If you were unable to attend the Annual Parish Meeting, here are the reports from your local groups and councillors:

Teversham Community Warden Scheme – Update report
This is just a brief update following from the last one in February 2021.
I am pleased to advise that due to shielding ending in April, Donna has now returned to her role fully and is now out and about in the community delivering the scheme. Donna is pleased to be back and we will now focus on being visible within the community to help promote the service and reach as many people as possible.
For the moment we are still only making indoor visits for essential purposes only and this is continually reviewed in line with Government guidelines to ensure everyone’s safety. At present the scheme is currently supporting 5 households. This has reduced by 1 since February due to a service user currently in hospital. We are so keen to get the numbers up to ensure we are reaching all those that need help and may not be aware of the warden service. We are noticing other areas starting to receive new referrals now that many of the local support groups are beginning to reduce in the support, they are able to offer.
Donna has now had both of her vaccinations and carries out lateral flow tests twice a week. We hope that this will help ease some service users’ anxieties about coming onto the scheme or asking for help.
Donna recently attended the Hope Church meeting by zoom and has been putting up new posters locally as well. Attendance at multi agency meetings are taking place bi-monthly where the warden schemes are discussed and promoted too.
Some examples of recent support provided:
• Helped a service user download a shopping app so they can now do their big shop online and by themselves. They were so pleased about this
• Helped a service user renew their car tax online
• Watering a service users plants

Budget
The finance manager retired in March and this has meant that the end of year budgets are slightly delayed at the moment. As soon as these are available, they will be sent over to the group. In February, the forecast budget was shared and this showed a potential carry forward figure into 2021.2022 of £1880 and this still appears to be the case.
If you wish for any further information please do not hesitate to contact me by phone on 07445151635 or email sarah.thomson@ageukcap.org.uk
Kind regards
Sarah Thomson
Service Manager

Annual report to Parish Council from District Councillor Graham Cone 2021
The past year has clearly been a difficult one for many people in the Fen Ditton and Fulbourn ward. Many people will know someone who has died of Covid, suffered with Covid, lost their job or had to shut a business. Clearly the effect on wider society and mental health has been huge. Sometimes you don’t realise how important things are until they are taken away. Being able to meet someone for a coffee or have a chat with friends at the pub and many other things that we would normally take for granted have stopped due to the pandemic or have a huge impact on social isolation, loneliness or just being able to talk things through with someone.

As the District Councillor for the Fen Ditton and Fulbourn ward, I have been heartened by the huge amounts of kindness and community spirit that has been shown throughout the villages that I represent. I have done my best to work with community groups to make sure people got prescriptions, had someone to talk to or got their food parcel delivered. I played my part in calling residents on the shielded list to make sure they knew what services were available to them and contacted businesses across the ward to make sure that they were aware of grants being provided by the Government.

At my full-time job on site at Addenbrookes Hospital, I have seen first-hand the effect that the Coronavirus has had on patients and their relatives that could no longer visit loved ones or be with them when they were attending their really difficult cancer treatment. I have also witnessed and worked with the teams that were providing treatments during the pandemic sweating under PPE but still getting the job done.

A short time into the pandemic I put myself forward to take part in the Astra-Zeneca vaccine trial. My role was just as a guinea pig but it allowed me to see the huge effort behind the scenes that went into producing the vaccine in a short space of time. I have been really proud of this country’s effort in rolling out the vaccine programme which will undoubtedly save thousands of people dying from Covid.

My role at South Cambridgeshire District Council is as an opposition Councillor and Deputy Leader of the Conservative group. I have tried very hard in opposition to support the Liberal Democrat controlled Council where we agree and not just oppose for the sake of opposing, as you will see from reports over the past year available on the Parish Council website. I want South Cambridgeshire to continue to be one of the best places to live in the UK with huge employment opportunities and rural villages where people want to live close to a vibrant city. Our district in some ways is a victim of its own success with many of the employees working in skilled jobs (whether that be on a science park, Addenbrooke’s site or through one of the big employers like Arm) wanting to live here making this a high cost of living area.

My life as a District Councillor is a very busy one, I have tried really hard to attend Parish Council meetings in all the villages I represent throughout the year. I also sit on three committees at the council, Licensing, Scrutiny and Environment.

As District Councillor I have been involved in a number of local issues that residents have brought to my attention. These issues have ranged from concerns around local repair works, speeding, maintenance such as grass cutting, youth projects, street lamps, lobbying for cycle ways and answering questions on welfare and taxation. Specifically, within the ward I have made representations and worked with officers and developers on a whole range of issues such as the water treatment plant, the Ida Darwin development and cycle greenways.

