SOUTH CAMBRIDESHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL

DISTRICT COUNCILLORS REPORT

Councillors James Hutchcraft and Aisha Rashid

Welcome to what is a bumper edition of our monthly report. It has been a busy month, with a lot happening at all levels of government and plenty of news that affects our villages directly, so we’ve tried to pull it all together in one place. Please do get in touch if anything here raises questions or if there’s something you’d like us to take up on your behalf.

Station Road, Willingham: loss of the speed camera

District and county councillors for the area issued a joint statement earlier this month about the loss of speed enforcement on Station Road, Willingham. Many residents have contacted us, and we share the anger at how this has been handled.

The loss of the camera is the underlying issue, and we continue to press for a proper enforcement solution. The removal of the camera and then the casing, which was still acting as a deterrent at no cost to the Council, needs specific answers. We have asked:

• When was the decision made to remove it, and who made it?
• Why was no one notified or consulted beforehand?
• What was the justification for removing something that was still working as a deterrent?
• Will the casing be reused elsewhere or simply disposed of?

A replacement camera won’t be considered without evidence of a “disproportionate number” of injury or fatal collisions attributable to speed. In other words, it could take more crashes, injuries or worse before it is even considered. That is not an acceptable basis for road safety policy, and we don’t accept it as the end of the conversation. While it may be the basis for considering where to site new cameras, it should not be the material basis for considering whether an existing speed camera is relocated/replaced, as of course the data will not exist if the camera is (as it was!) acting as an effective deterrent.

Yasmin Deter, as the county councillor, has raised the issue with Highways and plans to bring a motion supporting the campaign at county level. As district councillors, we are pursuing both immediate and long-term measures with our councillor colleagues. We also plan to launch a petition shortly and will share it as soon as it is live.

We raised the camera with senior police officers at a recent briefing. The police did not confirm responsibility for funding it. We do not accept this and exploration of the funding question will continue.

BUS SERVICES! Have your say on bus franchising by 27 October

We know how important local bus services are to residents especially in light of our historic challenges in retaining existing services. The Mayoral Combined Authority are consulting on how bus franchising is going to be implemented in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

A recent report to the CPCA’s transport committee suggested that given the Mayor’s decision not to keep his precept in line with inflation, we are going to have a massive gap in bus funding in the future (approximately a 35% cut in our bus services in the next ten years!), so it’s really important that people respond and highlight the importance of rural bus services to our villages, and highlight to the Mayor how worried we are about his choices to not properly fund our buses.

The consultation closes at 5pm on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Read the proposals and respond to the consultation here: https://cpca-yourvoice.co.uk/bus-franchising-consultation-2/

Community safety and policing

Senior police officers briefed councillors at the Council offices on their work and partnerships. Key points:

• The police have an extra £2 million for targeted work on crime hotspots such as Cambourne and Northstowe, but the funding is time-limited.
• Although the district has a small number of officers, a total of 468 staff cover South Cambridgeshire, Cambridge City, Huntingdonshire and East Cambridgeshire.
• Crime is up 9.5% year on year, partly due to better reporting and a growing population. It was reported that our residents are very good at reporting crime.
• Household burglary is up 21% this year, so please do all you can to keep your home secure. Visit this link for more information: https://www.cambs.police.uk/Burglary
• The police receive on average 64 calls a day (around 24,000 a year), and many are complex and slow to resolve and 25% of police call-outs in South Cambridgeshire are road-related. They are meeting their target of reaching emergency calls within 17 minutes in 25% of cases.

We also raised the recent spate of shop break-ins in Over, Willingham and surrounding villages. The police are aware of the local level of concern and are actively investigating, but understandably couldn’t comment on an open investigation.

Six Free Trees: parish councils

One of our favourite SCDC initiatives has returned. Parish councils can claim either six small trees (whips) or one larger pot-grown native tree. Orders come with stakes, ties and biodegradable spirals, and this year also a mulch mat and an optional watering system for larger trees. Trees will be delivered earlier to help them establish over winter. Schools and other publicly accessible sites can be included via their parish council. Applications close on 31 October 2026, and details are on the District Council website.

Planning: “Do I Need Planning Permission?”

Greater Cambridge Shared Planning has launched a free online tool that asks about your project and gives tailored guidance, including whether your property is listed or in a conservation area. It’s for guidance only and isn’t an official decision but could be very helpful for residents who are encouraged to try it at www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/check-if-i-need-planning-permission.

