Issue - meetings

Matter for Decision

The Officer’s report provided an update on the activities of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority since the 6 July Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee.

Decision of Executive Councillor for Strategy and External Partnerships

      i.         Noted the update provided on issues considered at the meetings of the Combined Authority held on the 5 August and 30 September 2020.

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Head of Corporate Strategy.

The Committee made the following comments in response to the report:

      i.         Noted that the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) Mayor had joined the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) Board as an observer and asked the Executive Councillor whether he thought this would be advantageous. 

    ii.         Asked if the Executive Councillor shared concerns regarding the length of time taken with the Cambridge Autonomous Metro (CAM) project and commented that if the project was deliverable then it needed to progress but if the project was not deliverable this needed to be acknowledged as further work on the project could affect work on other planning for transport projects.

   iii.         Noted that the Combined Authority should not focus solely on dualling the A10 between Ely and Cambridge as there were other initiatives which were being considered by the GCP.

  iv.         Noted the e-scooter pilot scheme the Combined Authority was looking to promote in Cambridge and raised concerns regarding parking, distribution and management of the project following issues with previous 2 wheel hire schemes. 

    v.         Expressed concerns regarding the abolition of regional planning structures and asked what was being done by the CPCA Mayor in response to the White Planning Paper ‘Planning for the Future’ as Mayors were identified within the White Paper.

The Executive Councillor said the following in response to Members’ questions:

      i.         All the authorities needed to work together to link up homes, jobs and work whilst also taking into consideration climate change impacts. The CPCA Mayor had delayed work on the Cambourne to Cambridge link for 9 months because the CPCA Mayor had an alternative route. The Combined Authority projects needed to link up with the GCP projects.

    ii.         Noted that the CPCA Mayor had returned to technology that the GCP had been working on regarding the CAM project which involved narrower tunnels as a technical group had identified that the wider tunnels were unaffordable. He expressed concerns regarding the amount of time and money which had been spent on the CAM project and also expressed concerns regarding the transparency of the external company which was being set up to take the project further. 

   iii.         Noted that a good outline business case had been prepared regarding the A10. Expressed concerns regarding the dualling of the A10 because there was a lot of traffic that used the A10.  Referred to work which had been undertaken by the GCP regarding a northern route rather than a large roundabout linking the A14 and the A10.

  iv.         Noted that the CPCA Mayor had publicised the e-scooter project but commented that there wasn’t a lot of detail available regarding the e-scooter project.  He would prefer to see an e-bike trial as he thought these would be more important in the future to connect homes with employment sites. He shared the concern expressed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People regarding the unregulated aspect of e-scooters.

    v.         A lot of work had been put into the non-statutory spatial strategy which contained a lot of good evidence, this included information regarding the imbalance of the growth in the south of the county and the disadvantage in the north of the county.  He wasn’t clear how the CPCA Mayor would take this issue forward. Acknowledged it was important that the City Council responded to the White Paper ‘Planning for the Future’ consultation.

The Committee noted the recommendations.

The Executive Councillor noted the recommendation.

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.