A report on Cambridgeshire County Council from Cllr John Williams

Foreword
The last twelve months have been the strangest of all the 20 years I have been a County Councillor.
Life, personal and communal, has been dominated by the Covid virus but, at the same time, every effort has been made to ‘keep things going’. Its been the same at the county council especially as it was designated by the Government as a Hub to coordinate the work of all the councils and agencies in the county to ensure Government help got to the most venerable particularly those who were Shielding.
The County Council has continued to function and most of its scheduled meetings have taken place, but by Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
An additional complication was the severe flooding which occurred as a result of the heaviest rainfall for many years over the Christmas period. This affected various conurbations differentially but exposed inadequacies in the maintenance of drains. The problems arising from that are being addressed by councils at all levels.
At the time of writing, there seems to be the possibility of a return to ‘normal’ in the next few weeks but we do not yet know if the new normal will be like the old normal or whether certain procedures will be changed indefinitely.
My main report follows below and contains no surprises as I have been reporting to the Great Wilbraham Parish Council meetings.
I retire from my county councillor role this May but I will continue to be one of your District councillors.
The main report below follows the pattern of the reports I have provided in previous years.

Paragraphs 1 – 3 provide the factual details about the County Council

Paragraphs 4 – 5 summarise the Council’s financial position and policy

Paragraphs 6 – 9 report on the main areas of County Council activity which affect the lives of residents

Paragraph 10 reports on the Combined Authority of which Cambridgeshire is a part.

Paragraph 11 reports on my more specific contacts with Stow-cum-Quy.

Paragraph 12 comments on the national scene insofar as it affects local government.

Paragraph 13 summarises the national pressures and uncertainties we face.

Keeping you informed
It is all too easy for councillors to become engrossed in their work on committees and lose touch with the people they represent. That is why I have attended the monthly Parish Council meetings, and provided all residents with up-dates through the Focus leaflets.
I quite understand that not everybody shares my political perspective nor my interpretation of national developments but I have tried to engage constructively with any residents who have raised issues with me.
Full details of the County Council structure, committees and meetings with reports can be seen on-line at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk. Full Council meetings are web-cast.
John Williams April 20 April 2021

1. The political balance of the Council

The political composition of the 61-member Council now stands as: 35 Conservatives, 16 Liberal Democrats, 7 Labour, 2 ‘St. Neots Independents’, 1 Independent.
The Council has seven decision-making committees. with a majority of Conservatives on each committee and every Committee chaired and vice-chaired by a Conservative. The committees are:
Adults Children and Young People Commercial and Investment Economy and Environment Health Communities and Partnerships
Highways and Community Infrastructure
The overall political and financial direction of the Council is in the hands of the General Purposes Committee comprising 15 members. This is chaired by the Leader of the Council who is also the Leader of the Conservative Group.
In addition there are several more smaller committees covering, for example, Planning, Audit and Accounts, Constitution and Ethics, Pensions, Staffing Appeals. All the committees are chaired by Conservatives except Audit and Accounts which is chaired by Cllr Shellens (Lib. Dem.).

2. Council officers and Council offices
The Chief Executive, Gillian Beasley, is shared with Peterborough as part of the policy of reducing back office costs and several other senior posts are also shared with Peterborough. The trend of recent years i.e. to reduce council staff, has continued.
The CCC HQ building, Shire Hall, has been closed and emptied prior to being re-developed for other purposes, and the County Council will move to new buildings on a business estate in Alconbury Weald, probably from September 2021. The new buildings will be more economical to run but, being on the western edge of the Council area, there will be increased travel costs and time for staff, and more road pollution. In particularly it is not served by public transport the nearest bus stop being some distance away. For those without a car it is about a three hour trip from the centre of Cambridge to the new County Council home.

3. What the Council provides
Social services to children and young people, older people, people with mental health problems, physical and learning disabilities; Planning of school places and some support for schools (although the funding for day-today running comes from central government); Coordinated Early Years provision, nurseries etc.; Libraries; Road maintenance; road safety measures;
Growth and wider development issues; Trading standards; waste disposal and recycling centres. The former responsibility for overall transport strategy is gradually being taken over by the Combined Authority.

4. The key issues faced by Cambridgeshire County Council:
Reduced funding Increasing costs Increasing demand Covid paralysis
The reduction in general grants from central government has continued except that some extra money has been made available for Covid measures. The Local Government Association, a cross-party organisation, has been ringing alarm bells recently about the greater financial burden placed on local councils and several have become insolvent. County Councils have the flexibility to increase tax levels (see below, para. 5) without having to call a referendum. The demand for services is increasing as the proportion of the population needing adult social care support increases. Although the total number of under-fives is not increasing at the moment, the severity of need of an increasing proportion is placing greater demands on a hard-pressed service. The general pattern is for the cost of providing services to rise above general levels of inflation.

