Author: HPC

Dear residents,

Please find the link to the agenda for the Annual Parish Meeting, which will be an online meeting planned for the 4th of May. Instructions for joining via Zoom are included on the agenda.

If you are a representative of a charity or village group or organisation shown on the agenda, it would be appreciated if you could present a report and/or accounts to the Annual Parish Meeting, and if possible please email the report/accounts to the Clerk at clerk@hardwick-cambs.org.uk  in advance of the meeting. Reports and accounts will not be recorded in the minutes but instead all written reports will be appended to the minute book.

The meeting is open to all parishioners who may by law discuss all parish matters, ask questions, put forward views and pass resolutions.

If any village group wishes to apply for a small grant, application forms are available on the website at:

https://www.hardwick-cambs.org.uk/grants/

please see message from South Cambs:

Update on the AstraZeneca vaccine

In the news last week, updated medical advice was provided nationally for use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Public Health England has put together a leaflet with further information, including what to look out for after vaccination for anyone who may be worried.

Rapid Covid-19 testing for all

Since Friday 9 April everyone has been urged to take twice-weekly Covid tests. These are tests for people who do not have any of the symptoms of Coronavirus. (Anyone who has symptoms should still isolate at home and organise to take a PCR test.)

Twice-weekly rapid testing will help to identify cases of Covid-19 that would otherwise be missed. With 1 in 3 people with coronavirus showing no symptoms and potentially spreading it without knowing, rapid testing of people with no symptoms helps to identify positive cases quickly, preventing the spread of infection.

There are several ways for people to access rapid testing, with the following options:

• Community testing: You can take a supervised test at rapid testing sites locally – there are eight in Cambridgeshire set up to test asymptomatic adults. Find your nearest site in Cambridgeshire.
• NHS Test & Trace sites: These are across the country and operate as symptomatic testing sites in the morning but are currently providing an afternoon collect option, where you can pick up a box of tests to use at home.
• Pharmacy collect: Pharmacies are currently signing up to offer pharmacy collect from this month. Residents will be able to visit a participating pharmacy and pick up a free box of tests to use at home.
• LFD Direct: For people who can’t access tests through the other routes, you can order a box of tests online or by calling 119, which will be delivered to your home.

View a map of your area to see what options you have locally to take regular tests.

6 May elections: voting during the pandemic

There are a number of elections taking place on 6 May, including the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor, the Police and Crime Commissioner, County Council elections, plus a handful of local polls.

There are a number of deadlines related to being able to vote, some of which people may find more relevant this year while voting during the pandemic. Elections teams are working incredibly hard to make voting in person on 6 May Covid-secure, but some people may wish to vote by post or to apply for a proxy – anyone can choose to vote by post or proxy, but you have to apply by the below deadlines.

• Monday (19 April) – the deadline to register to vote
• 5pm, Tuesday (20 April) – the deadline to apply for a postal vote (you must already be registered to vote).
• 5pm, Tuesday 27 April – the deadline to apply for a proxy vote (you must already be registered to vote). A proxy vote is when you appoint someone to visit your polling station on your behalf.
• Anyone who needs to self-isolate on election day because of Coronavirus, and is already registered to vote, will still be able to vote. This will be via new emergency proxy voting measures, even if they have not applied for a proxy vote before the above deadline. Anyone in this situation will be able to access an emergency proxy vote up until 5pm on election day.

Reopening village halls

National charity, Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) has issued new information to help people running village halls make sense of the latest announcements about the lifting of national lockdown restrictions. Apart from a small number of permitted activities, village halls will have to wait until 17 May before they can be hired out for many functions including exercise classes, coffee mornings, performances and celebrations.

Recovery funding

1.    Intergenerational Family Learning Grants

Cambridgeshire Skills’ Family Learning Grants are intended to help schools, charities and voluntary and community groups to host free local activities for all generations that are three hours or longer. Activities should be fun, informal and promote a culture of learning as a family. Total funding available in 2021 is £20,000 for engagement with at least 200 adults, so £100 is available for each adult engaged in activities. For more information email Sue Watsham or call 07788 247482, or email Tom Heffer or call 07763 969604.   

2.    Sports Clubs in Crisis fund

Cambridgeshire Community Foundation has teamed up with Made By Sport (a charity which raises awareness of the power of sport and fundraises for organisations using sport to support young people) to offer the Clubs in Crisis fund, for local sports groups supporting young people as lockdown eases.

