Third Round of Additional Restrictions Grant Launched to Help a Wider Range of Businesses

East Cambridgeshire District Council has published details of its third round of the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme, which has widened its eligibility criteria to support more businesses affected by national restrictions. The ARG scheme is designed to support businesses impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions in place from 26th December 2020 – 15th February 2021 that have …

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Signature Refresh Required for Some Postal and Proxy Voters Ahead of May Elections

East Cambridgeshire District Council is urging all residents who are registered for a postal or proxy vote and have been contacted as part of the signature refresh exercise to return their completed forms by 4th March 2021 The signature refresh exercise is a rolling programme which takes place at the start of every year and …

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King’s Ely students enjoy Q&A session with Hollywood star, Jeremy Irvine

It’s not every day that you get to fire questions at a Hollywood actor on Microsoft Teams. But that’s exactly what a group of King’s Ely Senior students were able to do with Jeremy Irvine just before half term, thanks to a fantastic opportunity organised by the school’s Drama Department. More than thirty students and …

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The Prince of Wales’ Half Term Nature Challenge

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), who run Welney Wetland Centre in Norfolk, are setting the Waterside Wednesday Challenge on 17th February as part of the Prince of Wales’ Half Term Nature Challenge.  WWT’s Challenge will be set via the @Clarencehouse Instagram page on Wednesday morning. Families taking part will be encouraged to follow the hashtag #POWNatureChallenge and share their creative …

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Council Seeks Views from Over 60’s On Impacts of Covid-19

East Cambridgeshire District Council is requesting the views of residents  aged 60 and above to form a comprehensive picture of how COVID-19 has affected them and find out what help is required to support them as changes in restrictions emerge. The survey follows a review of COVID-19 statistics for the district which show a disproportionate amount …

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Talking FreEly about Jobloss, Mental Health and Wellbeing.

For many of us, a significant part of our wellbeing is tied to our work with uncertainty and instability around employment being a known risk factor in declining mental health. With many businesses suffering the financial impact of the global pandemic, now is a time that many within our professional, social and family communities will …

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Council Continues to Take Strides Towards Net Zero Carbon Emissions

East Cambridgeshire District Council’s commitment to reaching net zero carbon emissions has been illustrated by the green goals it has reached this year. Following the declaration of a climate emergency, the Council created an Environment and Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan which set out the authority’s top 20 actions for tackling climate change in 2020/2021. Despite …

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King’s Ely pupils on top form in Trinity College London assessments

Creative King’s Ely students have done themselves and the school proud in their latest Trinity College London examinations. A total of twenty-nine students from Year 4 at King’s Ely Junior through to Year 12 at King’s Ely Sixth Form sat Trinity College London examinations in Speech and Drama, Performing Text, Musical Theatre and Acting. An …

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Witchford Village College students take the lead as extra-curricular club turns digital

This lockdown, teachers at Witchford Village College, a secondary school on the outskirts of Ely, have been working hard to ensure that as many of the school’s extra-curricular clubs and activities can continue to take place as possible.  One of its most popular clubs that has made the transition online is The Female Lead, a club that engages female students across all year groups in important and inspirational discussions. The Female …

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East Cambs’ Housing Delivery Test Bolsters Council’s Armoury Against Speculative Development

Results of Central Government’s Housing Delivery Test shows that East Cambridgeshire District Council has not only reached but surpassed the deemed ‘threshold’. This measurement, alongside the Council’s confirmation of a five-year land supply in December 2020, provides more good news for the Council as it means that they are in a strong position to resist …

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“Fairytale” Wedding at Ely Cathedral Watched by Thousands

The couple behind Spotted in Ely have described their whirlwind wedding at Ely Cathedral as “a fairytale”. Mark Cooney and Alison Powell tied the knot on Thursday afternoon, livestreamed by over 15,000 people around the globe via Facebook Live. Speaking the next day, Alison said the newly-weds had been “completely overwhelmed and blown away” by …

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Council’s Clean Sweep Over Witchford Development Appeals

Following three earlier instances where the Council fought off unsuitable development, East Cambridgeshire District Council ended 2020 by having a fourth planning battle in Witchford being ruled in its favour. Over the past twelve months, the Council has fought off two big development appeals in Witchford for land between 27 and 39 Sutton Road and land …

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On World Wetlands Day Charities Collaborate to Launch Wetlands and Wellbeing Guide

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), the conservation charity which runs Welney Wetland Centre, in partnership with leading mental health charity the Mental Health Foundation (MHF), have created a  guide to help people improve their mental health and wellbeing  by getting out and connecting with winter wetland nature. Launched tomorrow on World Wetland Day (Tues 2nd …

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Multi-academy trust rises to the challenge of Covid-19 safety and online learning