5. County Council Tax
The government has again capped the levels by which local councils can increase tax for 2021-22: 3% over two years towards Adult Social Care and 1.99% towards other services. Cambridgeshire CC has decided to limit the social care increase to 1%, followed by 2% next year and 1.99% for other services..
So, for the coming year 2021-22, the total 2.99% increase will cost a Band D household an extra £54.22 per year. Over 60% of households in Cambridgeshire are in the lower bands A-C.
In round figures, every 1% brings in about £3 million to the Council
Since capping was introduced in 2014, the Council has not made use of the full flexibility allowed by central government. As a result of the compounding effect of those decisions, the Council’s income is about £10 million less than it would have been.

6. Services for older people
More and more people are living longer and, in the main, healthier lives. When they do become dependent, the cost to the Council is very considerable. The Council’s aim is to enable more people to live longer at home and be supported there rather than going into sheltered accommodation. The policy of ‘Transformation’ is based on a significant reduction in personnel together with higher expectations on the voluntary sector and an assumption of a willingness on the part of beneficiaries to accept new ways of being supported. While there is obviously merit in trying to find new ways of providing services, there can be no disguising the fact that provision will get worse for some and this is a matter of great concern, both locally and nationally.

7. Transport and Highways
a. Road maintenance and footpath repair are the most frequent source of complaint from residents.
b. The impact of the decision by the County Council ruling group to reduce the drain clearance process was cruelly exposed by the recent flooding incidents.
c. Also the Mayor took control of public transport in the county although last year the management of the contracted services. Since the start of the 2021/22 financial year this has now passed to the Combined Authority on behalf of the Mayor.
d. We saw the response by the highway’s team impacted by many highways staff being seconded to Covid 19 duties.
e. Work on the Greenways has been seriously impacted by last year’s lockdown.

8. Education
All Cambridgeshire secondary schools are now ‘academies’ which means that the Council has no jurisdiction over them. The County Council retains responsibility for the ‘well-being’ of children in academies though it has no formal role in intervening if things go wrong.
Only a small minority of primaries have become academies and nearly all remain under the supervision of Cambridgeshire County County as the Local Education Authority. Great Wilbraham primary school although a Church of England school remains a grant maintained school that is it receives Government funding via the Local Education Authority.
The disruption of the last few months has caused the suspension of Ofsted inspections and of conventional examinations so it is not possible to make a comment on the success of Cambridgeshire schools against national benchmarks.
Central government grant to Cambridgeshire improved in 15-16, and has been maintained. A ‘National Funding Formula’ published in September 2017 was a small move in the right direction. Costs in schools have increased at a higher rate. Independent researchers confirm that, in real terms, funds available to schools have been cut by 9% since 2010. .
The major topic this year, as last, is that funding for children with special needs has not kept up with the demand. The ‘High Needs Block’ in Cambridgeshire now has a deficit of £28 million, and a similar pattern is seen in other counties so this is a national problem.

9. Climate Change The County Council, in common with many others, is beginning to take this seriously and is beginning to develop a Strategy to reduce energy consumption. The particular problem for Cambridgeshire is the massive expansion of housing and population. Cambridgeshire is, mainly, an attractive place to live and though house prices are rising, they are good value compared with the London area. A rapidly increasing population puts pressures on many services which use energy but I am sure we will see new ideas coming forward. Whether the general public is ready to change its ingrained habits is another matter!

10. Combined Authority
Since May 2017 there has been a ‘Combined Authority’ for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with James Palmer (Con.) as Mayor.

The combined authority comprises:
Peterborough City Council (a unitary authority), the district councils of Huntingdonshire, Fenland, East Cambs, South Cambs and Cambridge City, and Cambridgeshire County Council.
The Mayor has a Cabinet comprising the Council Leaders from all the constituent councils, i.e. five Conservatives, one Labour and one Lib Dem, and there is also a scrutiny panel.
Some people claim that the introduction of a Combined Authority makes it unnecessary to have County and District Councils as well as parish councils and perhaps one of the layers of local government could be pruned to save costs. The work on this was remitted to the Mayor but he has done nothing about it.
Controversially the Mayor has recently overruled the Greater Cambridge Partnership in connection with road development proposals. He also had the Government withdraw £45 million of funding for housing due to concerns about the way in which money was being spent on housing – in particular the lack of affordable housing. He has decided not to have his HQ at Alconbury as originally planned but to have it in Ely.
The Mayor has also been offered greater scope by central government in order to ‘level him up’ to the Metro Mayors in the North of England. This means that he will take on adult education and the development of a university in Peterborough.

