A new column from our two District Council Mark Lunn and Farhan Hussain:

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• 640 Houses Proposed off Mingle Lane

• 45% Reduction in Greenhouse Gases

• Cambridge Road Resurfaced

• Food Waste Collection starts October

• Local Plan Consultation

• New Planning Powers for Mayors.

 

640 Houses Proposed off Mingle Lane

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640 houses are being proposed on land off Mingle Lane. Mark and Farhan are opposed to these speculative proposals and are writing to the Bishop of Ely asking that the diocese, on whose land 400 of the proposed houses sit, reconsider its plans and indeed have invited the Bishop to visit the site.

 

South Cambridgeshire planning committee refused planning permission for over 100 houses off Mingle Lane at its meeting on 8th July.  Almost immediately, a new proposal for 400 houses on adjacent land, owned by the Diosese of Ely, was announced.  Furthermore, the developer of the original 100 house proposal has now acquired more land and is submitting a new proposal for 240 houses.

 

Mark and Farhan are opposed to these speculative proposals. We have a strategic housing plan to deliver the houses that South Cambridgeshire needs, we do not need these speculative developments. 640 houses in Stapleford would roughly double its size overnight without a new GP surgery or school. This is a wholly inappropriate scale of development in the wrong location.

 

We are writing to the Bishop of Ely asking that the diocese, on whose land 400 of the proposed houses sit, reconsider its plans.

We believe that it makes a mockery of having a strategic local plan if this many houses are approved.  We appreciate that planning officers have to follow planning law in making their recommendations and that the Government is moving the planning goal posts, but we will always stand up for our communities where development is inappropriate.

 

We also oppose the 100 houses at Davy field and are working with Great Shelford and Stapleford Parish Councils to try and stop all three proposed developments.

 

45% Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Lib Dem led South Cambridgeshire District Council has met its target to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions by 45.3% since taking power in 2018/19.

 

This has included major upgrades to council facilities and reducing the emissions from the council’s fleet of waste vehicles. The Council now has four electric bin lorries, with five more due this autumn, as well as electric vans and an electric road sweeper.

The Council is also supporting lower-carbon development, improving the energy efficiency of council homes and buildings, reducing waste, protecting biodiversity and supporting tree planting and nature recovery.

Liberal Democrats have shown what local councils can do to fight climate change. We’re not resting on our laurels though, we have ambitious plans to cut our carbon emissions further and to protect our local environment.

You can read more about the council’s Zero Carbon Strategy in its Climate and Nature Strategy here. 

 

Cambridge Road Resurfaced

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Mark, Farhan, Peter and Laurence are delighted that Cambridge Road has finally been resurfaced.  All four had pressed the County Highways Department to complete the work before the winter weather set in.

The Conservatives left Cambridgeshire with an estimated road repair backlog of more than £800m after years of underinvestment and a policy of managed decline. 

The Liberal Democrat run County Council has committed record levels of investment to highways, including an additional £40 million over the next two years to tackle the backlog, while also introducing tougher measures to hold utilities and contractors to account for poor-quality or delayed roadworks. 

 

Food Waste Collection Starts

Weekly food waste collection for Stapleford and Great Shelford should start week commencing 12 October.

 

Letters and leaflets are being sent to residents from 1st September with caddy delivery starting 7th September.

 

Those of you in Little Shelford who are on a separate collection round will have to wait a bit longer.  Staff are working hard to recruit new drivers and rolling the collection out as quickly are possible.

 

Planning Powers for Mayors

The Government is proposing new powers for Mayors that would allow them to over turn planning permissions or indeed to approve large applications (over 150 homes) which councils are minded to reject.  Planning applications which councils reject are rejected for very good reasons. It could be that they are on flood plains, would cause huge environmental damage or are just poor quality housing which we don’t think would be healthy for people to live in. Mayors are not planners and planning is highly complex.  These new powers are of great concern.

 

Being visible, accessible and available

Farhan and I want to be accessible and available and we receive a steady stream of emails which we try to respond to as quickly as we can.  Please don’t hesitate to get in touch at:

 

cllr.hussain@scambs.gov.uk

cllr.lunn@scambs.gov.uk

 

Please include your full name and home address so that we know you are indeed a resident in Shelford ward. 

Posted September 3 2026