Agenda

Cambridgeshire County Council is pleased to announce that the next deadline for Innovate & Cultivate Fund applications is 1^st May 2021. One-to-one pre-application advice will be offered on 18^th and 23^rd March (details below).

The aim of the fund is to support initiatives that strengthen our communities and reduce pressure on County Council services, thereby giving a return on investment. Council services that are inviting applications are adult social care and children’s services. 

The fund is open to voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations based in and outside of Cambridgeshire, and public sector organisations in Cambridgeshire. Please note that projects serving Peterborough residents are not eligible.

The 1^st May funding round is for ‘Cultivate’ grant applications (£2,000-£15,000) for projects that build community support networks for vulnerable people.  The ‘Innovate’ funding stream (£15,000-£50,000) is suspended until further notice.

Pre-application advice

We strongly advise organisations to seek pre-application advice on their project ideas before submitting an application.  Bookings are now open for telephone advice appointments on Thursday 18 March and Tuesday 23 March.  These 15 minute 1-1 appointments must be pre-booked and are available on a first come first served basis. Please book here.

Cultivate Project Ideas

Do you want to do something for your community but need some inspiration to start a project? We’ve developed application guidance for 3 new Cultivate project ideas - Mobile Warden Schemes, Community Youth Worker and Digital Inclusion Projects – that can help people to remain independent and active within their community, encourage volunteering and complement more costly Council services. We also continue to invite applications for Timebanks, Good Neighbour Schemes, Dementia-Friendly Communities and Men's Sheds. You can find guidance on how to apply for a start-up grant for each of these projects here. 

Applications and further information about fund priorities and criteria may be found on the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation (CCF) website.

Please find attachedroad closures information for week commencing 8 March in relation to the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme.

For all queries relating to the scheme, please email: A14CambridgeHuntingdon@highwaysengland.co.uk

Further updateson scheme progress can be found on the website.

I am contacting you regarding a members briefing on the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements scheme.

We’d like to invite South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire District Council members to a briefing on the scheme on 24 March from 16.00 to 18.30. Can you please advise if this date clashes with any major council meetings and if not could you please forward this email on to the Members you think would be interested in attending.

If they would like to attend please email info@a428.co.uk to confirm their attendance and they will be sent a calendar invite. For anyone who cannot attend we will record the briefing so it can be watched back at any time.

Our plans are to upgrade the route between the Black Cat roundabout and Caxton Gibbet roundabout with a new 10-mile dual carriageway and a number of junction improvements. The scheme will improve journeys between Milton Keynes and Cambridge, bringing communities together and supporting long term growth in the region. You can find out more information about the scheme on our website.

In the briefing we will aim to cover the following agenda:

• Agenda:

§  Introductions

§  Safety Moment

§  Scheme walk through

§  Traffic

§  Environmental Mitigation

§  Q&A

If members have any questions in the meantime they are welcome to contact us at info@a428.co.uk.

A reminder about our current COVID-19 surveys for residents and business owners.

You may remember that last summer we sent out surveys to find out how residents and businesses felt with regards to COVID-19.  These surveys were very useful in helping us plan an approach to support businesses and residents and we now have an updated version, which will help us to compare how attitudes have changed and identify how best to support South Cambridgeshire’s local businesses as they continue to navigate this challenging time and prepare for reopening in line with the Government’s “roadmap”.

Both surveys (for residents and business owners) can be found on our webpage for: South Cambridgeshire COVID-19 surveys (www.scambs.gov.uk/COVIDsurveys).

Your help in sharing these surveys on your own parish and local social media platforms would be much appreciated. 

For more information, please contact: reopening@scambs.gov.uk

Friday 5 March: Guardian: UK failing in net zero commitment

Government policy is falling short of the plan for the UK to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, despite green rhetoric.

Friday 5 March, The Telegraph: Council tax rises

The Office for Budget Responsibility has said councils will increase taxes by £1.8 billion next month after the Government allowed them to increase council tax by up to 5 per cent to cover social cares costs.

Saturday 6 March, Times: Town centres and high streets will have to evolve

In an interview discussing the pandemic response and the Budget, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also debates the future of high streets.

Tuesday 9 March, Guardian: Warning over photo ID law changes from UK-wide and English elections

Changing the law to force people to show photo ID to take part in UK elections could negatively impact ethnic minority communities.

A list of decisions currently within the call-in period is available on the Council’s website.

The call in procedure is set out in full in Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution, ‘Scrutiny and Overview Committee Procedure Rules’. 

The Lead Cabinet Member for Housing agreed to approve £3,000 funding from the monies received from the Government’s Community Housing Fund to support Eastern Communities Homes for the period 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023.

This decision was first published on Tuesday 9 March and so the deadline for call-in is Tuesday 16 March at 5pm.

The Lead Cabinet Member for Planning agreed:

·         The Greater Cambridge Brownfield Register – spreadsheet (see Appendix 1) and accompanying spatial data – to be published on the Council’s websites.

·         A parallel decision is being considered by Cambridge City Council and delegated authority is given to the Joint Director for Planning and Economic Development to agree any minor editing, or amendments to the response agreed by the City Council, that are consistent with the overall approach as set out in Appendix 1.

This decision was first published on Tuesday 9 March and so the deadline for call-in is Tuesday 16 March at 5pm.

Please click on the link to find details of decisions made by officers under delegated authority.