Cottenham Parish Council

02/09/2026

📣 Parish Council Update – September

It’s been another busy month at Cottenham Parish Council, so here’s a quick round-up of some of the things we’ve been working on:

🏘️ SCDC Local Plan
We’ve drafted our response to the South Cambridgeshire District Council Local Plan consultation. A copy is available in the meeting reports pack online if you’d like to see what we’ve said.

🚗 Local Highways Improvements
We’ve put together a list of four potential Local Highways Improvement bids. We’ll be circulating these shortly to give residents the opportunity to share their views, with the aim of narrowing these down to two ideas to take forward.

🚨 Cottenham Emergency Plan
We’re currently reviewing the Parish Council’s Emergency Plan to make sure it remains up to date and reflects the needs of our community.

🌱 Carbon Footprint
Our annual carbon footprint report is in – and we’re pleased to report a further reduction in our carbon emissions. Every little bit helps! Thanks to Chris Ward and Sustainable Cottenham.

🚧 Upcoming Roadworks
Thank you to everyone who came along to last week’s well-attended meeting about the forthcoming works on High Street, Rooks Street, Margett Street, Corbett Street and Denmark Road. Notes from the meeting are currently being prepared and will be published on our website shortly.

🔧 Lots of little jobs…
Our various local contractors have also been busy getting things done around the village, including:

🐕 Replacement dog poo bin on Broad Lane
🅿️ Repairs to the car park kneerail
🏟️ New MUGA signage installed
🍻 New shelving and optics installed in the Village Hall bars
🚲 Bike shelter repaired
🔌 EV charger repaired
🏛️ Repairs to the outside of the Pavilion
🌳 Major treeworks undertaken

Individually, many of these are small jobs, but together they make a real difference to keeping our facilities and public spaces safe, tidy and welcoming. 👍

📅 Next Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday 6th October at 7.15pm
📍 Cottenham Village Hall

As always, everyone is welcome to attend. Come along, hear what’s happening in the village and have your say.

Our digital newsletter will be sent out in the next few days so don't forget to sign up via our website to receive your copy.

01/09/2026

📢 FULL COUNCIL MEETING – TONIGHT

📅 Tuesday 1 September
⏰ 7.15pm
📍 Village Hall

There’s plenty on the agenda this evening, including some important issues for Cottenham’s future.

🏘️ SCDC Local Plan consultation; is it sound/legal? – issues that affect us directly include the proposal to downgrade Cottenham to a ‘Minor Rural Centre’ and matters relating to Gypsy & Traveller provision.

🚶‍♀️🚗 Local Highway Improvement bids – we want to hear your ideas! Where could the village benefit from improvements?

💡 Should we have:
• A pedestrian crossing on Lambs Lane or towards the Church end of the village?
• Speed humps on Rooks Street to slow traffic?
• Wider footpaths from the Rampton Road roundabout towards Lambs Lane?
• Or something completely different?

Come along, have your say and help shape the improvements you’d like to see in Cottenham.

Can’t make the meeting? Send us your ideas by email and we’ll make sure they’re considered.

You can view the agenda and reports pack on our website:

These files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology and are in the following formats : .pdf. Request an accessible format.

24/08/2026

Cottenham Road Closures – Residents’ Information Meeting
Wednesday 26th August at Cottenham Village hall
Residents of Cottenham are invited to attend an information meeting on Wednesday 26th August, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm, where James Chapman from Highways will be attending to explain the details of the road closures planned for October.
James will talk residents through the plans and arrangements for each of the following roads:
• Margett Street
• Corbett Street
• Rooks Street
• Denmark Road
• Beach Road
• Rampton Road
• Sections of the high street
The works are planned to be carried out overnight, between 8:00pm and 6:00am.
Highways plan to plane the roads listed above and then resurface them as well as clearing/mending any drainage issues.
Highways appreciate that the overnight works may cause significant noise disruption for some residents. However, due to the number of small streets leading off the High Street, as well as the need to maintain access during the daytime, they believe that completing the works at night is the safest and most efficient approach.
Wherever possible, all noisy works will be completed by midnight each night to minimise disruption to residents.
The meeting will provide an opportunity to hear directly from Highways about the planned works and to understand how the road closures will affect each area.

