A market town near Ely has been granted £1m of funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CAPCA).

Proposed by deputy mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Cllr Anna Smith, who was chairing the CAPCA board meeting on January 5, members unanimously voted through the proposals. 

They agreed £925k funding for Littleport’s E-Space (North) business hub. 

Submitted by East Cambridgeshire District Council, which owns and manages the centre, the proposal aims to address the shortage of suitable workspace in Littleport to facilitate new direct and associated jobs. 

The second Littleport project, the Capital Investment Fund, was awarded £75,000 to create a small ‘grant pot’ to be used by the district council to smarten buildings, improve energy efficiency and enhance frontages to spruce up the town centre. 

Members also voted the neighbouring market town of Whittlesey to receive £260,000 for a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) to evidence the need for future public sector funding of the proposed Whittlesey Relief Road.

Initial reports have been commissioned and completed, and funding will enable the project to progress to the next stage in the process.

The need for congestion relief was identified as a priority within the town’s Masterplan’s document that states:

“A new relief road from Coates to the Morrisons/Cardea Roundabout so that Heavy Goods Vehicles can access industrial sites from the east rather than adding to the congestion of residential routes.

"As well as adding to the congestion, HGVs degrade the quality of the road and street surfaces and contribute to the problem of air pollution.”

People in Whittlesey also benefit from the award of additional £195,000 voted for the Whittlesey Town Projects.

The above proposals, all received under the Combined Authority’s Market Towns Programme, are in the ninth round of bids from district councils for projects to drive growth and regeneration under the market town masterplans.