As schools across the nation respond to the latest lockdown measures, Eastern Learning Alliance, a multi-academy trust in East Anglia, has risen to the challenge of transitioning to remote learning and continuing face to face provision for the children of essential workers, earning praise and positive feedback from the parent communities of its five schools. …

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East Cambs Adopts New Climate Change SDP

East Cambridgeshire District Council added another piece to its armoury to help safeguard the district’s environment by adopting its new Climate Change Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). The implementation follows a unanimous vote by members at the council’s Finance and Assets Committee to formally adopt the Climate Change SPD. Now that the Climate Change SPD has …

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Ely College thanks Spotted in Ely for years of support as they honor Mark Cooney with new Community Spirit Award.

Ely College is delighted to launch a very special award. The ‘Mark Cooney Community Spirit Award’ is a personal thank you from all of us at the College; year on year it will allow students to celebrate their peers’ important contributions to our local community.   Earlier this week, members of the college leadership team met with Spotted in Ely’s creator and chief editor, Mark Cooney, to pass on their best wishes …

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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy Unanimously Adopted

East Cambridgeshire District Council’s new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy has been formally adopted following a unanimous vote at last night’s Finance and Assets Committee. The new policy, which was consulted on last year, sets out the Council’s commitment to provide an inclusive and supportive environment for staff, members, contractors and visitors that is free from …

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Keys to First Community Land Trust Home Handed to Tenants in Haddenham

The Trustees of Haddenham Community Land Trust handed the keys to their first two properties over to tenants on 22nd January 2021. A further three properties will follow in February. The properties are situated on the fifty four property Ovins Rise development near the village centre, just off the A1123. HCLT will own seventeen of …

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East Cambs Announces Next Raft of Government Business Grants Following Tier 4 and Lockdown Restrictions

East Cambridgeshire District Council has published details on three new government business grants which aim to help eligible businesses severely impacted by Tier 4 and current lockdown restrictions. The three grant schemes are the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed), to cover the Tier 4 Restrictions from 26th December 2020 to 4th January 2021, the Local Restrictions Support …

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Ely Artist, Ted Coney extends his appeal for NHS Charities Together

Ely Artist, Ted Coney collaborated with his nephew, Andrew who lives in Madrid, on a sketch and drawing about celebrating New Year under Covid restrictions. Ted did the sketch while Andrew wrote the poem.  Ted has continued  to make paintings about family life under lockdown but hopes to open his pop-up gallery on Waterside later …

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“Find someone you care about… tell them how much you appreciate them…,” Spotted in Ely’s founder Mark says during emotional announcement

The man behind East Cambridgeshire’s most popular local media page has decided to go public about his heartbreaking prognosis, using Facebook Live to tell his friends he has terminal cancer. But rather than dwell on his devastating news, Spotted in Ely founder and editor Mark Cooney says he plans to use his remaining time to …

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Studies Show Mepal Rich in Biodiversity and Ecology as Public Survey Commences

Biodiversity and ecology studies undertaken by East Cambridgeshire District Council have found that the site of the previous Mepal Outdoor Centre is home to several protected and notable species and habitats. These findings have been shared as part of the Council’s public survey for a proposed crematorium on the site, ahead of applying for outline …

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Parking Enforcement Removed in Council’s Town and City Centre Car Park

East Cambridgeshire District Council has once again made the decision to remove parking enforcement in its car parks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes, which were also brought in during the first and second national lockdown, will mean that early morning and limited time restrictions will not be enforced in the Council’s town and city …

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Ely Cathedral Receives a Lifeline Grant from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund

Ely Cathedral has received a financial boost from the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help fund repairs during the coronavirus pandemic.  The Cathedral has been awarded the maximum amount of £25,000 for urgent restoration work to the west gable wall of Ely’s much celebrated Lady Chapel. This part of building dates back to …

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Council Relaunches Ideas Forum for Residents Ahead of Next Climate Change Action Plan

East Cambridgeshire District Council is relaunching its Ideas Forum to give residents an opportunity to submit their thoughts on how the council could reduce their carbon emissions and boost the natural environment. The relaunch allows residents to submit their ideas ahead of the creation of the council’s second annual Climate Change Action Plan. The Ideas …

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Volunteer with Babylon ARTS to Help Make the City a Brighter Place

Babylon ARTS is seeking to grow its volunteer team, to help brighten Ely’s cultural offer by supporting its cinema, gallery and events through 2021. Claire Somerville, chief executive of Babylon ARTS explains: “After the challenges of 2020, we’re reaching out to our community, in the hope of finding new volunteers to steward at the cinema …

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Academy’s Non-Uniform Day Raises £882 for Charity Supporting Homeless People