11. Teversham specifically
a. I attend the Parish Council meetings where I report on current issues and answer questions from parish councillors. I liaise with the Parish Clerk and/or Chairman between meetings if and when required.
b. The Marshall Close footpaths and roads in the Foxgloves have been resurfaced but there continue to be many footpaths in a poor state.
c. Some pot-hole repairs have eventually been carried out. But many more are needed to be done. And the footpaths are in a terrible state in places. Quite simply not enough money has been put into the highways budget to make the repairs. The County Council has purchased more mobile equipment to enable it to carry out repairs quicker and cheaper. In reporting a pothole you should use the County Council website as this automatically raises a job number against which a works order can be raised following inspection. It is very helpful if you can upload a photo to accompany your report.
d. Ii is disappointing that Teversham was unsuccessful in trying to get County to fund a reduction in the speed limit in Airport Way at the pedestrian/cycle refuge.
e. The “Newmarket Bus” now connects Teversham village to the Tesco store in Yarrow Road on Tuesdays and Fridays.
f. At the Joi nt Development Control Committee I challenged the travel assumptions made by the Land North of Cherry Hinton application in that the proposed secondary school would not generate traffic through Teversham village and that its proposed flood lit playing field and sound bund along Airport Way would seriously impact on the Green Belt and the village aspect.

12. The future for local government services and the implication for communities
It is now becoming increasingly clear that the structure and funding of local government as we have known it for many years has changed and will continue to change. Central government has been decreasing its grants to local councils with the expectation is that services will be ‘transformed’ and local groups – parish councils, voluntary groups – will have a bigger role in supporting those people in the early stage of needing help.

The County Council has continued to make savings in its procedures and in increasing income. For example, it has set itself up as a property company “This Land” and is trying to sell off some of its land holdings for housing. Plans for moving HQ offices out of Shire Hall in Cambridge to a new building in Alconbury Weald are coming to fruition (see para. 2 above),

13. National uncertainty
It is probably not an exaggeration to say that we face, as a country, greater uncertainty than most of us can remember in a lifetime.
It is already becoming apparent that the process of Brexit will be much more complicated than previously claimed by national politicians. We frankly do not know what the implications will be for the country economically nor for us, the general public, in our everyday lives. Problems for fishermen, farmers and for some industries are emerging.
Climate change, still disputed by some, appears to be confirmed as an international trend with local implications for changes in our daily patten of behaviour.
And then we have the recovery, we hope, from Covid. If the vaccination programme continues to go well, we may be safer but we do not yet know what the impact will be on many aspects of our social and communal lives.
John Williams 20 April 2021

Report to Teversham Parish Council from District Councillors Claire Daunton and John Williams for the year 2020-2021.
This report covers the last 12 months of activity by South Cambs District Council (SCDC) and by us, Claire Daunton and John Williams, your District Councillors (LibDems). As District Councillors in the Fen Ditton and Fulbourn Ward, we are very pleased to represent Great Wilbraham. We also represent Little Wilbraham, Six Mile Bottom, Fulbourn, Teversham, Quy, Horningsea and Fen Ditton. We have prepared reports for and attended all the regular meetings of parish councils; and attended additional meetings on specific topics.
COVID and ITS IMPACT
The year has been dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. SCDC has been highly active in the local government response to the pandemic and has responded quickly and flexibly to the changing circumstances. Significant numbers of Council officers have been redeployed from their usual duties to dealing directly and urgently with the Covid response, such as the Business Recovery team and the Communities team. Although this has meant some disruption to normal council services, most have been delivered in a timely way and we hope that local residents have not been too severely affected.
1. Community Volunteers
One of the most heartening things that has come out of the pandemic has been the terrific volunteer community response. It was estimated that, at the height of the Covid emergency, over 4,500 people were engaged across South Cambridgeshire in helping their fellow citizens get through the worst of the crisis. Teversham was blessed with an excellent group, which was well organised and highly effective, working well with the parish council. We would like to record our thanks to all of those who stepped up and made such a difference.
Now that there appears to be an end to the lockdown and the vaccination programme is reducing the infection risk , SCDC is looking forward and examining how the community response might be continued into the recovery period. In the coming weeks, council officers will be contacting volunteers to ask them for their views on this. It is appreciated that many will be very tired and looking forward to a break and this is understandable. It may be that a different set of residents step up and continue the work. Whatever local groups will decide, SCDC will support them in whatever way it can.

2. Covid Recovery Grants for Villages:
SCDC has just launched an additional Community Chest grant programme specifically for Covid Recovery and has put £30,000 in the pot. The aim is to help local community groups and parish councils resume activities that might have been stopped due to Covid or which have tailed off in recent months. The Council’s Grants Advisory Committee temporarily amended the rules around the eligibility criteria for its Community Chest Grant scheme for the next two months to allow applications for these grants of up to £2,000.
Previously, few parish councils could apply to the scheme as the criteria stipulated they had to have fewer than 160 registered electors. But for the next eight weeks, it will be open to all parish councils and community groups – including new ones that are now setting up. Applications are being accepted until 10 May 2021, with submissions being reviewed at the May 28 Grants Advisory Committee meeting. Applying for a Covid Recovery Community Chest Grant is the same as applying for a standard Community Chest Grant. The applicant simply selects which type of grant they are applying for at the start of the process with all other criteria being the same. See https://www.scambs.gov.uk/community-development/grants/community-chest-grants/
Meanwhile, the normal Community Chest Grant scheme continues to run for community groups for a maximum grant of £1,000. We continue to encourage community groups to apply.

