Report for November from Bill Handley, South Cambs District Councillor (SCDC)
Early Notification – Net Zero Villages Funding
There is likely to be a CPCA grant funding opportunity soon in support of rural community capital projects to deliver reductions in greenhouse gases to support the objective of achieving Net Zero emissions. The paper will be considered by Council at the end of November and if (as expected) it is approved it will go live soon afterwards. As is often the case with this kind of funding, the amount of time to prepare and submit an application will be limited, hence the early warning so that community groups can get their thinking caps on. The draft paper that explains the fund can be found on page 25 of the report here: https://tinyurl.com/4vtxz6w2
Peer Review of South Cambs District Council – An Update
Last year, SCDC invited the Local Government Association to conduct a peer review of all of its activities. Voluntary Peer Reviews evaluate a council’s performance and identifies areas for improvement. They are conducted by a team of experts with local government knowledge and experience with a goal of providing constructive feedback that will benefit the council’s residents, staff and businesses. A total of 12 recommendations were made by the peer team last year and since then the council has been implementing changes. As part of the process the team returned recently to check on progress and issue an updated report. Here are the highlights:
- The updated report was very positive, noting that SCDC had ‘strong ambition’, ‘good leadership’ and ‘innovative approaches’.
- Peers had recommended the Council accelerates the closure of its outstanding accounts and since their visit in late 2023, the draft accounts for each and every year up to 2023/24 have been published – which is as up to date as they can be.
- They noted that a scheme to uncover further savings identified a further £1.5 million to help meet a £3 million savings target over the next five years.
- Peers suggested the need to better convey a vision for South Cambridgeshire and, to address this, the Council is now part-way through a consultation to develop a new Corporate Plan, outlining the vision, priorities, and long-term goals for South Cambridgeshire in the years ahead. As part of this, the Council’s Business Support Team has visited local businesses to discuss matters impacting them – obtaining 100 completed surveys that are feeding into the consultation.
- It was noted how communications have improved with parish and town councils following discussions with parish clerks. The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning service hosted an event titled ‘Unlocking the Potential of Your Parish’ which was aimed at equipping Parish and Town Clerks with the tools, knowledge, and resources needed to navigate planning processes and effectively support their communities.
New Mobile Warden Scheme Funding
SCDC has pledged £345,000 over the next three years to Mobile Warden Schemes in South Cambridgeshire (including the one for Over and Willingham) to help elderly people to stay living in their own homes for longer. The pledge comes after the SCDC partnered with Rose Regeneration to undertake an in-depth review of local schemes to better target funding and to help them become more sustainable.
Community Offer Roadshow: ONLINE EVENT 28th November 2024 6pm-8pm.
This Community Roadshow is intended to show how the SCDC Communities Team can help parish/town councils and community groups to meet local ambitions and to develop resilient and responsive communities. This event, which is intended for Councillors, Parishes, and voluntary sector groups had previously been advertised as three in-person events at Linton, Melbourn and Impington but these have been replaced by one online event on 28th November, 6pm-8pm. . There are three topics on the agenda:
- Vibrant Communities (including cost-of-living support, community safety, health and wellbeing).
- Community Action (including grants, climate and environment projects).
- Growth.
We will be joined by colleagues from Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Communities Service, the Cambridgeshire South Care Partnership (health) and volunteers and community groups who will share how the Council’s support has enabled them to run projects and increase community engagement.
Please sign up to this new page to enable you to join the online event and also receive the slide pack afterwards: Communities Offer Webinar Tickets, Thu, Nov 28, 2024 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite
Climate Action Conference
SCDC is holding its second climate action conference on 19 November 2024. The event is open to everyone and especially parish councillors, community groups and charities.
Details: Tuesday 19 November, 11am-3pm, at The Hub Community Centre, High Street, Cambourne, CB23 6GW. Refreshments and lunch provided.
Please RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/yhpz9amu
Climate Action Fair
In the evening of the 19th November – and at the same venue as the Climate Action Conference – is the Climate Action Fair. This will be a chance to find out more about what is happening in the district to tackle climate change, and to protect and enhance nature. The fair is aimed at all ages and will be a casual, marketplace style event and you will have chance to meet local eco groups and charities and see arts and crafts activities.
Details: Tuesday 19 November, 5.30pm-8pm at The Hub Community Centre, High Street, Cambourne, CB23 6GW. Local vendors and food trucks will be present. There is no need to book.
Improving the High Street
SCDC is administering a new grant scheme with £200,000 worth of grant funding available to support projects that boost the heart of communities across South Cambridgeshire. Grants of between £5,000 to £20,000 per project are available to local businesses, charities, community groups and parish councils. The scheme aims to improve the look of our high streets, to promote rejuvenation and to encourage residents to shop locally and attract more local businesses. The grant scheme is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
More details can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/yc69hkr2
Tackling Period Poverty
SCDC is joining the fight to end period poverty by providing free menstrual products for up to 700 residents. Councillors unanimously agreed to champion the cause, to ensure dignity for all, by offering free sanitary products which are also kind to the environment. A funding pot of £12,000 has been agreed for the project, which will offer residents a choice of one of three period product packs – either washable pads, period pants or reusable period cups. A UK-wide social enterprise ‘Hey Girls’ will be distributing the packs on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and residents can apply using this link: https://tinyurl.com/63dsbuf
Amendment to Local Plan Timetable
An updated timetable for the Local Plan has been published and can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/cw2eznwh This Greater Cambridge Local Development Scheme Updated Addendum provides an update regarding the Local Plan Timetable and supersedes the previous one published in March 2024.
Recycling Cables
The Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service is working with ‘Recycle Your Electricals’ to encourage Cambridgeshire residents to participate in The Great Cable Challenge – a nationwide campaign aimed at tackling the millions of cables sitting idle across UK households. The initiative is part of this year’s International E-Waste Day. The challenge aims to give a second life to the valuable materials contained in cables, notably copper, which can be recycled into new items such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets and smart watches.
More information can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/2hubw2sf
South Cambs Connect
SCDC has redesigned its Cambourne headquarters and now presents its ground floor accommodation for use by regional and small businesses, entrepreneurs, community groups and charities. Called South Cambs Connect, it offers a vibrant, collaborative workspace with comfortable workstations, high-speed Wi-Fi, meeting pods and bookable meeting rooms. Plenty of free car parking is available, including EV charging. Interested parties can try the new facilities free of charge until the end of the year.
For more details email: southcambsconnect@scambs.gov.uk
Business Support Grants
Seven community and business projects are set to share grants of more than £360,000 to help boost rural life in South Cambridgeshire. This funding is from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) and administered by SCDC and supports rural communities and businesses in building long-term resilience. This latest round of grants means that 26 projects in the district have now received money from this source. More information can be found here: https://www.scambs.gov.uk/business/grants-and-funding
AI to Improve Planning Performance
The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service is pioneering the development of an AI tool to improve how public feedback on planning policies is reviewed and analysed. Funded through the Government’s PropTech Innovation Fund and developed in partnership with the University of Liverpool, the AI tool – known as a Large Language Model (LLM) – is being specifically designed to process and summarise the thousands of comments that residents, community groups and other stakeholders submit during consultations.
Bill Handley
District Councillor for Over and Willingham
Phone: 01954 200287 (leave a message). Email: cllr.handley@scambs.gov.uk
