Bottisham Christmas Festivities - Saturday 6th December 4pm Onwards @ the Triangle

The Parish Council would like to warmly invite all residents to join us for our Christmas Festivities at the Triangle on Saturday, 6th December, from 4 pm onwards.

Childrens Christmas story time - 4:00pm

Christmas tree light switch on - 5:30pm

Bottisham Primary School Choir - 5:40pm

Carol singing around the village

Meet Santa & his friends Christmas stories - Bell Pub "Snug"

Face painting & treat bags

Hot chocolate, Mulled Wine (boozy & non-boozy!)

Tea, coffee, squash. Cakes & bakes for all

Music songstress Kirsty Beckett

Soulful tunes by Quattro Del Soul

Ho Ho Hosted by Bottisham Parish Council

Huge Thanks Go To:

Urban Tree Forestry at Bury St Edmunds The Bell, Bottisham Scouts, Co-Op, Dreams & Wishes, Kirsty Beckett, Bottisham Primary School, Tonic & Timber and Quattro Del Soul

For many, it is a favourite time of the year when all ages and backgrounds can come together as a community - and this year promises to be extra special. Our wish list went in early, and Santa is coming along with some of his friends! We’ll also have music, drinks, some games, face painting, and plenty of festive treats to enjoy.

We know Bottisham is bursting with brilliant bakers, so if you fancy whipping up something festive, please contact me or Nadene to arrange delivery. We’d love to showcase your wonderful creations - and we can’t wait to try them!

Our carolling around the village returns again this year. If you’d like to lend your voice, please meet at 3:45 pmat either:
• The Bottisham Sports and Social Club, or
• The Bell Pub car park on Bell Road

We had an amazing turnout last year - let’s fill the village with song once more!

We can’t wait to celebrate with you all and hope the weather is kind to us this time.Let’s make it a magical start to the festive season!

Remembrance Day is a time for us to pause and reflect on the courage and sacrifice of those who served and gave their lives in the service of our country. It is a moment to honour their memory, acknowledge the cost of conflict, and express our gratitude for the peace and freedoms we enjoy today.

Bottisham Parish Council will hold a Remembrance Day commemoration on Sunday 9th November at the Bottisham flagpole, opposite the church.

The ceremony will begin at 10:00 am, with Councillor & Reverend Keith Morrison leading the Act of Remembrance, including the recitation of the Ode of Remembrance, followed by the customary minute of silence.  We will be joined by Bottisham Cubs who will lay a wreath they have made in recognition of all those who served and continue to serve for our country.  

Residents and visitors are respectfully invited to attend and join us in paying tribute to those who have served and sacrificed.

The flag will remain raised until His Majesty The King’s Official Birthday, which will be marked on Saturday, 14th June 2025.

“We will remember them.”

Anglian Water has submitted a proposed Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO), to Cambridge County Council in order to safely carry out works. Any issues or concerns must be put to Cambridge County Council by3 October 2025

The proposed Order is necessary to facilitate manhole repairs and associated works which are being carried out on or near this highway and it will come into operation on 10 November 2025 and continue until these works have finished or on the 9 May 2027 whichever is the earlier.

It is anticipated that these works will be carried out between 19:00hrs 10 November and 05:00hrs 11 November 2025.

The alternative route for vehicles is via Lode Road; High Street; Tunbridge Lane; Park Road; Park End, Swaffham Bulbeck; High Street; B1102 and vice versa.

Cambridgeshire County Council has launched its second phase of engagement into Local Government Reorganisation, asking for feedback on the County Council leadership’s preferred ‘Option A’. Find more information here.

Option A shares Cambridgeshire and Peterborough between two new council areas – one in the North, building upon areas currently covered by Peterborough City Council, Huntingdonshire and Fenland District Councils, and one in the South, which builds upon the areas currently covered by Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

The new unitary authority covering the North of the county would be built upon the footprints of Huntingdonshire, Peterborough City and Fenland, along with the relevant parts of the County Council.

The new unitary authority covering the South of the county would be built upon the footprints of Cambridge City, South Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire, along with the relevant parts of the County Council.

Both of these new councils would therefore be anchored around one of our two major cities, Peterborough and Cambridge. They would both serve rural communities, towns, and villages. This option would also ensure that our third city of Ely was aligned more closely with Cambridge, recognising the strong heritage and historical connections between the two.

We believe this is the most equal and effective option for you, the people who live and work in our historic and growing county.

We urge residents to complete this survey before the deadline on 03 October to share your views on this proposal.

We’re looking for two new parish councillors to help shape the future of our village. No experience needed — just passion, ideas, and a desire to make a difference!

So, if you live in Bottisham, think changes could be made in our village and would like a worthwhile and rewarding position within our community then we would love to hear from you. You can email: clerk@bottisham-pc.gov.uk or alternatively pop along and meet us on Monday 6th October at 7:00pm in the Poppy Room, Bottisham Sports & Social Club.

Being a councillor is all about giving back to your community by bringing your energy, passion, and hard-working attitude. You can make a real difference to the local community and wider society in many ways as a councillor. For example, you could be representing the views of local people to ensure the community gets the right services, supporting a resident with an issue, or helping to shape the community by driving new ideas.

Being a councillor is a varied and highly fulfilling role. You don’t need any experience or special qualifications, and you’ll gain lots of new skills, experience, knowledge, and confidence.

We need people from all backgrounds and experiences who reflect the communities they serve to put themselves forward for election. You don’t need any experience or special qualifications. Your life experience, everyday skills, passion and commitment to people and communities are vital, and it’s important that councils reflect the local population.

To be a parish councillor, you need to have lived in the parish or within three miles of it for 12 months before your nomination date, and you must continue to live within that area until polling day.Additionally, you need to be at least 18 years old on polling day and meet at least one of three qualifications: be registered as a local government elector for the parish, have occupied land or premises in the parish for the 12 months prior, or have had your principal place of work there during that same period

This infographic shows you the role Bottisham Parish Council takes in the grand scheme of things!

New Highways Reporting Tool Coming Soon - Monday 22nd September. 

Please note that residents will not be able to log issues or defects online between 18 and 22 September 2025

Cambridgeshire County Council highways are introducing a new asset management and reporting system which will go live in September. This new system will be called Aurora. It is a new solution for the management of infrastructure assets and street works, meaning the existing reporting tool will be slowly phased out.

Under the new system:

• Customer reports will be automatically directed to the correct officer or team, ensuring they are handled by the right person first time.
  
• All Highways Maintenance Officers will now be equipped with tablets, allowing them to inspect defects, raise work orders, and update customers directly while on-site.
  
• New workflows automatically escalate reports that are not progressed within agreed service level timescales, helping to prevent delays and improve response times.
  
• Performance dashboards will ensure no cases are overlooked.
  
• Officers can send updates directly from the system, meaning residents receive regular progress updates on their reports.
  
• Reports can be managed dynamically by officers in the field and loaded into inspection routes so they can be reviewed at the same time.
  
• The system will task officers with inspecting completed work and identifying any defects. If defects are identified these will be flagged to contractors and corrected.
  
• Road works programme