August 2018

Buckden Roundabout

August 2018

FROM YOUR DISTRICT COUNCILLOR

Local Planning

There are currently three live requests for outline planning development at Lucks Lane (Bloor Housing, 180 houses), Mill Road

(Gladman, 270 houses proposed) and Silver Street (Church Commissioners, 300/400 houses proposed). I am lobbying hard to

represent our concerns about the look and density of the proposed developments and more specifically about increased traffic

funnelling down the High Street (I live right on the A1 roundabout) and the A1 blind spots around Southoe and Diddington.

Huntingdonshire District Council has given formal approval to initiating the process for getting statutory approval of the HDC

2036 Plan. The Huntingdonshire Plan 2036 is currently undergoing a process of ratification, with an Inspector appointed and a

series of evaluations set for the w/c 16 July and then 10, 17, and 25 September. Once ratified the 2036 Plan will then form the

future Planning structure for our area. This will give Buckden and Diddington residents a good basis from which to influence

future development in and around our villages.

I have been supporting the Parish Council on various Planning issues and have succeeded in getting HDC planners to review is-

sues. I also met with the head of planning at HDC, Andy Moffat, to discuss a range of local issues, and this will be continued once

the 2036 documentation has been completed by his team at HDC.

I am also on the Parish Council planning committee - the Parish Council is working on the development of a master plan for the

village to give residents more say in planning. They will be asking residents for their views in the near future.

Housing Options

I attended the HDC/Cambridgeshire ACRE briefing on affordable housing development and visited seven completed and devel-

opment sites in South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon. I made useful contacts with several Developers and Housing Associa-

tions and saw what other villages are doing in developing affordable housing schemes for residents. The Buckden Parish Council

is starting a consultation process with residents to discuss these issues.

A1 Traffic

I attended a useful and constructive meeting with the local A1 Traffic Team at Brampton and, as a result, they have moved some

signage for night time diversions further to the south of our area. They have also improved communications with transport com-

panies and their route schedulers. This appears to have worked as late-night trucks trying to access the Buckden high street di-

version has decreased, although car access remains high. I drove the diversion routes late one night, and there are still problems

which will be raised at the A1 meeting on the 12 July.

Hamish Masson (Cllr) Buckden Ward, Huntingdonshire District Council

Mob 07876 035941, Hamish.masson@huntingdonshire.gov.uk

From Your Councillors

FROM YOUR COUNTY COUNCILLOR

The County Council continues its efforts to ‘transform’ the way services are being provided but the demand is increasing as re-

sources shrink. There is an increasing proportion of young children adversely affected by special needs and domestic upheaval.

There are more old people; this increased longevity, welcome though it is, brings with it greater adult social care costs.

Cambridgeshire’s financial problems are not unique to us. The County Councils’ Network has surveyed its members (most of

which are Tory-controlled shires) and the majority say that they cannot continue to provide the services expected and needed

without an increase in taxation.

This poses a political problem for a government with a manifesto commitment to not increasing taxation. Even this pales into

insignificance compared with the Brexit crisis as we enter a period of financial, commercial and social uncertainty unprecedent-

ed in our lifetime.

The proliferation of new administrative layers continues to confuse. The latest development is the creation of the ‘Oxford-MK-

Cambridge England's Economic Heartland’. This group has announced that it is to create a sub-national transport body and pro-

duce a transport strategy. Recently there has been a public disagreement between the Mayor and the Greater Cambridge Part-

nership (GCP) about aligning their respective transport plans and projects; now it is unclear how the England's Economic Heart-

land transport strategy for Cambridgeshire will align with both the Mayor’s transport strategy and the work of the GCP. Bear in

mind too that it is the County Council that has the residual transport responsibilities so what are we supposed to do? All this

risks destabilising the work of county and district councils for whom infrastructure development is closely linked to planning

approvals and housing supply projections.

I know that many Buckden residents are concerned about the potential over-development of the village. I hope you will be able

to attend the public meetings about this, advertised elsewhere in this magazine, and make your views known. Clearly the de-

mand for houses is very high and homelessness is a serious problem in this area. All the evidence shows us that lack of a stable

home contributes to domestic and health problems and seriously damages a child’s educational prospects. At the same time,

the impact on local infrastructure (schools, roads, shops, medical services) has to be evaluated and mitigated.

On a more mundane level, I am hoping to arrange joint Buckden and Brampton volunteer action to improve the cycle path be-

tween the two villages.

If you wish to raise any local matters with me personally and would welcome a face-to-face conversation, I come to the Aragon

Room in the Village Hall at 7 p.m. on the evening of the Parish Council meeting, the 2

Tuesday in the month. At other times,

please ring me on 07765 833 486 or write to me at peter.downes@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

Peter Downes