County Councillor Report for Parishes – March 2026 – Cllr Anna Bradnam

County Councillor Report for Parishes – March 2026 – Cllr Anna Bradnam – PDF Version

County Council Budget

On 10 February the County Council agreed to record spending on roads, thousands of extra school places and support for vulnerable residents as part of an ambitious budget for 2026/27.

The council will deliver improvements residents can see and feel, from award winning climate leadership to well‑resourced local libraries and upgraded recycling facilities.

A majority of Councillors also approved the new vision for “a healthy, fair and sustainable Cambridgeshire,” setting the direction for a bolder, brighter county in challenging times. This vision is driven by three key ambitions that will guide the council’s future business planning and the delivery of improvements for communities, for residents of all ages, to parents and carers, road users, and those facing cost-of-living pressures.

By approving the 2026–29 Business Plan and Budget, Councillors have approved a legal, balanced budget that also drives investment for vital services that communities say matter most to them.

The nearly £1.3 billion Business and Budget Plan includes a number of investments aligned with the council’s three new ambitions:

  • Supporting a green and sustainable county
    To improve day to day journeys for drivers, cyclists and bus users, it has allocated an additional £20m for highway maintenance (£40 million over 2 years), on top of Government funding, to provide safer and more reliable roads across Cambridgeshire and to tackle the road repair backlog. Maintaining Cambridgeshire’s roads costs £58.3 million a year in capital maintenance. The government funds £31.7million of that. The Council have funded this £26 million shortfall and more. This means that highways funding in 2026/27 will be double what it was in 2023.

The County Council has fined firms and developers more than £483,000 for slow repairs and is introducing a lane rental system, fining companies for overstays and unnecessary disruption to traffic.

The council will also continue to provide leadership and deliver its Climate Change and Environment Strategy.

  • Enabling full and healthy lives for all
    To support older people, adults with disabilities and families, who rely on care every day, the council is allocating £14.7m of additional funding for adult social care providers. This will help them to manage rising costs and ensure care workers are paid the Real Living Wage, improving stability and quality for those who depend on care workers for their support.
  • Ensuring fairness and opportunity
    To help families under pressure from the cost-of-living crisis, the council is prioritising £1m to continue holiday meal vouchers for the children most in need, through to the end of summer 2026. As the Government withdraws the Household Support Fund, the council will also use its new £5m Crisis and Resilience Fund to provide a wider range of anti-poverty measures, offering practical support to households facing financial challenges.

In addition, aligned to the vision and ambitions, the draft budget sets out major investment across key services, including £11m to upgrade the Milton and March Household Waste Recycling Centres. Residents will also see major investment in the services families rely on day to day, more school places, stronger support for vulnerable children, and well-resourced local libraries.

The plan will create 3,500 new primary school places and invest £72 million over five years to increase secondary school places, including at Alconbury Weald and North‑West Cambridge. It also includes £780,000 a year to run a children’s residential home in South Cambridgeshire, as well as continued funding for the Families First programme, an early‑intervention project that helps keep more families together and is supported by the £6.7 million Children’s, Families and Youth Grant. In addition, more than £1.2 million will be invested in libraries and archives over the next two years.

The Council budget, the first since Liberal Democrats took over the administration in May 2025, begins to build a healthy, fair and sustainable Cambridgeshire. It takes a responsible and prudent approach so we can invest in the vital services residents rely on most, even though this has been a very difficult budget to balance.

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, the Leader of the Council said,

“Rising costs in children’s and adults’ social care and in special educational needs are putting enormous pressure on our finances, and these statutory services for our most vulnerable residents now account for by far the largest part of our budget. While these national pressures continue and government remains silent on how councils should be funded more fairly, we are still managing to invest in key priorities.

“We know thousands of people depend on our roads and paths every day and residents tell us repeatedly that highways are their top concern. That is why we are continuing record levels of investment in maintenance, alongside additional support for overstretched social care, continued funding for free school meal vouchers, and work to drive forward our Net Zero commitments.

“We will continue to challenge Government to recognise they are short-changing the communities of Cambridgeshire and to provide the right level of funding for services that our residents deserve.”

The plans discussed included an increase of council tax by 4.99%, the maximum permitted by Government for county councils, as is the case in nearly all councils across England, and the level assumed by Government in setting its grant allocations. A total 2% of this increase is specifically for adult social care funding. The increase, if approved, would generate around £21million in additional funding and help the council continue providing the essential services people rely on.

This would mean that for a Band D property, the County Council’s share of Council Tax would increase by £84.78 a year, or £1.63 a week.

Today’s Plan and Budget Plan are available to view on our website, and the Full Council meeting was streamed live on YouTube.

 

Help with the Cost of Living

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/communities/support-with-the-cost-of-living/emergency-help-and-money-advice

If you are worried about the cost of energy bills, food and transport, the County Council has many ways it can offer help and advice. You may want help accessing grants and debt advice, support getting all the money you’re entitled to, or simply want to know more about the government’s recent support measures. All of the links below are available on the County Council website from the route shown at the top of this article.

