Soham Town Council - Overview of Town, District & County Council Services

Soham Town Council

Address: The Clerk, Soham Town Council, PO Box 21, The Pavilion, Fountain Lane, Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5PL
Tel/Fax: 01353 723 472 E-Mail: info@soham-tc.gov.uk Website: www.soham-tc.gov.uk
Office Hours: Monday to Friday from 9.00am - 1.00pm

Members of the public may contact the Town Clerk by telephone, fax, post, email or by visiting the Council Office in person. It is usual for Soham Town Councillors to be seen by appointment only.

Soham Town Council plays a significant part in the day to day life of residents living in Soham and Barway and in the future development of the town as a whole. The services it delivers cover a range of local activities which affect all residents to a minor or major extent. The Council functions as a Town Council within the District of East Cambridgeshire and has strong links with both East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, working in partnerships to deliver the best possible levels of service. Similar arrangements operate with other local agencies or organisations such as Soham Town Forum

Soham Town Council Services

The Town Council provides the following services:-

General advice on local authority services
Allotments
Burials & Cemetery
Grants to Local Organisations
Litter Control (in certain areas)
Millennium Walks & Art Trail
Street Lighting on Footpaths
Management of Qua Fen, East Fen & Angle Commons
CCTV Systems (in partnership with City of Ely & ECDC)
Hanging Baskets (in partnership with City of Ely)
Maintenance of Public Footpaths (as agents of Cambs. CC)
Cutting of Verges on County Roads (as agents of Cambs. CC)
Various Aspects of Recreation and Open Spaces
The Walter Gidney Pavilion and Recreation Ground
Children’s Play Area (Downfields)
Village Halls

By law, all Soham Town Council Councillors have an obligation to attend Full Council Meetings. Providing there is no possibility of personal gain, any member of the Council is allowed to participate, make comments and vote. Members of the public can attend, watch and listen. But if anything to be discussed is of confidential or special nature whereby publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest, members of the public and press will be asked to withdraw temporarily. All exclusions require a specific resolution from the council. Full Council Meetings are held in the Council Offices at The Walter Gidney Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Fountain Lane, Soham and normally take place on the second Monday of each calendar month (except August during recess) commencing at 7.15pm.

During the first fifteen minuets prior to an Official Council Meeting starting, the public are able to put forward ideas and opinions. They will be allowed to speak for two minutes in relation to items on the published agenda for the meeting. For permission to speak, a request must be made to the Town Clerk at least 24 hours before any meeting commences. The Council are not obliged to respond to any comments made.

The Annual Soham Town Council Meeting is open to the General Public. It is usually held sometime between 1st March and 1st June each year. It is an opportunity for all to hear a resume´ of the past year, and includes an outline of activities for the coming year. Reports are heard from Councillors representing Soham Town Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. After the official formalities and reports, there is an “open question time” where the public can participate actively.

Address: East Cambridgeshire District Council, The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4PL
Tel: 01353 666555 Website: www.eastcambs.gov.uk
Office Open:- Monday to Thursday - 8.45am to 5.00pm, Friday - 8.45am to 4.30pm
The office has an Enquiry/Reception Area

Benefits Local Land Charges
Building Regulations Local Planning
Car parks Public Toilets
Council Tax & Business Rates Pest Control
Electoral Registration Refuse Collection
Environmental Health Street Cleaning
Housing Tourism
Leisure Facilities

Enquiries by telephone will be directed to the appropriate Council Department.

The District Council Committees are split into ten categories:

Appeals & Complaints Personnel
Community Services Planning
Environment & Transport Policy & Resources
Licensing Standards
Overview & Scrutiny Strategic Development

Address: Cambridgeshire County Council, Shire Hall, Castle Hill, Cambridge, CB1
Tel: 01223 717111 Website: www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Office Hours: Monday to Thursday - 8.30am to 5.30pm, Friday - 8.30am to 4.30pm

Cambridgeshire County Council plays a major role in the development of Soham. The services it delivers cover a wide range of activities and affect most if not all residents of the town in one way or another.

Cambridgeshire County Council is responsible for education services throughout Cambridgeshire; it funds Soham Village College, St. Andrew's C of E Primary School and The Weatheralls County Primary School as well as Youth Services. Soham Library is also funded by the County Council through the Education, Library and Heritage Budget.

Many residents in Soham receive help from county managed Social Services. Elderly people may receive domiciliary or residential care as they grow older. Children with a range of problems may also be helped. Services for disability, mental health, foster care, occupational therapy, and many other services are delivered by the County Council Social Services Department.

Environmental and Transport issues delivered by Cambridgeshire County Council are helping Soham to develop as thriving community. East Cambridgeshire District Council collects your rubbish but it is Cambridgeshire County Council that is responsible for disposing of it.

Cambridgeshire County Council has overall responsibility for major planning policies; it was responsible for the building of the Soham and Fordham By-Passes and has further responsibility for any accident reduction roundabouts that may be constructed. The crossings in Sand Street and Pratt Street were provided in part by Cambridgeshire County Council. Overall Cambridgeshire County Council has a budget requirement of around £500 million per annum in order to deliver the services to villages, towns and cities across the whole of Cambridgeshire, these include:-

Care in the Community
County Farms Estate
Education
Social Services
Fire & Rescue
Strategic Planning
Libraries & Heritage
Trading Standards
Road Maintenance
Road Building
Road Safety
Transport Planning

Soham Town Forum is an entirely voluntary assembly, open to all interested in developing the community of Soham. Indeed, anyone can attend in order to highlight any local issues or specific civic concerns. Founded in 1998, it meets every six weeks at The Walter Gidney Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Fountain Lane, Soham to discuss local issues and to progress various on-going projects that are being dealt with in detail by small working groups. There are no fees or costs involved to members who attend regularly or indeed those who attend on only one or two occasions.

Soham Town Forum is essentially a platform for debate on issues concerning the local community. It is administered by the Team Leader Town Centres Co-ordinator at East Cambridgeshire District Council, it has no statuary powers and limited funds. It cannot itself undertake major actions, but it can - and often does - recommend such actions to Soham Town Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council & Cambridgeshire County Council as well as other agencies.

Soham Town Forum in conjunction with its partner organisations has achieved many things since it was first founded, some of these include:-

Successful Completed The Soham Health Check
Obtained £300K for The Soham Heritage, Economic and Regeneration Scheme (HERS)
Helped setup Soham & Ely Dial-A-Ride Community Transport Scheme
Helped setup the CCTV System in Ely & Soham
Helped setup Soham On-Line Community Website
Helped setup Soham Community History Museum
Helped setup The Viva Centre
Helped setup Soham Festival Society
Pressured British Telecom to provide ADSL Broadband in the East Cambridgeshire District
Successfully obtained grants and funding to help the local community groups and organisations
Installation of The Art Trail for Soham Millennium Walks
Installation of Welcome & Information Signs in Soham
Produced The Soham Town Guide Booklet