From our District Councillor
I was sorry to hear that Mrs. Margaret Cook, who was our District Councillor for many years, passed away on the 1st October. I moved here just months before she stood down as our Councillor, so did not know her well. But I soon found that she was well respected as a hard working local councillor and had taken an active interest in the wider District. She was so well respected by other members of the Council that she was elected by them to serve as Chairman of the Council. I know she will be missed by many people in this community.
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment for the Council has begun with our self assessment. The next stage is the "Peer Review" which starts on 10th November 2003. The Peer Review team will be led by Philip Burton, Chief Executive of North Norfolk District Council who will be assisted by colleagues from the Improvement and Development Agency and Bedfordshire County Council. It will start a long process, which will finish with our full inspection by the Audit Commission in March 2004.
The Boundary Commission for England has published its proposals for the review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It proposes that South East Cambridgeshire, which covers most of our District and some of South Cambs District, and this entire ward, will be renamed East Cambridgeshire Constituency. And it would only cover wards within East Cambridgeshire to reflect the growing population in East Cambridgeshire District. Detailed maps are available for inspection at East Cambs in the Electoral Services office.
In response to research published recently, reporting that East Cambridgeshire has a low business start-up rate, East Cambridgeshire District Council and Business Link ran a 2-day course recently at E-Space North, Littleport, entitled "How to come up with an idea for a business". The course, which is aimed at people who want to start their own business but have not come up with the right idea for one, proved so popular that it was held again in October.
You can now view lists of planning applications online at www.eastcambs.gov.uk/html/planonline.asp. You can look at the weekly lists of planning applications registered and decisions made. You can see summary information and comment online. You can search on a specific application or by ward. You can't yet see the full application details, for that you will still need to go to the Council offices in Ely or your Parish Clerk. But we are still developing the site and hope soon to be able to show full details.