Andrew Sinclair
BBC Look East political correspondent

This news East of England MEP Richard Howitt is standing down will come as a big blow to Labour supporters in the East.

For many years Richard Howitt has been the face of Labour in the region, the linchpin who held the party together after the the disastrous election defeat of 2010, the politician who could always be relied on to turn up at a local branch fundraiser.

But what will also come as a blow will be the fact that he has chosen to leave politics now. 

As an MEP, he knows he will lose his job when we leave the EU in a few years time, but for now there is still a job to be done in Brussels arguing for the UK's interests as Brexit negotiations get under way and the party would more than likely have rewarded his hard work with another job back in Britain.

Friends tell me that Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of Labour has been a factor in today's decision: he worries for the future of the party he loves and he fears Labour will be unelectable for some time to come.

But he also feels that as a British MEP he is starting to lose his influence, he's in his mid-50s and wants another career challenge before retiring.

There are many reasons for his decision, but there's no denying that for Labour in the East this is a big loss.

The Friends of Mitcham's Corner is hoping that public transport in the area may be improved as a result of plans to redevelop the road system.

Chair of the group, Ann Cooper, said it "would certainly like to see a much better bus service to the area".

"[We'd like] to see the park and ride buses and the guided bus get to stop at Mitcham's Corner, and a proper coordinated hub so you could get from one bus to another for an onward journey," she said.

Tom Horn
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

I've always thought of Mitcham's Corner as somewhere you need to get through to get into town.

It's got a very confusing one-way system where Chesterton Road, Milton Road and Victoria Road all meet, and vehicles often speed around there.

There's a big office supplies store dominating the area and a block of terraced housing that looks like it's been plonked next door. 

Then there's also the former Tivoli pub, still boarded up after that fire back in March 2015.

There are banks, shops and pubs sprinkled in-between this lot too. All of this makes it pretty difficult for pedestrians and cyclists.

It's not much of a destination at the moment as Sam Owens, who runs the Thirsty wine shop, told me: "Mitcham's Corner is a part of Cambridge that has perhaps not been somewhere that people would rush to come to in the past."

But Cambridge City Council is producing a plan to redevelop the whole area.

The best case of which would see an open space and traffic reduced and slowed down, with more priority for pedestrians and cyclists, according to the council's urban design and conservation manager, Glenn Richardson.

A public consultation, external into these plans officially started at 09:00 today.

Plans to revamp Mitcham's Corner, external in Cambridge - a "difficult and confusing" system - are now open to public scrutiny.

The area has been examined by Cambridge City Council which found it "outdated", "confusing" and "underused".

Kevin Blencowe, in charge of planning policy and transport at the council, hopes the changes will allow the area to "meet its potential as a thriving local centre".

Andrew Sinclair
BBC Look East political correspondent

A senior Labour MEP has announced plans to stand down from the European Parliament, external later this year.

East of England Euro-MP Richard Howitt, who has been in the European Parliament for 22 years, said he is to become chief executive of the International Integrated Reporting Council, external (IIRC), which links companies with society, the environment and the wider economy.

Mr Howitt, as well as being the senior serving MEP for the East of England, is also the Labour spokesman on foreign affairs in the European Parliament.

He is also the Socialist and Democrat Group Human Rights spokesperson, the European Parliament Rapporteur on corporate social responsibility and the president of the All-Party Disability Rights Group, external of MEPs.

Tom Horn
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

There are plans to make Cambridge's Mitcham's Corner "a place people want to go, rather than have to fight through". 

A public consultation into plans for a revamp, costing up to £4m, gets started this morning. 

It includes scrapping the frequently congested one-way gyratory system, which was introduced in the 1970s, and replacing it with two-way streets.

Georgina Burnett
BBC Weather

Any early mist and fog patches will lift during the morning. However, it is likely to stay rather dull and cloudy for many. 

A few cloud breaks are possible later which will bring spells of warm sunshine for some of us, with a high of 21C (70F).

Here's my full forecast...

There are more details on the BBC Weather website.

Dani Bailey
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome to today's live page for Cambridgeshire.

It's a dull, cloudy morning out there today - we'll have the full weather forecast for you shortly.

Plus, in the news this morning, plans to regenerate the Mitcham's Corner area of Cambridge at a cost of up to £4m are due to go out to public consultation. We'll bring you more on this soon.

If you'd like to get in touch throughout the day you can email us, tweet us, external or contact us via Facebook, external.