Punch Pubs owned community local, the Railway Vue, is once again open for business with new managers ready to welcome the community of Histon & Impington.
New owners. New opening hours. Image Railway Vue facebook page.
The pub closed at the start of 2025 and saw Lance Key and Raimonda Aleksiejute take over just a few weeks later, opening to the public on 17 January.
Community at its heart
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Locals to the area, Raimonda and Lance have considerable experience in the hospitality industry with Lance having previously run the Hop Bind on Cottenham High Street and Raimonda gathering her bar and kitchen expertise at the nearby White Horse in Oakington. Talking to HI HUB Raimonda said: “We are hoping to create a welcoming and friendly local with hearty homemade pub food – offering a choice which will attract customers as good value for money”.
Customers will, however, have to wait a little longer to sample the new menu as the planned refurbishment, including kitchen extension, is not forecast until later in the year. For now the pub will be offering drinks and bar snacks only.
A warm welcome for all
Brand new meat raffle is launched at Railway Vue. Image their own.
“We are hoping to welcome both new and existing customers to help us rejuvenate the pub”, Raimonda added. “Our message to everyone is please give us time to put our own stamp on it while we work with our staff to bring back to life this much loved village local.”
The pub welcomes well behaved dogs and will be screening sports events, hosting live bands for music nights and plan a weekly meat raffle – the first of which has already been advertised on their Facebook page.
A Punch Pubs spokesperson told HI HUB: “We are delighted to share that the Railway Vue in Impington has re-opened with new publicans, Lance and Raimonda, at the helm. We plan to invest in the pub later this year, and we will be able to update the community as those plans progress. The Railway Vue is a fantastic and much-loved pub, and, together with Lance and Raimonda, we want to see it continue to thrive and serve the community for many years to come.”
Histon & Impington residents have the chance to influence local decision-making and spending following the resignation of Councillor Walter Davey from the Parish Council.
Walter served on the Council for almost seven years, first joining in May 2018, and was an active member of the Planning and Development Committee.
On behalf of all councillors, Council chair Yvonne Murray thanked him for his service, saying he helped her “further understand that every councillor was there to make a difference and everybody deserved to be heard”.
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She continued: “Walter is an amazing engineer and innovator; he has confirmed that he will always be willing to help out the Council with repairs to the recreation ground equipment. One of his greatest strengths is fixing things that no one else can.”
Notice of Vacancy
The Electoral Commission told HI HUB that when such a vacancy arises, a Parish Council is “legally required to publish a public notice of the vacancy” and this “must be displayed in a conspicuous place within the parish.” But this legislation dates back to 1972, so there is “no legal obligation” to promote such vacancies online, though “using additional channels, such as social media or newsletters, is considered good practice”.
For example, Cottenham Parish Council currently has a Notice of Vacancy dated 16 January on its website following a councillor’s recent resignation. At time of writing, it had not been posted on Cottenham Parish Council’s Facebook page.
The Notice of Vacancy to replace Walter was formally declared on 8 January and displayed on the Parish Council notice board at the Rec. To trigger a by-election, 10 people eligible to vote in the parish have 14 working days after that date to give notice in writing to the Returning Officer at South Cambridgeshire District Council.
Co-option
If too few electors have made contact with the Returning Officer by the time the Notice of Vacancy expires on Tuesday 28 January, Councillors can select an individual of their choice on the electorate’s behalf.
The Parish Council told HI HUB that further information about fulfilling the vacancy by co-option will be outlined on its website and social media. The clerk explained this has been the procedure when other vacancies have arisen.
To be eligible to stand as a candidate at a Parish Council election, or for co-option to the Council, you must be at least 18 years old and be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or a qualifying EU citizen with retained rights.
Guidance is outlined on the Electoral Commission website, which states that candidates must also meet at least one of the following four qualifications:
Be a registered local government elector for the parish in which they wish to stand.
Have occupied as owner or tenant any land or other premises in the parish area for 12 months.
Have worked in the parish area for the past 12 months.
Have lived in the parish area, or within three miles, for 12 months.
The Connections Bus Project will continue to run four hours a week of youth activities in the village until at least December 2025, after Parish Councillors committed over £18,000 to extend their contract.
