It’s been a tricky start to the season for new young players earning their spurs in the club’s First team. John Payne reports on some highs and lows on the pitch.
It’s early days, but the size of the task faced by Histon FC in the Northern Premier League has become a lot clearer after some mixed results in the first month of the season. Injuries to key players and a shortage of experienced campaigners has also hindered manager Lance Key’s plans, and he’s still actively seeking players of the right calibre to add some depth to his young squad. The Stutes currently sit in 16th position in the league table.
After defeats in the opening two matches of the season, the club got their season up and running with a solid 2-1 victory at Wisbech Town. That was followed by a draw at home to Sutton Coldfield Town but a 3-0 defeat at Spalding United on Bank Holiday Monday dented any hopes of a run of results.
Advert
The need to strengthen the squad was no better demonstrated than on Tuesday evening when a squad deprived of three key players had to travel to Warwickshire to face Bedworth United. With six teenagers in the starting eleven, the game ended in another defeat and left the Stutes with a record of one win, one draw and four defeats to their name
One of the main talking points among Stutes fans has been the number of players used so far this season, with many of the club’s own youngsters being given their opportunity to show the manager what they are capable of. But it is clear that the First team squad is still a work in progress as Lance looks to strengthen in some positions while looking for his best combinations in others.
Many of the fresh faces to have appeared in the red and black shirts this season have graduated from the under 18s side, having developed their skills last season and impressing further in the pre-season friendlies. Seventeen-year-old Alex Stevens-Lee scored the club’s first goal of the season after coming on as a second-half substitute at Belper Town on day one of the season and promptly slotting home an equalising goal. Finley Wilkinson has also found the net on a couple of occasions this season and had shown maturity seldom found in a nineteen-year-old. Lewis Mair, Kai Nicholls have also featured as they look to progress in the game.
The Stutes entertain Coleshill Town on Saturday with a 3.00 pm kickoff and are again at home on Tuesday of next week against old rivals Corby Town with a 7.45 kickoff. Tickets are available from the club website at www.histonfc.co.uk where details of all future matches can also be found.
A new charity has started work to enable the vision for securing this valuable community space to become a reality – and local residents can get involved.
The launch last week of a new charity in the village has opened the door for a fundraising campaign that will secure the 11-acre Croft Close Set Aside and 4.5-acre Long Meadow land for the community, as a haven for wildlife and a green space where people can experience, learn about and enjoy nature.
The new charity, Histon & Impington Green Spaces, has now been registered with the Charity Commission and its six trustees – three nominated by the Parish Council and three by the community – will become the formal custodians of the land when fundraising is completed. They are tasked with ensuring it always remains true to the original vision of conserving nature and heritage on the sites, while enabling people to enjoy these much-loved places.
Advert
Friends
Villagers have been using the Abbey Fields land – part of the Abbey Farm estate – for centuries. Earlier this year it was bought by the Jenking family, with a view to taking it off the market and giving local people the time to raise the money needed to keep it out of the hands of property developers.
A new Friends organisation will elect a committee that will manage the land, lead on the fundraising and report to the charity trustees. They will be ensuring that Abbey Fields are well-conserved and managed spaces; providing regular information on the animals, trees, and plants; providing volunteering and educational opportunities; and linking with other community groups to help protect and improve green open spaces generally. They will also be canvassing the views of local people and site users and involving them in planning, decision-making and management.
Some volunteers have already set to work, with the Site Management Action Group meeting weekly and path clearing being very active. More are needed to support the work including the website, publicity and communication, administration and fundraising.
Join in!
The charity trustees are encouraging everyone who wants to support the project to get involved. The first meeting of the Friends Group will be next week on Thursday 9th September at 7.30pm at Histon Baptist Church and also live on Zoom. 80 people can attend in person, with normal Covid-19 precautions in place. Anyone can register for free tickets for the live meeting and Zoom attendees will be able to pick up the link on the Abbey Fields website.
As well as a short review of progress, the meeting will hear a presentation of the extraordinary wildlife on our doorstep. There will be information about the Friends group, including a new young Ambassador group, and about elections to the Friends Steering Committee.