3. Covid Business Grants
SCDC has paid out a total of £10,570,066 in Government business grants to 4,447 businesses since November.
SCDC has paid £3,550,204 out of their £4,594,889 discretionary/hardship allocation and we are awaiting details of what further monies we can expect and what activities and businesses it will be able to help.
We continue to do everything we can to support all businesses regardless of their size or turnover through our website, our newsletter and by direct contact with our expert business support team – we have advised a staggering 2000 businesses over the past 12 months.
On top of this we have been running a series of 7 Business Webinars and are planning 7 more with the one in July entitled Rebuilding the Greater Cambridge Supply Chain post Covid.
It will focus on the Food and Drinks sector and so should be of great interest to our pubs, restaurants and takeaways. Further information to follow.

4. Business rates relief
On 25 March, the Government announced £1.5 billion further funding for councils to provide additional targeted support to those businesses that have not already received business rates relief. The funding will be allocated to councils based on the stock of properties in the area whose sectors have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak and they will use their knowledge to make awards to local businesses. The Government will work with and support local government to enable ratepayers to apply as soon as possible this year.

5. Workplace testing programme expands to offer free rapid home testing
On 28 March the Government announced that, from 6 April, the workplace testing programme will supply home test kits to companies with over ten workers where it is not possible to set up testing on-site. This could be due to a lack of space or because a company operates across multiple sites. Over 60,000 businesses across the country have already registered their interest to provide rapid tests to key workers. Businesses are encouraged to register before 12 April in order to access free tests until the end of June, even if they’re not yet open or are not able to start using the tests straight away.
FINANCE
South Cambs Financial Year 2020/21
• Last April 2020 the District council precept was set at £150.31 for a Band D property a £5 increase on the 2019/20 precept. The 2020/2021 General Fund Revenue Budget based on known commitments and planned levels of service/functions predicted in February 2020 resulted in a Budget Requirement of £24.350 million was needed to be met from Government Grants and Local Taxation.
• The Covid 19 pandemic severely impacted on this and the actual out turn figure for 2020/21 was £25.180 million. Additional costs arising from Covid 19 were covered by the Government. However, loss of income has been partially covered by the Government. As a result a contribution from the General Fund Reserve was needed to balance the books.
• Due to the uncertainty of the Covid 19 lockdown on the District council’s cash flow Parish Council were asked in April if they could receive the second quarter of their precept in June. In the event this was not necessary and it was paid as soon as possible in May. Although not required the council was grateful for the offers of support from parish councils.

SCDC BUSINESS PLAN: achievements
Created a Business Team of 4 to support local businesses with contact and advice provided to well over 2,000 businesses throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
• 66 new Council homes completed (10 at Great Abington, 9 at Foxton, 4 at West Wickham, 5 at Teversham, 6 at Toft and 32 at Hardwick) exceeding target of 50.
• Zero Carbon Strategy was adopted by Full Council in May 2020 and an action plan has been now been developed. Including LED conversion for SCDC street lights and electric vehicles for waste.
• New employee benefits portal and employee assistance helpline launched in April 2020. Target of 70% first time recruitment has been achieved.
• Mobile Warden Scheme Target of 3 new schemes exceeded, with 7 new schemes up and running, increasing coverage to a further 20 villages.
• In this Ward, schemes are in place in both Fulbourn and Teversham. By supporting people in their homes, the wardens help them to live in familiar surroundings for longer. The Council is also looking at ways of working in the longer-term with support organisations to continue with this increased number of schemes and to reach other parts of the District.

FLOODING
Although the Covid response has played a huge part of all our lives in the last 12 months, there have also been other very notable events, as well as the ‘normal’ casework. One of these notable events was the flooding some areas experienced on more than one occasion. The exceptional amount of rain that fell during certain periods of the year tested the drainage systems of many of our villages to the limit and beyond. Whilst the local authority response to the emergency worked as planned, as the category 1 responder to such events, SCDC is in talks with Anglian Water, the Environment Agency, the County Council and parish councils to see how these can be improved. There will also be a review of (privately owned) riparian watercourses to make sure that they are not obstructed and an impediment to drainage.

CYCLING
We were delighted with the Teversham’s success in obtaining a zero carbon grant for ebikes in 2019 and only sorry that the onset of the pandemic in early 2020 delayed the installation of infrastructure to take the bike lockers and stands and thus the use of the bikes. The four bikes are now available at different locations in the village. The fact that the infrastructure associated with bikes s in on SCDC land, managed by the parish, did make for some interesting complications, and it was down to collaborative work that we were able to deal with these. Our thanks go to the parish council and in particular to Cllr Chris Vanderwalle and to the owners of the company that supplies the bikes. We put forward a bid to the County for short-term, Covid-related funding from central government for a temporary cycle route to Bottisham, and the new Greenways, in the hope that this might lead to consideration of a longer-term solution for cycle access to the city for some of our villahges. Although a very good case was made, the funds were given to other communities. We have, however, continued to work with residents who are campaigning for better cycle access. We have been advised that evidence of use and some more information on possible routes needs to be gathered and presented. Residents are working on this. In the meantime, we have asked the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), the body now funding the major cycle routes, the Greenways, to commit to funding village connectivity to these routes. This connectivity is now reflected in GCP plans for future cycle funding.