Despite concerns being first raised in January 2024 that this service does not offer value for money, a proposal was put to a full Council meeting this week to pay the charity a further £8,695 to extend their activities in the village for four months from April to July 2025, coinciding with the end of the academic year.
But the working party that was due to present a full review of youth provision in the village in June 2024 want more time to assess alternatives and produce a community action plan for youth work.
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They have now pledged to report back in June 2025. To give themselves and the charity more time to adjust, and maintain services for young people attending the sessions if the review concludes that new arrangements should be made, the meeting voted to extend the Connections Bus contract until the end of the year.
As the charity have raised their termly fee by 5%, the bill for the work will total £18,261.
Contract issues
During school term time, Connections Bus currently runs a 1.5 hour after-school youth club and a 1 hour ‘mindfulness and yoga’ session at the Rec, plus a 1.5 hour babysitting course at Histon Baptist Church.
The charity has been providing youth work in the village since 2017, when a member of Parish Council staff moved across to them. The Council then contracted Connections Bus to deliver youth services instead of providing them itself.
Councillors couldn’t recall how the original fee to them was set, but thought it was linked to the salary of the person who joined the charity.
However, the contract has been neither formally reviewed nor put out to tender since, and its annual value is now such that for the past two years it has breached the £25,000 ceiling above which all public sector contracts must be advertised through the government’s Contracts Finder service.
To continue paying for any services at this level will require the Council either to put them out for tender, or offer the money as a grant, which places fewer conditions on the recipient. Decisions on whether a service should be offered a grant or a contract will be part of a wider discussion at the next full council meeting in February, where a draft grants policy will also be considered.
In a trial during the current academic year, October half term was extended by two days and the Christmas holiday began mid-December. A survey across the Academy Trust’s schools saw 86% of staff and 78% of students support the changes, but only 59% of parents.
In 2025/6, half term will run from 23 October to 3 November and the autumn term will end 12 December. ELA say they have “plans in place to ensure that they work with parents to provide age-appropriate childcare opportunities for those who need support with this.”
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Replacement
ELA’s vision is that the teaching hours lost due to the changes – described as “disaggregated” time – will be used to provide “enhanced extra-curricular and intervention offers” outside of the normal school day, spread across the school year. Each school in the Trust is developing its own plans as to how best to use this time.
“Academic interventions” in the form of one-to-one and small group provision to boost the core curriculum outside of the school day, will be part of the programme.
ELA explains: “As these taught sessions do not currently form part of teachers’ directed time, we rely on teaching staff volunteering to run them.”
This means the schools are unable to “consistently staff the sessions, guarantee the provision to those who need it, or robustly monitor the delivery of these sessions.”
ELA has also “committed to offering sector-leading [extra-curricular] programmes”, including sport, and to making these offers as inclusive as possible.
Final decision
The trial will run for the full academic year 2024/25.
As well as looking at staff, student and parental feedback, it will include analysis of student and staff attendance, staff recruitment and retention, Governor monitoring reports, the nature and extent of academic interventions and extra-curricular activity, and student outcomes – based on data to be collated in August 2025.
Following the publication of those student outcomes, a decision will be made with regards to future academic years.
A referendum on the four-day week trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council would be “meaningless” the authority’s leader has said.
Cllr Bridget Smith said the planned consultation will focus on people’s experiences of using council services, rather than asking a yes or no question on whether people support the trial.
She said gathering information on people’s experiences would be “very useful” to help the authority make a decision on whether to keep the 4-day week permanently. However, opposition councillors criticised the fact that people would not be asked whether they want to “fund a 4-day week”.
Consultation to go ahead
The district council introduced the 4-day-week trial for desk-based staff at the start of 2023, before later expanding it to include staff working in the waste collection service.
Under the trial, staff receive full pay for working fewer hours, but are expected to complete all of their work in that time. The authority began the trial to see if it would help with the staff recruitment and retention problems it was facing.
A public consultation will open on Monday 27 January and will ask people to share their views on using council services before and during the 4-day-week trial. Members of the public completing the survey will also be asked if they would be more or less likely to apply for a job if a 4-day week was offered.
