Cambridge City Council

A new way to help businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic has been set up.

The Greater Cambridge Business Forum, aims to explore the concerns of local firms and find out the best way to help them.

It has been started by South Cambridgeshire District and Cambridge City councils.

John Sutton/GeographCopyright: John Sutton/Geograph

Bridget Smith, leader of South Cambs, said: "We will continue to work with local and national government and the very accomplished business networks in our area to get our business communities through these very difficult times.

"If we all pull together, Greater Cambridge will recover well and quickly.”

Lewis Herbert, City Council leader, said: "Getting the Cambridge area economy safely out of lockdown and on to strong foundations for the new normal is the biggest economic and social recovery challenge we have had to face in our lifetimes."

Greater Cambridge RecyclesCopyright: Greater Cambridge Recycles

Artwork featuring "thank-yous" to bin crews have been put on the side of refuse lorries.

Greater Cambridge Recycling, which collects rubbish for South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council, has decided to decorate them with brightly-coloured rainbows and special notes.

"Your support really does mean a lot to our crews, who are working extra hard at the moment", it said.

Greater Cambridge RecyclesCopyright: Greater Cambridge Recycles

The resumption of garden waste collections from homes continues...

Green bins are to be collected again from 4 May for residents of the Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire districts.

Collections were suspended in March, to ensure black and blue bins could be prioritised.

At the moment only one collection a month can be guaranteed, a council spokesman said.

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BBCCopyright: BBC

Local councils are warning that they're facing a financial crisis because of a big drop in their income due to the coronavirus outbreak.

They're writing to the government asking for extra funding later in the year so they can afford to keep running services.

They say that with leisure centres and museums closed, tenants unable to pay their rent and motorists staying away from car parks, they are losing an important source of income.

Ipswich Borough Council makes £2m a month from its commercial activities while Norwich City Council earns £500,000 a month from parking charges.

I understand Cambridge City Council is warning it could be £10m in the red at the end of this crisis.

The government says it's giving extra help to councils and they should also think about using their reserves.

But councils say it's not enough - Ipswich's Labour leader David Ellesmere said "the government's given us £76,000 - that won't cover our loss of income for even a week".

Every rough sleeper in Cambridge will be offered accommodation during the coronavirus pandemic, the city council has said.

It has identified some of its own properties and is in discussions with housing associations, hoteliers, bed and breakfast providers and private landlords "to ensure that the council is in a position to respond to demand as it arises".

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"Organisations providing front-line homeless hostel and day centre services may have individual cases where self-isolation is extremely problematic," said the authority.

The government has provided £24,750 to help it support those on the streets throughout the pandemic, said the council, with the option to bid for more if needed.

Cambridge City Council says it will be suspending the eviction of council tenants, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The council said the move was in order to protect tenants who were sick, self-isolating or suffering from financial hardship as a result of the virus.

Councillor Richard Johnson, executive councillor for housing at the Labour-run authority, said: "The council remains committed to continuing its financial support services to our most vulnerable residents who are affected during this time.

“We are working hard to operate a service which is as near as possible to ‘business as usual’ for these customers."

Tenants in need of support were invited to call the council on 01223 457000 to discuss their concerns.

With more councils being declared, two trends are emerging: the Conservatives taking a hit and the Liberal Democrats gaining ground.

Unlike in other areas of England, Labour are – so far – more or less holding their ground in the East.

Peterborough slipped from Tory control. Their slender majority of one was wiped out. They’re still the biggest party but are three short of overall control.

It’s likely they’ll continue running the council as a minority administration, backed by votes from the hyper-local Werrington First group, who hold all three seats in their ward. The only UKIP councillor in the East lost his seat here.

Labour held Cambridge City while the Greens lost their seat. But the party did gain a seat in Peterborough.

Labour has retained control in Cambridge, holding all the nine seats they were defending.

The Lib Dems have gained a seat, taking the Market ward from the Greens.

I think the Conservatives will still be the main party of government in the East, but the big story seems to be the Liberal Democrats.

They've made gains in Braintree and Southend; they are making gains in Chelmsford, have taken a seat from the Greens in Cambridge, and seem to be confident of taking control of North Norfolk.

The smiles are on the faces of the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives? I am not sure they are smiling.

Labour has retained control of Cambridge.

The BBC has reporters across the country to keep us up to speed with the results in their area. In Cambridgeshire, the whole of East Cambridgeshire and Fenland district councils are up for election, while a third of seats are being contested at Cambridge City Council.

GoogleCopyright: Google

East Cambridgeshire has 39 councillors: 35 Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats and one independent. Fenland also has 39 councillors: 33 Conservative, three independents and three Lib Dems.

Cambridge City Council is under Labour control. Of its 42 councillors, 25 are Labour, 13 are Liberal Democrats, and there are two independents and one Green councillor, plus one vacancy.