18/08/2026

📢 Major Cottenham Roadworks – Information Evening

James Chapman from the County Council Highways team will be at the Village Hall on Wednesday 26th August, from 7.00pm–8.30pm, to discuss the plans for the upcoming High Street improvement works (between Broad Lane and the Histon Road roundabout by the village green) and answer any questions you may have.

In addition James will also talk residents through the plans and arrangements for each of the following roads which are being planed and resurfaced:

Margett Street
Corbett Street
Rooks Street
Denmark Road/Beach Road corner
Rampton Road

Highways are currently planning to start the works in October, with the works continuing until all of the planned designs have been completed.

🚧 Why will the works take place at night?
The works are planned to take place overnight, between 8.00pm and 6.00am. Highways have advised that, due to the number of small streets leading off the High Street and the need to maintain access during the day, working overnight is considered the safest and most efficient way to carry out the works.

🔊 Wherever possible, noisy works will be completed by midnight each night.

Please do come along to find out more, hear directly from James and ask any questions you may have.

Please spread the word and share this post with your neighbours – the more people who know about the plans, the better!

14/08/2026

Temporary Fire Safety Measures on Parish Council Open Spaces

Due to the current dry conditions and increased risk of fire, we are temporarily introducing a ban on smoking and glass bottles on all Parish Council open spaces.

This applies to the Recreation Ground, Old Recreation Ground, WARG Field, Tenison Manor/The Moat, Village Green, The Pond and Fen Reeves.

We would also like to remind everyone that BBQs are not permitted on any of our sites at any time.

These measures are being introduced to help protect our open spaces and keep everyone safe during the current spell of dry weather.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

13/08/2026

Cottenham Surgery Update:

We’re aware that there has been some speculation recently, so we wanted to share a reassuring update following the drop in event today:

Cottenham Surgery is not closing. The building it currently occupies is being sold, and the practice is actively seeking suitable alternative premises.

The surgery’s patient list is not being transferred or distributed to other practices, and there is no need for patients to look for an alternative one.

Cottenham Surgery will continue to serve its patients into the future.

12/08/2026

Attention: information for patients of Cottenham High Street surgery.

For the attention of patients of the Cottenham Surgery (the one on the High St)

10/08/2026

With the recent hot, dry conditions we're having, fires in fields and open land can spread incredibly quickly, making them much more challenging for firefighters to tackle. 🚒

The ground is much drier and hotter than using, meaning even a small fire can grow rapidly and travel across large area, tying up emergency resources for quite a while.

Please see our top tips below on how to prevent outdoor fires this summer. 🔥

We'd really appreciate it if you could share this post!

10/08/2026

Our next digital newsletter will be landing in inboxes shortly! 📰

If you’d like to keep up to date with the latest Cottenham Parish Council news, community projects, events and village updates, make sure you’re signed up via our website.

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06/08/2026

Parish Council Meeting Update – August

Thank you to everyone who came along to our Full Parish Council meeting this week. Here’s a quick round-up of some of the things happening around the village:

❄️ Village Hall air conditioning – We’ve agreed in principle to install air conditioning in the Village Hall and will now be working with our supplier over the coming months to move the project forward.

🍦 Ice cream trading approved – Following much discussion (yes, the famous ice cream policy really was on the agenda!), we’ve approved trading for Eddie’s Ices.

☎️ Denmark Road phone box – Repairs have been approved for the phone box at the top of Denmark Road, and it will be restored to its former glory.

🔧 Behind-the-scenes work - A lot of council work happens quietly in the background, and this month has included repairs to the EV charger at the Recreation Ground, fixing the outside toilet flush, chasing Highways about cutting back the brambles on Wilkin Walk, IT upgrades, and plenty of other day-to-day maintenance that helps keep things running smoothly.

🚧 Roadworks heads-up – Looking ahead to the autumn, there will be extensive road repairs taking place in October. The works are currently scheduled to include High Street (from the Histon Road roundabout to the Broad Lane roundabout), Rooks Street, Margett Street, and Corbett Street. Please keep checking one.network for the latest information and traffic management details as plans are confirmed. We'll also keep you updated via our digital newsletter and our page.

🐈 And finally… a historic first! This was the first Parish Council meeting ever attended by a cat. Nibbles behaved impeccably and may have set a very high standard for future feline attendees.

As always, thank you for your support and interest in what’s happening in Cottenham. Our next full council meeting will be taking place on Tuesday 1st September at 7.15pm in the Village Hall.