Little & Great Eversden Village Website » General

The Hoops – your villages need you!

Admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 12:01:38 +0000

Many residents will know that The Hoops in Great Eversden is now on the market. Following Cam Spice’s departure earlier this year, our village pub is now at risk of following the same fate of our village shop.

As the property is listed as an Asset of Community Value (until March 2026), our villages and wider local community have a legally protected six-week window in which to register an interest to purchase the freehold. Ultimately we therefore have an opportunity to protect the future of this valuable asset, which has served the local community as a licensed premise since the 1830s.

At the Parish Council meeting on 13 November, councillors agreed to submit a formal Intention to Bid on behalf of the village. This action has triggered a six-month moratorium, giving our community valuable time to explore whether we can secure the freehold – and therefore sustain a future for The Hoops – through the most viable leasehold arrangement or business model.

A number of residents who attended the meeting have already expressed enthusiasm for forming a community steering group – likely to be formally set up as a Community Interest Company (CIC), to lead the project and assess the appetite for community ownership.

We now need further support from the community to get involved in the CIC, as well as understand interest for securing The Hoops’ future.

Although we have gained extra time, the overall deadline to submit a full community bid, which would involve raising sufficient funding, is midnight on 16 April 2026, so maintaining momentum is essential.

Village Survey

One of the first actions is completion of a resident survey which will gather valuable thoughts and opinions in to the future of our pub. We encourage you to share your honest thoughts. The link is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FZKBD9N, plus circulated on Eversden Online and the Eversden Facebook Page. We have created a webpage on this site for all Hoops information so keep an eye out for updated and results on there. Survey will close on 31st December 2025.

If you are interested in joining the CIC steering group, contributing specific skills, or simply want to hear more about what’s involved, please email hoops.eversden@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support. We are looking forward to exploring the possibility of saving The Hoops!

Performance dates for E.M. Barraud evening

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:56:42 +0000

PERFORMANCE ABOUT E.M.BARRAUD – SAVE THE DATE!

Jane Bower writes:
Readers will recall that I put out a request for any memories or information about former Lt. Eversden resident Enid M. Barraud, known as John, as I am preparing a presentation about her life and work. It is proving a fascinating project, taking me to London and Rochester to meet family members, and making contacts in Devon and Surrey. Huge thanks to the many people who offered assistance of any kind. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to meet and talk with you. Every contribution has helped me to build up a picture of the remarkable person who is the subject of my fifth solo show. (I had decided to stop at four but John changed my mind!)

Call Me John – words, sounds and images from the life of E. M. Barraud, WWII land girl will have its first performance at The Eversdens Village Hall on Wednesday July 1st 2026 at 7.30pm. It will be followed by a question and answer session and, we hope, some refreshments. A second performance will be given at Downing Place Church, Cambridge CB2 3EL on Thursday July 9th 2026, also at 7.30pm. This is an inclusive church and a beautiful, light, spacious and recently refurbished concert venue right opposite John Lewis, with the large Grand Arcade car park beneath.

We are not yet at the stage of ticket and booking arrangements, but I wanted you to have the dates in case you wish to attend and/or to tell others about the events.

Many thanks to Anne Francis who has been very helpful in organising hall arrangements and a visit for myself and my technician. If I may put out a further plea in advance, we will need helpers to organise refreshments, take bookings for seats and to hand out programmes on the night. If this is something you are able and willing to help with, please do contact me on 07753435151 or jane-bower@ntlworld.com. I would be most grateful for your help – thank you! – and I do hope to see you at Call Me John.

Jane Bower

Brass band concert 8th December

Admin17 — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:45:37 +0000

Cost of living help

Admin17 — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 09:05:05 +0000

We understand that many residents may be struggling to cope with the rising cost of living, particularly with food and energy costs.

There are various forms of help that may be available – from additional payments from the council or discounts on things like your Council Tax, to support from partners such as food vouchers, energy grants and help managing debt.