EASTERN ACCESS
The GCP is currently looking at easier access to the city from the East, with improved bus services on Newmarket Road and improved walking and cycling from there into the city. We now need greater connectivity between villages. We have been working closely with officers on the Eastern Access project, particularly with the relocation of the Park and Ride, closer to the A14 and to the edge of Teversham. We know that residents of Teversham have concerns avout this relating to the likelihood of increased local traffic. We have attended several meetings including one specially convened for our Ward at which we were able to raise Teversham’s concerns.

PLANNING
1. Local Plan
During the course of the past year significant strides have been made in the preparation of the next Local Plan for Greater Cambridge, including South Cambs and the city. The Local Plan sets out where new housing and infrastructure developments should be, providing the reasons for these decisions and giving details of the methods and evidence used for arriving at the decisions. In drawing up the Local Plan, officers and councillors consult very widely with other central and local government agencies, with architects, developers, landowners, providers of utilities, and most notably with residents. The latter consultations take the form of webinars, roadshows, community forum meetings, question and answer session, as well as more local meetings. This year the opportunities for engagement have been severely curtailed because of the pandemic, but the attendance at on-line forum meetings and at webinars has been excellent, leading to constructive engagement. It is always worth checking the relevant page on the Greater Cambridge Planning website, and we always provide relevant updates in our reports to parish councils.
https://www.greatercambridgeplanning.org/emerging-plans-and-guidance/greater-cambridge-local-plan/

This year in particular there has been a focus on gathering evidence to support decisions on the ‘call for sites’. This is the call put out every five years to property- and land-owners to ask if they wish to put any of their land to the Councils (City and South Cambs) for consideration as suitable for housing development. The number of sites submitted was 658. Only a small proportion of those will come through the very rigorous evidence-testing procedure which takes into account, viability, infrastructure, natural environment, connectivity, amongst other criteria. This process is going on at the moment and is expected to take several more months.

With respect to Great Wilbraham, one site (a proposal for 18 houses) has been put forward. Another site has been put forward in Little Wilbraham., with a proposal for six houses. For Six Mile Bottom there is a proposal for up to 8, 000 houses on a very large site which cuts across both District and County boundaries. These are simply proposals at the moment, nothing more.

2. SCDC 5 Year Housing Land Supply.
During the period that SCDC did not have a 5 year housing land supply (up to May 2018) it was very difficult to refuse planning applications, and a number of developments were given approval that were not welcomed. Although a 5 year housing and supply was secured later in 2018, we have been concerned that Covid might have slowed down the building of new homes . The very good news is that it was confirmed earlier this month that Greater Cambridge area (S Cambs and Cambridge City) has a land supply of 6.1 years.

ENVIRONMENT
Being ‘Green to our core’
One of the priorities for the present administration at SCDC was a commitment to being ‘Green to our core’. In early 2021 we released details of our ‘Doubling Nature’ strategy
Some of the projects that we have in the pipeline have, inevitably, been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic but we have still delivered on a number of our commitments:
All SCDC street lighting is being replaced by low energy LED lights. This is nearing completion and should give a reduction of 60% of energy usage and a commensurate saving in parish councils’ street‐lighting energy bills.
We have completed an audit of the energy efficiency of existing council housing stock and will soon begin a campaign of improvement, beginning with enhanced insulation for the poorest performing properties. This will have the dual benefit of reducing carbon emissions and helping council tenants with their fuel bills.
The ‘greening’ of South Cambs Hall has been delayed by Covid but should be completed in the coming year. This will retrofit renewable energy generation and energy‐saving measures with the objective of reducing by up to 50% the amount of CO2 used to heat and light the council’s home (with commensurate cost‐ savings too).
We have purchased an electric bin lorry – one of the first local authorities to do so – and with an option to purchase others. The performance of the vehicle is still being evaluated but, so far, it has exceeded expectations. These vehicles have a much higher upfront cost but running costs are considerably lower and should be cost neutral over the vehicles’ lifespan. There are plans to install solar PV panels (planned 2021‐ 22) as a renewable source of electricity to charge the vehicles, which will add to the financial case as well as the considerable environmental one.
Our Zero‐Carbon Communities Grant scheme has been very successful. In the last year, almost £100,000 of grant funding has been made available to 17 parish councils and community group projectsto help them with carbon reduction and energy efficiency measures. The scheme for 2021‐22 opens on 10 May 2021 and funding will be available for community buildings, tree Planting and other initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. https://www.scambs.gov.uk/nature‐and‐climate‐change/zero‐carbon‐communities/zero‐ carbon‐communities‐grant/
Combined Authority Climate Change Commission.
The report of the CPCA Climate Commission has now been published and is available on line and we wait to see how many of the recommendations are accepted. It is indeed ambitious but makes the point very strongly that we are past the point of being able to choose not to do things to protect the environment. One of the key points that will affect us all is prioritising sustainable travel (electric, cycling, walking) over road schemes when considering new investments. They also said that new homes had to be built to higher energy efficiency standards and older homes had to be improved so that they use much less energy. The commission also noted the huge significance of the Fenland Peat area and the opportunities to stimulate farming methods which would sustain the peat and stop it drying out which releases vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. SCDC is supporting the UNESCO Fen Biosphere project which will protect this nationally significant asset.

