Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Ashwood and Dryden.

 

Members of the committee are asked to declare any interests in the items on the agenda. In the case of any doubt, the advice of the Head of Legal should be sought before the meeting.

No declarations were made.

 

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2015.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2015 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair subject to the following amendment on P21 15/121/SACS106 Priority-Setting: South Area Project Proposals. Councillor Ashton asked for it to be minuted that the Church Community Facilities Cherry Hinton Road/Hartington Grove lies in the East Area, and at a time when South Area 106 funds are unable to meet their own Area requests, it was difficult to see why SAC should match East funding of £40,000.

 

If funding was given the principle will have been set, so he hoped that in future consideration will also be given to funding from the central pot and transferred from other Wards to enable Community projects to be funded.

Matters arising from the 14 December 2015 meeting were reviewed under the relevant 14 December agenda headings.

 

ACTION	LEAD OFFICER/MEMBER	TIMESCALE	PROGRESS
Open Forum   Joel Carre to respond to Mr Woodburn’s question about when the 20 mph limit will come into effect on Cherry Hinton Road (11/12/15 was the expected implementation date).	Joel Carre (Head of Streets and Open Spaces)	Feedback at next SAC 29/02/16	Response sent by John Richards (Senior Engineer - Development Unit)
Open Forum   Councillor McPherson to write to Andy Campbell (Stagecoach) and Heidi Allen MP to make them aware of issues raised at South Area Committee regarding bus stops and services. Also to invite them to a future meeting.	Councillor McPherson	Feedback at next SAC 29/02/16	Letters sent. Stagecoach representative expected to attend 29/02/16
County Council - Street Lighting Proposal   Brid Cooney to respond to SAC questions after the meeting.	Brid Cooney (Communications and Engagement Officer)	Feedback at next SAC 29/02/16	Responses circulated 17/12/15
Environmental Data Reports   Wendy Young to check if action can be taken regarding the following: ·        Painting no cycling signs on the pavement (to check with County Council). ·        Clearing of leaf mould, litter and general tidy up in Teversham Drift. ·        Investigate the status of the vehicle (cannot guarantee removal) of motor home parked in Church End since early 2015.	Wendy Young (Operations Manager)	Feedback at next SAC 29/02/16	1. The County council have advised the following in regards to painting no cycle signs: Each site would be treated on merit. However all additional works would have a cost to install and maintain as such unless signage that is legally required is not there we will not place more signage/ Road markings. It would be impossible to sign all footways that do not allow cycling it is far more practical to sign those which it is allowed, which is what we do. It is a police issue to enforce illegal use by cyclists on footways not signed for shared use. 2. The South city ranger had actioned the points for cleansing at Teversham Drift 3. The vehicle on Church End had been identified as not abandoned, but enforcement officers continue to monitor its status.

 

Refer to the ‘Information for the Public’ section for rules on speaking.

1.    Mr Carpen referred to 2014/15 when SAC tried to get young people engaged in democracy by contacting local schools. He asked if any action had resulted from this.

 

Councillor Taylor responded that she and Councillor Moore had visited local schools with the Police to discuss road safety. Councillor Moore added that both he and Councillor Taylor found that some pupils were disinterested, but more were willing to engage.

 

Councillor Ashton said the idea to engage with young people was raised when he was SAC Chair. He repeatedly wrote to various head teachers but received no response. Councillors were willing to engage if schools wished to invite them.

 

SAC felt that young people were interested in the democratic process, but a suitable platform needed to be found how to do so. Political speed dating has worked successfully in the past.

 

Mr Carpen said there needed to be long term improvement in how public body institutions engaged the public, by moving towards automatic engagement instead of one-off events in their calendars.

 

ACTION: Councillor McPherson (as Committee Chair) to write to local schools and colleges to:

·       Invite students to attend future South Area Committee meetings.

·       State that all South Area Committee Councillors have expressed a willingness to speak at local schools and colleges if formally invited to attend on specific times and dates.

 

ACTION: Specifically write to Principals of Long Road College, Hills Road College and Netherhall School; to ask how public bodies such as the City and County Councils can engage with young people through regular events.

 

2.    Mr Carpen said that a lack of cycle parking provision for Hills Road students led them to leave bikes outside the local Co-op which caused congestion on the Cherry Hinton / Hills Road junction. As the number of students was expected to rise, the situation could get worse in future.