All 23 sites put forward by land owners for potential residential and business development in Histon & Impington have been rejected by Greater Cambridge planners in their first draft proposals for the region’s Local Plan, including ambitions for Cambridge Science Park to be extended into the village.
Trinity College proposals for a 400-acre Research and Development campus in Green Belt land south of Milton Road, Impington, are among those that would not get the go-ahead if the draft proposals are finalised. Among a range of objections, planners found the development “would have a significant adverse impact to the wide and local landscape character views and visual amenity.” It would, they said, be “a significant encroachment in the landscape”, including “permanent removal of agricultural open fields and an urbanisation of rural countryside.” They also concluded there is “no capacity for growth” of traffic relating to the site, and that if any plans were to be approved, they would “need to ensure no net increase in vehicles trips on the Strategic Road Network.” Nonetheless Trinity College has a 20-year option on the land and is thought likely to appeal any planning constraints that arise.
Former Infant School playing field on New School Road – not available for housing development.
Planners have also turned down sites suggested by Chivers off Milton Road and all the sites proposed by Cambridgeshire County Council, including the land at Buxhall Farm adjacent to Park Primary School and the Infants’ School, playing field and Early Years Centre in New School Road. Other sites rejected include land around Cambridge Road, Clay Close Lane, Impington Lane, Woodcock Close, Cottenham Road, Park Lane and Croft Close.
The proposals will now be considered by Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District councillors through their respective committee processes. A final list of sites will be put out for public consultation at the beginning of November. Residents’ involvement in the process will be vital to ensuring that the interests of the village are respected and unwanted development sites don’t creep back into the Local Plan at a later stage.
Wider impact
The Local Plan will determine where new homes and jobs in the region will be developed to 2041 and beyond. Almost 900 potential sites were suggested by developers, landowners and planners, but after testing them against criteria including flood risk, transport, biodiversity and heritage impacts, only 19 have been chosen.
The proposals are rooted in extensive public consultation carried out in early 2020, when respondents overwhelmingly said that climate change was the top priority for the plan. As a result, the proposed sites are those that planners believe are most likely to minimise carbon emissions, maximise biodiversity and enable green space improvements, while achieving central government-imposed goals for growth in the region.
The sites proposed for all new homes and jobs in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire are close to high quality public transport and within walking and cycling distance of local destinations and services, to minimise future car use and set “a clear path to a net zero carbon future”. But they come with a clear warning to central government that the scale of new building will depend on urgently increasing the area’s future water supply
Although most new sites have been suggested in and around Cambridge, the new towns of Northstowe, Cambourne and Waterbeach would also continue to be developed. One of the objectives of the Local Plan is to protect the rural character of the villages, and only 4% of homes – 384 in total over the next 20 years – would be on sites in rural areas.
Only 4 sites would build on Green Belt land – including an extension to the biomedical campus around Addenbrooke’s hospital. 40% of the homes built on sites which provide 10 homes or more would be social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership or discounted market sale properties.
Concerns
Current development sites already underway in the region will deliver around 1,770 new homes per year up to 2041, including the new housing at Darwin Green, across the A14 from Impington. On top of this, the Local Plan needs to allocate sites for another 550 homes a year in order for housing to keep pace with the increase in jobs in the area.
Although the scale of development proposals for the region is daunting – and the draft Plan certainly won’t be welcome by all – there could be serious consequences if communities and Councils don’t accept it.
The increase in local jobs has outstripped the amount of housing being built and that housing has become even less affordable, leading to increasing commuting. Under national planning rules, Local Plans need to demonstrate that they will meet local needs for housing. If they don’t, then unwanted speculative development may have to be permitted in places that damage the environment and disturb communities.
Cllr Dr. Tumi Hawkins, Lead Member for Planning at South Cambridgeshire District Council, explained: “The government requires us to meet the number of new homes that the evidence is showing us are needed. If we do not, the plan may not be signed off by the government’s planning inspectors, and we may end up having to accept developers’ proposals for homes in locations that could harm the environment. And without planning for homes where and when they are needed, we will see increases in house prices, rent and pollution as people will have to travel further. These proposals aim to achieve a greener way of living.”