Cambridge County Council have links to sources of help here:

https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/cost-of-living-help

Update for those supporting refugees from Ukraine 7 July 2022

Admin17 — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 13:49:31 +0000

All information previously shared can be found on our Support for Ukraine webpage – where you will also find our ‘Ukrainian Guest information hub’ which we encourage you to share with your guests. The online information hub is our equivalent of a ‘Welcome pack’ for guests (we are sharing information digitally so that we are able to keep our information regularly updated, and guests should be able to switch to view in their own language if they wish).

Please note that in addition to these emails, all hosts will receive information from us relating to DBS checks, accommodation checks, £350 monthly host and £350 one-off guest payments; hosts should already have received information from us about this through our welcome email.

For any questions not covered in this e-newsletter or on our Support for Ukraine webpages, please email duty.communities@scambs.gov.uk

Grants for activities and education

Financial help is now being offered to Ukrainian families to help them to integrate into British community life thanks to a new grant scheme launched this week by South Cambridgeshire District Council. Up to £300 per project is offered for a wide range of events to help reduce social isolation and encourage families to feel involved in their local community and life in Britain. A grant fund total of £20,000 is open for applicants until the end of the 2022/23 financial year funded by central government. Project ideas include buying books for English language classes, ingredients to fund a cookery day, venue hire or travel costs to take Ukrainian guests on a trip to Cambridge to see the sights. But, as we say, the most important aim is to help people to integrate.

Parish councils, community groups, informal groups or individual hosts can apply. Applications will be assessed weekly to ensure a quick turnaround. Criteria, guidance and an application form can be found on our website.

If you have any questions about these grants, please email ukraine.grants@scambs.gov.uk

Bikeability training

As part of our initiative with two local charities (OWL Bikes and Camtrust) to offer free bicycles to guests from Ukraine, we are pleased to be able now to announce the dates for the free Bikeability training sessions that will be delivered by Outspoken Training. There will be a translator at each session. These will be at one of two locations in Cambridge: either Lammas Land (CB3 9EY) or Coleridge Recreation Ground (CB1 3PR).

There are four different levels to choose from depending on ability:

Children’s Bikeability Level 1 (Off-road fun: Level 1 challenges pupils to control and master their bikes through a variety of playground games. The training aims to boost confidence and excite participants to cycle more off-road. Minimum age: 7 years old)
Children’s Bikeability Level 2 (Residential rider: Level 2 takes place on local roads around school that Year 5 and 6 pupils are likely to cycle on. Children receive a realistic cycling experience equipping them with the skills to cycle short journeys e.g., to school. Riders are educated on effective observations, understanding road priorities, communicating with other road users and effective road positioning. Minimum age: 9 years old)
Adult return to cycling
Adult residential riders

The dates and times of the courses are:

Friday 22 July 2022; 10.00am – 1.00pm – Tamsin and Sue – Children’s Bikeability Level 1 – Lammas Land (CB3 9EY)
Friday 29 July 2022; 10.00am – 1.00pm – Rob and Sara – Children’s Bikeability Level 1 – Coleridge Recreation Ground (CB1 3PR)
Friday 5 August 2022; 10.00am – 1.00pm – Rob and Sara – Adult return to cycling – Lammas Land (CB3 9EY)
Friday 19 August 2022; 10.00am – 1.00pm – Tamsin and Hugh – Children’s Bikeability Level 2 – Lammas Land (CB3 9EY)
Saturday 20 August 2022; 10.00am – 1.00pm – Tamsin and TBC – Adult residential riders – Coleridge Recreation Ground (CB1 3PR)
Saturday 27 August 2022; 10.00am – 1.00pm – Rob and Hugh – Children’s Bikeability Level 2 – Coleridge Recreation Ground (CB1 3PR)

Please encourage your guests to book their free session via the Outspoken bookings page but only if they have already received their free bike or had one loaned to them. If you are still waiting, you will be able to book onto a future session once further dates have been released.

On the day: please inform your trainer of your bike order number so we can keep track of who has booked onto a session. If you need a reminder of your order number, please email CLP@scambs.gov.uk

If guests cannot make any of the sessions, we also want to highlight the useful and free Transport for London online cycle skills course which guests may find beneficial

Coming soon: Cambridge University Botanic Garden free pass scheme

The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is generously providing free admission to the Botanic Garden for Ukrainian refugees. Their goal is to welcome Ukrainian refugees to the Garden, give them access to a beautiful green space in Cambridge, and show them what the Garden has to offer as an educational and leisure facility in the city.

