The news items first read on Sunday 8th November on Ouse Valley Today
OUSE VALLEY TODAY - NEWS - 8th November 2026
C&C REPORT HAS LANDED AT HDC
Huntingdonshire District Council has confirmed that the Gateway 1 report for Capital and Centric has landed. This comes after many months of pressure from opposition councillors for the cabinet, a Liberal Democrat and Independent minority, to call the project off. Cllr Sarah Conboy, the Liberal Democrat leader of the Council, has always maintained that the decision would be made based on evidence.
The meeting of Overview and Scrutiny on Wednesday saw the discussion of the report added to the Executive Cabinet's meeting, which is to take place on the 17th of November. This was done under a procedural rule by the Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Ross Martin, and seconded by Cllr Richard Tomlinson.
To date, the project has spent over a million pounds. Members of the public will be able to attend the meeting but not ask questions, and it will also be livestreamed on YouTube via the Council's channel.
St Neots and Local Parishes Applies to do a Joint Local Plan
St Neots Town Council, Little Paxton Parish Council and Great Paxton Parish Council have written to HDC, the local planning authority, to ask for permission to create a joint neighborhood plan. These plans help to inform how local areas should be developed in line with the Local Plan and helps in deciding planning applications approvals. The area under consideration is now being consulted on, with residents and local bodies being able to comment on the proposal via the District's consultation portal until the 16th of December.
The Labour Party has suspended power sharing agreements with the Green Party
Labour councils have suspended their power sharing agreements with the Greens. Following the passing of the controversial “Zionism is Racism” motion at the Green Party conference last month, the Labour party has urged local councillors to suspend their agreements with the party. While this doesn't have a direct impact on Huntingdonshire, it does in nearby Suffolk at West Suffolk Council.
Electronic Patient Record Now Live
The Member of Parliament for Huntingdon, Ben Obese-Jecty, has confirmed that Hinchingbrooke Hospital will roll out the new electronic Patient Record system. This comes after pushing for the delivery through parliament. Excellent news for the local area and the hospital staff.
Ramsey Neighborhood Plan Tension Grows
There have been online clashes between District Councillor Karan Maheshwari and the Mayor of Ramsey, Val Fendley over the towns Neighbourhood Plan. The dispute took place on the social media site Facebook, with Cllr Maheshwari stating his questions had not been answered. He was asking about the “additional national protection” under the national planning framework. He claimed that the Mayor hadn't answered his questions. Cllr Fendley, who is one of several members on the Neighbourhood Plan steering group, has been the centre of several of Cllr Maheshwari’s recent Facebook posts surrounding the plan. She went on to respond to concerns and outlined the process in comments.
Ramsey will head to the polls on the 26th of November to adopt or reject the proposals.
Train Attack Trial
It’s been almost two weeks since the trial began for the man who carried out a knife attack last November on a train that was diverted to Huntingdon. Thirty-three year old Anthony Williams has admitted to carrying out the attack, yet denies the charges of attempted murder. The court is told that whether he carried out the attack is not up for question, it is whether he intended to kill.
Jurors at Cambridge Crown Court have been shown footage from the attack and heard from several witnesses and victims. The first victim on the train, Jonathan Gjoshie, described fleeing down the carriage from Mr Williams after being attacked. He said it was “like a movie… quite horrific,” yet some members of the public remained “sitting down, thinking it was a joke.”
Despite the horror, the court also heard of the acts of human courage that occurred that evening. One victim claimed that other passengers came to his aid after being stabbed. Another described how they shielded others from the assailant, throwing luggage at him.
Mr Williams is also alleged to have committed several other violent crimes in Peterborough the night before.
MP on St Ives Development
Huntingdon’s MP, Ben Obese-Jecty, visited St Ives where he met the Town Team. Mr Obese-Jecty has suggested the possibility of pedestrianising Market Hill and Bridge Street, claiming it would “give the opportunity for businesses to thrive… creating a community space that would encourage more cafes and restaurants, a bigger market, [and] the filling of empty shop units.” He also claimed that plans to do such a thing have existed for some 25 years, and that they’re still workable today.