The Greater Cambridge Local Plan is being developed by the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, a partnership between Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils. The proposed sites are available to view here.
Planners’ assessments of the development sites put forward in Histon (from p184) & Impington (from p278) can be found here.
Histon Football Club will finally get their league season underway on Saturday after a summer of high activity caused by player departures, changing Covid restrictions and relocation into a different league.
It has been 42 weeks since the Stutes last played a league match, causing unprecedented challenges for the village club to overcome. Club Director John Payne told us, “Much of the last nine months has been spent trying to maintain our income streams so that the club could emerge from the enforced shutdown relatively unscathed. This we have largely managed to do through a combination of reducing our spending, seeking alternative sources of income and claiming every grant we could possibly find.”
As previously reported, the club was moved into the Northern Premier League as part of the FA’s restructuring programme, a decision against which the club lost its appeal.
Advert
On the eve of the new league season, Payne added, “It comes as a huge relief that the club can now concentrate on playing football again. We have lost some good players as a result of our switch to a different league but Lance has recruited some very able replacements over the summer and the opportunity has opened up for some highly talented youth team players to show what they can do.
“We have now come to terms with the reality of having to travel further distances at greater cost to away matches and having to play against teams we know little about, but it is a challenge we will meet head on and with a positive attitude. In fact, there is something of a buzz emerging around the club with season tickets selling well and a lot of new interest being shown in the club.”
On Saturday the Stutes make the 234-mile round trip to play Belper Town, before hosting Daventry Town at Bridge Road on Tuesday evening with a 7.45 kickoff. Tickets for this match can be purchased in advance by visiting the club’s online shop at Ticket Home | Histon FC Web (ktckts.com)
Fears have been allayed that the playing field in New School Road – previously used by the former Infants School – could be used as development land now that the school has moved.
Land owners Cambridgeshire County Council have granted a ‘tenancy at will’ to the Parish Council, which has no plans to develop the site, but will open it to the whole community, monitor its use and listen to any good ideas that could further enhance its value to local residents.
Although a ‘tenancy at will’ allows the Parish Council to occupy the land indefinitely, it is only a short-term measure and either party could end the arrangement by giving immediate notice at any time. However, the intention of both parties is that that this temporary arrangement will be turned into a long-term lease of the land. A 7-year lease is currently on offer, which would protect the land from development during this period.
Parish Council Chair Denis Payne explained: “The tenancy is good news because it makes a little more green open space available to the community. The field is a Protected Village Amenity Area in the South Cambs Local Plan, and also a Local Green Space in the Histon & Impington Neighbourhood Plan. Anything that the Parish Council does with the land will reflect these designations.”
Future use
For the time being the field – which will open to the public from Friday 30th July – will simply remain as a field. It is likely to be open for use from 8am until dusk each day and will be subject to a few common sense rules, including ball games being allowed. The rights of existing users will be protected, including the neighbouring Early Years centre, which is a condition of the tenancy.
Among the ideas for the land are a Pump Track – which has long been the vision of some in the community. A post on Facebook commented that the original gift of the land was for the benefit of children’s exercise and neighbours are used to it being used for children’s recreation. “It already has some mature trees. I can imagine it with hedging and additional planting to make it interesting, it would be a great, central use of the space, and it’s big enough with some careful design”.
Vaccination rates in the village have fallen behind South Cambridgeshire as a whole and health authorities are encouraging people to take advantage of walk-in vaccination clinics to win the race against the virus spreading further.
The number of Covid cases is on the rise again in Histon & Impington, with a four-fold increase in the past week. From just 8 new cases a week ago, the number for the seven days to July 15 has risen to 31.
Although the number of cases being reported in the village (256 per 100,000) is currently still below the national average (440 per 100,000), the proportion of residents who have had first and second vaccinations is also lower, meaning more potential for the virus to spread.
Vaccination urgency
Only 81.4% of adults in Histon & Impington have received a first jab by 19th July – compared with 85.8% for all of South Cambridgeshire and 88% for the UK as a whole.