A charity providing help for homeless people in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk has received some Christmas cheers thanks to a kind-hearted donation from Littleport and East Cambs Academy. Staff at the Academy visited The Purfleet Trust to drop off a number of boxes which contained essential items including groceries and toiletries. The boxes had …

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East Cambs Housing Service Recognised as Gold Standard in Midst of Pandemic

East Cambridgeshire District Council’s Housing and Community Advice Service is one of a small number of local authorities to have achieved the top ‘gold’ standard of service recognised by the National Practitioner Support Service (NPSS). The team have been working towards gold standard for three years. They achieved bronze accreditation in 2017 and then progressed …

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The 30 in 3 Challenge

Christopher Smith will be running 30 miles in 3 hours for 3 charities read his fundraising story below. “Next Tuesday on December 22nd 2020, I will be attempting to run 30 miles in under 3 hours. This is a fundraising event in aid of three charities:Liam Fairhurst FoundationAlzheimer’s Research UKand the East Anglian Air Ambulance. …

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Cambridge Commodities and Daybreaks offer free kids lunches

Rounding out the year with the same enthusiasm for supporting the local community that has remained at the company’s core since its inception, Cambridge Commodities has partnered with Ely’s favourite sandwich bar, Daybreaks, to provide free lunches to children throughout the Christmas break. This marks the third such effort by Cambridge Commodities in recent months …

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Cambridgeshire Charities Receive Vital Funding from Hopkins Homes’ Charitable Fund

Two Cambridgeshire charities, Lighthouse Ely and Sutton Parish Council, have received a welcome and timely boost towards their support for older and vulnerable individuals this winter, thanks to a donation from Hopkins Homes. Hopkins Homes donated the money to support the charity’s work through its Hopkins Charitable Fund – a half a million-pound fund distributed …

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Changes to Waste Collections this Festive Season

East Cambridgeshire District Council’s trading company, East Cambs Street Scene (ECSS), will be changing collection days on a temporary basis this Christmas. Some residents will have their waste collected earlier than scheduled while others will have their collection dates pushed back. The first earlier services will commence on Saturday, December 19th, instead of Monday, December …

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Ely Air Cadet Awarded the Jean Baker Civilian Gliding Scholarship

Congratulations to Ely Squadron’s Sergeant Soarise McNeil who has beaten stiff competition from all around the country to be awarded the Jean Baker civilian gliding scholarship. Sergeant McNeil will be able to choose a civilian gliding club to attend and the charity will pay for her to train as a solo glider pilot and for …

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AFC Ely’s Return to Action Ends in Another Disappointing Defeat

AFC Ely vs Wicken First Kershaw Junior 4B Matchweek 8 AFC Ely last played on Halloween before their season was halted due to national lockdown. Unfortunately for the Ely-based outfit, there was no sign of a change in fortunes as poor form continued to blight them. AFC Ely’s opponents on Saturday afternoon were Wicken, a …

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Highfield Littleport Academy Pupils to Benefit from a Brand-New Sensory Garden

Highfield Littleport Academy has opened a brand-new sensory garden, providing pupils with a place to learn and relax, following a generous £9,760 donation from St James’s Place Charitable Foundation.  Following the donation, Natalie Pearce and Mary Gambrill, both dedicated Teaching Assistants at the academy in Littleport, near Ely, worked tirelessly throughout the lockdown period to …

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Online Event set to replace the World’s Largest Annual Gathering of Molly Dancers for 2021

The Mark Jones Day of Dance, organised by The Ouse Washes Molly Dancers, takes place every January in and around Ely, attracting Molly Dancers from around the UK, and in 2021 it will be going virtual. It will feature new dances, dances adapted for social distancing, a broom dance competition with celebrity judges and a …

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Generous King’s Ely students donate Christmas packages to Ely Foodbank

Community spirited King’s Ely pupils have donated dozens of shoeboxes filled with festive goodies to Ely Foodbank. Year 12 students in Withburga House, which is one of King’s Ely Senior’s Girl Day Houses, launched their Christmas shoebox initiative earlier this term and set out to fill as many empty shoeboxes as they could with festive …

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District Council Provides Free Christmas Event With Santa for East Cambs Children

East Cambridgeshire District Council is providing two virtual opportunities for children in the district to be able to see Santa ahead of Christmas this year. The district council has organised two one-hour virtual Christmas experiences on Thursday 10th December and Friday 18th December, both taking place at 6pm. Hosted by Santa, the experience will include …

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Christmas Trail Launched to Help Residents’ Wellbeing

East Cambridgeshire District Council has launched a Christmas trail to provide families with an alternative outdoor Christmas activity this festive season. The trail, which is a circular walk starting and finishing at Ely Country Park, involves a set of rhyming festive clues which leads those taking part around the city. Each of the seven clues …