The South Cambs Community Safety Partnership’s proposed 2026-27 Operational Plan

It focuses on:

• support for those affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence
• preventing young people being drawn into exploitation or serious violence
• tackling anti-social behaviour hotspots
• joint work with retailers and police on shoplifting
• awareness campaigns in schools and communities
• continued work on fraud, scams and cybercrime

Targeted work is expected in Cambourne, Northstowe, Milton and Waterbeach, Histon and Impington, and Fen Ditton and Fulbourn. The Partnership has also introduced Public Space Protection Orders at the Milton and Babraham Road Park and Ride sites and run court experience days on knife crime for 120 Year 9 students.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

The Government has asked councils to pause implementation work on LGR while it reviews earlier decisions. Our understanding is that some decisions might not have survived legal challenges, hence the review. Key points from recent briefings with the Minister and civil servants:

• The Government’s bigger prize is devolution under its “Rewiring the State” agenda. The Minister sees unitary councils as the building blocks for it.
• Shadow elections will almost certainly not go ahead in 2027. The government is now working towards 2028 for most councils.
• The Council is working through the resource implications and will submit a compensation claim for the costs of the delay.

The whole episode is extremely frustrating for everyone involved. We’ll update you as more becomes clear although we may not hear from the Government on a local update for a few months.

“Rewiring the State”: devolution

The Government’s devolution programme proposes significant new powers for elected mayors and strategic authorities, including:

• skills and employment support
• transport
• housing delivery
• parts of public service reform
• new fiscal powers, including a share of income tax revenues, greater business rate retention and the ability to introduce an Overnight Visitor Levy

Many details depend on forthcoming Budget and Spending Review announcements. But the direction is a substantial shift of influence, funding and decision-making from Whitehall to mayoral institutions, which raises important questions about how strategic authorities and local councils will work together. Our previous report raised some of these concerns about how Mayoral powers for local planning could be problematic but we will not rehearse them here.

Support for residents facing hardship

SCDC have agreed to allocate £180,000 from the new Crisis and Resilience Fund, a national scheme run through the DWP and held locally by the County Council. It will pay for:

• baby boxes for newborns in low-income households
• emergency supermarket vouchers
• travel support for healthcare, work, training and essential services
• debt reduction schemes linked to financial advice
• specialist disability benefit advice appointments
• energy prepayment meter vouchers to help prevent disconnection this winter
• a savings incentive scheme linked to the Government’s Help to Save programme

Pension Credit: 156 letters have gone to South Cambridgeshire residents identified as eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming it, as part of a countywide campaign contacting over 700 households. If you or someone you know might be missing out, please encourage them to check and claim.

An insight into overall SCDC funding for communities

During 2025-26, more than £1.5 million reached community groups, businesses and organisations across South Cambridgeshire. This included 195 grants worth £675,371 from Council-funded schemes, up from 158 grants worth £516,770 the year before. The largest included:

• £181,650 in Service Support Grants
• £161,291 through the Zero Carbon Communities scheme
• £123,374 for Mobile Warden Scheme grants supporting older and vulnerable residents; and
• over £100,000 through the Allotment Improvement Grant

A further £620,042 of partner-funded grants, including the Rural England Prosperity Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund, supported high street improvements, community facilities and business growth. Over £205,000 more commissioned services such as Community Hubs, healthy weight programmes, falls prevention and employment support.

Council transformation

Cabinet also received the final report on the five-year Transformation Programme, which has delivered around £11.9 million in efficiencies (over £8.2 million benefiting the District Council directly, the rest shared with Cambridge City Council through joint services). Changes include a redesigned website, more than 200 online forms (over 48,000 submitted in the last nine months), the SAM AI assistant, and a single “Golden Number” for contacting the Council. Residents can still phone or visit the Contact Centre at South Cambs Hall in Cambourne. Greater Cambridge Shared Planning is now nationally recognised for its use of technology and service performance.

Empty homes

The Government has announced reforms to Empty Dwelling Management Orders, which let councils take over management of long-term empty homes for up to seven years while ownership stays with the owner. The qualifying period drops from two years to six months, and some evidential requirements (such as proof of anti-social behaviour) are removed, making it easier for councils to apply.

Registration for private rented homes

Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, landlords of assured or regulated tenancies must register themselves and each rented property on a new national service.

In the East of England, registration opens on 15 January 2027 and the deadline is 14 April 2027. The annual fee is £65 per property. Landlords will need to provide property and rent details, along with relevant gas, electrical and energy performance information. The register will help councils identify and tackle poor practice. Landlords who do not register risk a fine.

Fly-tipping at recycling banks

The District Council has fined 24 people for fly-tipping at the recycling bank site in the Cambourne Morrisons car park, where items including mattresses, TVs, furniture and child seats were dumped. The banks have since been removed. Enforcement officers are now visiting charity and recycling bank sites across the district to advise users and work with operators. If a bank is full, please take your items home or use a Household Recycling Centre. Fly-tipping can be reported online to the District Council.

Next meeting

The next full Council meeting is on Thursday 8 October. This report is submitted before then, so any updates or outcomes from that meeting will be included in our next report.

Cllr James Hutchcraft                                                   Cllr Aisha Rashid

District Councillor for Over & Willingham                         District Councillor for Over & Willingham