INFRASTRUCTURE Projects
1. East West Rail
The East West Railway Company has at last announced their detailed routes for the new railway line from Bedford to Cambridge, including the route alignments that they prefer. We will be scrutinising these plans carefully to assess what impact they will have on our local communities and see what the benefits to our area can be.

At SCDC we have supported the building of a new line from Oxford to Cambridge and beyond because we do need more east-west connectivity, and a new railway can undoubtedly provide the backbone of better and more sustainable transport across the region. In particular, when Cambridge South Station is completed, East West Rail will be key to the ongoing growth of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. However, it is vital that this new line contributes fully to the move to zero carbon from day one and that arguably means that the line should be designed to be electrified or hydrogen powered Many thousands of residents of Cambridgeshire are potentially affected by the routes being consulted on and we would encourage participation.

2. Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant Relocation (CWWTPR)
The decision to move the waste water treatment plant from its current location alongside the A14, adjacent to Cambridge North rail station was, effectively taken in 2015, under a previous administration. IT was agreed that the large brownfield site, which crosses the City/South Cambs border should be put forward for development. The decision being taken, a Housing Infrastructure (HIF) bid was put forward to government, under the auspices of the Mayor and Combined Authority, and the Government approved the bid in March 2018. The success of this bid and the release of a significant amount (ca. £198M) of central government funding for the site, will allow for this development to proceed. Separately, loan funding will be made available to Anglian Water to enable them to effect the move to a new site

During the course of the year the site-selection process has been taken forward by Anglian Water who engaged with parishes, resident groups and others across the northern part of the District. As District Councillors we were involved in many of those meetings; but we were not given any more details than the published information available to residents and that added in local meetings.
We did not support the choice of the Honey Hill site on the grounds of traffic and pollution, landscape, engineering and the general effect of this choice on the immediate communities and others close by. But it is important to note that this was a consultation and a choice led by Anglian Water on grounds relevant to the move of a major utility, a project of national significance.

The District Council, as a Council and statutory consultee, has not yet been offered the chance to comment. This comes at the next stage of the consultation when Anglian Water will present its site to the Planning Committee for comment. It is not the District or City or County Council that makes the final decision, but the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

It is important that we as District Councillors ensure that Anglian Water, planning authorities and the Secretary of State are aware that the site put forward will need a significant amount of funding if all the necessary mitigation measures are to be put in place and if Anglian Water is to fulfill all the undertakings it has given to residents concerning odour, traffic, green environment, size and design of the plant, cycling and walking infrastructure.

Committee Membership
Councillor Williams has continued to serve as a Cabinet member of the District council as Lead Member for Finance and Staffing. This is big commitment and involves membership of or attendance at a number of committees, including: Audit and Corporate Governance, Employment and Staffing, the Grants Advisory Committee and the Investment Advisory Board. In addition he regularly attends the Scrutiny and Overview Committee and is a substitute on the Joint Development Control Committee. He is the South Cambs member of Cambridge Horizons.

Councillor Daunton is a member of the following District Council committees: Civic Affairs, Employment and Staffing, the Grants Advisory Committee, Scrutiny and Overview, Community Safety Partnership. She also serves on the Police and Crime Commission Panel for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and on the County Archives and Local Area Studies Group. In addition, she is a
member of the Joint Development Control Committee, the planning committee that considers applications for strategic sites that cross the city and South Cambs borders, such as the Marleigh development on Newmarket Road or the proposed extension of ARM on Fulbourn Road.

She chairs the South Cambs meeting of the Community East Forum (shared with Cambridge City) which offers residents a chance to meet and put questions to planners and developers concerning the developments at Marleigh, Land North of Cherry Hinton, Land South of Cherry Hinton and the Ida Darwin site.

