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OUR GENERATION'S LEGACY
-
a presentation to The Ely Society, by John Hill, Chief Executive of
East Cambridgeshire District Council
It
is rare to be given the opportunity to write about my vision for Ely
but I do hope to give you a personal insight into what is facing our
great city over the next decade. I especially want to highlight the
choices we will all be asked to consider as our generation leaves its
legacy.
I
have lived in East Cambridgeshire District Council for the best part of
13 years now but I spent my formative early years in West Bromwich,
West Midlands. I grew up on the 7th floor of a block of flats and we
thought it was great.
What
made life good then was that I felt part of that community. I may have
been perched in the sky in a building that was never going to win an
award for design – but we had so many other things.
I
had a large green park on our doorstep, opportunities to play safely
and mix with my friends and their families. The swimming pool and
leisure centre were only a walk away and my father, who worked long
hours in the local chemical factory, still saw us at night because he
was only a cycle ride away from his work.
Why
am I telling you this? Well for me it gives a first insight into
the challenge for the future of Ely. It is not just about the buildings
or having a house to live in but the community and facilities this city
should offer over the next decade.
It
is about creating our legacy. I am not seeking to over dramatise this
but I believe what we do in the next 10 years and the choices we make
will leave a legacy which will be remembered well for years.
In a
way, Ely Cathedral personifies the ultimate challenge for those who
care passionately about the City. The ‘Ship of the Fens’ shows us the
power a building can have. It makes the City special and draws growing
numbers to regard Ely as a great place to settle down with their
families.
Herein
lies the crucial question for our future – What is our attitude to
growth? Do we sit back and wait for ‘it to be done to us’ probably in
dribs and drabs or do we welcome and encourage it?
We
may have different views on these crucial questions but what I am sure
we all share the assertion that growth should not happen at any
price. For those who advocate welcoming growth must clearly
articulate and fight for a number of pre-requisites to this. We
must learn the lessons of the past and make sure they do not happen
again.
Ely
in 2018 should not just be a big housing estate detracting rather than
enhancing our architecture, diluting what makes Ely unique, relegating
our new children to playing in postage stamp back gardens. I shuuder at
the thought of a city without a fit for purpose leisure and sports
facilities, congested and unsafe roads, with work being hours away
rather than minutes and shopping all done in Cambridge rather than in
Ely .
To
make Ely in 2018 a truly sustainable place to live, work, visit and
play, we must look at what we have done well and not so well in the
City. The proposals for Mereham showed us all how not to go about
designing a sustainable settlement. However, if we do not get
things right there will be more Mereham’s and one day a Government
sprinting for more houses may approve them.
We
have challenges ahead. We need to improve the gateways to Ely and the
local buildings. For example, the retail unit on the Market Place is
awful and much of our recent housing has been of standard quality
providing little in the way of uniqueness. Some of it has not
been in the right place - on the edges of the City with very limited
safe walking and cycling options and not the retail to attract them in
any case.
Nevertheless,
there are some good examples of building in Ely – much of the recent
development down the riverside. The properties suit their location
because they were designed with a little bit of vision, risks were
taken and I like to think crucially the Council owned the land.
One
of the reasons why Riverside has attracted higher quality growth is the
proximity of it to quality open space. There is a lot more to be done
in terms of accessing existing parks and providing new open space which
is not only an after-thought to a residential development.
The
opportunity for an Ely Country Park bringing together existing and new
green spaces perhaps interlinking new small residential developments
should be towards the top of our list of things to do.
The
Ely Masterplan estimates that if Ely grows to 25,000, there will be a
requirement for 3,000 to 6,000 local new jobs to resist the growing
numbers of out.
Certain
levels of commuting out of the District will be inevitable but we need
to look at opportunities to attract businesses to Angel Drove and the
expansion of Lancaster Way, which has been the real success. We also
need to protect existing local employment in businesses in Ely who are
now seeing the commercial case for relocation. We need to provide a
relocation option locally to these businesses to protect quality
employment in the type of jobs not otherwise readily available in the
District.
Moving
onto transport– here again a dilemma for us. The Station, one of
the jewels in the crown for the future prosperity of Ely, but a jewel
which fuels the out-commuting. We need to see its value – nurture it as
an alternative to an even more clogged up A10, support its development
and improve access to it - even if its impact is not always beneficial.
The
Ely Masterplan tells us that a new Southern Bypass, is ‘seen as a top
priority by almost everyone’. Key to realising this of course is money,
about £27m at the last. We need to find ways of accessing this as
it is not only crucial to Ely but Soham and other settlements as well.
Moving
away from transport, they say: “All work no play makes Jack a dull
boy”. In my vision for Ely, there must be a fit for purpose leisure
facilities – the current centres across the District are showing signs
of aging to say the least. We need to ensure this new building is more
than a warehouse for leisure – that it looks beautiful. To get people
to exercise and become healthier.
It
was Napoleon who said, “Britain was a nation of shopkeepers” but I
think it would be more accurate to describe us as a nation of shoppers.
In
our new Resident Survey last year the few negative comments from these
new residents were we “need better shops/restaurants/pubs”.
Judged in terms of vacancies and the number of charity shops, Ely is a
relatively successful market town however it estimated 2/3rds of retail
spending leaks from the town. For me Waitrose sets the benchmark
for retail in Ely and we must do everything to keep it in the centre
and expand to meet demand. There are of course other retail
needs, which can be accommodated in other locations.
Attracting
a wide variety of shops to allow Ely to compete is very much a numbers
game – those who argue for “smarter growth” make a good case that this
can bring better shopping facilities in the heart of the city – and
that may require looking at relocating services such as Police,
Ambulance and even the Council from key city centre sites.
For
in our vision for Ely we should not forget the essential services
demanded by an ever increasing population new schools, new primary
health care facilities, possibility for higher and vocational
facilities which are almost non-existent. All these things of
course cost resources and the government is not good at targeting
resources at relatively prosperous growth areas – so it comes
fundamentally down to choice and priorities from this long list I have
presented to you.
Overall,
I would say the best way to achieve higher paid jobs without long
commutes, better shopping and leisure facilities, quality
infrastructure that minimises environmental impact, increased use of
public transport, walking and cycling is to embrace growth but manage
it for our benefit.
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