The Village Plan Implementation Sub-Committee met on 15th November to discuss progress on the plan published in 2009. A summary of progress was given by Nick Irish who also introduced Stuart Morris from Cambridgeshire ACRE who is now helping the village to realise the plan. Stuart said that the Localism Bill, currently being enacted, will allow some more local control of development but within the statutory role of South Cambs DC as planning authority. Many of the proposals in the Village Plan are below the level at which formal planning is required. Some of these are being progressed by individual groups, including the Green Group.
A brief report from the Green Group mentioned the failure to put PV panels on the Village Hall roof owing to possible delays in getting planning permission and the limited use of the electricity which makes the economics worse than for a housing installation. Other recent Green Group activities have been related to district wide groups such as the Sustainable Parish Energy Partnership. Among their initiatives, SPEP is proposing a Climate Change Charter under which local businesses are asked to sign up and commit themselves to energy saving targets. More information on this is available from the DDGG contacts below.
There were reports on other aspects of the Village Plan which impact on sustainability in Dry Drayton. Val Perrin has produced a detailed biodiversity plan for the village noting what exists at present and suggesting ways of encouraging, or discovering, new species, by leaving the cut grass longer for example. Traffic calming proposals are being considered for the Scotland Farm area. The proposed cycle path to Cambridge has involved discussions with the University and neighbouring villages and it is hoped that links might be made with the new Cambridge NW development. The route from Madingley into Cambridge seems feasible and we can only hope that the link with Dry Drayton will become possible in future.