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Babylon Gallery reopens with an Exhibition that invites you to get up close to the art

Suffolk-based artist Helen Murray has produced a new exhibition inspired by the idea of ‘home’ using a delicate and detailed process that has to be seen in-person to fully appreciate. The exhibition is entitled ‘Settlement – In Search of Home’ and runs from 3rd December to 24th January. Claire Somerville, chief executive of Babylon ARTS …

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Ely Cadet raises over £600 for Maggies Charity

Congratulations to Ely Squadron’s Cadet Jake Earl-Clarke who has raised a grand total of £668 for Maggie’s Charity in Cambridge by promising to dye his hair pink. Having obtained the permission of his 1094 Squadron’s Commanding Officer and his School’s Principal, Jake promised to dye his hair pink if he raised £100 for Maggies Charity …

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Exciting new Erasmus+ project for King’s Ely and two European partner schools

King’s Ely students with a love for learning languages and experiencing different cultures are to reap the benefits of a new Erasmus+ project. King’s Ely has secured funding from the European Commission and British Council to deliver ‘The Village’ – a collaborative project involving King’s Ely and two of its partner schools, IES Andrés Vandelvira …

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Witchford Village College Students Impress Artist with Sweet Project

Year 7 students at Witchford Village College, a secondary school on the outskirts of Ely, have impressed well known artist Sarah Graham with their latest art project, after teachers shared colourful images of the project on social media. Influenced by Graham and her impressive photorealism techniques, art teachers at the College set the new Year 7 cohort a project which …

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Bus, Cycling and Walking Feedback Takes Next Steps

Following a district-wide questionnaire to identify bus, cycling and walking routes residents would like to see delivered or improved, East Cambridgeshire District Council is taking the next steps to progress the schemes. Since the questionnaire closed, comments on bus infrastructure have been discussed by the Council’s already established Bus Services Review Working Party and a …

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Council Agrees £750K Funding to Support Potential Expansion of St. Mary’s Practice, Ely

Following unanimous approval from East Cambridgeshire District Council’s Finance and Assets Committee, the council has earmarked £750,000 to the potential expansion of St Mary’s Practice in Ely. The funding allocated to the practice is through Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts which the council has received from housing developments that have taken place in North Ely. …

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Ely Outdoor Sports Association launches Go Fund Me Campaign

The car park at Ely Outdoor Sports Association (EOSA) is desperately in need of resurfacing but will cost £45k to do so! Our goal is to fundraise £10k using GoFundMe and other fundraising activities, and then secure government grants and Council support to complete the funding. EOSA is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers, that …

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NHS chiefs announce exciting plans for the future of the Princess of Wales hospital in Ely

A three year redevelopment of the Princess of Wales hospital site is planned which will see NHS and social care partners deliver more services for local residents from modern, fit for purpose buildings.  Matthew Winn, Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, which owns the hospital site, explained: “NHS and social care partners who …

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Ely Air Cadets hold Virtual Modelling Club During Lockdown

As part of the Squadron’s virtual modelling club, during lockdown we have been delivering model kits, paints, brushes and glue to cadets by post. Following online tutorials, some of our younger cadets have been carefully completing their very first model kits. Here are a couple of photographs of a World War II era North American …

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Ely Foodbank and Cambridge Commodities need you!

This year, Team Cambridge Commodities is supporting Ely Foodbank’s Christmas shoebox appeal but can’t do it without the support of the lovely people of Ely. As part of their Christmas shoebox appeal, the Ely Foodbank will be gathering boxes of 10-15 long-life items to ensure that everyone in Ely (and surrounding areas) can celebrate Christmas …

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Ely Cathedral receives vital grant from Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund

Ely Cathedral is one of 445 heritage organisations across the country who will share £103 million to help restart vital reconstruction work and maintenance on cherished heritage sites. This life saving boost from the government is part of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.  The funding allocated to …

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Business Discretionary Grant for Second Lockdown Opens Today

East Cambridgeshire District Council is inviting businesses severely impacted by COVID-19 to apply for its discretionary funding from noon today.  The Additional Restrictions Grant, which is in addition to the Local Restrictions Support Grant announced last week, will focus on supporting two priority categories with the central government funding; those businesses legally required to close …

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Ely Cathedral to be lit up in Purple for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Campaign

Ely Cathedral will glow with purple light on 19th November, World Pancreatic Cancer Day, as part of the Purple Lights for Pancreatic Cancer Campaign. Organised by individuals affected by the disease, the campaign is a way to remember loved ones lost to pancreatic cancer, support those living with and beyond the disease as well as raise vital awareness during …

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