Page 8 - Steve Count News Today

No one knows for sure, however, what affect the Hickford inquiry – that has come to be known as farmgate – will have on the minds of voters when they make their choices.  Fenland is critical to continued success for the party – it returned nine councillors, all Conservatives, for the eight divisions in 2017.  It includes the division of March North, the seat of council leader Steve Count, and that of Roman Bank where Simon King, eased out of Fenland Council by the Tory group over an exp...

The committee had been asked to rubber stamp a £183,000 investment at Manor Farm, previously approved by the commercial and investment committee. Cllr Hickford was not present.   The recommendation for approval was presented by chief finance officer and deputy chief executive Chris Malyon. No mention was made of the tenant’s name.   The cash was to cover professional fees (architects, structural engineers, building regulations), the build costs and a contingency fund. The council also fund...

The decision to grant a council farm tenancy to the local authority’s deputy leader has culminated in a high-profile controversy for Cambridgeshire County

“I was startled to discover at the last minute that I was not to be accorded a space in today’s county council meeting to explain.”  Roger Hickford, former deputy county council leader. And former tenant of Manor Farm, Girton, a county council farms estate tenancy - Credit: Archant Cllr Shellens said he asked two senior Conservative colleagues for support “but neither would help”.   He said: “It is as if they did not want the issue discussed any more, to forget about it.  “I a...

Surprising absence of basic safeguards in county councils farms estate A councillor has said the recommendations suggest policies the public would expect to be in place were not Cambridgeshire County Councils headquarters, Shire Hall, in Cambridge (Image: Strutt & Parker) Sign up to our newsletter for daily updates and breaking newsInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Sign up here! When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Yo...

A county councillor claims he and other members of a committee were threatened with possible legal action if they voted to release a confidential report.

Cllr Gavin Booth, of the Liberal Democrats, said: “When this came to the overview and scrutiny committee, we said this year wasn’t the right year to be changing it because it does hit those on the lowest incomes. “From the [public consultation] feedback, you can see a lot of those people are working but on very low incomes. He added: “What you’ve got here is hitting the very poorest in society at a time when they are being hit with the constraints of having to work with Covid-19 aroun...

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is set to receive 20 per cent less funding for highways maintenance from the government this year.

Morton Avenue, in March, was also affected in the Christmas Eve 2020 floods. - Credit: Ian Carter March could be at the heart of a multi-million-pound, long term project to solve flooding in Cambridgeshire. The challenges of protecting homes and businesses in the town were outlined at a meeting between councillors and water management bodies. Part of a solution could come via ‘resilience innovation funding’ that the county council hopes to secure from Defra and the Environmental Agency.  ...

County council leader, Steve Count says he has listened to those who have filed complaints, but, please Mr Count, it is now time to act.