61.5% in the village have now had two jabs, but this too is lower than the South Cambs average of 67.4% and the national average of 68.8%
To make it more convenient for people to take up the jab and slow the rate of further infections, the NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group has published details of local walk-in vaccination clinics. These include:
Grafton Centre, Cambridge – daily, 9am-3pm and Wednesdays, 5.30-7.30pm
Also, lateral flow tests will remain free from the village pharmacies at least for the rest of July.
To support the community during this ‘third wave’, the HICOVID19 helpline is still available on 01223 320420 and the team of street coordinators can still arrange help for those who need it.
Improvements to the walking and cycling routes joining Histon and Impington with Cambridge and Milton have not been identified as top priorities, but the public now has the chance to influence investment decisions.
A £20m budget for boosting ‘active travel’ around Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire now looks unlikely to benefit Histon and Impington, despite two routes out of the village having been shortlisted for investment.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) has earmarked the money for key travel ‘corridors’ around and into the city, where improving cycling and walking infrastructure could encourage people to stop using their cars or other motorised forms of transport.
Among the 13 busy ‘corridors’ identified were Histon to Histon Road, Cambridge, and from Impington to Milton. These are among 5 rural corridors where daily cycle trips number over 1,000 a day. A further 8 ‘City Corridors’ were identified within Cambridge itself.
However, the limited budget means the GCP will only be able to fund schemes on two or three of the 13 identified corridors and a review of the evidence has found that routes in the City of Cambridge itself generally offer better value for money due to the number of people who use them.
The review recommends implementing two schemes connecting to the controversial £2.3m Dutch-style roundabout on the A1134 near Addenbrookes in Cambridge, which together will take all of the allocated £20m budget. It suggests that improvements to the 11 other busy travel corridors, including the £1.5m Impington to Milton proposals, and the £2.9m Histon scheme, are “used as an ongoing reference and be reflected on should additional funding opportunities present themselves”.
Histon & Impington proposals
Despite having been improved in recent years, the cycle route from the New Road/Bridge Road junction in Impington to the Butt Lane/ Park & Ride junction presents challenges to cyclists including the speed of traffic, the layout of junctions, narrow vehicle lanes in some places and poor road surfaces.
The route from Histon along Water Lane to join the Histon Road cycle path –currently being upgraded – is equally problematic in places, especially at the Bridge Road/Cambridge road junction and the roundabout over the A14.
creating a shared walking/cycling path on Bridge Road, from the A14 roundabout to New Road, to enable 2‐way cycling to Impington Village College
formalising a cut through used by IVC students from the busway to New Rd via Histon FC car park to provide direct route for those coming from Orchard Park
reviewing street car parking on Station Road
replacing the pedestrian bridge across the A10 into Milton with a wider bridge
The LCWIP consultation closes first. It was due to close on 16th July but will now run through to 23.59pm on 27 July following requests for additional time to review the proposals from several stakeholders and members of the public. Take part in the online survey here or email transport.delivery@cambridgeshire.gov.uk with any questions.
NHS and private patients will be able to benefit from new technology that will provide a more comfortable experience and better diagnostic facility for patients needing a scan.
A state-of-the-art MRI scanner has been installed at Impington’s Spire Cambridge Lea Hospital, offering patients a more comfortable experience and more advanced technology to support their diagnoses.
Around 23 patients a day will be able to have a scan using the new equipment. Their scans will be reviewed by expert radiologists who will be able to diagnose and advise on a range of medical conditions, including neurological, cancer, gynaecological, urological, vascular, orthopaedic and spinal-related issues.
Some NHS patients with hip or knee problems will also have use of the new scanner thanks to a partnership between Spire and NHS England.
Comfort and reassurance
The new £1.4m scanner uses sensors to estimate different patient sizes and body types, meaning patients can spend the least amount of time possible inside the equipment – an experience that can be very distressing.
The hospital explained: “The tunnel width is larger than previous scanners and the length of the tunnel is smaller giving the scanner a lighter airier feel. This helps patients who suffer with claustrophobia, because they do not feel as enclosed, and reduced noise and mood lighting produces a calm and relaxed environment during a time that can be stressful for some patients.”
