Issue - meetings

Question 1:

Councillor Hauk to the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services.

 

What does the Council do to promote herbicide-free methods for weed control on roads and open spaces to private bodies such as developers, colleges, schools, and other councils?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         To promote herbicide free methods the most important and critical thing the Council could do was to continue to be a herbicide free authority.

    ii.         Using weed killer allowed dangerous poisons to flow into waterways and this should be avoided.

   iii.         Some other UK authorities changed plans to be herbicide free and then re-introduced the use of weed killers, but the Executive Councillor was determined to deliver a better and more sustainable methodology for weed removal. The Council took a multipronged approach to encourage herbicide free weed management.

  iv.         The Council had published and made available detailed reports online about alternative weed control technologies such as mechanical removal cultural practices and biological controls. So others such as developers, colleges, schools and other councils had practical help and examples to help them to manage weeds without restoring to chemicals.

    v.         The Council actively worked with external stakeholders such as Pesticide Free Cambridge and On The Verge to foster partnerships and share case studies by collaborating. The Council created a network of informed ambassadors who exchanged knowledge and supported with each other in adopting non-chemical strategies to further motivate the uptake of herbicide free practices.

  vi.         The Council offered technical advice and support to reduce the initial challenges and costs that could arise from transitioning to alternative methods.

 vii.         Officers were attending a meeting with Central Government in March 2025 to share best practice and challenges around integrated pest management uptake in urban environments. The meeting would also be attended by representatives from Pesticide Action Network and potentially the Local Government Association along with a couple of other councils.

viii.         Through our website, City Matters and other meetings; the Council kept stakeholders informed about the benefits of herbicide free weed management highlighting environmental health and biodiversity gains. This communication ensured that all parties were aware of both the rationale and practical steps to take.

 

Question 2:

Councillor A Smith to the Executive Councillor for Community Safety and Homelessness

 

The Labour government announced the largest ever cash boost to turn the tide on homelessness in December 2024. What will this mean for the city council and our work to end homelessness?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         Was delighted the Labour Government had given a much needed boost to homelessness services through funding for next year. This was just the start of a huge amount of work that's required.

    ii.         For the City Council there were three main elements to homelessness funding that the Council received from the government.

   iii.         The Council had a significant uplift of £250,000 homelessness prevention grant for the next year, which took our total funding across all three elements to about £2.2 million for the next year. This uplift had already allowed the Council to give out significantly more money in Grants to local organizations for next year about £83,000 more than the Council did for the current year.

a.    A range of projects finance and debt advice specific support for women who were sleeping rough or vulnerably housed.

b.    Specialist help for young people facing homelessness, also for older people facing homelessness, victims of domestic abuse support for those living in our modular homes and much more so was really glad that the Council were able to continue and significantly increase grant funding this year.

  iv.         The Council intended to spend money on some of its own projects so some of that extra money would go towards a new supported lettings officer and there would also be some spent on a homelessness review as the Council developed a strategy for the next year.

 

Question 3:

Councillor Swift to the Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Environment.

 

There's currently a live consultation on the Council's smoke control areas. Can the Executive for Climate Change and Environment explain what this means and how residents can respond?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         The Council were asking residents and businesses for their views on proposals to amend the boundary of the existing smoke control areas with the option to include permanent residential vessels.

    ii.         A smoke controlled area was a was a space designated by the Council to reduce pollution from burning wood and coal.

   iii.         The Council were considering these changes to improve the health of residents and visitors.

  iv.         Smoke from chimneys contained tiny particulate matter known as PM2.5 which could travel deep into peoples’ lungs and cause/worsen numerous health conditions.

    v.         In Cambridge solid fuel and wood burning was the largest single source of PM2.5 emissions.

  vi.         The Council currently had three smoke control areas established in the 1960s that covered the west and centre of the city.

 vii.         Smoke control areas rules did not apply to the permanent residential vessels ie house boats.

viii.         Cambridge had expanded since the 1960s and so smoke control areas now only covered a small proportion of residential dwellings. The use of wood burning stoves had also recently increased significantly.

  ix.         The proposal was to revoke the existing smoke control areas and replace with one that covered the entire city and boats.

 

Question 4:

Councillor Gardiner-Smith to the Executive Councillor for Communities

 

How does the City Council's grants team provide support to Cambridge residents though funding voluntary groups/ organisations in the city of Cambridge?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         Round one of the £5,000 and under Community Grant scheme for this year has been delivered. There were a huge number of applications and some £84,000 has been awarded to the voluntary organizations in our city. Demand on the budget was very high and groups who were not successful would receive guidance and advice from the grants team going forward.

    ii.         Round two of the grant scheme would launch on the 23rd of April. Ward Councillors would be encouraged to promote the scheme in their ward.

   iii.         The Council would also award 92 community grants and discretionary rate relief awards with a value of over £1 million in 2025. The Council had provided homelessness prevention grants to 11 organizations in the city and sustainable city grants to 4 organizations, the Council also funded Cambridge CAB so they could help city residents with general advice and support.

 

Question 5:

Councillor Glasberg to the Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Environment

 

RVMs were automated machines which offer an efficient, convenient and cost-effective way to recycle plastic bottles and aluminium cans. What steps has the council taken to investigate a trial of Reverse Vending Machines (RVM's)?