‘Meaningful information’
Cllr Smith told councillors at a Scrutiny and Overview committee meeting last Thursday 16 January that the consultation had been put together with the help of an independent organisation. She said the consultation would give the authority “meaningful information” on people’s experiences using council services.
The consultation on the 4-day week will be launched on Monday 27 January. Photo: StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay
Cllr Smith said: “The purpose of this consultation is to ascertain what the experience has been of our residents, our businesses, our partners, our stakeholders, during the 4-day-week trial.
“Has there been any change in people’s experiences of our services as experienced prior to the trial starting, and as experienced during the trial.
“This is very useful information, as it will either support or not the vast amount of evidence that has been amassed for us about the trial by universities in Cambridge and Salford.
“Additionally, there is a legal requirement for us to consult. It is very important we fulfil that requirement, and it is important to do so in a way that is legally compliant and meaningful. It is very important to us to know what our customers of all types think of us, and what their experiences have been.
“This, with all the other information we have – the surveys of staff, the KPI data – will help us as a council and cabinet to make an informed decision – during this summer probably – whether we become a four-day-week employer.”
The opposition’s view
However, the leadership faced challenges from opposition councillors on the proposed consultation.
Cllr Tom Bygott said the “obvious question” of asking people whether they support the 4-day week was not in the consultation.
He said: “We are not going to have any view whether, as a taxpayer, people want to fund a 4-day week, but we are going to get a view whether they would want to be an employee working in that way.”
Cllr Smith said Cllr Bygott was suggesting a referendum, which she argued would be “meaningless”.
She said: “We are a service provider. What is meaningful is people’s experiences of our services, so that is what we are doing.”
Cllr Smith added that there were text boxes in the survey where people could leave whatever comments they wanted about the trial. However, she stressed the consultation was not a referendum and said she would “not allow it to become a referendum, because that is not meaningful and not useful” for the council.
Think back to 2022…
Cllr Heather Williams highlighted that people were being asked in the survey to compare their experiences of using council services before and after the trial. She said she understood why the authority wanted this information, but said they were asking people to remember what happened years ago.
Residents will be asked for their views on Council services since the 4-day week was introduced.
Cllr Williams said: “I know I reported a bin being missed, but whether I did that in 2022 or in 2023, it is too long of a gap.”
She suggested it might have been better to have conducted a survey of people’s experiences before the trial started, to have a base set of data to compare to, as she said people will “really struggle” to accurately remember what they were doing years ago.
Cllr Smith said it was “nonsense” to suggest the authority should consult on whether to carry out a trial. She added that the district council had hoped to hold the consultation back in March last year, but said the “threat of financial penalties” made by the previous government meant they could not do this.
Cllr Williams argued the district council could have consulted on people’s experience of using its services, even after the initial three month trial.
Cllr John Williams, lead cabinet member for resources, said the survey was intended to “add value” to other performance measures which the district council had been using to gauge the effect of the trial. He said the survey would help the authority “check” these measures were giving “correct information”.
Disagreements continue
A week on from the discussions, disagreement between the two parties about the consultation continue. To the referendum point, the South Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat Group insists “the survey includes many questions to gather feedback and views” and there is an opportunity for contributors to say whether they agree or disagree with the 4-day week.
A spokesperson for the group said: “The survey includes free-text boxes throughout for additional feedback. There is not a referendum type question as we want to ensure we have more detailed feedback on whether four-day-week working has had an impact, positive or negative, on services.”
Meanwhile, a press release issued by South Cambridgeshire Conservatives last night (Wednesday) complained its calls for a referendum have been “snubbed” by the Lib Dems.
Cllr Williams said: “The administration’s claims that a referendum would not be useful for the Council are disappointing. This demonstrates a complete contempt for the feelings and pockets of residents shelling out 37 hours pay for 32 hours work – all when the Lib Dems are planning to increase Council Tax by the maximum amount again.”
South Cambridgeshire District Council says the consultation platform will go live on Monday 27 January.
Reporting by Hannah Brown, Local Democracy Reporting Service. Additional words from HI HUB.
Delays in deciding the future of youth work in the village mean that more Council Tax income could be earmarked for a service whose value for money has been a concern since March last year.
