Big Ideas and Aspirations for the Future

What if...? A simple question with big ambition. Pioneered by the founder of Transition Town Totnes - Rob Hopkins, ‘What if?’ is a simple question, but perhaps the most important question we have to help us refocus our outlook on the future.

Through our engagement, feedback and wider research looking to other places, we have developed a series of ‘what if’ questions as well as some big ideas and aspirations for the future of Huntingdonshire.

People and Communities

Big Ideas

• Make the District one of the top 10 places to live in the UK in the happiness index, offering an exceptional quality of life for its residents
• Set up flexible lifelong learning schemes for people of different ages and backgrounds to enable them to integrate into employment opportunities, by collaborating with the industries
• Support existing and new volunteering schemes by providing funding, grants and resources to fulfil their initiatives and encourage people to participate
• Establish better communication with the different communities, engage all groups, especially the most vulnerable, to establish trust and work together to define common priorities
• Encourage shared community responsibility for the upkeep of green and open spaces to foster a sense of ownership and social interaction

Place

Big Ideas

• Extend the Ting Bus demand-responsive service to rural areas and improve the existing bus service including the Guided Busway to better connect villages and towns
• Establish car free days in the towns to encourage people to explore more sustainable travel options and unlock spaces for people without the dominance of the car
• Create more community and cultural events, particularly for young and older people
• Make all roads and pavements safer for pedestrians and cyclists by ensuring their high standard and reducing the speed limit for cars
• Encourage evenings out in the market towns by encouraging retail and leisure activities to take place later in the day including evening markets

Economy

Big Ideas

• Make the District a pioneer in the transition to the circular economy where robust infrastructure and systems are in place to support it, drawing from its positioning within the Eastern Powerhouse
• Establish training and upskilling programmes as well as collaborations between businesses and local schools and colleges, in order to create responsive links between the local skill set and local jobs and tap into the diversity of the workforce
• Prioritise digital infrastructure improvements across the District for the best possible digital connectivity, including free public Wi-Fi in town and village centres
• Establish Time Banks where people can exchange their skills with hours as the currency and create reciprocity based work
• Promote the creation of collaborative and flexible spaces for working in the town and village centres

Environment

Big Ideas

• Encourage rewilding and biodiversity in both public and private spaces and promote mass tree planting within towns and villages
• Roll out a comprehensive building stock retrofit programme, including insulation and smart water meters installation, to improve its environmental performance
• Ensure that all new development creates carbon neutral housing and the social and physical infrastructure cost Is factored into the price of development
• Roll out an education and behaviour change programme for both people and businesses to underline the urgency for a shift to more sustainable practices
• Grow and harvest reed mace to protect peat soils, store carbon and produce housing insultation