 

The Executive Councillor did not respond as the question was withdrawn.

 

Question 6:

Councillor Ashton to the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services

 

Can the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services give an update on the ongoing programme of refurbishment works to public toilets in Cambridge?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         The recent refurbishment of public toilets program was successfully completed in late 2024 involving a mix of full and partial refurbishments at key locations. Drummer Streets and Cherry Hinton Hall now featured changing places facilities which were funded externally.

    ii.         Nightingale Recreation Ground had a new facility that was operational.

   iii.         The Silver Street facility was currently being constructed and funded by the capital program.

  iv.         Public toilet improvements ensured public amenities met modern standards of safety, accessibility and hygiene.

 

Question 7:

Councillor Robertson to the Executive Councillor for Planning, Building Control and Infrastructure

 

Can the Executive for Planning, Building Control and Infrastructure update the council on the latest news about our 5-year land supply and what this means for Cambridge City specifically?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         Changes to the way council housing needs were calculated were introduced in December last year alongside publication of the revised National Planning Policy Forum.

    ii.         Overnight the combined housing need for greater Cambridge went from 1,726 homes a year to 2,309 per year - an additional 583 per year. This inevitably impacted upon the calculation of the supply of new homes to meet city future needs over the next 5 years. This calculation was important because planning policy was tilted towards approving development if a local area supply fell short of the 5-year supply.

   iii.         Based on information collected this time last year the Greater Cambridge 5-year housing supply calculation overnight fell from a comfortable 5 years to 4.6 years.

  iv.         The shared planning services therefore focussed on exploring what could be done to ensure more homes could come forward within the next 5 years.

    v.         The Council already had planning permission for 36,000 homes across Greater Cambridge. These mainly concentrated on larger strategic scale sites. The current focus was therefore on tackling the barriers preventing these and other new homes permitted from being built. This included ensuring that City Council processes supported construction starting on site promptly, once the permission has been given, through to trying to understand why permissions had been granted and were not being implemented by the landowner.

  vi.         The Council would also liaise with government and key partners operating in the area to see if they could help accelerate delivery.

 vii.         The Council also expected to publish an updated assessment of supply in April 2025.

 

Question 8:

Councillor Lokhmotova to the Executive Councillor for Housing.

 

Can the executive councillor for housing explain what the council is doing to ensure the housing associations operating in our city provide high quality, safe and secure housing for our residents?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         The Council's Environmental Health Team ensured all private sector housing including Housing Association properties were safe and secure by investigating any complaints the Council may receive from tenants regarding the condition of their property.

    ii.         The investigations were conducted under the Housing Act 2004 which gave the Council the duty and power to investigate and take the most appropriate actions. This could be from informal contact with the Housing Association through to enforcement action such as a service of notice requiring works to be completed.

   iii.         The Council also conducted proactive work to identify properties that may not reach an appropriate standard by using government data sources and contacting landlords to request inspections. This could be private landlords or housing associations. All registered providers (housing associations, local authorities etc) were regulated by the regulator of the social housing. Their 4 consumer standards were there to ensure properties in the social housing sector were safe and well maintained. They ensure this both by annual data return, inspection regime and working collaboratively with the housing ombudsman.

 

Question 9:

Councillor Flaubert to the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces and City Services.

 

Could the Exec Councillor for Open Spaces please update the council on inclusive play areas across the city?

 

The Executive Councillor responded:

      i.         Provided an update on City Council actions and progress made since the publication of the outdoor play spaces and Investments drastically in March 2024, as well as insights from the follow-up s106 funding allocation report presented on the 16th of January 2025 to Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee.

    ii.         The investment strategy report laid out a comprehensive approach for improving city council outdoor play bases with a strong focus on inclusivity.

   iii.         The Council was actively implementing recommendations to upgrade existing play areas with modern accessible equipment and improved surface treatments where funding became available to ensure that new design standards across the city reflected the needs of all children including those with disabilities.

  iv.         Using City Council data to provide prioritize investment in neighbourhoods where current facilities did not adequately serve diverse community needs, this was evidenced in the most recent s106 funding allocation report in January 2025, the s106 report confirmed that the Council had successfully mobilised section 106 contributions to enhance and create inclusive play areas. This had enabled the Council to invest in new projects and refurbishments that meet modern accessibility and safety standards.

    v.         Both reports highlighted the importance of engaging with the community so the Council had conducted consultations with local residents, schools and user groups to gather feedback on existing facilities and future improvements and establish monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the investment translated into tangible benefits with regular reviews and adjustments based on community feedback.

  vi.         City Council focus remained on ensuring that every play area not only met current accessibility standards, but also served as a vibrant inclusive space that fostered community interaction and active play.

 vii.         Where funding permitted, the Council continued to work closely with all partners to refine City Council approach and accelerate delivery in areas where needs were greatest.

 

A full list of oral questions including those not asked during the meeting can be found in the Agenda, which is published on the meeting webpage Agenda for Council on Monday, 17th March, 2025, 6.30 pm - Cambridge Council.

Item deferred to 17 March 2025 council meeting.