{"id":5855,"date":"2026-03-05T21:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/?p=5855"},"modified":"2026-03-05T21:40:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:40:28","slug":"south-cambs-district-councillor-scdc-bill-handleys-report-for-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/south-cambs-district-councillor-scdc-bill-handleys-report-for-march-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"South Cambs District Councillor (SCDC) Bill Handley\u2019s Report for March 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Local Government Reorganisation \u2013 consultation reminder<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until Thursday 26 March, the government is consulting on four different options for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, which have been developed by different councils across the region. I cannot overstate how important this issue is and I encourage you to have your say either via the government\u2019s consultation portal online<\/a> or SCDC\u2019s own website<\/a>. Cambridge City, East Cambs and South Cambs District Councils are all in favour of option B. The Government will make a final decision on which local government structures are put into place this summer with the new unitary councils operating in a shadow capacity from May 2027 and full implementation expected in April 2028. There are many reasons to support option B, especially since there are already a number of service areas that SCDC shares with Cambridge City Council, such as waste and planning, which will ensure that the changes brought about by the LGR are as seamless as they can possibly be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greater Cambridge Local Plan update<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent consultation on the Greater Cambridge Local Plan<\/a> generated more than 4500 comments. The Local Plan is for the region\u2019s future \u2013 ensuring new homes, jobs and supporting facilities can come forwards sustainably while protecting the region\u2019s environment, character and quality of life. A huge amount of effort has already gone into the Local Plan which incorporates most, if not all, of the government\u2019s ambitions for growth. It will take some time to digest the comments received from the consultation, but this marks another important step in the life of the next Local Plan. Bear all this in mind when you read the next item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do we need a DevCo?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet another consultation and another very important one. As part of its plans for growth and development in Greater Cambridgeshire, the government is proposing a development corporation (DevCo), establishing a centrally-led urban development corporation in Greater Cambridge which is likely to be operating for 25 years or more. The website and consultation link can be found here<\/a>. I hope you will look at the website and have your say. In my opinion and that of most my district councillor colleagues, a DevCo should concentrate on fixing the strategic infrastructure problems (e.g. water supply, waste-water treatment, transport networks) that we have in our district. No doubt the DevCo will be tasked with doing this but, as you will see on the website, the government also lists \u201cpowers related to planning\u201d as part of the remit. It is therefore very possible that the responsibility for planning in Greater Cambridge will be removed from the local authority, its elected members and an award-winning planning authority and vested with the (unelected) DevCo and its government masters. It could mean local people lose control over the scale and pace of development and its consequences. I urge you to read the government\u2019s plans and engage with the consultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Council meeting: budgets and business plans<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCDC\u2019s full council met recently and approved its business plan and budget for the coming financial year. SCDC is one of the best run councils in the country and is often held up as an exemplar. It continues to deliver high quality services in the face of sustained cuts by central government, including recent reductions to the amount of Business Rates that local authorities can retain. A \u00a35.24 per year increase in Council Tax for the average Band D home was agreed, which is a below\u2011inflation rise. It means the average Band D charge for South Cambridgeshire District Council will be \u00a3180.64 per year from 1 April. Even with this increase, the Council will remain one of the lowest charging district councils in the country (and lower than the precept of some parish councils)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will cover the council\u2019s business plan in my report to the Annual Over Parish Meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile Warden schemes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCDC has pledged ongoing funding for Community\/Mobile Warden Schemes, which provide crucial support for older, disabled and vulnerable residents \u2013 ensuring they can live safely and independently in their own homes. The schemes form part of the Council\u2019s work to promote healthy and supported communities. The scheme for Willingham will remain unchanged; Over Parish Council have decided to suspend their financial support for the Over scheme due to low client numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Handley
District Councillor for Over and Willingham<\/em>
Phone: 01954 200287 (leave a message), Email<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local Government Reorganisation \u2013 consultation reminder Until Thursday 26 March, the government is consulting on four different options for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, which have been developed by different councils across the region. I cannot overstate how important this issue is and I encourage you to have your say either via the government\u2019s consultation portal online or SCDC\u2019s own website. Cambridge City, East Cambs and South Cambs District Councils are all in favour of option B. The Government will make a final decision on which local government structures are put into place this summer with the new unitary councils operating in a shadow capacity from May 2027 and full implementation expected in April 2028. There are many reasons to support option B, especially since there are already a number of service areas that SCDC shares with Cambridge City Council, such as waste and planning, which will ensure that the changes brought about by the LGR are as seamless as they can possibly be. Greater Cambridge Local Plan update The recent consultation on the Greater Cambridge Local Plan generated more than 4500 comments. The Local Plan is for the region\u2019s future \u2013 ensuring new homes, jobs and supporting facilities can come forwards sustainably while protecting the region\u2019s environment, character and quality of life. A huge amount of effort has already gone into the Local Plan which incorporates most, if not all, of the government\u2019s ambitions for growth. It will take some time to digest the comments received from the consultation, but this marks another important step in the life of the next Local Plan. Bear all this in mind when you read the next item. Do we need a DevCo? Yet another consultation and another very important one. As part of its plans for growth and development in Greater Cambridgeshire, the government is proposing a development corporation (DevCo), establishing a centrally-led urban development corporation in Greater Cambridge which is likely to be operating for 25 years or more. The website and consultation link can be found here. I hope you will look at the website and have your say. In my opinion and that of most my district councillor colleagues, a DevCo should concentrate on fixing the strategic infrastructure problems (e.g. water supply, waste-water treatment, transport networks) that we have in our district. No doubt the DevCo will be tasked with doing this but, as you will see on the website, the government also lists \u201cpowers related to planning\u201d as part of the remit. It is therefore very possible that the responsibility for planning in Greater Cambridge will be removed from the local authority, its elected members and an award-winning planning authority and vested with the (unelected) DevCo and its government masters. It could mean local people lose control over the scale and pace of development and its consequences. I urge you to read the government\u2019s plans and engage with the consultation. Full Council meeting: budgets and business plans SCDC\u2019s full council met recently and approved its business plan and budget for the coming financial year. SCDC is one of the best run councils in the country and is often held up as an exemplar. It continues to deliver high quality services in the face of sustained cuts by central government, including recent reductions to the amount of Business Rates that local authorities can retain. A \u00a35.24 per year increase in Council Tax for the average Band D home was agreed, which is a below\u2011inflation rise. It means the average Band D charge for South Cambridgeshire District Council will be \u00a3180.64 per year from 1 April. Even with this increase, the Council will remain one of the lowest charging district councils in the country (and lower than the precept of some parish councils)! I will cover the council\u2019s business plan in my report to the Annual Over Parish Meeting. Mobile Warden schemes SCDC has pledged ongoing funding for Community\/Mobile Warden Schemes, which provide crucial support for older, disabled and vulnerable residents \u2013 ensuring they can live safely and independently in their own homes. The schemes form part of the Council\u2019s work to promote healthy and supported communities. The scheme for Willingham will remain unchanged; Over Parish Council have decided to suspend their financial support for the Over scheme due to low client numbers. Bill HandleyDistrict Councillor for Over and WillinghamPhone: 01954 200287 (leave a message), Email<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image.jpeg?fit=187%2C164&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Tb23-1wr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5856,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5855\/revisions\/5856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}