VILLAGE WORK: Teversham
Sometimes work in the village community consists of assisting groups with access to information or grant applications, or supporting then in other ways. However, much of our input concerns individual casework: helping residents with housing or planning concerns or other personal issues. These cannot easily be reported on in public but are a very significant part of our remit and of our commitment to residents and the community more broadly. It might be a matter of unlocking delays or easing a chain of communication with officers or with a committee; or it can mean offering support or advice in other ways. Throughout the year we have taken up calls for assistance in Teversham and carried them through, whether they have come from individuals or community groups.

On specific projects, we have continued our work with officers of South Cambs to take forward the following:
(i) The renovation and refurbishment of flats and bungalows in Teversham , with associated facilities and public spaces;
(ii) The installation of six additional parking bays in Sheppard Way. Work is about to start.
(iii)The planting of new trees in Marshall’s Close and an agreement with tenants for the provision of off-street parking ;
(iv) We have continued to work with housing officers and parish councillors concerning the ownership and maintenance of land in the central part of the village and in Foxgloves.
(v) We have worked closely with planners and residents concerning the development at Land North of Cherry Hinton and will ensure that Teversham residents are kept fully informed and involved as this site moves forward with the planning application for reserved matters (detailed application for design, layout, access, drainage etc).

Thanks
We would like to thank all those with whom we have worked this year: community groups in the village, many individuals, individual parish councillors, and particularly the chair and the clerk. We are very grateful for everyone’s help and support

JOAN JERMY TRUST REPORT
We have been in touch with the charities commission. They are a little grumpy as they say we are not using the funds, ie making payments.
We have written back to them asking for advice how they would like us to go forward, or to give us advice on closing the charity down
When we hear back from them I will report further.
As there is no Vicar currently at the Church there are only two trustees, David Taylor and myself.
I have always been keen to keep the Charity alive, however I am starting to concede that it might be time to wind it up.
We are not there yet and I shall bring it to the PC when we hear back from the Charity Commission.
Thanks
Cllr Simon Martin

REPORT from PCSO Chris Wiseman (May 2021)
Chris has been reappointed as PCSO for this area and is currently the only PCSO for the whole of South Cambridgeshire. Other appointments are in the process of being made.
The only issue he is aware of in Teversham is the parking issues at the school. He is liaising with the school and will turn up, to help and speak to parents.

Teversham CE (VA) Primary School Report for Parish Council 17th May 2021
This Year: Even though this has been an exceptionally challenging year, we are very proud of how well our
children, staff and families have managed. We have coped with closing the school at very short notice and
opening it again very quickly for vulnerable children and children of Critical Workers. We set up a brand
new system of remote learning for all the children to enable them to learn at home. We also supported our
children to make sure they felt safe during this time, through regular contact. We organised the provision
of lunches and then lunch vouchers for Free School Meal children.
We re-opened in September 2020 and again in March this year, putting in place a range of measures to
keep everyone safe. These included staggered starts and ends to the day for each class “bubble”, two oneway systems for families arriving on site, frequent handwashing routines, wiping equipment regularly
including lunch boxes and water bottles, separate break and lunch times, eating lunch in the classrooms,
live streaming assemblies from the hall on Teams, to name but a few. The staff and children managed
brilliantly and we soon became used to these, including only seeing our friends in other classes on our
screens in the classrooms. These routines are still in place now and we have been advised that these may
not change for quite a while, due to concerns that cases may rise again.
Covid-19: We have been fortunate. We have only had a couple of positive cases among the staff and only a
handful of children. We only had to close a class “bubble” on a couple of occasions. Staff continue to do
asymptomatic testing twice a week.
Numbers: Currently we have 183 children, a slight increase from last year. We are now stable with 7
classes, one for each year group from Reception to Year 6. Less than 50% of our children come from
Teversham, the remainder coming mostly from the city. Parents continue to choose us for our distinctive
church school ethos, and being a small school with a supportive, family feel.
Pre-school: Having taken over Teversham Playgroup, we have been working hard to build on its previous
success. Renamed Teversham Pre-school, we also now offer lunch time sessions and 2 full days, growing to
3 after half term. Numbers are strong. A new pre-school manager started in September who has been
working with our Early Years Leader to further develop the provision. This includes extending the outdoor
space to include a grass nature area and a recently developed Forest Area that will be shared with children
from the main school.
Premises: We continue to feel very blessed by our beautiful grounds which have meant that the children
have been able to spend time outside whenever possible. Our two classroom “mobiles” which have been
here for over 30 years are getting increasingly old and in need of repair or even replacement. The preschool mobile is even older and also needs replacing. Currently there is no funding to cover this.
Community/Church: Although we miss not having a vicar of Teversham during this interregnum, we
continue to be very well supported by Hope Church, especially Al MacInnes, who has continued to support
the school by leading assemblies for the children remotely on Zoom once a week.
Challenges: Parking remains an issue but we continue to remind parents and visitors to park safely and
legally. Staff regularly talk to drivers to remind them and we report to the police when necessary.
Thank you for all your support and the ongoing support of the whole community.

Teversham PreSchool powerpoint and account summary available on request