The hospital’s EndoCare Centre has been accredited, for the 5th consecutive year, by the British Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE), establishing it as one of the busiest centres for endometriosis care in the UK.
The hospital’s recognition coincides with Endometriosis Action Month 2025 this March, an initiative aimed at raising awareness and improving education for young people and healthcare practitioners around the condition.
Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age worldwide and it occurs when cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb are found elsewhere in the body. These cells can grow and change causing inflammation, pain and scar tissue.
But despite the condition causing women debilitating pain and disruption to their daily lives, careers and fertility, it remains widely misdiagnosed.
The EndoCare centre, on New Road, Impington, is led by world-renowned endometriosis specialist, Professor Mohamed Mabrouk and has treated more than 3,000 patients and operated on more than 500 patients suffering from endometriosis in the last five years.
Multi-disciplinary approach
Prof Mabrouk and theatre team at Spire Lea hospital
Management and treatment of severe endometriosis at Spire Cambridge Lea involves a multi-disciplinary approach and brings together consultants and experts in colorectal, urology, radiology and pain management specialties as well as a dedicated specialist nurse.
Professor Mohamed Mabrouk explained: “One of the most crucial aspects of our approach, is listening to the patient. Every woman’s experience with endometriosis is unique. Taking the time to understand each patient’s concerns and symptoms is fundamental in meeting their needs.”
He continued: “I am thrilled that our centre of excellence has retained its BSGE accreditation for the 5th year. Thanks to every member of the team.”
Price increases for using the sports and pavilion facilities at the Recreation Ground will come into force next month. A lot of hire costs will remain the same, but there will be increases for a few facilities. The new prices apply to public hire arrangements only, with fees for clubs calculated separately.
The steepest increase in public hire fees will be for the cricket pitches, which go up from £75 to £120 per match on the 1st square and to £100 on the 2nd square.
The Parish Council, which sets the hire fees, says the increases have been made “to reflect the superior quality of Pitch 1” and that the new charges reflect those applied for cricket pitches elsewhere around Cambridge. The fact that a “cricket game lasts longer than football” is also factored into the pricing structure.
Cllr Joseph Uttridge commented that these charge rises would be acceptable as long as the quality of the pitches is maintained.
Other increases
Football, bowls and tennis hire by the public will also see increases, but by lower amounts. The cost of hiring a pitch for a football match will rise from £69 to £70 and the hourly fee for hire of the bowling green will rise from £9 to £15.
Use of the hard and grass courts for tennis will go from £9 to £10 an hour, or £13 to £14 with floodlights on a hard court. But fees for using the hard court for netball will remain the same. The new prices are broadly in line with Orchard Park, where the tennis courts cost £10, and the price of a court for netball is £20. Slight discounts are available for residents and block bookings.
Commercial hire of the H&I Rec for activities such as training courses will remain at £13 per hour, though use of the changing rooms will rise from £13 to £16.
Club fees
With the exception of the bowls club, all the village sports clubs using the Rec will see price increase too. These will range from £8.25 for the croquet club to £938 for the tennis club.
The increase to the cricket club will be £504, while Histon Hornets will see a £439 rise.
Tennis representative Jane Fidler commented that the tennis club was “surprised” by the 12.4% increase, and a meeting with the club was due to discuss the fee in more detail.
For full details of the charges for and availability of Recreation Ground facilities hire, see the Parish Council website.
Village wellbeing charity, HI Friends, is one of nine organisations across South Cambs set to receive a grant award under the South Cambs District Council (SCDC) Net Zero Villages Scheme.
A total of £360,000 has been made available through the scheme, from which HI Friends has been granted £55,000 towards the purchase of an electric community minibus.
Other recipients include Shepreth, Oakington and Horningsea Parish Councils, a community pub in Ickleton and, in nearby villages, Over and Cottenham Community Centres. Full details of all awards can be found on the SCDC website.
Funding for the scheme was provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, with supplementary funds contributed by the District Council.
Tackling climate change
In a press release, SCDC writes that the scheme empowers voluntary groups, parish councils and community-minded businesses to tackle climate change by reducing carbon emissions from community assets, such as village halls, and using nature-based solutions to adapt these buildings for a future with more extreme weather patterns. The grant also welcomed proposals for low carbon transport schemes, such as e-bikes or community shuttle buses.
