs to provide water security and unlock growth in East Cambridgeshire
Change of Key Staff
Following the retirement of the Council’s (Section 151) Finance Director, Ian Smith, we have welcomed Jude Anthony as the Council’s new Finance Officer. Jude was already working at the Council as the Deputy Finance Director.
After 26 years as Chief Executive of the Council, John Hill retired at the end of last year and Emma Grima took over as our new Chief Executive in January this year. I am of course working closely with Emma to ensure we continue to run the Council efficiently and with a continued focus on excellent services.
I am here to help all residents, so please, if you have any questions or ideas or issues you are facing that you would like to discuss, be in touch.
Contact Me
Member for the Downham Ward
Leader of the Council
E: anna.bailey@eastcamsbs.gov.uk
T: 01353 663 253
M: 07850 521590
