A statement has been sent to the Ely Standard by Littleport Parish Council regarding access to the new schools site.

Littleport Leisure and Community Centre is pleased that Littleport has councillors who are interested in education, sports and leisure. However, their statement has huge gaps in it as well as misinformation.

Anybody in Littleport will understand that once 1,000 children are using the schools, the volume of traffic both vehicular and people will increase, wherever the schools are sited.

The majority of that traffic will be at the start and end of the school day and not all day, not at weekends and school holidays.

The highways authority is supportive of the proposed access route off Camel Road and all other possible access routes have been considered. The one off Camel Road and using the current existing roadway to the centre is the safest for all.

To have access across LIttleport Leisure Community Centre land (at the back of the current centre) will actually eat up more of the green space in Littleport in comparison to using the current access road.

Considering that the parish council not only agreed to the Littleport Masterplan but also fought to have the schools sited on the proposed site, it is a great shame that it has become interested only recently.

If more councillors had been involved months ago they would have been able to gain assurance that this is the safest access route; and that Cambridgeshire County Council has listened to comments and suggestions made by all others involved.

Now, after a public consultation has been concluded, it looks like some members of the parish council are bent on causing delays and increasing costs.

Most importantly, if the county council decides that this is too difficult a task to undertake (because of the opposition from some of the members of the parish council) then Littleport could lose £33million of state-of-the-art resources and community facilities.

ELUNED SANTOS

On behalf of Littleport Leisure and Community Centre

Via e-mail