At their next meeting Parish Councillors will be asked to approve a youth provision budget which, every year since 2017, has been allocated to Connections Bus Project.
The charity currently runs after-school activities in the village for 4 hours a week during term times, for which they charged Histon & Impington over £26,000 in 2024/5 – around 5% of all the village’s total Council Tax income.
Questions have been raised about the cost vs. benefits of the service, given the limited number of young people who use them, but the Council is now proposing to extend funding to the Connections Bus Project until July 2025 at a cost of £8,695.
Falling attendance
The Connections Bus Project’s services in the village include a 1.5 hour after-school youth club and a 1 hour ‘mindfulness and yoga’ session on Mondays. These are held at the community room at the Recreation Ground: although the charity’s two bespoke double-decker youth buses serve many other villages, they are not used in Histon & Impington.
The charity also runs a 1.5 hour babysitting course at Histon Baptist Church on Tuesdays, which is open to young people across the District.
But young people’s engagement with the youth club declined during the 2023/4 academic year. By the summer term 2024 it was attracting an average of just 15 attendees per session, compared with 38 during the same term the previous year. Attendance at yoga sessions held steady at an average of 5 participants per session, and the babysitting course attracted an average of 12.
Five sessions were cancelled, with staff shortages blamed for some of them.
Value for money
Concerns about the value for money offered by the Connections Bus sessions were first raised by a resident in January 2024.
A subsequent investigation and report was presented to Councillors in March 2024. It recommended ‘starting afresh’ to find out what the community wants in the way of youth work in future, commenting that there are many other youth groups serving the village – most volunteer-led and without any Parish Council funding.
The report included an estimate that the per-session fee being paid by the Council for the youth club was £330, plus £137 for each yoga class and £278 for each babysitting class, plus free use of the community room.
Questions were raised as to whether Council taxpayers in Histon & Impington may be subsidising services for other villages, as no figures are published to show how many of the young people using the services are actually residents in the village.
The report also highlighted “unreasonable” differential with youth club fees paid to Connections Bus by other parishes.
Last year the charity provided youth work services at 14 different villages in Cambridgeshire, yet Histon & Impington was the source of almost a quarter of all their income from Parish Councils. The investigation into the hourly fees charged to other villages revealed that Histon & Impington was paying 40% more than Cottenham, more still than Orchard Park, and no other villages were running baby sitting or yoga sessions.
Connections Bus Project denies that such comparisons make sense, telling the Council that “Due to the nature of the venue and facilities that are used for the youth club, four youth workers are required [while] many other villages only require three” and noting that “Additional services are provided: babysitting course and youth yoga.”
They also comment that “a much higher proportion” of the Assistant Manager’s contract hours are allocated to Histon & Impington, because of the “additional support/follow-up for young people” being provided – though this work is not specified in the Council’s service agreement with the charity.
Decision delays
Despite concerns, in February last year Councillors agreed funding of almost £17,400 for the Connections Bus youth services through to December 2024, aiming to set up a Youth Provision Working Group and give it time to conduct a review and decide whether to continue with the services beyond December 2024.
The Group was first due to present its findings and recommendations for consideration at a Full Council meeting in June last year. Delays have meant this and plans to present to Council in October both fell through – though conversations with other potential youth service suppliers, including Sawston and Shelford Youth Initiative and Romsey Mill, have taken place.
The delays led Councillors to approve a further payment of £8,696 to Connections Bus, to cover the three months from December 2024 to March 2025.
To enable them to plan ahead, the charity has now requested a decision about extending their contract beyond March 2025 to be made this month.
But the findings of the Youth Provision Working Party have yet to be shared with Councillors and, in spite of concerns, a decision to continue with current arrangements may yet be agreed. Some Councillors have already expressed support for extending them to synchronise with the academic year, instead of the Council’s financial year.
The decision whether to extend funding to Connection Bus Project is scheduled to take place on Monday 20 January at the meeting of the full Parish Council, starting 7.30pm. All Histon & Impington residents are invited to attend to listen to the debates and any resident wishing to address the meeting should contact the office to request a slot. Email clerk@hisimp-pc.gov.uk For more details, see the agenda pack here.