Free tickets will be offered for those over the age of 16 (children 16 and under are already admitted free of charge). Host families will need to pay the standard garden admission fee.

The tickets will be offered (one per person) from next week and guests will soon be able to register their interest in receiving an admission ticket by filling out an application form. Tickets will be distributed weekly via post; more information will be available in our next bulletin.

Please let us know if your guests are moving on

Please remember that, if your guests are planning to move on into alternative accommodation or have already done so, it is important that you let us know. This is so that we can update our records and adjust any payments accordingly. If this is the case for your guests, please email duty.communities@scambs.gov.uk as soon as possible, and include your name, address and details of the guests who have moved elsewhere.

Online course: How to speak in clear and simple English to the refugee in your home

Please see the attached PDF flyer which is about a 90-minute ongoing course, offered online, called ‘How To Speak in Clear and Simple English to the Refugee in Your Home’. It’s in the evenings and held via Zoom. Hosts just attend once. There is a minimum donation of £1 and all proceeds go to West End Refugee Service. Only hosts can attend this version and their refugee can be from anywhere. Sign-up to attend a course online or email info@englishunlocked.co.uk if you have any questions.

Short guide to financial support available

The Think Communities Team at Cambridgeshire County Council have provided us with the attached document which may help some of your guests to access more support about which they may not yet be aware. It contains information on benefits checking, energy saving, budget planning, debt help, grants and more. Please share it with anyone that you feel may benefit.

Upcoming jobs fair

Jobcentre Plus in Cambridgeshire have announced that they will be holding a jobs fair for Ukrainian jobseekers. This will take place at the Cambridge Job Centre, Henry Giles House, 73 – 79 Chesterton Rd, Cambridge, CB4 3BQ on Wednesday 27 July 2022 from 10am to 1pm. There are so far around 20 employers confirmed as attending, including Asda, Aspire, Atlas Hotels, Cambridge Network, EACH, Hain Daniels, Hilton, Hotel Du Vin, Murray Edwards College, Office Angels, Select Recruitment, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Teka Services, Compass Group, Nat West Enterprise, Office Angels and St Catherine’s College. Hosts are welcome to attend with their guests. For more information, please email Dawn.Bere@dwp.gov.uk

Additionally, if guests have questions around seeking a job, please email Dawn.Bere@dwp.gov.uk who will be able to help advise on matters such as setting up a national insurance number, obtaining proof of right to work and signing up for Universal Credit. Dawn can assist with these elements and can have translation services on standby.

Rotary Club of Royston

The Rotary club of Royston is committed to helping Ukrainian refugees feel welcome in the community and to facilitate various social events. A new monthly café will be starting soon, to provide morning coffee and cakes to local Ukrainian families. Once a month local Ukrainian families can meet and spend time getting to know each other. The first venue will be The Chequers at Barley and will run from 10am -12noon at a date to be confirmed. The pub has a large garden where children can relax and play. The Royston Rotary Club may be able to provide free transport to some families needing assistance. Hosts are also welcome. If guests (and hosts) would like to attend, please contact ukraine@roystonrotary.com for more information and to register your interest.

Reminder about Informal in-person get together for hosts next Tuesday (12 July) from 6pm to 8pm in Cambourne

Following on from our informal event for Ukrainian Guests on Tuesday 28 June, we would remind you that we are also hosting a session for Ukrainian hosts from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday next week (12 July) at South Cambridgeshire Hall, Cambourne Business Park, Cambourne, CB23 6EA. This is a free drop-in event for Ukrainian hosts to network, have a bite to eat and find out more about the support (for both hosts and guests) that is available locally. We are asking hosts to register on Eventbrite, including indicating the number of people who will be coming as part of your group. This will help us to plan for the event. However, if you do not register in advance but circumstances change so that you are able to make it, you can still come along on the day.

Donate a laptop to help people from Ukraine

Admin17 — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 15:45:38 +0000

South Cambridgeshire District Council is working with Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign (CRRC) to supply laptops to Ukrainian guests who have arrived in the area as part of the Homes for Ukraine programme. Guests can apply for a laptop for free. We are asking businesses to support this scheme by donating laptops for re-use by those in need. Any devices are acceptable for donation.

