In the last year, the council has spent a great deal of time dealing with government requirements for a Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in which the Government is seeking to replace existing district, city and county councils with a single layer of \u201cunitary councils.\u201d In November 2025, the principal authorities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough submitted their proposals for what those new councils should look like. The Government is currently consulting on those proposals and is expected to make its The four proposals on the table are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Option A: Submitted by Cambridgeshire County Council<\/p>\n\n\n\n Option B: Submitted by South Cambs DC, East Cambs DC, Cambridge City Council<\/p>\n\n\n\n Option D: Submitted by Peterborough City Council and Fenland District Council A fifth option – C – would have included South Cambs, Cambridge and Huntingdonshire in the same authority, but this was not taken forward by any council. We expect the Government to decide which option they want in the summer, so that elections to the \u201cshadow councils\u201d can take place in May 2027, and for the new councils to take over in April 2028. Therefore, the upcoming district council elections (7th May) will be the last ones for SCDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Development Corporation (\u201cDevCo\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past year, the Government has introduced proposals to install an Urban Development Corporation for Greater Cambridge. This would take important planning powers away from local authorities (both determining applications above a certain size and making the local plan) and vest them with a DevCo, made up of a majority of members appointed by the Secretary of State, rather than locally elected people. This is as part of the government\u2019s ambitions to \u201cturbocharge\u201d growth in and around Cambridge, but they are vague on numbers and have not defined what they will consider to be success. At a recent meeting of full council at SCDC, there was cross-party objections to this loss of democratic accountability and the imposition of an urban<\/em> DevCo on a largely rural<\/em> area. Councillors all agreed that Greater Cambridge is a special place to live and are concerned that without the input of democratically elected local politicians this special place could be under threat with its future in the hands of unelected bureaucrats in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ironically, just as the government is proposing to remove many planning powers from the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service (GCSPS), it has, in the last year, won the prestigious award for Planning Authority of the Year 2025. This was a massive achievement and something the councils are immensely proud. You can also view SCDC\u2019s Authority Monitoring Report, which sets out how the council is progressing towards targets in the existing<\/em> Local Plan and government housing targets. Link: https:\/\/scambs.moderngov.co.uk\/documents\/s142090\/App%201.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n New Council Homes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The year has seen a record-breaking year for South Cambridgeshire when it comes to the building of new council houses. When the current administration came to power in 2018, the council was building no more than 35 new council houses each year and because of \u2018right to buy\u2019 sales its portfolio was shrinking; the period 2013 to 2018 saw a net reduction of 99 council houses. Since 2018 the current administration has nearly quadrupled the rate of council house building. This year, at the time of writing, at least 120 new council homes had been completed across the district and should (by the end of the financial year) have delivered 139 new council homes. This is something about which the administration is enormously proud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cost of living crisis mitigation and Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another proud initiative is the LIFT scheme, which was made permanent in the last year. The LIFT software interrogates the council\u2019s databases to identify South Cambs residents who are missing out on benefits that they are entitled to claim. A two-year apprentice role has been added to the scheme to make the most of the LIFT programme. It\u2019s already done fantastic work for residents \u2013 helping over 1,000 residents so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With many residents still facing financial pressures, the Council will continue providing its comprehensive cost-of-living support package. A budget of \u00a3449,000 is set aside to help residents through the next two years through schemes such as emergency food and energy support, workshops, budgeting and debt advice, white goods and furniture for vulnerable people and laptops with digital training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Projects in Over and Willingham benefit from SCDC grant funding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to prudent financial management, SCDC remains one of the few councils in the country that is able to maintain significant grant funding for grassroot community initiatives and green projects in the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the last year, trustees of Willingham\u2019s Octagon Community Centre and the associated Memory Caf\u00e9 have improved the heating in the building and improved the kitchen facilities. Over Community Centre has installed a significant solar array plus EV charging points supported by grant funding from SCDC\u2019s Zero Carbon Communities fund. As part of SCDC\u2019s Service Support Grant funding, Over Day Care is to receive \u00a330,000 per year for the next three years to provide a transport and hospital discharge support service for older residents. SCDC contributed (via its Community Growing grant<\/a>) to Over Day Centre\u2019s new garden which provides clients with a tranquil and relaxing environment and also received \u00a31,708 from the Community Chest grant scheme to install four electric garden awnings which provide shade and shelter when it rains, enabling the garden to be enjoyed even in inclement weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Budget and Council Tax Setting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At the Council\u2019s recent budgets meeting, councillors agreed to a \u00a35.24 Council Tax increase for a Band D property, which works out at 10p a week. SCDC\u2019s precept is smaller than a number of parish councils!This doesn\u2019t include the police, fire, parish council or Mayor\u2019s precepts which are not set by SCDC but are collected by the council. This rise is in the context of significant cuts to local authority funding from central government. SCDC\u2019s spending power is being cut by over \u00a35 million over the next 3 years, following the Government\u2019s \u201cfair funding review 2.0\u201d which is especially damaging to rural councils like ours. Thankfully, due to prudent financial management and investment of reserves, these reductions are considered manageable by SCDC, but it seems likely that there will be some trimming of budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coming in the next 12 months\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Solar energy park<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The next 12 months will see the completion of SCDC\u2019s solar energy park at its Waterbeach waste collection depot. This will power the council\u2019s growing fleet of electric bin lorries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Weekly food waste collections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This year will see the roll-out of the government\u2019s weekly food waste collections. This will help reduce the amount of food waste being sent to landfill and the waste will be used in anaerobic digesters to produce biofuels. Over and Willingham will be one of the later areas to receive the new service \u2013 probably in the autumn. More information is here: https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/ykwrf83t<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill<\/p>\n\n\n\n
final decision in the summer. You can read all four business cases and respond to the
consultation here (Deadline 26th March): https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/HMG-LGR-proposals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image.jpg?resize=114%2C161&ssl=1\")
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Option E: Submitted by Huntingdonshire DC<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.overvillage.co.uk\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image.png?resize=286%2C161&ssl=1\")
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The GCSPC\u2019s draft Local Plan is in an advanced stage of development and a recent consultation garnered over 4,500 responses which are now being analysed. You can learn more about the Local Plan here: https:\/\/greatercambridgeplanning.org\/emerging-plans-and-guidance\/greater-cambridge-local-plan\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n