Launched in December last year, Histon & Impington was originally excluded from the scheme because the village was deemed to be part of the ‘Cambridge built-up area’. But, HI HUB enquires with the Office of National Statistics revealed that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority – who set the rules for the scheme – had based it on out-of-date information, rather than the 2021 census, leading to SCDC admitting they had wrongly excluded Histon & Impington and six other South Cambs villages from the scheme.
Talking to HI HUB, chair of HI Friends, Neil Davies, said: “HI Friends is thrilled with news of the award of a £55,000 grant award from the SCDC Net Zero Villages Grant Scheme towards the purchase of a new electric powered Community Minibus for Histon and Impington.
HI Friends existing diesel powered Community minibus.
“This will have a dual benefit for our two villages in helping to secure the future of the much valued community minibus and in a small way contributing towards the local Net Zero target and less polluted air”.
The community minibus provides transport to residents across the community who might otherwise find travel difficult; offering lifts to attend groups, shopping and outings. The minibus is also available for use by community groups serving all ages.
‘Immensely grateful’
Sharing his thanks to those behind the expansion of this grant scheme to our village, Neil added, “the charity is immensely grateful to Liz Hill of HI HUB for her successful campaign to ensure communities like ours could apply to the grant scheme, and to District Councillor James Rixon for pro-actively suggesting HI Friends make a grant application.
“There is much work still to be done to progress and deliver the project including the procurement of a suitable vehicle and its conversion, as well as the need for new driver volunteers coming forward”.
Read more about the work of HI Friends on their website.
Bus users in H&I are set to benefit from a new scheme designed to enable bus travel without barriers.
Acknowledging that not all personal needs or disabilities are visible or immediately apparent, Stagecoach – which runs the number 8 bus route as well as the guided busway and park and ride buses – is introducing a new Journey Assistance Card that passengers can show to seek assistance on their journey.
The scheme is free for all Cambridgeshire residents who may need extra or specific help and support to travel on the bus. Stagecoach’s Journey Assistance Card will give the driver additional information and enable them to make sure the customer gets any extra assistance that they need. The range of cards read:
Please be patient I am visually impaired
Please give me time to sit in case I fall down
Please speak slowly and face me to help me hear better
Please count my change for me
Please be patient, I am deaf
Please tell me when we reach my stop
Please speak slowly, I am hard of hearing
Please be patient, I have a hidden disability
Please be patient, I have difficulty speaking
Please scan my pass for me
Please help me find a seat
Please let me know when we get to…
The bus operator is encouraging residents who may know of a bus passenger who would benefit from an Assistance Card to order them online here.
Ross Barton, Operations Director of Stagecoach East, said: “Our drivers pride themselves on offering the best possible service, but we know that sometimes our customers can be nervous to explain what they need, so our Journey Assistance Cards can really help to make the journey that bit easier”.
To apply for, renew, or replace a concessionary bus pass visit here.
A public consultation on the 4-Day working week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council closes at midnight on Sunday (23 March). Anyone, from anywhere in the world, is invited to have their say on the working arrangement through the survey. The Council says the results will be used to guide its next steps with the initiative.
Take part
The consultation can be accessed online. South Cambridgeshire residents who would prefer to complete a paper survey can email communications@scambs.gov.uk or call 01954 713 000.
As South Cambridgeshire District and Cambridge City councils share some key services – Greater Cambridge Shared Planning and Greater Cambridge Shared Waste – residents of Cambridge city are also being encouraged to comment on their experiences of using these services using the online link.
Cambridge city residents who would prefer to complete a paper survey can email communications@cambridge.gov.uk for a copy.
Criticism
Opposition councillors widely criticised the consultation publicly before it went live eight weeks ago.
They argue residents may struggle to answer questions that refer back to before the 4-day week trial was introduced in January 2023. It was also felt people should be asked directly whether they support the working arrangement or not – with the response being a simple yes/no answer.
However, Lib Dems argue this would make the survey a referendum and the current format offers a richer insight.
Next steps
HI HUB asked the Council if there was any information available on how many responses it had received so far and how long it takes on average for people to complete the survey. A spokesperson said these details are not available while the consultation is still active.
He explained after the closing date, the results will be independently analysed by the market research company DJS Research, who will provide a report on the findings. At a previous council meeting, it was revealed the findings should be made available by the summer.
