Producers and customers alike hailed the first three Farmers’ Markets as a success. Early morning shoppers eagerly snapped up the fresh produce from the 20 farmers’ stalls that were clustered around the Market Square in Ely. But you had to arrive early, as by mid-morning several stalls had sold out of their produce. A wide assortment of local produce was on sale, ranging from free range beef and pork, cheeses, pickles and preserves, fruit and vegetables, plants, herbs, smoked meats, through to drinks and home made bread and cakes. We now have to evaluate the pilots formally to decide whether or not to make them permanent. Because of the success to date we want to keep up the momentum and are therefore holding three more Farmers’ Markets while we carry out the evaluation. They are in the Market Place Ely from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm and will be held on 7^th October, 11^th November and 9^th December. The October Farmers’ Market will be a Harvest Festival special. There will be even more stalls, as the pilot pedestrianisation of the High Street has allowed us to offer stalls to farmers who had expressed interest but for whom we didn’t previously have the space. If the evaluation of the pilots confirms our initial impression that these markets should be a permanent fixture, they will be held on the 2^nd Saturday of each month from January 2001.

At the last moment the Government accepted a Liberal Democrat amendment to their Bill setting out how local councils must reorganise. This amendment gives East Cambridgeshire a fourth option – to keep a Committee structure. Our consultation to date has shown that this is the option that most people locally would prefer. We are therefore reviewing our current structure to see how it can be streamlined, and will not set up a Cabinet system, unless further consultation shows that that is what local people do want. Once we have a draft new structure we will consult further on exactly how it will operate and on whether local people prefer it to a Cabinet structure. We will then have to have the structure approved by the Secretary of State.

It’s the time of year again for East Cambs to put together the new Electoral Register. You should have received your form in September. Please fill in the names of all the people normally resident in your house who are over 18 or who will become 18 by 15^th February 2002. Students who live away from home during term time should register at their home address and their college address. They can vote at both addresses in local elections but must only vote at one address for Westminster and European elections. If you do not fill out the form, you will lose your vote and the votes of everyone else in your house. There is at least one election next year –

It may well be that the Prime Minister will also call a General Election and possibly hold the referendum on whether or not Britain should join the European Single Currency. So please fill out the form to ensure that you keep your chance to vote.

At the time of writing this article it looks as though the petrol blockade is over and supplies should soon be available again. However, at the start of the blockades we did not know how soon they would be over. East Cambridgeshire District Council reviewed our services to decide which had highest priority and made sure that what supplies of fuel we had were protected for the high priority services. So, for example, we cut back on street sweeping and collecting recyclable materials to ensure that the normal refuse collection would continue for as long as possible. We told the local press and radio what services were affected so that people would be informed. I hope that none of your services were affected, but if they were I hope you will understand why we made the decisions which we did.

We are putting together our budget for 2001/2002 and we want to know what residents think before we make our final decisions. We are therefore having a ‘Listening Week’ from 7^th to 13^th October. During this week we will be asking people for their views. There is a questionnaire inserted in this magazine, please complete it with your views and return it to the Council, or drop it in to me at 34 Swaffham Road Reach if that’s more convenient. If you want more copies, please contact me. I hope also to visit some of you during the week to discuss your views