Histon Manor is set to kick-start a new year of fundraising with a series of events open to the local community, starting with the ever-popular Snowdrop Open Day.
Since 2018, Histon Manor has raised over £15,000 for local causes through community charity events and fundraising initiatives such as valuation days, village Dahlia shows, and tea and garden parties.
This year, owner Katherine Mann has decided to focus fundraising efforts on a single charity, Break – a charity that works across East Anglia to make life better for children and young people growing up in care and those with complex needs – to ensure “a more focused and impactful contribution”.
Snowdrop Open Day on Saturday 8 February offers a chance to enjoy the first signs of spring with snowdrops throughout the Manor’s grounds. Other community fundraising events throughout the year will include the Daffodil Open Day on 22 March – a chance to see a spectacular display of daffodils as over 1,500 bulbs have been planted annually for the past four years – and the Village Dahlia Show in September, celebrating the best dahlia displays from local growers with village stalls and games.
In addition to its own fundraising efforts, the Manor also hosts events for local charities such as HI Friends, and plays a part in Histon and Impington Open Gardens.
Histon Manor regularly plays host to village fundraising events. Photo: Katherine Mann
Village backing
Katherine Mann of Histon Manor said: “We’re excited about the year ahead. Histon Manor has set a minimum fundraising target of £5,000 for Break in 2025. We hope our events will help raise awareness for the incredible work that Break does, and we encourage everyone to come and join us in supporting this wonderful cause. The community’s participation in our events and donations will directly contribute to helping vulnerable children and young people.
“We are also delighted that Carter Jonas has stepped forward to be our sponsor for our charity events this year and 100% of their donation will go directly to Break. We are extremely grateful for their support”.
Feast Week 2025 is scheduled to run from 28 June to 6 July.
The week has been branded as ‘Back in the Community’ and the Feast Committee is looking to gather more community involvement than ever with community groups, businesses and organisations being called on to think about how they can play a part. Money raised during Feast Week supports local good causes across our community with 2024’s beneficiaries including Histon & Impington Hedgehog Champions, Hope Again Bereavement Support and 1st Histon Scouts to name just a few.
Community at its heart
Chair Steve Cox told HI HUB: “You might not be in a summer frame of mind just yet, but we are! The wet weather of 2024 washed out a lot of the fun of last year’s Feast Week and for 2025 we are keen to see even more events and greater involvement across the community”.
The community turns out to support Feast Festival 2023. Photo Brian Whitehead
He continued: “Events don’t have to be big, or even fundraising. But if your group is thinking of hosting a summer event, please consider whether it could be part of Feast Week. In return, we can offer extra publicity by including your event in the Feast programme”.
This year’s Feast Week will see a return of the Village Festival, similar to that in 2023, on Sunday 29 June when the High Street will be closed to traffic and filled with stalls and attractions. The committee is keen to see local businesses, clubs and organisations involved; with dedicated space available for those who wish to host a stall.
For inclusion in the Feast programme, details of any planned events to be publicised must be submitted by this Easter and the committee is keen to hear from anyone who might be keen to get involved. The team will also be contacting local businesses regarding advertising in the booklet as well as making a call-out for applications from potential 2025 Feast funding beneficiaries.
Get involved
The Feast Committee AGM will take place on Thursday 30 January where plans for 2025 will be outlined and the community is invited to join the meeting. “To sum it up, we are asking the community to get involved”, Steve implored. “Feast Week can be bigger than ever before but only with help from the village and its groups, clubs and organisations. Suggestions, ideas and thoughts are welcome – please get in touch or come along to our AGM. We would love to meet you”.
Feast Week 2025 will take place 28 June – 6 July. The Feast Committee AGM will take place at 8pm on Thursday 30 January at the Recreation Ground pavilion.Email Feast Chair Steve Cox on stevecox.histon@gmail.com to find out more.
South Cambridgeshire District Council (SCDC) will outline plans for a public consultation into its 4-day week today (Thursday).
The Council’s Scrutiny and Overview Committee will discuss proposals to get feedback from residents on the controversial working pattern. Subject to final sign-off, a “full public consultation that anyone, anywhere can respond to” is being put forward.
