The Glebe 4 High St, Sutton, Ely CB6 2RB office@sutton-cambs-pc.gov.uk 01353 777189

Local Services and Amenities

What this topic involves for us in Sutton – The East Cambridgeshire Local Plan places a high reliance on the retention and provision of local services. But can we as a community do more to identify those shops, community facilities or spaces that we either have and regard as important or don’t have but need? And are there ways we can investigate delivering them alongside other forms of development in the village? What facilities are important to residents and what are we sorely lacking? We must not forget the capacity of the village school and pre-school to expand to meet demographic needs and pressures from the additional housing allocation?

NB The GP surgery, pharmacy, post office, delicatessen and café, hairdressers and barbers, and farm
shop are all commercial enterprises, though many residents view them as services.

The following list represents the local services and amenities issues that were identified during the course of the Launch Event on 3 October 2015. Please note that some of the issues set out below may conflict as they are based on the correlation of views received from individual residents.

Please note: some of these issues may be replicated under the business, retail and employment and sport, recreation and leisure sections. Following discussion these duplications have been minimised by moving issues from this Topic area to other topic areas.

Issues that may adequately be covered by neighbourhood planning policy:

  • Retention of the existing range of shops, services and facilities in the village, along with the encouragement of new businesses and new community enterprises that broaden the village’s offer;
  • Protection of community services, facilities and amenities;
  • Protection of usable open space against development;
  • Support for the retention and possible upgrade of the doctor’s surgery and pharmacy in the village, and for the provision of library services;
  • Identify requirements for pre-school and village primary school capacity as the demography changes with birth rate and with additional residents in new housing
  • Support for transport initiatives to get secondary age school children to college in light of demographic changes
  • Recognition of the value of, and protection of, the formal and informal open spaces of the village that add to amenity value;
  • Recognition of the value of, and protection of, the place of our Parish Church and church personnel to the life of the village and;
  • Provision of additional open space, including recreation land, other types of amenity space including allotments and additional burial land.

Issues that should be followed up by the Parish Council as community actions:

  • Investment in existing open spaces and play areas;
  • Provision of a better public transport service through liaison with transport operating companies and the county and district councils;
  • Encouragement of the use of local retail, facilities and services;
  • Local initiatives to identify ways to ensure that existing and future businesses and community enterprises and facilities cater for all customers;
  • The varied use of, and access by a wide range of members of the local community to, existing meeting rooms, open spaces and facilities;
  • Maintenance of the public realm, including grass cutting, action on dog fouling, and outdoor facilities;
  • Community enterprises such as a community shop