Issue - meetings

Question 1

 

We are the Save Ekin Road community group, and we are writing to you regarding Cambridge City Council's plans for Ekin Road. We are a group of council tenants and freehold residents living on Ekin Road, and we seek an update from you regarding the Ekin Road project.

 

We note that council tenants within the redevelopment zone received a letter last month from the Council, outlining that the Council expects all such residents to have moved out by December 2025, and that legal proceedings will commence against them if they have not moved by then. This was the first these residents had heard about such a deadline, and it was communicated to them through a complicated legal notice.

 

We also note that in Agenda Item 9 of this meeting, in Section 4.6.4, only 47 council-owned households of the 96 within the redevelopment zone have been relocated in the 9 months since a decision was taken to redevelop Ekin Road. This is fewer than 50%, and there remains only 9 months for the council to relocate over 50% of those households. These will undoubtedly be those who have the most complicated needs, i.e., are currently in houses rather than flats, and/or who need the largest homes.

 

Many of our members report to us that they are constantly looking at, and bidding on, homes on home-link, and that most weeks there are no suitable homes available. Those that do bid have, by and large, been unsuccessful as they are in need of 3 or 4 bedroom houses.

 

Thus, we would like to ask you the following questions today:

 

Question 1:

How does the Council plan to finish relocating the remaining 49 council-owned households on Ekin Road within the 9 months remaining before its self-imposed deadline of December 2025?

 

Question 2:

In light of the impending deadline of December 2025 for council tenants to move out, does the Council still plan to honour its commitment to tenants to provide them with “like for like” housing?

 

Question 3:

For those council tenants who are actively seeking homes on Home-Link, what will happen to them if they have been unable to successfully bid on a home by the December 2025 deadline?

 

Kind regards,

Save Ekin Road

 

The Executive Councillor for Housing responded:

i.    The Council had relocated 47 out of 82 tenanted households, which was the position expected at the midway point in the relocation process. The Council would continue to offer support to the remaining 35 tenanted households and 11 property owners on the estate. Residents were encouraged to contact the Council should they wish to discuss their circumstances in more detail or if they had any questions regarding the relocation process.

ii.  The Council relocated tenants on a 'like for like' basis unless the needs of the household changed.

iii. The Council would work closely with all tenants throughout this year to ensure that they could move to a home of their choosing.  If a move had not been possible, the Council would make up to two direct offers of a suitable alternative property, the second of which would be reserved for the household.

 

Supplementary question:

        i.       Asked whether the Council would comply with its promise to residents to offer ‘like for like’ accommodation. Believed the promise had been made from at least June 2022.

      ii.        Expressed concern that the Council was not complying with its promise in the documentation that residents had received as it advised that residents needed to move by December 2025 if they had not moved before then.

    iii.        Asked if residents were moved in December 2025, would accommodation be ‘like for like’ or classed as ‘suitable’ accommodation.

    iv.       Believed ‘like for like' accommodation was receiving the same quality of home in roughly the same area, with roughly the same amount of garden.

      v.       Commented that some residents at Ekin Road were paying a price for this redevelopment as they did not want to leave and had no choice. 

    vi.       Expressed concern regarding the legal letter which had been received by residents, which advised that they needed to move out of their property by December 2025, which might not be ‘like for like’ but ‘as the needs of the resident required’. 

 

The Assistant Director (Development) responded:

        i.       Advised that tenants would be relocated to ‘like for like’ accommodation unless the needs of the household had changed.

      ii.        Agreed that a formal legal letter had been sent to residents; it was necessary as part of the legal process.

 

The Executive Councillor for Housing responded:

        i.       Tenants had been advised that they would be offered ‘like for like’ accommodation. Also confirmed that residents could move back to Ekin Road once the redevelopment had been completed.

      ii.        Encouraged tenants to contact Officers if they had any concerns and said they could also contact her with any concerns.

 

Question 2. The Chair exercised discretion to accept this public question despite it being received after the deadline had passed.

 

I wish to ask a question in relation to agenda Item 9 para 4.6.8 Framework for Change for North Cambridge.

 

The crucial importance to the local community of Arbury Town Centre and Arbury Court shops, including the library and Post Office, has been recognised in the Draft North Cambridge Design Code.

 

As a local resident I was very disturbed to hear from some shopkeepers that their leases will not be renewed beyond 2030 because it is proposed to demolish the shopping centre and flats for redevelopment. It appears that they have been offered no further information or mitigation to support the viability of their businesses leading up to and beyond that date. I am very concerned that we will lose these family-run shops as well as Budgens and the Post Office and library.

 

1.    To what extent is any of the above true?

2.    When will councillors and/or officers be engaging directly with the shopkeepers?

3.    Will you be offering them incentives to renew their leases or incentives to trade through the rebuild period so that they can occupy any new premises?

 

The Executive Councillor for Housing responded:

i.    There was a decision at Housing Scrutiny Committee (HSC) in June 2024 that negotiations on commercial leases at Arbury Court would take account of the need to consider future options for a District Centre. There was a decision at HSC in September 2024 to develop a Framework for Change for North Cambridge. This report noted the importance of Arbury Court as a centre for the area. Future options were being considered through discussions with the commercial tenants. Engagement with the commercial tenants would be an important part of the way forward.

ii.  Discussions had taken place with individual commercial leaseholders whose leases were coming to an end. It was proposed to start community consultations on a broader basis from May and, as the September report said, the commercial centre and the commercial leaseholders would have a central role in this. The Council would be offering meetings to all commercial tenants.  No decision had been taken beyond creating flexibility from 2030 and any decisions would follow on from the consultation.

iii. All the negotiations had led to new leases that extended to 2030. Understood the concerns about the impact on the centre. There was a timetable for the consultation process to end in January 2026. If there was a decision to redevelop, the Council was committed to keeping the shops open during the development period.

 

Supplementary question:

        i.       Noted the Executive Councillor had referred to engaging with commercial tenants but commented that when he had spoken with two commercial tenants, they advised that their leases had been extended but they were ‘in the dark’ about the redevelopment proposals. 

      ii.        Asked if Officers could produce a simple one-page route map through the process for the shop keepers so that they could understand what would happen and when.  

 

The Assistant Director Development responded:

        i.       Advised that the Council would publish the key dates for the proposed consultation process and that these were already publicly available in the HSC September report.

      ii.        Each commercial tenant would be invited to a meeting with Officers in the next couple of weeks so that they could discuss any concerns they had.

    iii.        A consultation with residents would take place in May-June 2025.