MP vows for community to have voice on St Neots' future
Decision-makers faced questions around key issues affecting the town
The MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire has said there's every need to get more local people to have a say on the town's future.
Ian Sollom spoke at the Big Listen event in St Neots Market Square yesterday, where dozens of people who live, work and volunteer in the town came together to quiz decision-makers on issues that matter to them.
These include infrastructure, transport links like East West Rail, the local economy and mental health provision.
"We've got big developments happening nearby with a new town proposed south of St Neots, Universal Studios just down the road; this is our opportunity to shape it (the town) as a community, not have a 'top-down being told what we want' (approach)," he said.
Mr Sollom spoke alongside Paul Bristow - mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - and Councillor Sarah Conboy, leader at Huntingdonshire District Council to discuss future opportunities for St Neots.
This was the first event on the main stage, with the nearby Citizen Hub also holding talks and activities throughout the day before a communal lunch on the market square.
Several local groups and organisations were also present.
The event was organised by volunteer group St Neots Initiative and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, in the hope that the conversation around the growth of St Neots continues.
"There are huge risks with all this development if we're not in control of that," Alex Hughes, vice-chair at St Neots Initiative, said.
"For us, the opportunity is to normalise engagement and participation for communities, not just as a one-off consultation but as an ongoing part of the solution.
"As these bigger developers and projects start to engage with the town, they'll see that as an opportunity to plug into it."
Change must be shaped by 'people of St Neots'
Mr Bristow - who wants to triple the size of the county's economy by 2050 - believes the local community of St Neots must be able to say how best growth can happen.
It comes as the Government confirmed this week a development corporation for Greater Cambridge to help with growth will go ahead.
"People talk about growth; that's not just something that will happen to Cambridge or Peterborough but it has to impact and involve the biggest town in Cambridgeshire," Mr Bristow said.
"Change is happening and I don't want change to be something that happens to the people of St Neots, but I want it to be shaped by the people of St Neots."
Mr Sollom said despite calls for greater community involvement in key decisions affecting St Neots, there are some issues that need to be addressed.
"The big ones are around infrastructure," he added.
"But it's also about social infrastructure and the services that go along with that; we know people struggle with getting a GP or dentist appointment."