A Councillor's Comments - September 2006

At the Town Council meeting in September nobody took advantage of the "Public Comment Time", so the meeting commenced at 7.15pm. In the matters arising from the minutes we were told the approaches concerning 17-21 Churchgate Street were still on going. We then had the minutes of standing committees. And from the planning committee we were presented with a few draft copies of the Soham design guide for development, these were passed around the meeting for our approval and comment, and Councillor Mr AJA Hinsley was thanked for his work on this project.

We then had a presentation by Mrs Cecilia Tredget who is the deputy chief executive of East Cambridgeshire District Council on the subject of "East Cambridgeshire Neighbourhood Panels". The aim we were told was to improve the quality of life in East Cambridgeshire, and aiming to improve housing, transport, learning skills, economic development and access to services. The panel was to be made up of people best suited to represent the community and influence and advise on local priorities.

We were told that a pilot panel was to be set up in the Soham area with representatives from Soham, Fordham, Isleham, Wicken, Snailwell, Chippenham, and Kennett. Each Parish Council would be asked to send one Councillor, along with 2 District Councillors, and 1 County Councillor. The Committee would also be able to co-opt 6 members of the public onto the panel, such as a Headteacher, Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator, the local Vicar, or people from Community Groups. The task of the panel would be to advise on local priorities as regards policing, housing, health, young people, or whatever subject comes out from their discussion. The pilot scheme will last six months and meetings of the panel every two months.

Some time ago a working party was set up to explore ways of presenting some form of publicity for the Town Council. We did hold various presentation stalls at the carnival and pumpkin fair, but our main aim was to produce a booklet letting the community know what the town council can do for them, and also state the limitations of its powers. It also set out to inform the public of all sorts of information regarding Soham. This work was almost complete but became overshadowed by the work of twinning. So there was an agenda item to get this project back on track.

Transport planning for Cambridgeshire 2006-2021. This was a meeting that was held to plan long term proposals for area transport. The meeting was attended by Councillor Mr PG Beer who bought his report back to our meeting.

Kindest Regards

George Ginn
Soham Town Councilor