From our Distrct Councillor
EAST CAMBS DISTRICT COUNCIL has now agreed this years budget. As in the last
two years, there will be a 2?% increase in Council Tax.
This is below the national average and has to be achieved by efficiency savings, not cuts in services. In fact we have budgeted to provide £240,000 towards various grant schemes plus providing substantial funding for the concessionary bus pass scheme. It should be remembered that a 2?% increase only produces £84,500 extra revenue.
Ely's population now stands at 17,200 - and is rising all the time. When you consider that nearly 3,700 new houses have been built in the city since the year 2000, it's not the least bit surprising there is a bit of a crush. And it has been highlighted as one of the fastest growing cities in Europe.
Marrying the needs of newcomers with those anxious to preserve its magnificent heritage is by no means an easy task.
The city faces many challenges in 2007. Ely is not going to stay the same, it couldn't even if it tried to, so it's important we try to keep the good stuff and build on it.
It lacks some aspects of a good economy and there is an imbalance between shopping and restaurants. Ely has been lacking sufficient infrastructure to support all its new homes as there have been no new shopping areas in the new developments.
British Telecom have once again supplied the residents of the Swaffhams Ward with only the Bury St Edmunds area phone book. I have contacted the customer relations manager at BT explaining that our centre for most services is Cambridge.
They have agreed to supply a free Cambridge area phone book on request to BT users in the CB25 0 postcode area, eg. CB25 0JF. Anyone requiring a free book should contact BT on 0800 833400 and state it is a BT press release.
I am still pressing BT to re-scope the phone books for the area, placing us back in the Cambridge area phone book.