Ely will get £344,000 to upgrade its CCTV and to give a facelift to city centre buildings.

The cash will come from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CAPCA) following grant bids by both the city council and East Cambridgeshire District Council.

The Combined Authority has also offered a conditional grant of £145,000 to the Soham Eastern Agricultural Hub (EAIH) managed by NIAB.

CAPCA will provide £120,000 to Ely City Council – who themselves are pitching in £150,000 – to upgrade and extend its aging CCTV.

“This will complete the second and third phases of its CCTV network upgrade and expansion programme,” says CAPCA who agreed the grants this week.

Phase 1 of the CCTV camera network installed 27 cameras and this phase will deliver a further 12.

There will also be sufficient funding to provide three temporary cameras to be used for events such as festivals and concerts.

East Cambridgeshire District Council will receive £201,000 to improve the frontage of buildings “and general appearance around key areas of the city centre”.

CAPCA says: “To support this the council will encourage businesses and organisations to access a capital grant fund for businesses within certain parts of the town centre”

The district council wants to improve the appearance of Ely city centre’s signage, and street furniture such as bins, benches, shelters and walkways.

“This additional request is aimed at addressing important ‘shortfalls’ to the first phase of street improvements following local feedback,” says CAPCA.

The provisional award to Soham Agritech Business Centre is being witheld for now on a technicality.

The hub is home to five start-up businesses and supports a further seven businesses.

CAPCA says the investment will fund a log cabin style building with kitchen, toilets, and conferencing, meeting, exhibit equipment along with necessary audio visual and seating.

CAPCA says that once resubmitted by NIAB and assuming it meets their grant conditions “then this project too would be worthy of full approval”.

If the bid is resubmitted it could win approval as early as January.

A CAPCA ‘pot’ of £13.1m for 11 market towns, shows £1m unallocated for Littleport and £800,000 available for Soham.

The latest bids for Ely show it will have drawn down all of the £1m allocated by CAPCA.