 

ACTION: Councillor McPherson to write to Hills Road College to ask how the South Area Committee and the County Council can support the college to provide appropriate cycle parking facilities following concerns raised at the 29/02/16 committee.

 

ACTION: Councillor McPherson (supported by Councillor Moore) to liaise with Mike Davies (County Council) and East Area Committee Chair to seek bike parking options and funding available.

 

3.    A member of the public raised concern about traffic flow and parking issues caused by commuters, specifically around sixth form colleges.

 

Councillor Taylor responded that the County Council were looking at installing resident only parking near colleges. Officers were working up options for residents to decide on.

 

4.    Mr Woodburn raised the following points:

·       Queried when the 20 mph limit would come into effect on Cherry Hinton Road. He had raised this point at the 14 December 2015 meeting.

·       Speeding was an issue for Cherry Hinton Road, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.

·       Huntingdon had pressed for a 20 mph limit, so could Cambridge City?

·       There was a patchwork of 20 and 30 mph limits across the city.

 

Councillor Moore said that councillors had agreed to impose a 20 mph limit across the city, but needed resources to implement it. He added there were many people who ignored the speed limit. This could be addressed through community speed watch. Faulty speed cameras should be reported to the police.

 

Councillor Pippas said he anticipated a written answer to his oral question at Council (not asked in meeting due to lack of time) asking the Leader when the 20 mph limit would be in place, specifically in Queen Ediths. Councillor Pippas expected all speed cameras to be recalibrated to 20 mph once the limit had been established in all city areas and the County Council had amended signs.

 

Councillor Avery suggested raising the issue of 20 mph at the next SAC as a police priority for discussion.

 

ACTION POINT: Head of Streets and Open Spaces to re-issue the response to Mr Woodburn’s question (December 2015) about when the 20 mph limit would come into effect on Cherry Hinton Road.

 

5.    A member of the public re-iterated Councillor Avery’s suggestion to raise the issue of 20 mph at the next SAC as a police priority for discussion.

 

6.    The Operations Manager (Community Engagement and Enforcement) introduced Edward Nugent as the new South Area Ranger. Mr Nugent outlined his duties and invited residents to engage with him on ward walk abouts. Rangers would undertake work that the City Council was responsible for, and report County Council responsibilities back to them.

Stagecoach East representative invited to respond to resident's questions regarding bus stops and services in response to issues raised at South Area Committee 14 December 2015.

The Committee received a report from Andy Campbell (Managing Director, Stagecoach East) in response to issues raised at South Area Committee 14 December 2015 regarding bus stops and services. Mr Campbell was in attendance tonight to listen then respond to questions from SAC Members and the public.

 

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

       i.          Purchasing tickets on buses turned drivers into conductors and caused congestion/delays.

     ii.          There was a general issue of vehicles running engines when stationery which caused pollution.

   iii.          Councillors continued to receive reports of unprofessional language from stagecoach staff towards visually impaired people who inadvertently flagged down the wrong bus. Guide dogs were occasionally refused admittance too, but this was more of an issue with taxis.

 

Mr Campbell said the following in response to questions from SAC Members and the public:

       i.          Contactless/swipe card were being trialled for 2 years. 35% of weekly tickets were purchased on-line. Tickets purchase through mobiles were also being trialled.

     ii.          A majority of buses were set up to switch off after 5 minutes to avoid running engines when stationary and so cause pollution. A bigger cause of pollution was congestion which obstructed buses trying to get from the city centre to city outskirts. Traffic lights and cycle lanes also hindered movement.

   iii.          Drivers were required to wear uniforms and were disciplined if they did not.

   iv.          Stagecoach worked with the City Council to produce information such as guides for Ambassadors and tourists. Stagecoach staff were also happy to give information upon request.

    v.          Buses were required to list final destinations, so it would not be possible to add the outside pool to the Citi 3 route description as it was not the final destination (albeit very close).

   vi.          New buses cost £150,000. As such Stagecoach would order large ones to get maximum return on investment. Mr Campbell acknowledged that buses were only likely to be full morning and evening.

 vii.          90% of staff did a good job, but there were some occasions when drivers did not give visually impaired people the service they deserved. Passengers were asked to report unprofessional drivers to Mr Campbell.