Cambridgeshire County Council says over £59m will be spent on highways projects this year – but none of the cash is earmarked for H&I.
The Council has set out how it plans to spend the money, and has released details of 57 road repairs that will be prioritised for major works in 2025/26. However, the 10 listed for South Cambridgeshire doesn’t include any forthcoming projects for the village.
Dodging the potholes
Impington resident James Wiltshire recently shared a post on social media about the size of the potholes he navigates with his two sons on their cycle rides to and from Park Primary School. Their route takes them along Cambridge Road to Station Road and then either up the High Street to Narrow Lane or they go on the main road and along Glebe Way.
However, he told HI HUB: “When I cycle with my two boys, I often feel an increasing sense of fear for their safety. Their smaller size, less developed cycling skills, and limited reaction time make it challenging to navigate the numerous potholes.
The road surface at the entrance of The Coppice, Impington. Photo: James Wiltshire
“We constantly find ourselves swerving and weaving to avoid them, which increases the risk of one of my boys either hitting a pothole and falling or, worse, swerving into the path of a vehicle – particularly on busy roads like Glebe Way.
“What concerns me even more is the growing number of potholes and the lack of consistent repairs. When repairs are carried out, they often seem like quick fixes, and the problem inevitably resurfaces in no time.”
James said one at Vision Park was addressed after help from H&I County Councillor Ros Hathorn. Another at The Coppice was logged on an online reporting system but the case was closed and the repairs were not carried out.
A £1bn problem
When the Council’s highways and transport committee last met on 4 March, Councillor Neil Shailer said the authority was putting funding towards proactive preventative work to try and stop potholes before they form.
Cambridge Road, Impington, is part of the cycling route James Wiltshire takes with his two boys to school. Photo: James Wiltshire
Over £28.7m is due to be spent on carriageway structural and preventative work, with a further £7.2m due to be spent on structural and preventative work on pathways and cycleways. While the investment seems significant, Ros explains it is needed after years of Governments cutting back funding to local councils. She says road repairs are an estimated £1bn problem for the county – the equivalent of the Council’s entire annual budget.
On a more positive note, she says if the Council continues in its current direction there will be noticeable improvements to the roads in five years. “To be where we need to be” could take between a decade and 15 years. The highways team has also been restructured to focus on maintenance and ensuring quality repair works have been carried out.
A new “Report a Fault” app will be launched later this year, replacing a dated system that was commissioned more than 25 years ago in 1998. “I have hopes the new system will be groundbreakingly more efficient,” Ros says. Users who report a road fault through the app will be kept updated through the process of its repair.
Back to Histon and Impington
Ros also explained many areas across the county need capital repair works carried out – this is expensive long-term, planned and high value work. She said councillors rejected last year’s list of repairs because “there was no strategy, logic or prioritisation”.
County Councillor for H&I Ros Hathorn
She said: “This year there is a strategy and a clear ranking process. That is irritating if jobs in your area aren’t chosen but at least there is an underlying fair and rational approach. It also means that work is fixed in leaps and bounds. When the work arrives it can make a big difference but it can take years for it to be your turn.”
While H&I may need to wait for its turn to come around, she said in the meantime the Vision Park raised table has been fixed and she “has been promised” the one at The Coppice will be addressed. Ros also has confirmation the tarmacked over gully by the raised table at Impington Lane will be repaired and a road closure has been ordered for the top of Station Road to investigate drainage issues.
Additional reporting by Hannah Brown, from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Councillors are being asked to approve further spending on consultants to produce another report on options for the development of the Rec.
The Wellbeing Recreation and Leisure Committee (WRL) will be asking a meeting of the Full Parish Council next week for the go-ahead to contract work for a new Masterplan for the Recreation Ground based on “several potential constituent ideas” – but a pump track is not on the list of ideas for consideration.
Development proposals
The ideas being put forward include new uses for the former groundsman’s house at 12 New Road, which has been empty for over a year; the Parish Council Compound, where equipment is stored; a tarmac car parking area; and increased and improved office space, meeting space and Council staff rest space.
Also on the list are the play area, a perimeter path around the Rec, a new surface water management system to improve drainage and improvements to the Pavilion.
The tennis facilities are up for consideration again after Councillors backtracked on plans to replace the grass courts with four all-weather surfaces, and suggested that some of that land could be used for parking.
