Monthly Archives: July 2025

Act now to keep your vote! Fenland’s annual electoral canvass begins

Residents across Fenland are being reminded to check their voter registration details or risk missing the chance to vote in future elections, with the annual canvass now underway.

The canvass, a legal requirement carried out each year by councils, ensures the electoral register is accurate and up to date. It also helps identify residents who are not yet registered to vote.

By confirming or updating their details, residents can make sure they remain eligible to vote in future elections and have their say on decisions that affect them.

The council will be contacting all residential properties in the district in a variety of ways including by email, post, phone and visiting properties.

Key dates for the 2025 annual canvass:
• Canvass emails sent from 4 July 2025 (residents who did not respond to their email will receive a letter)
• Initial canvass letters delivered from 26 July to 17 August 2025
• Reminder canvass letters delivered from 9 September 2025
• Canvasser visits to non-responding properties from 11 October to 9 November.
• The revised Register of Electors will be published on 1 December 2025

If you’re not currently registered to vote, your name will not appear in the messages sent by the Council.

The easiest way to register to vote is online via the Government website: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Recent home movers in particular are urged to check their registration details.

Not every household will need to respond to their canvass communication, but those that are required to do so are encouraged to as soon as possible to ensure that the process runs smoothly and to remove the need for reminders to be sent.

• For more information on the annual canvass and frequently asked questions, visit: www.fenland.gov.uk/AnnualCanvass.

Alternatively, email the council’s elections team at elections@fenland.gov.uk or phone 01354 654321.

March Community Orchard Project

After many hurdles securing local land on which to plant a community orchard, but with many members keen to bring fruit growing and an added sense of community to the area, March Community Orchard Project did some outside the box thinking and came up with the FRONT GARDEN FRUIT project.

This is kind of like a community orchard, but spread across the town, in people’s own front gardens.

We provide a free tree, with stakes & guard, plant it for you and perform a tree health check. You provide a bit of front garden area on which to plant it. In future years, when (hopefully) you have more fruit than you know what to do with, you can opt in to be provided with a crate to leave near the footpath for passers-by.

You can also opt-in to be added to our Google pin map of trees dotted around the town so that it feels more like a cohesive community orchard.

Down the line we would love to organise community events like juice pressing, pie making and other fruit & garden related gatherings open to our FGF beneficiaries, local gardeners and the wider community. And we’d love to hear your ideas too!

If you’d like to be a part of the March Community Orchard Group we meet the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30 in the Wordsworth Room of March Library.

Or apply for a FREE tree for your front garden HERE:

https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSc…/viewform

Anglian Water – March Water Recycling Centre – pausing liming work for the summer holidays

Temporary operational change at water recycling site on Creek Road during the summer period.

As you may be aware, our waste treatment activities, particularly the use of lime, have led to increased odour and traffic in the surrounding area. While this work is essential, we recognise the disruption it can cause nearby residents.

To support the community and minimise further impact during the school holidays, we have made the decision to pause all waste treatment operations from 27 July to 22 September at the site.

This means that:

  • Odour reduction: Lime treatment will cease, and associated smells should dissipate quickly.
  • Traffic relief: Vehicle movements to and from the site will return to normal levels during this period.
  • Community engagement: We are proactively contacting local residents by email and letter, and will continue to update our website with the latest information.

We remain committed to being a good neighbour, and this pause is part of our ongoing efforts to balance operational needs with community wellbeing.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Kind regards

Grant

Grant Tuffs

Regional Engagement Manager

Public Affairs

Summer Festival grant from Persimmon

The Mayor, Cllr Andrew Woollard, joined Councillors Gary Christy and Martin Field in receiving a grant from Persimmon Homes East Midlands, who donated £1000 from the Community Champions scheme to March Summer Festival.

Nicola Christy, Persimmon land director, Michelle Jeffrey, Cllr Christy, Cllr Woollard, Cllr Field.

Public Notice – Licensing Act 2003 – New Application for a Premises Licence

We MARCH TOWN COUNCIL Do hereby give notice that we have applied to the Licensing Authority at Fenland District Council for a Premises Licence at The Car Park, The Market Place, March, Cambridgeshire, PE15 9JF.
The application is to permit:
Films (outdoors) 10:00 – 22:00
Live Music (outdoors) [weekends] 10:00 –- 22:00
Recorded Music (outdoors) [weekends] 10:00 – 22:00
Performance of Dance (outdoors) [weekends] 10:00 – 22:00 Anything of a similar description falling under Music or Dance 10:00-22:00

Any person wishing to make representations to this application may do so by writing to Licensing Department, Fenland District Council, Fenland Hall, County Road, March Cambs, PE15 8NQ or by email
to licensing@fenland.gov.uk not later than 29 July 2025.
Representations received after this date cannot be considered.
A copy of the application can be viewed at https://fenland.gov.uk/article/15345/Licensing-Public-Consultation
It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with this application, the maximum fine on summary conviction being unlimited.