CRRC works with Laptops4Learning (L4L) to deliver laptops locally. L4L’s TechAidUK solution brings together businesses and charities/organisations to enable sustainable and social good. They take donations of much-needed devices from businesses and repair and refurbish them, making them plug-and-play ready, complete with chargers and software, ready for CRRC to distribute to Ukrainian families. Having tech refurbished for reuse enables businesses to reach their sustainability goals at this time of climate emergency, saving CO2 emissions, e-waste and the extraction of scarce natural resources.

After you arrange to make a donation L4L send their Tech Couriers to collect your devices at a pre-arranged time and date. They then take them to their repair centre in Stevenage where they are refurbished and all data securely erased to HMG InfoSec Standard 5 Enhanced. A certificate of erasure is issued for each device and provided by serial number to the company donating.

Full audits are provided detailing the devices collected, along with feedback on who received the donations and data for CSR, which can be used in corporate newsletters and social media. Sustainability figures on waste are also provided.

If your business would like to help by donating laptops or if you have questions and would like more information on the scheme please contact sue@laptops4learning.co.uk or Admin_TeamUkraine@cambridgerefugees.org

Meeting Agendas

Admin17 — Thu, 19 May 2022 10:22:21 +0000

Parish Council Meeting: Monday 21st February 2022
ExtraOrdinary Meeting: Monday 31st January 2022
Planning Meeting: Monday 24th January 2022
Parish Council Meeting: Friday 14th January 2022

Jubilee Beacon lighting – 2nd June at 9.45pm

admin — Mon, 16 May 2022 15:49:19 +0000

The Jubilee Beacon lighting is happening on the Rec on Thursday 2nd June at 9.45pm.

The Platinum Jubilee Beacons is the first community event of the four-day Jubilee Weekend, 2nd-5th June 2022.

There are three kinds of beacon events:

Community Beacons – thousands of beacons will be lit by communities, charities and different groups throughout the regions of the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories.
Commonwealth Beacons - beacons will be lit in all capital cities of the Commonwealth – 54 in total.
Principal Beacon – to be lit on the 2nd June

Visit https://www.queensjubileebeacons.com for more information.

Bedroom Farce-19, 20 & 21 May-7.30 pm-Haslingfield VH

admin — Fri, 06 May 2022 16:57:44 +0000

Haslingfield Little Theatre will be performing Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn

on 19, 20 & 21 May, 7.30 pm, at Haslingfield Village Hall.

This hilarious comedy follows the stories of four couples whose relationships range from tenuous to on-the-rocks – the action taking place over the course of one Saturday night…

“As funny as anything he has written” The Times

“Hilarious… The stuff of gleeful recognition” London Evening Standard

“An enormously funny evening” The Observer

Tickets are available at: www.haslingfieldlittletheatre.co.uk at £12 (£10 concessions, under 18’s & 65+, Thursday and Friday performances).

We look forward to welcoming our near neighbours, once again, to Haslingfield Village Hall!

Village Hall Grand Re-Opening with the Pop Up Pub!

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 11:28:37 +0000

The village hall will be celebrating their reopening with a Pop Up Pub night! For those who haven’t been before, its a relaxed evening where neighbours drift in, chat, play games and partake of a jar or two. This time, all doors will be open and there will be outdoor seating, plus a food van, so families can come early and enjoy supper, in addition to the usual later evening crowd.

Date: Friday 25th June
Time: 5pm – 11:30pm

Proceeds from this Pop Up Pub will go towards ‘Get Kids Going!”, a national charity which gives disabled children and young people the wonderful opportunity of participating in sport by providing them with specialist wheelchairs. This is the charity Barry Mullins is running the marathon for – last year was a virtual run and thank you to everyone who has supported and sponsored during that time – now it’s time to get to that start line in London this October. So join us at the village hall to celebrate the reopening, and help towards a really good cause!

In addition if would like to follow his progress and support his fund raising you can via this link: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BarryMullins1

Hope to see you at the village hall in a few week.

Barry & The Village Hall Committee