viii.          The busway was a safe route to travel on and fewer accidents occurred on it than others eg A14. The incident on the busway was being investigated at the time of SAC 29 February 2016. The track and infrastructure was not at fault, the driver had been dismissed. The driver had the right of 2 further appeals, Mr Campbell being the second level.

   ix.          Temporary stops could be added where required. It was the responsibility of the County Council to request stops be added to new developments.

    x.          Changes were made to the Citi 3 route due to the 20 mph limit. This required a review of the service frequency and route. Stagecoach looked at what was practicable then amended routes to mitigate issues such as delays due to school parking.

   xi.          Leeds University looked at the behaviour of buses running in convoy. If a bus ran behind schedule, others would catch it up when stopping for passengers. The Control Room monitored progress and reallocated routes. A bus had to complete its route before being reallocated.

 xii.          The Citi 17 serviced the Beehive Centre on a 2 hourly basis. It used to do so on an hourly basis before the City Council subsidy was cut. The Citi 17 service was not covering its costs so would be reviewed in future as required by Central Government.

xiii.          Floating bus stops were impractical and worsened the situation on Hills Road.

xiv.          The £1 parking fee and Park&Ride sites led to a reduction in visitors due to the complicated payment process.

xv.          Stagecoach would now have to pay departure charges to the County Council, having been told 2 years ago there would be no charge. Services would be less profitable as a result.

xvi.          Stagecoach had suggested paying a fee to the County Council instead of making people pay the £1 parking fee to simplify the process.

xvii.          Out of hours buses (ie early/late) have been tried at different sites but there were not enough passengers to be viable at present. Stagecoach liaised with Addenbrooke’s on a regular basis to adjust services/times.

xviii.          Developers tried to engage with Stagecoach during the planning stage to review bus services that could be provided to new developments as part of the planning process. Stagecoach were willing to work with anyone (eg City Deal, City and County Councils) to help facilitate this. Stagecoach usually found out about schemes once plans were drawn up ie late in the planning process, when it may be difficult to mitigate the impact on services.

The Committee received a report from the Operations Manager – Community Engagement and Enforcement.

 

The report outlined an overview of City Council Refuse and Environment and Streets and Open Spaces service activity relating to the geographical area served by the South Area Committee.  The report identified the reactive and proactive service actions undertaken in the previous year, including the requested priority targets, and reported back on the recommended issues and associated actions to be targeted in the following quarter.  It also included key officer contacts for the reporting of waste and refuse and public realm issues.

 

The Committee discussed the following issues:

     i.        Bins were needed on routes around Addenbrooke’s hospital to prevent mess.

    ii.        Time credits were now available from the council where organisations could give credit/reward for individuals/groups and organisations recognition for volunteer work. There was no cost to the City Council who could act as a single point of contact for the public volunteering with all different council teams. .

 

In response to Members’ questions the Operations Manager – Community Engagement and Enforcement said the following:

     i.        Issues from ward walk abouts would be signposted to key City and County Council as the public did not necessarily differentiate between the two.

    ii.        The motor home parked in Church End since early 2015 was being investigated.

   iii.        Mowbray and Hulatt Road pathways were being cleaned by City Ranger Ed Nugent.

  iv.        No response has been received from the County Council regarding the proposal to paint no cycling signs on the pavement and this would be followed up officers.

 

ACTION: Officers to follow up and report back in April.

 

     i.        Cambridge University were responsible for passageways around Addenbrooke’s and their maintenance. Officers would monitor passageway cleanliness and report issues to the University.

 

Following discussion, Members unanimously resolved to approve priorities for action as set out below:

 

Recommendation 1

Early morning, daytime and weekend patrols for dog fouling on Bliss Way/Tenby Close, Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground, and Cherry Hinton Hall.

 

Recommendation 2

Enforcement targeted approach to areas where Addenbrookes site joins residential areas such as Hills Road and Red Cross Lane and to work with Addenbrookes to work towards the bus station area being cleaned up.

 

Recommendation 3

 

Enforcement to work with the County Council, against utilities and companies that damage the verge on Mowbray and Fendon Road.

 

Recommendation 4

 

Enforcement action against nuisance vehicles being repaired at Arran Close.

 

Recommendation 5

 

Enforcement joint working and patrols to deal with littering from students of Long Road Sixth Form in the areas of Long Road and Sedley Taylor Road.

 

Recommendation 6

 

Clearing of leaf mould, litter and general tidy up in Teversham Drift and investigation of food and waste being littered in the area.