Report to 2025 Annual Parish Council
From District Councillors
Cllrs Carla Hofman and John Williams
Looking back on 2024/5
About Us
We are members of the ruling Liberal Democrat Group. The Liberal Democrats have controlled South Cambridgeshire District Council since May 2018. Carla has been a District Councillor since 2022, John a District Councillor since 2010. John has been a Cabinet member running the council since 2018. He is responsible for Finance and Staffing, which includes grants and the 4-day week trial. He is also a Joint Development Control Committee member which considers major planning applications fringing the boundary of South Cambs and the City. He also deputises for the Leader of the Council on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Board.
About South Cambridgeshire Council
The council was formed in 1974. Currently the council has 45 councillors led by a Cabinet of eight councillors, representing over 157,000 people and a workforce of over 660. This includes all those employed in the planning and waste services which are shared with Cambridge City council and led by South Cambridgeshire. Its council offices are at Cambourne and it has a waste depot at Waterbeach.
The council has just adopted a new five-year Corporate Plan. Our vision is for South Cambridgeshire to be a fairer, kinder and greener place, where all residents will be equal partners in their communities. Our priorities are healthy and supported communities, sustainable homes and vibrant places, being green to our core, thriving businesses and being financially secure and fit for the future.
For 2024/25 the council is forecast to be on budget. It will have spent nearly £84m, of which £34m is met from local taxpayers (including business rates) and Government grants. The council also received £7.5m from investments (rents and interests on loans) and nearly £40m from fees and charges. The council has total reserves of over £130m and of this, £100m is invested in Ermine Street the council’s housing company and £31.5m is earmarked for various projects. The council has its own social housing stock consisting in total of over 5,800 properties. 400 homes have been added since 2018.
The areas covered by council services include building control, business support, environmental health, housing, planning, waste collection and community well-being (including supporting refugees). Building control, planning, waste and IT are operated in partnership with other local authorities. The council provides grants principally for health and well-being, environmental and ecological projects and for local business support.
In 2024/25
- South Cambridgeshire District Council celebrated its 50th anniversary
- At £170 for a Band D property, continued to charge one of the lowest council tax rates in the country
- The 4-day week trial in its second year continued to increase productivity and reduce costs, while improving staff recruitment and retention
- The six free trees for Parish Councils delivered 750 trees across the district
- Nearly £60,000 for the Community Chest grant scheme for community activities
- Nearly £12,000 for Cost-of-Living crisis projects
- The Greater Cambridge Housing Strategy was launched which continued the target of 40% affordable housing in new developments
- A Youth Enterprise Market Challenge was launched to help young entrepreneurs
- Worked with the Let’s Cook Project to deliver free family cooking events
- Continued to fund the mobile food hub serving 7 locations
- The Zero Carbon Communities Grants scheme gave out £125,000, bringing the total of grants under this scheme to £500,000 over 6 years
- Small business grants totalled £100,000
- 19 projects across the district received £900,000 in Rural England grants
- The council received White Ribbon accreditation for be committed to ending violence against women and girls
- The Local Government Association praised South Cambridgeshire District Council for “strong ambition”, “good leadership”, “innovative approaches” and for being” financially sound”
- The council pledged £345,000 to support community led mobile warden schemes
- Launched the £200,000 Improving the High Street Scheme
- The council signed anti-racism charter with trades unions
- The council bought software to help it identify residents needing financial support and contacted hundreds who should be claiming Pension Credit
- The council received Menopause Friendly accreditation
- The £360,000 Net Zero Villages Grant Scheme was launched
- The Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service showed that it is meeting the Government’s new house building target to prevent speculative developments
- 60 empty homes brought back into occupation; 111 new council homes built.
- South Cambridgeshire received £8m from Government to improve the energy efficiency of its council homes
- The Disability Facilities Grants Top-Up was doubled to £30,000
- The council introduced Allotment Improvement Grants
Carla and John