Report: County Councillor (Hardwick div.)
District Councillor (Harston & Comberton)
Cllr Michael Atkins
December 2022
Highlights
- Strep A guidance issues to schools and parents
- 20mph zones
- City access/sustainable travel zone/congestion charge consultation open to 23rd Dec
- New hosts for Ukrainian guests needed
- Contact details
News from the County
Public health: Strep A/Scarlet Fever
The education and public health teams have shared information on how to identify and treat cases with schools and parents. There have been a small number of confirmed cases across the county, so any parent with concerns is encouraged to swiftly seek medical advice, particularly if your child continues to deteriorate after a bout of scarlet fever, sore throat or other respiratory infection. Nevertheless, the overall public health risks remain low (the East of England currently has fewer notifications and cases than other regions) and the message from health leaders is vigilance rather than alarm.
Supermarket vouchers for FSM families
As in previous holidays, families usually in receipt of free school meals will receive vouchers of £30 to help with food costs over the Christmas holiday. Information about free school meals is available at https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/schools-learning/help-with-school-learning-costs/free-school-meals
20mph zones
I am delighted to report further details about 20mph zones. Applications for larger-area schemes will open in February, with £400,000 set aside for implementation over the next few years, as part of a new fast-tracked approach to getting these set up. I look forward to working with many of you to decide how best to make use of this new scheme for our villages. 20mph will also be adopted as the default for any new residential roads following the intervention our neighbouring councillor for Trumpington.
Watercourse guidance
Updated guidance has been prepared for residents with watercourses on land they own, including rights and responsibilities, and clear advice on how to maintain them in the future. This is an important part of flood management so do pass this on to any relevant landowners you know of. The information can be found at: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/business/planning-and-development/flood-and-water/watercourse-management/watercourse-guidance
Coronation events
You should have received details on how to request road closures for any community events connected to the coronation of King Charles III scheduled for the 6th May 2023. Street party applications require 8 weeks’ notice, and highway applications 12 weeks’ notice, so planning early in the new year is advised!
News from GCP & Combined Authority
City access: public transport & congestion charge
The GCP have published draft proposals for addressing public transport in the greater Cambridge area. The consultation is open until the 23rd December and can be found at: https://consultcambs.uk.engagementhq.com/making-connections-2022
The core proposal is to establish a revived bus network with significant public subsidy, £1 or £2 bus fares, and at least hourly services to rural villages. This would be rolled out over the next few years, and then ultimately sustained via a congestion charge from 2026/27 on private cars driving into the city centre 7am-7pm Mon-Fri.
This has unsurprisingly generated a lot of media and political attention, and will be of interest to most residents. There is still a lot of detail to be worked out, and much of that will be gauged via future consultations, so please engage with the plans as they emerge. Just to highlight a few issues where there is some misinformation doing the rounds:
- The improvements in the bus services will be brought in over several years before the congestion charge will be introduced
- The Park & Ride sites will not be covered by the charge, so this will remain an option where journeys are too complex to easily replace with public transport.
- The inclusion of the Addenbrookes site will be subject to further discussion. It is worth noting that staff are already heavily discouraged from driving and parking (unless working shifts, which would be outside the congestion charge times anyway). Patients too ill to use public transport would be exempt.
If residents have immediate concerns they are welcome to contact me to discuss at their convenience. The political groups of which I am a member have not yet agreed a position on these proposals, and will do so once the results from the consultation (and the scope and shape of any revised proposals) are known.
News from the District
Six Free Trees
The District Council is again offering every parish 6 free trees to plant on their own or local school-owned land. Contact zcc@scambs.gov.uk .
Mould in rented properties
The District Council has a role in ensuring that homes in the private sector do not contain health hazards, alongside their own properties of course. If a tenant wishes to make a complaint they can do so via env.health@scambs.gov.uk detailing their address, details of the landlord, what the issue is, how long it has been a problem, and include photographs if possible.
Cost of Living Support & warm hubs
The Council has put together a support package to help the most vulnerable families through this difficult time. The major measures are: discretionary housing payments for 100 extra eligible families; further council tax discounts, including up to 100% for those in extreme hardship; and Warm Packs for Council tenants. A reminder also that our local warm hubs can be found in Comberton and Grantchester, having visited earlier this month I can safely say they are a fantastic resource, and I am very grateful to the volunteers making them happen.
The UK Government’s Warm Home Discount scheme has also reopened, providing a discount of £150 to eligible families. Many will receive the discount automatically, however there is also a new online tool at https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme to check eligibility.
Ukraine – new hosts needed
There are currently 500 hosts for Ukrainian refugees in the greater Cambridge area, but with the continuation of the war, there are some hosts unable to renew the arrangement after the initial six months. Anyone who might be able to provide a spare room for a guest is asked to text ROOM to 88802 or go to https://www.scambs.gov.uk/spareroom – about 200 are needed over the next few months.
Contact Details
Councillors and residents are welcome to contact me on any issue which is concerning them:
Cllr Michael I. Atkins
matkinslibdem@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/cllrmichaelatkins
07968 264637