This means even people who live outside the district can also share their views on the scheme, though their questions will be tailored slightly because they do not directly use council services. For example, a participant from Australia can take part, but is not able to give feedback on areas such as bin collections.
The planned consultation will be for eight weeks, beginning on 27 January and closing at 11:59pm on 23 March. It will be possible to have a say on how Council services have been since January 2023, when a trial of a 4-day week began.
The information gathered will help District Councillors decide on next steps.
‘Always’ going to consultation
The Council had previously postponed a public consultation expected in April 2024 because of the previous Government’s intense scrutiny of the initiative. This included warnings that SCDC may face financial penalties if the 4-day week arrangements continued.
Cllr John Williams, SCDC’s Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, said the Council has “always made it very clear” there would be an opportunity for stakeholders to share their views on how the 4-day week has impacted them.
He said: “We have not been able to [launch a public consultation] up to this point because of threats made by the previous Government. With those threats lifted, we are now able to begin this process.
“Our approach is designed to ensure those who have used our services during the four-day week arrangements can quickly and easily share their views – though anyone, anywhere will be welcome to submit comments.”
As SCDC and Cambridge City Council share some key services – such as planning and bin collection – residents who live within the city are also being encouraged to comment on their experiences.
Justifying the 4-day week
SCDC staff deliver 100% of their work, in around 80% of their hours, for 100% pay.
Those at desks have been working 30 hours per week over the four days. Waste operatives are in 32 hours because a trial found it was not possible for them to deliver services within the 30.
The Council says the aim was to help with recruitment and retention issues it has been experiencing, rather than relying on more expensive agency staff which can be disruptive.
It believes financial savings have been made and the performance of their services have either been maintained or improved during the trial. Also, opening hours have also been maintained throughout.
Last summer, the Universities of Cambridge and Salford published an independent report on the Council’s performance during its trial of the four-day week. Of 24 key performance indicators, the analysis found 22 improved or remained the same.
The improved areas included percentage of calls to the council’s Contact Centre answered, average number of weeks to determine householder planning applications and the average number of days to process Housing Benefit and Council Tax changes.
A financial assessment of the trial outlined a known full year cost saving of £371,500. This was mainly due to permanently filling 10 posts that were previously identified as “hard to fill”.
Co-op customers can now support two Histon & Impington based groups when buying products or services from the national chain.
Bereavement support group Hope Again and Histon Cricket club have been selected to benefit from the Co-op’s Local Community Fund for 2025.
It means if Co-op members select either of these groups when paying for their shop this year, each will receive 1p from every £1 spent on supermarket-branded products or services.
The third group selected for the catchment area is Mayfield Association of Parents and Staff, the PTA of Mayfield Primary School, in Cambridge.
“We’re so grateful…”
Peter Garside, Founder of Hope Again, is hopeful the funds generated from the Co-op fund will cover the expenses for 2026 and possibly beyond.
Peter Garside is the founder of Hope Again. Photo: Hope Again
Peter said: “We’re so grateful to have been selected for the Local Community Fund.
“Hope Again doesn’t charge, our programme is free to attend, and we have a strong network of volunteers.
“This effort with Co-op to generate funds will help so many bereaved people, so we respectfully ask shoppers to consider us when they are at the checkout.”
Hope Again’s reference number is 88466, which can be selected on the Co-op Members app and will be effective for the year.
Support a cause
The Local Community Fund has donated over £107m to 36,000 grassroots community groups since its launch in 2016.
Co-op members choose which good cause they would like to support through their app when paying for their items.
Each group also has a reference number and webpage which shoppers can access to make their selection.
Hope Again has also announced its six-week bereavement support programme this spring will take place between March 5 and April 10 2025.
The sessions are led by an experienced counsellor and cover areas such as coming to terms with grief, grief within the family and self care.
The course will be held on Thursday afternoons between 2pm and 4pm at The Methodist Church Hall in Histon High Street.
Hope Again is affiliated with HI Friends and further details about the course, and how to sign up, are available here. Alternatively call 07707 263353 or email hopeagain@hifriends.org.uk.