Money advice

Citizen’s Advice provide a wide variety of help and advice including debt and money. They can give you the information you need to make the right choices, including help to deal with your debt problems, how to avoid losing your home and how to get your finances back into shape.

Making Money Count offers everyday help with money, finding work and renting. Reliable and easy to follow information brought to you by organisations across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Includes tips and advice on money, bills and debt, check entitlements, shopping deals, budgeting, keeping track of money, energy saving tips.

Cambridge Money Advice Centre aim to provide a practical Christian response to the growing problem of debt in Cambridgeshire. They offer sessions at different sites

National Pension Advisors advise on what pension you will have to live on when you leave employment or retire for any reason

In crisis

Buttle UK is a charity dedicated to helping children and young people in crisis in the UK: those living in financial hardships and dealing with multiple challenging social issues.

A crisis can occur for lots of different reasons, Check out the information on various help available to you in your area.

Cambridgeshire Local Assistance Scheme provides advice and support to families about making their money go further or help to move on from a difficult situation.

Debts

Income max

Grants

Stay well

Budget planner

Savings

Cost of living

Cost of living payments (GOV.UK website)

Looking to access benefits? Explore how to claim benefits, find assistance from relevant authorities, and access further advice to support your financial journey.

Pension Credit

Pension Credit helps people over the state-pension age with low incomes with their living costs. It also allows you to claim other benefits. The Government has said that a large number of people who are eligible for Pension Credit do not claim it.

Pension Credit

Universal credit

Discretionary Housing Payments

Employment and Support Allowance

Benefit calculators

Income Max

Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI)

Long term illness

 

The County Council offers help and advice on key aspects on these webpages:

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/communities/support-with-the-cost-of-living/emergency-help-and-money-advice

(same root)/help-with-family-life

(same root)/help-with-food-meals-and-shopping

(same root)/housing-support

(same root)/

support-to-improve-your-health

(same root)/cambridgeshire-holiday-voucher-scheme

(same root)/holiday-activities-and-food-programme

(same root)/support-with-the-cost-of-living/future-planning-and-support

Upcoming Highways work

High Street, Landbeach — (Temporary Prohibition Of Through Traffic) – Order 2026-10309

Action: to stop any vehicle from proceeding along High Street, Landbeach between Nos 104 and 112.

Access will be maintained to properties affected by this order.

The alternative route for vehicles is via Waterbeach Road; A10 and vice versa.

Purpose: to facilitate ducting installation and associated works which are being carried out on or near this highway and it will come into operation on 2 March 2026 and continue until these works have finished or on the 1 September 2027 whichever is the earlier.

It is anticipated that these works will be carried out between 2 March 2026 and 4 March 2026.

Milton

River Cam towpath – (Temporary prohibition of use) – Order 2026-10252 – (4 months!)

Closure of Milton Footpath 1, Milton and Fen Ditton Footpath 6, Fen Ditton (the towpath) as lies between 200m on either side of the A14 flyover.

Purpose: to facilitate bridge maintenance and associated works on A14.

Alternative: The alternative route for pedestrians will be as signed. I have confirmed – a diversion is being constructed to the west of the towpath, which will allow continued use of the route down the river for pedestrians and cyclists.

When: Initial works in February. Main works in June 2026.

It is anticipated that these works will be carried out between 4 February and 5 June 2026.

Milton Interchange A14/A10

Proposed dates for work to repair the failed waterproofing on the lane 1 carriageway on the southbound overbridge:

Proposed work dates: 18/03/2026 – 20/03/2025 (2 shifts) (subject to confirmation)

Times: 20:00 – 06:00 (overnight)

Milton Detached – Fen Road Chesterton

I visited Fen Road, Chesterton with the Highways Maintenance Officer and we noted and photographed the location of over 37 serious potholes as well as vegetation to be cut back against the City Council-owned field north of Darrens Farm.

The Officer will be taking steps to get this carriageway repair work progressed.

I will be contacting Cambridge City Council to get the vegetation cut back.

Entrance to The Sycamore Recreation Ground – Job 448835

I know the Community Centre Manager has been requesting updates for this for some time.

Works for a new gully have been ordered under Reactive Highways Maintenance: 28522.
Apparently everything is primed to go, but the contractor is struggling to provide a date at the moment with the number of urgent works that are occurring on the network. The Highway Maintenance Officer is following up for a date.

Milton – Fen Road level crossing

I’ve received advice that the level crossing will be closed overnight but not the date.

For now, I’m guessing this will be the same date as Order 2026-20004 below (overnight between 23:30 19 April and 05:30 20 April 2026) but I will check.

Waterbeach – Cross Drove – TTRO Order 2026-20004

To stop any vehicle from proceeding along Cross Drove level crossing, Waterbeach.

Access will be maintained to properties affected by this order.

The proposed Order is necessary to facilitate essential maintenance works which are being carried out on or near this highway.

It is anticipated works will be carried out overnight between 23:30 on 19 April and 05:30 on 20 April 2026.

Waterbeach – Bannold Road

I have been following up with residents, to get sunken driveways across the highway verge repaired.

Cllr Anna Bradnam anna.bradnam@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 23/02/2026

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