A camera inside the tunnel lets technicians monitor patients during scans, while the new technology combines hardware and software components to reduce distortion when imaging the head, neck and spine.
Support during the pandemic and beyond
Neil McCullough, Hospital Director, Lucy Frazer MP and Alan Rout, Imaging Manager
Spire Cambridge Lea played an important role in helping to keep services going during the pandemic, providing cancer and other services for NHS patients while local NHS Trusts needed to focus on treating Covid patients.
The hospital cared for over 5,000 NHS patients in total, 3,000 for urgent cancer services and 2,000 for other types of urgent surgery between March 2020 and March 2021.
Lucy Frazer, MP for Cambridgeshire South East, cut the ribbon to officially open the new equipment. Hospital Director Neil McCullough, said: “We were delighted Lucy Frazer was able to join us and celebrate the new scanner coming into service… The build time for this project, including the removal of the old scanner to commissioning the new, has been three months.
“I’d like to thank my team and I’m proud we will have the ability to scan a wide range of conditions from cardiac patients to whole body MRI for myeloma patients.”
Proposals for our brand new library building on School Hill are about to be published and Cambridgeshire Libraries wants your input. Here’s how you can get involved.
The new library building on School Hill has now been handed over to Cambridgeshire County Council and the work to transform it into a library will commence this summer before finally opening to the public in the autumn.
Before these plans are finalised, Cambridgeshire Libraries would like to hear from our community with its thoughts on both the design and book stock recommendations. Two online meetings are scheduled; one with the designer and another with the library staff, where you will be able to hear more about the plans and share your feedback with the people directly involved in the project.
Cambridgeshire Libraries is also designing shelf ends that will be distinct to Histon library and is seeking images of Histon and Impington which sum up our community and the ethos of our library to adorn the new shelf end panels.If you have photos you would like to submit, please email them to the Area Library Manager, Terri Lewis, at BarHill.Referral@cambridgeshire.gov.uk and the planners will look at incorporating them in the designs.
An online survey is also now available, where Histon and Impington residents are invited to share their thoughts on book stocks and opening times. You can access the survey here.
‘Meet the designer’ will take place at 2pm on Tuesday 13th July, with the Library Staff Zoom planned for 6pm on Thursday 15th July.To attend either of these meetings, please email Terri Lewis and a Zoom link will be forwarded to you.
Histon & Impington residents and businesses have the chance to influence policing priorities in the area through a new survey.
An election pledge to “listen to the concerns of the residents of our great county and support the police to act on those concerns” is being fulfilled by Darryl Preston, the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Identifying priorities
He has launched a survey asking local people for their views on policing and crime priorities, and these will form the basis of a Police and Crime Plan for the next three years. The Plan will explain how crime will be tackled by Cambridgeshire Constabulary and how people affected by issues such as road safety, anti-social behaviour and drug dealing will be supported.
Early conversations with members of the public and local businesses have led to five priority areas being identified, which are community support, crime prevention, supporting victims and witnesses, ethical policing and robust enforcement. The survey asks for opinions on these and proposals for other themes that should be addressed. It also asks for information about the experiences of anyone who has been a victim of crime, and how the police and support services treated them and met their needs.
Once published, the Plan will set out how:
people can get the help they need
the Chief Constable will deliver an effective service
money will be spent to support projects and services
decisions will be made in an open and honest way, with everyone’s needs being considered
Holding to account
Darryl Preston, who lives in Ely, served as both a front-line and neighbourhood police officer for 30 years, including 20 years in Cambridgeshire. In his new role he provides a key link between Cambridgeshire communities and the police, and is the person who holds the Constabulary to account on behalf of local people.
Announcing the survey, he said: “It is important to me that the final Plan means something to local people; that it considers the views and lived experiences of people living and working in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, as well as fulfilling my statutory duties as Commissioner.
“I know from the way people responded to previous public surveys and consultations, issued through my office… that they welcome early opportunities to feed into how they want to see future policing carried out in the county and this is your opportunity to do so.”
