News

Parish Council have responded to Anglian Water. The following comments are collated from the Agenda and Minutes of recent meetings.

Councillors raised initial questions  to Anglian Water following the July Council meeting including concern about the impact of sites 1 and 2 on Heritage aspect of Mere Way and its use as a cycle route, and on the open aspect of the landscape as well as the Milton Cemetery which is close to two of the sites.

After further discussions at the Council meeting on 10th August Parish Council agreed a further response below, which was also included in a press release.  

Milton Parish Council  object to development of this kind of facility on Green Belt land, in particular where the proposed sites would reduce the separation between Milton and Histon and Impington.  We understand that the existing strong protections for the Green Belt will be reinforced under the new proposals announced by Robert Jenrick MP. [In December 2009 a planning inspector emphasised the importance of the Green Belt in protecting Milton from coalescence with Cambridge.]

We note that the non-greenfield sites that were considered have been rejected primarily on grounds of their cost, that made them unaffordable from the available funds from the Housing Infrastructure Fund. 

It seems that sites that were discarded in the earlier sift caused less environmental impact but required longer tunnels that would incur higher cost; whereas the three retained sites have a more severe impact on the Green Belt but have been accepted on grounds of lower cost. This suggests cost is influencing the decision to such an extent that it brings the ability to build a good quality high tech site into question.

Sites 1 and 2 would have significant impact on local businesses including specialised agriculture businesses, e.g. fruit farming, resulting in many job losses. Should the development of these sites go ahead, how would the affected businesses be compensated?

We have concern about the impact on local roads of additional HGV traffic both during construction and in future operation of the site.

We have concern that if the outflow moves below Baits Bite Lock there would be an adverse effect on water flows and quality.

A wind rose/proximity of population density analysis would strongly support Site 3 to minimise risk of odour impact to residents: Site 3 is distant from major housing population irrespective of wind direction, and even with the prevailing SW winds. Site 2 is much closer to dense population and the wind directions that may lead to impact are moderately common. Site 1 is the closest to dense population.

Please confirm what processes will be in place to manage and compensate for odour issues during equipment failure or maintenance?

We would prefer use of a non-greenfield site, but should one of the Milton sites be adopted then site 2 would appear to be less damaging to the environment and to local businesses.

 

The Cambridgeshire Community Foundation Recovery Fund offers financial support to constituted groups and organisations who can help communities recover from the impact of the Pandemic.

There are two levels of grant available, £10K – £14.9K and £15K- £25K that may be available to any projects that will support communities at this very challenging time.

The timescales for this grant are tight, groups are required to submit a very simple expression of interest by 19th August 2020 and completed applications by 9th September.

More information is available on the CCF website 

Milton Parish Council has recognised the huge value of Milton Country Park to the village and awarded an extraordinary grant of £10,000 to help the Park stay open in these tough times.

280 people have also donated over £9,000 on the Milton Country Park Crowdfunder page to help the Park stay open, and there are some really warm and grateful comments left by donors on that website, well worth a read. The Park is helping a lot of people to relax and unwind during this lockdown. Last week South Cambs District Council also gave a grant.

The Park gets no regular funding from the councils and having closed for safety on Mothers Day, for the last couple of months it has had no income. In normal times they collect car parking fees and some income from the cafe in the park. Grounds Cafe is now open for takeaways and ice-creams, and with the car park open things are starting to return to normal. However, the extensive range of water-sports, Parkrun, cycling, outdoor children’s parties, the Wild Place, and other group events cannot yet get going. And there will be no large mass gatherings for theatre events, outdoor cinema, concerts or the Autumn festival which are their main fundraising events.

Milton Parish Council received an unexpected cash payment last year when a historic anomaly was sorted out. The Parish Chairman Don Wildman said, “We don’t normally support charities but we are pleased to be able to help Milton Country Park through this situation at no cost to our taxpayers by using some of this money.” District Cllr Hazel Smith said, “We really appreciate the Park just now: Milton Country Park is one of the best things about living in Milton.”

** This survey is closed. The results are being analysed for review by the Parish Council **

Parking is an ongoing challenge around the Village. Many people have raised concerns about the junctions of The Rowans with Cambridge Road, and Fen Road directly opposite the junction with Coles Road. Double yellow lines have been suggested to visually reinforce the existing Highway Code restrictions.

Please provide your feedback through the questionnaire at this survey link

The survey is also available in paper form in the March edition of Milton Village View.  As the delivery of the View had to be delayed, the closing date for survey responses has been set to 8th May 2020. 

Many thanks for your time in completing the survey, your feedback is important in helping us assess the proposals.

Please note that the March online-only edition of the Village View includes a survey organised by the Parish Council.  It is important that the survey is inclusive and so we need to ensure it is distributed to all households so that those who do not have online access have an opportunity to respond. 

The survey has therefore been postponed  and will be relaunched once paper copies can again be distributed around the village.

Representatives from the local councils, the village church, Milton Online, local parents, the surgery patient participation group & community café have formed the Milton Covid-19 Support Group to co-ordinate support for people in the village during the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

People who are ill and/or self-isolating in the village may especially need support with:
– a friendly phone call
– grocery shopping
– picking up medications
– posting mail
– dog walking

If you can offer any of these, please call 07933 550 989 or contact covidmilton@gmail.com with your name, address, contact number and how you can help.

If you are ill or self-isolating, and you need support at this time, please contact covidmilton@gmail.com with your name, address, contact number and what you need help with. We will try to put in you in touch with a volunteer who can help you.

There will also be a leaflet delivered around the village with these details in the next few days.

Many thanks to the groups and individuals who have brought this together