Pump track not included
A notable absentee from the list is a pump track.
The demand for a pump track in the village was first identified in a 2021 Parish Council survey to determine priorities for recreation and leisure facilities in the village.
Then in 2023, in a consultation by the Pump Track charity, residents identified The Rec as the most popular location for siting a pump track, and residents were subsequently told by the Parish Council that this would be considered.
No progress has been reported since, despite Cllr Davies, Chair of the Rec Development Group (RDG), telling the WRL Committee that he would recommend that a pump track on the Recreation Ground should be included in a review of future uses of the Rec.
Request for approval
Thousands of pounds have already been spent with surveyors Wilby and Burnett, who have been working with the RDG – a working party of the WRL Committee – since 2023 to create a Masterplan for the Rec.
But the committee believes that circumstances have changed sufficiently to require an “updated quote from surveyors” to conduct the work again, based on the ideas now being put forward. They are asking the Full Council meeting on Monday 17 March to approve spending on a further report on options by August/September 2025.
A health and safety investigation is now underway after a 13-year-old boy was injured in a collision on the Busway. The incident happened on the afternoon of 4 March near Orchard Park.
The boy, a pedestrian, was struck by a single decker bus travelling in the direction of Cambridge. He was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital by ambulance in a “serious condition”. An update from Cambridgeshire Police today (13 March) explained he “remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital” and his injuries are “not life-threatening”.
‘Aware and investigating‘
Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive has confirmed the collision is on its radar. “We are aware of the incident and are investigating,” its spokesperson said.
Stagecoach East previously acknowledged one of its vehicles was involved but a spokesperson explained it would not be appropriate to say anything further at this stage.
Cambridgeshire County Council, which is responsible for the Busway infrastructure, said it is working with the emergency services and other partners as “a full investigation is underway”.
Parish council discussion
Ros Hathorn, H&I’s councillor for Cambridgeshire County Council, has included Busway safety in her update for the Parish Council meeting on Monday (17 March).
In it, she said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends involved in the tragic incident on the Busway in early March.
She said: “I am pushing for local safety issues to be listened to and have heard rumours about new safety measures including fencing off ‘break throughs’ which will reduce the connectivity between the two sides of the Busway.
“So far I haven’t been able to get a clear response on what is planned.”
The inspection, which took place on 11-12 February 2025, saw five inspectors assessing the college over two days on its quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, personal development and sixth form. They graded the school ‘outstanding’ in all of these areas.
Inspectors sat in on lessons, clubs and student panels and their report – released this week – highlighted that the school “emphasises the importance and love of reading” as well as its “ambitious, broad and challenging curriculum” and “exemplary” personal development provision.
The report also found that IVC pupils are “diligent”, have “a strong sense of community” and access to a wide range of experiences without barriers to participation.
This was the first full Ofsted inspection the school has had since November 2019.
“Overwhelmingly positive feedback”
Principal Victoria Hearn said: “We are delighted with the judgements made by the inspection team, but are especially pleased with their overwhelmingly positive feedback, which captures our unique vision for education and the positive impact this is having on our students, academically and personally”.
She continued that its “ambitious vision” as an IB World School, involves a commitment to “academic excellence, a broad, balanced, inclusive curriculum, exceptional opportunities, and pastoral care”. Victoria added: “It’s never about delivering a particular Ofsted judgement, but because we believe it gives our students the very best education. It is, however, fantastic to see the unrelenting efforts of staff and leaders at all levels recognised in the report”.
A bus service is unable to serve its usual route through Histon because of the temporary traffic lights outside Histon Chop Shop.
A notice placed at one of the affected bus stops says the changes to Service 8 will be “until further notice” and is due to “safety concerns” caused by the lights in Windmill Lane.
David Boden, Business Development Director of Stagecoach East, said: “The safety of our loyal passengers and our communities is always our number one priority.
“In this case, temporary traffic lights have been set up outside Histon Chop Shop, which means that, with regret, we are temporarily unable to serve the bus stops on Windmill Lane, Church Street, and Cottenham Road.
“We will be very pleased to resume our service to those stops as soon as it is safe to do so.”
The Service 8 route travels between Cambridge and Cottenham. Cambridgeshire County Council says the temporary lights are for emergency works. “Our highways team is contacting UK Power Networks and will ask them to rectify the situation,” a spokesperson said.