Cambridgeshire Community Foundation will be administering the fund and awarding unrestricted grants of £2,021 to clubs and organisations in Cambridgeshire. Sports clubs and community organisations can apply to the fund if they use sport to improve young people’s lives through:

• Developing life skills
• Building strong communities
• Improving mental health
• Developing employability skills, or
• Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour

3.    Covid Recovery Community Chest Grant

Applications are welcomed from community groups and parish councils which are resuming activity to bring people together after Covid. Anything which brings communities together to heal and any schemes designed to mitigate the effects that Covid has had on our communities, mental health and wellbeing wise, will be considered. The criteria has deliberately been set very simply to allow as many applications in as possible, so please make sure your groups apply for this funding. Email community.chest@scambs.gov.uk with any questions, but if your group is restarting, bringing residents back together after Covid, then we welcome an application from you.

This is a temporary change to Community Chest Grant guidance and the upper limit for grant awards has been raised to £2,000. Covid recovery related applications are restricted to one application per eligible body, and a group may apply for both a Community Chest Grant and a Covid Recovery Grant in the current financial year. Please note that the standard Community Chest Grant scheme continues to run, and applications are welcomed as normal. Full details can be found on our website’s grant pages.

At the last two Parish Council Meetings, in discussions around the Independent Audit of the Off-Road Cambourne to Cambridge (C2C) Busway, the District and Parish Councillors referred to an interim scheme supported by the Local Liaison Forum, LLF, and put forward as a “quick win” alternative to the C2C Scheme proposed by GCP.

 The LLF represent Villages and Residents Associations affected in the continued dialogue with the GCP over the appropriateness of the C2C Scheme. Hardwick are represented on the LLF by two Parish Councillors plus our District Councillor, Grenville Chamberlain, who is also the Vice Chairman of LLF.

As the Government’s cautious road-map out of lockdown continues, people’s health, safety and wellbeing remain of paramount importance. While infection and death rates are decreasing, transmission of Coronavirus is still an extremely serious threat and we all have a role to play in doing our utmost to stop its spread.

This can best be done by continuing to take precautions against catching or transmitting the virus and closely following the Government’s rules for each step of its COVID-19 Response Spring 2021 roadmap out of the current lockdown for England.

This means continuing to abide by the guidelines for social distancing by:

• Washing your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds;
• Covering your face in enclosed spaces (especially where social distancing may be difficult and where you come into contact with people you do not normally meet);
• Staying two metres apart where possible, or one metre with extra precautions in place.
• It is also essential to stick to the rules around travel and holidaying.

Our Council team continues to provide essential services and support to the residents most in need in our district. They are working in conjunction with many dedicated volunteers who have played a crucial role in helping this work and we are immensely grateful to them.

Residents who need to carry on self-isolating during this time can rest assured that all the support previously available will continue, including financial help.

Our Reopening the High Street team is supporting local small to medium businesses as they reopen and work towards recovery. This includes helping them to carry out comprehensive COVID-19 risk assessments to keep customers and their workers safe; providing signage and aiding the implementation of the two-metre rule in the workplace; and advising on cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures in line with current guidance.

As more Government financial packages are announced for the business sector, our Business Support Team is also there to support the recovery and help struggling firms to access much-needed Government grants to address some of the financial impact of the lockdown and to fund recovery activities. We are also offering support and grant aid to local communities to get voluntary projects and services back on track after months of lockdown.

Everyone across the district is working extremely hard to put plans into place for when affected services are able to gradually and safely welcome everyone back. Until then, please continue follow the guidelines to help protect the NHS and our families, friends and colleagues. By keeping infection rates low, we will all be able to get back to doing the things we love sooner.

To access advice and support see https://www.scambs.gov.uk/coronavirus/

For more information on the Government guidelines in the COVID-19 Response Spring 2021 roadmap, see https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Useful links:

Government Coronavirus restrictions: www.gov.uk/coronavirus

South Cambridgeshire District Council Coronavirus information: www.scambs.gov.uk/coronavirus

Information on financial support to self-isolate: www.scambs.gov.uk/isolation

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Reopening High Streets Safely Team: www.scambs.gov.uk/business/coronavirus-information-for-businesses/reopening-the-high-street

Support for local businesses: www.scambs.gov.uk/business/coronavirus-information-for-businesses

Update from: 25th March 2021

Dear residents, see below message from Mr Phil Swann, who is the appointed person to carry out the audit:

“The statement of the assumptions and constraints underpinning outline business case and the selection of the preferred route has now been published. A copy of the statement is attached and is available on the GCP website. The focus of the audit is on the robustness and continuing appropriateness of those assumptions and constraints.

Interested parties are now invited to submit written representations on the assumptions and constraints and their application throughout the process. Representations should be submitted to C2Caudit@sharedintelligence.net by 23 April 2021.“