South Cambridgeshire
SCDC Draft Local Plan Voted Through By Small Margin
At the full council meeting held on Thursday 13th March 2014, councillors at South Cambridgeshire District Council voted by a small majority to accept the proposed draft local development plan and send it off to the Planning Inspector for examination. 27 councillors voted for, 21 against and 5 abstained. In short, 26 of the
The Tory Deal That Signals Disaster For Rural Communities near Northstowe
“Multi-million pound deal struck to provide community facilities at Northstowe” This is the spin that South Cambridgeshire District Council put on the recent agreement to let developers off with a bonus of £30 million! According to the press release, a report presented to the Northstowe Joint Development Control Committee today (Wednesday 29 January) outlines […]
Cambridgeshire County Council missed opportunity to solve problem at traffic congestion hot spot
When a good opportunity presents itself to solve a long standing problem, as tax payers we would expect our councils to take the opportunity and alleviate the suffering that the problem is causing. But that does not seem to be the case with Cambridgeshire County Council and the problem of the A1303 Madingley Road between […]
Bedroom tax forcing social housing tenants into rent arrears, debt and potential eviction
The much talked about and hated bedroom tax has hit the headlines yet again. This time, the claim is that the bedroom tax has resulted in more than 50,000 people falling behind with their rent, leaving them facing eviction from their homes. This figure was revealed by the campaign group False Economy, after it […]
Bedroom tax policy adopted by Housing Portfolio holder
From April 2013 Welfare Reform changes have taken place which means Housing Benefit is potentially reduced for households deemed to be under-occupying a property. This is the so-called “bedroom tax” that has been much talked about. There is no definition of a minimum bedroom size set out in legislation. The Department of Work and […]
Council releases new SHLAA assesment with revised data for Bourn Airfield Development
Two weeks ago, South Cambridgeshire District Council announced it was extending the consultation period for the new draft Local Development Plan by two week and would provide some revised housing data information, intended to rectify an omission. The StopBAD campaign had its first victory in its fight to stop the Bourn Airfield Development by highlighting […]
Communities secretary Eric Pickles criticizes Cambridge as too anti-car
It is rare that I agree with sentiments expressed by a government minister, and this is one of them, especially in the ongoing context of the transport plans for Bourn Airfield Development as contained in the draft county council transport strategy document. Cabinet minister and Communities secretary Eric Pickles lashed out at Cambridge city’s […]
Council extends local plan consultation by two weeks
The current South Cambridgeshire Local Plan consultation is being extended by two weeks. This final consultation was originally due to close on Monday 30 September but this is being extended to 5pm on Monday 14 October 2013. The news release from the council earlier this afternoon says that “Council bosses took the decision […]
New Transport Strategy for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
The County Council is preparing a new Transport Strategy for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire in parallel with the South Cambridgeshire and the Cambridge Local Plans. The draft strategy is looking at ways to improve transport in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire up to 2031, and affects the viability of the proposed Bourn Airfield Development. The […]
Council consults on its draft Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule
South Cambridgeshire District Council is currently working towards the introduction of a charging schedule under the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulation 2010 (amended). Community Infrastructure Levy is expected to be a more simplified way of securing planning obligations compared to the Section 106 agreements, and is based on simple formulae on a per square […]