Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Richards, Hipkin and Harrison

The minutes of the meeting held on 5^th July 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Action Sheet was noted and an updated copy could be viewed at the following link under ‘Committee Action Sheet’:

https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/documents/b12262/Committee%20Action%20Sheet%2020th-Sep-2018%2019.00%20West%20Central%20Area%20Committee.pdf?T=9

Members of the public asked a number of questions, as set out below.

1.       A member of the public asked for an assurance that Christ’s Pieces would remain a protected green space and would not be absorbed into the bus depot.

Councillors agreed that the bus station needed rethinking but that expansion in it’s current location was not an option.

2.       A member of the public raised concerns that car charging points might add to pavement clutter.

          Councillor Gillespie stated that existing street furniture, such as street lighting columns, could be used as charging points.

3.       A member of the public raised the on-going issue of pavement parking and the resulting obstruction.

          Councillor Nethsingha confirmed that the County Council could only issue parking tickets where parking restrictions were already in place.

          Councillor Gillespie suggested that the Head of Legal could be consulted regarding any further actions that could be taken.

4.       Councillor Gillespie asked if the Highways Team could be invited to attend a West Central Committee to listen to our concerns about potential injuries to cyclists due to the poor condition of the road and pot holes.

          Councillor Nethsingha was happy to invite a representative to attend.

An update on the upcoming consultation for the Comberton Greenway project proposals.  

A Greenway is a high-quality, direct and continuous route connecting Cambridgeshire Villages with the city. Greenways offer an opportunity for environmental enhancements and aim to encourage people to use their cars less and travel more sustainably, using forms of transport such as walking and cycling.

Simon Manville (Greenways Project Manager)

The Committee received an oral update from Simon Manville, Greenway Project Manager who outlined the following:

      i.          12 routes under consideration to offer attractive Cycle, Walking and Equestrian pathways across the County.

    ii.          Discussed options relevant to the West Central area.

  iii.          Detailed the consultations to-date and planned for the future.

  iv.          Confirmed that feedback received so far had influenced the future options.

    v.          Results from recent consultations looking at Haslingfield and Barton were not yet available.

   vi.          All feedback was analysed and interpreted by external experts.

In response to questions from Councillors and members of the Public Simon Manville stated the following:

       i.          People would want to enter the City and providing non car routes was considered important.

     ii.          Cycle journeys were expected to increase and new fringe sites were delivered.

   iii.          Consultation so far had looked at routes into Cambridge and it was acknowledged that predicting onward movements would be problematic however some work is being conducted to analyse available origin and destination data and this will guide the alignment of routes.

   iv.          Discussions were on-going with all land owners regarding alternative routes that could be opened up; this included colleges.

    v.          Information regarding preferred North/South routes had not yet been mapped.

   vi.          Existing data does not make distinctions between modes of non-car movements.

 vii.          Detailed costings were currently under construction and more accurate estimates would be available in the spring.

viii.          Formal consultations regarding the Comberton area would begin on the 29th October and be open for at least 6 weeks.

   ix.          It was anticipated that any future changes to a Car Free City Centre would be complimentary to the Greenways Projects.

    x.          The County Council Cycling Team had been fully involved with the projects.

   xi.          Sensitive areas such as Lammas Land and Coe Fen are being given careful consideration and will form part of a separate consultation in due course.

 xii.          Some smaller projects had already been funded and the larger spends would be considered by the Executive Board on 2019.

xiii.          The consultation material was designed by the County Council Communications Team and had been well received. Direct feedback on leaflets and so on would be welcomed.

The Committee discussed a number of concerns regarding the Sounding Group as follows:

       i.          The Sounding Board had emerged as a powerful voice in the consultation process but their membership and qualification criterion was unclear.

     ii.          There was no transparency in the recruitment process.

   iii.          Questions were raised regarding financial interests of some members of the Sounding Board.

   iv.          It was suggested that the Local Liaison Forums, who had been doing a good job, had side-lined in favour of the Sounding Board.

    v.          The Sounding Board received confidential information and this excluded the wider community from making contributions to the debate.

Councillor Nethsingha undertook to write to the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership (GCP) to express the concerns of the West Central Committee regarding role and selection process the Sounding Boards.

The Chief Executive of the GCP would be invited to attend a future West Central Committee.

The Committee received a report from the Enforcement Officer.

The following were suggestions for Members on what action could be considered for priority within the West Area for the upcoming period.

Continuing priorities

New priorities

In response to Members’ questions the Enforcement Officer said the following:

       i.          Undertook to investigate why no action had followed when graffiti had been reported via the on-line portal.

     ii.          Agreed that needle finds continued to be a problem. It was suggested that more accurate reporting would lead to more efficient removal of any finds.

   iii.          ‘A’ boards were an on-going problem. Enforcement staff would address these matters but had limited resources and had to prioritise the most pressing demands when managing the City Centre.

   iv.          Stated that it was difficult to address the problem of dog fouling in public places as officers needed to see incident happen in order to take action.

A member of the public reported difficulties with the on-line process for reporting derelict bicycles. The Enforcement Officer undertook to look into this.

Councillor Scutt stated that prompt action had been taken to address bins left in the street. However, the bins in question belonged to properties in an adjoining street and the letters had caused considerable distress. The Enforcement Officer confirmed that the letters were based on the civil law and were written in formal terms. It was not possible to send softer initial letters.

A member of the public asked if a review could be carried out regarding the number of and location of bins in Garret hostel Lane. There appeared to unwanted and underused bins in the area. The Enforcement Officers undertook to look into this.

Members discussed the proposed priorities. Abandoned vehicles were not seen as a high priority for limited resources.

Following discussion, Members unanimously resolved to approve priorities for action as below (amended in bold/struck through text):

       i.          Enforcement and City Ranger patrols in the City Centre

·       Also to include A Boards

     ii.          Dog warden patrols

   iii.          Enforcement patrols to address abandoned vehicles in the Castle Ward.