The first Farmers’ Market was held on 15^th July, with further markets on 12^th August and 9^th September. These markets are in the Market Place Ely from

8.30-4.30. They are an opportunity to buy local produce and to talk to the farmers about how their food is produced. If these three pilots work well, the markets will be continued and we will look at the possibility of holding some Farmers’ Markets in other parts of the District.

The District Council is very strictly controlled by Central Government in how we make planning decisions. Guidance is issued regularly by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) which we have to follow. A recent audit report has indicated that the East Cambs Planning Committee goes against officer recommendations more often than the average for similar authorities. They have recommended that we review procedures to ensure that decisions continue to be properly made. When we refuse planning permission, the applicant can appeal to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. An appeal must be made within 6 months of the planning refusal. Planning permission is granted to about a third of appeals. Applicants can also appeal if we haven’t decided their case within eight weeks, which is why we cannot extend the consultation period for Parish Councils. Most appeals are decided on written submissions from the applicant and the District Council and from people who commented on the application. The Inspector will also make a site visit and the Council and applicant are advised of the date and time of this visit. It is important that you let the Inspector know if you feel s/he should visit any adjoining properties. The applicant or the Council can ask for a public inquiry, but this is usually only requested for significant applications. If you commented on the application, you will be notified of the appeal and your original letter(s) will be copied to the Inspector and taken into account. The public has 28 days to comment on an appeal. You can inspect a copy of the appeal form at the Council’s offices in Ely – this will show the applicant’s grounds for appeal. Appeal decisions can only be challenged on legal grounds through the courts. For some appeals the applicant or the objector may want independent professional advice, which can be expensive. If you need such advice and cannot afford to pay a private consultant you can contact the East of England Planning Aid on 01473 631616 who do not charge for help or advice.

The Government is making local Councils change the way we are structured. Over the last few months we have been consulting locally to see which of the three choices given to us by the Government should be adopted for East Cambridgeshire.

Many people expressed the view that we should not change but that if we had to have one of the Government’s options, the model with a Leader and Cabinet elected by the Council was the best option. And those who thought we did need to change also had a majority in favour of the Leader/Cabinet model. So we are going to introduce a Leader with a Cabinet of 5 people, each with an area of responsibility within the Council. All other Councillors, apart from the Chairman, will serve on Scrutiny Panels to guide the Cabinet and monitor the work of the Cabinet. We shall be consulting further on exactly how this should operate and will implement the changes from January next year. If you have any views on this, please let me know.

It’s the time of year when Travellers start to camp around the village. When they are on public land it is the District Council’s responsibility to take action to move them on and clear up any mess left by them. Where they are on private land it is the landowner’s responsibility. The District Council Travellers’ liaison officer will visit Travellers as soon as he is told of a new camp and assess whether or not any action is required. If they are on private land he will contact the landowner to request that they take the necessary action. In many cases the families are well known to us, do not cause trouble and intend to move on shortly, so lengthy and costly legal action is not needed.

The Council has concluded its negotiations with the Developer to whom the previous Council had sold the land off Broad Street in Ely. We have therefore retained 2.5 acres of land for open space instead of the proposed housing. This land will therefore be available for the residents of, and visitors to Ely to enjoy as open space. It is a part of Ely that is very rich in archaeology and a 20-week excavation has now begun to uncover evidence of the industrial zone of Saxon and Medieval Ely. Channel 4 TV’s Time Team programme will be filming throughout the excavation, with members of the Time Team helping at various stages. Because of contamination from recent industrial activity on the site, it cannot be continuously open to the public. But we will have a public open day towards the end of the dig at which people can see what has been found and meet members of the Time Team.