| S Cambs Local Plan- Feedback on First Proposals
The details on the feedback to first proposals has been published. It was published for the S Cambs scrutiny Committee. https://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=417&MId=9437&Ver=4
The map source is here:
https://www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/emerging-plans-and-guidance/greater-cambridge-local-plan/
As we know developers can submit sites up to the time of submission to the Government. The Council will now re-evaluate these.
The Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay is confirmed to visit the Wellcome Genome Campus during its final journey through England this summer, as the full route is revealed.
On 9 July 2022, the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, will officially welcome the Baton. Later that day, the relay will continue on to the city of Cambridge.
Northstowe Development
More than £12.8 million in funding, to secure high-quality community facilities for Northstowe residents, is being proposed by South Cambridgeshire District Council.
A report published by the Council today (Wednesday 15 June 2022) outlines a plan for the Council to help fund the growing new town’s Sports Pavilion and Community Centre on phase one, and Civic Hub and additional Sports Pavilion on phase two.
The phase one Sports Pavilion, near the sports pitches, would provide changing facilities for teams and officials and a multi-use club room and catering facilities. The Community Centre would be within the Local Centre and will be a multi-use facility for Northstowe residents.
The Civic Hub on phase two is intended to be the landmark building within the Town Centre. This will be a five or six storey building, with space for community activity and development, a library service, a GP surgery, and other similar services. The Sports Pavilion on phase two is likely to be like the phase one Pavilion, but details are still being confirmed.
Play equipment at Pioneer Park, Northstowe
When developers build new homes that will have a significant impact on an area or community, they are asked to contribute funding to local services like community buildings through what is known as a Section 106 agreement. Funding arrangements intended to cover the cost of constructing Northstowe’s community buildings in phases one and two were outlined in Section 106 agreements that were signed several years ago. However, in the years that have passed, it has become clear that the funding allocated for the community buildings will not cover the full costs of building them.
One of the main reasons for this is because the costs associated with construction have risen significantly recently because of several national and global factors. These include issues such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, the fuel crisis, and its repercussions on global material production and, more recently, Russian sanctions.
As a result, and to ensure that truly high-quality community facilities are delivered for current and future residents of Northstowe, South Cambridgeshire District Council is proposing to step-in and cover the shortfall in funds to bring the new buildings forward as quickly as possible.
The proposed funding, which will be discussed by Councillors in the weeks ahead, includes:
· £1.53 million towards the phase one Sports Pavilion
· £6.5 million towards the phase one Community Centre
· £2.82 million towards the phase two Civic Hub
· £2 million towards the phase two Sports Pavilion
Biodiversity Net gain
In order to meet BNG targets the Council is looking a new schemes under development locally e.g. the Lower Valley farm a County Council owned farm and new rules from DEFRA.
https://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=9486&x=1
Cambridgeshire County Report
Great Chesterford Hardcore Site : ESS/20/22/UTT
Ive been following closely the development of this site. It has been permitted by the EA and us been submitted to ECC Planning. I am working on an ECC officer refusal given the noise and dust from the site. SCDC have said they may be able to provide monitoring although its across the border. I will meet the Site Director July 5th to understand their operation and communicate residents’ concerns.
Climate change and flood money
The first spending from the Council’s new Just Transition fund has been agreed.
£2.175M over four years has been awarded for a business case for the first
phase of the Council’s plan for Cambridgeshire to reach Net Zero carbon by
2045. And £1.7M has also been awarded for flood work and nature restoration.
Highways IT system
A new Highways IT system is on the cards for the County Council—but officers
have been asked to do more work on their proposals after a report to the
Strategy & Resources Committee was sent back.
Household Support Fund
The Government has confirmed that it is extending the Household Support Fund
for six months of 2022/23 and has allocated £3.58M of grant funding to
Cambridgeshire for this. The Fund is intended to provide support to households
through free school meals for eligible children during school holidays, and for
payments to people in need. In order to meet the Joint Administration’s
commitment to provide free school meals in the holidays throughout the year,
and to have a direct support scheme that is comprehensive, the Strategy &
Resources Committee has allocated a further £1.87M to supplement this locally.
Inflation adds to council costs
The County Councils Network and the Society of County Treasurers have
revealed that spiralling inflation has left forty of England’s largest councils with
£729M of additional unfunded costs since they set their budgets in March.
To balance their budgets—as they are legally required to—and control costs,
councils warn they face a winter of ‘difficult decisions’. The increased costs
nationally include
• £428M for adult social care services
• £72M for children’s social care
• £397M for capital projects
• £107M for energy prices
• £136M for external contract and labour costs
• £77M for school transport services
• £259M for staff pay
These inflationary costs far outstrip any increases in Government funding or
council tax.
Library@home award
Cambridgeshire’s Library@home volunteers are one of three voluntary groups in
the county to be given the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the
highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to
an MBE. It aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to
benefit their communities. The award was created in 2002 to celebrate The
Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2 June, the
anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. The Library@home service provides books and audiobooks to residents who find it difficult to get to a library through disability, illness or caring responsibilities. Volunteers visit once a month to bring and return library books
and to have a chat.
https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/libraries-leisureculture/libraries/accessibility
Local Highways Improvement updates
The scmes in Thriplow and Foxton are progressing as well as the 20 mph zone for Duxford
CENSUS
Cambridgeshire has seen one of the UK’s biggest population increases over the
past ten years, data just published from the 2021 Census shows.
Overall the number of people living in the county rose by more than 57,000 in
the last decade to 678,600. This 9.2 per cent rise is higher than the East of
England average, in a national picture which saw the East grow faster than any
part of the UK. The figures confirm the County Council’s contention that previous Office of
National Statistics figures—on which the government bases its grant
allocations—under-estimated the size of the county’s population. Included within the Cambridgeshire Census figures is an overall 26 per cent rise in the number of Cambridgeshire people aged 65+, against an 18.6 per cent national average rise—with a high percentage increase of people in the 70 to 74 age band in all districts.
While the more urban areas of the county like Cambridge have seen population
growth across all age ranges, its more rural areas have seen small or no growth
in the youngest age groups (0-19) but large increases in older populations.
Last year’s census took place in March 2021 and data from the census will be
published in stages over the next two years. Future releases will include figures
on ethnicity, religion, the labour market, education and housing. Also, for the
first time, there will be information on UK armed forces veterans, sexual
orientation and gender identity. www.ons.gov.uk/census
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