Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Ashwood, Dryden and Page-Croft.

 

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 Monitoring Officer should be sought before the meeting.

No declarations were made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3rd October 2016 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

Committee Action Sheet from last meeting attached.

ACTION	LEAD OFFFICER / MEMBER	TIMESCALE	PROGRESS
Public Forum   Committee to send request to Licencing Committee requesting information on whether conditions can be included on Taxi Licences to compel drivers to turn off their engines when waiting in taxi ranks.	Cllr Pippas	As soon as possible   16/01/17	Request emailed 04/10/16   Cllr Pippas to follow up with Licensing Committee at its next meeting on 30/01/17
Public Forum   County Councillor Taylor to take up the issue of uneven pavements with County Council officers.	Cllr Taylor	16/01/17	Cllr Taylor walked Wulfstan Way with officers; repairs due to be done in December
SAC Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods   Police Sargent undertook to take back request for enforcement action to deter parking around schools by children’s parents.	Lynda Kilkelly	16/01/17	Reply received from police detailing action – see full response below*
SAC Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods   Chief Inspector undertook to report back at the next meeting within the update report on progress on the ANPR cameras in the Traffic Regulation Order area on Addenbrooke’s Road.	Lynda Kilkelly	16/01/17	Update on progress received from police – see full response below**
SAC Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods   Chief Inspector undertook to report back on issues raised around enforcement of 20 mph limits in roads in Cambridge.	Lynda Kilkelly	16/01/17	Report on issues around enforcement of 20mph limits received from police – see full response below***
Environmental Report   Wendy Young undertook to take away points regarding making the point of contact to enquire about abandoned bicycles simpler and easier to access.	Wendy Young	16/01/17         24/04/17	No update available yet; the matter will be pursued and brought back to SAC.
Environmental Report    Wendy Young agreed to concentrate efforts in the next few months to reduce the smoking nuisance from students in the roads around Long Road sixth Form college.		7/7/16	Covered in Environmental Reports at agenda item 9
Environmental Report On the same issue Councillor Taylor undertook to liaise with senior staff at the College to contact Wendy Young to help co-ordinate action.	Cllr Taylor	16/01/17             24/04/17	Letter sent to Principal; matters thought to have improved but residents report further problems.   Cllr Taylor will follow up again

 

 

*Parking around schools – response from police:

 

Since the last Area committee meeting, we have developed our schools engagement strategy and now have dedicated points of contact at each school across the City. The assigned Officers have been tasked to liaise with Staff, Pupils and Parents alike in a bid to address crime, ASB and road safety issues. Officers have conducted ad-hoc patrols of various schools across the South of the City, but have been instructed to give words of advice to Parents rather than focus on enforcement at this stage. We have also flagged this issue for the attention of the Council Parking Enforcement Team. Once we have a clear understanding of what is happening and where, we have been signposting parents and Staff to the Councils’ Local Highway Initiative scheme and School Travel Plans, in a bid to look at the long-term solutions to this issue (see http://www4.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/info/20081/roads_and_pathways/136/road_safety/2 ).

 

**ANPR cameras in the Traffic Regulation Order area on Addenbrooke’s Road – response from police:

 

On Tuesday 15th November 2016, CI Ormerod chaired a multi-agency meeting at Addenbrookes to discuss the re-introduction of ANPR enforcement on the site. The meeting was attended by representatives from Addenbrookes Site Management, Security and Media teams – along with the Constabulary’s Traffic Management Officer, Roads Policing Officers and the CTC (Cameras, Tickets & Collisions) lead. A memorandum of understanding has been drafted, with the legacy issues and current proposals also explored. At present, Addenbrookes remain the lead agency in this venture – and we are working through the relevant legislation and practical applications of the proposal, to ensure that a fair and considered approach is adopted. Representatives are due to report back shortly.

We have now confirmed that the issues that had prevented enforcement of the Addenbrookes Traffic Regulation Order have now been addressed, and once the Memorandum of Understanding is finalised and agreed, enforcement can recommence.

This enforcement will be preceded by a communications campaign to ensure that road users are fully aware of the restrictions in place regarding the Addenbrookes Road, and that drivers have the opportunity to consider alternative routes should this impact on them.

It is anticipated that proposals for the communications campaign and the subsequent re-enforcement of the Addenbrookes will be commenced in January 2017.

 

***Issues around enforcement of 20mph limits – response from police

 

This topic has been consistently raised at area committee meetings across the City for the past couple of years, so we are keen to ensure that our message is clear and consistent. In line with ACPO guidance, we do not routinely enforce 20mph zones as they were intended to be ‘self-enforcing’ by the local authorities through the use of traffic-calming measures. That said, we will review issues on an evidenced case-by-case basis (usually through the use of traffic monitoring equipment) and will take action if there is a legitimate risk of harm.

 

ACPO Guidelines on 20 MPH Limits state:

 

“Speed limits are only one element of speed management and local speed limits should not be set in isolation. They should be part of a package with other measures to manage speeds which include engineering, visible interventions and landscaping standards that respect the needs of all road users and raise the driver’s awareness of their environment, together with education, driver information, training and publicity. Deliberate high harm offenders will always be targeted and prosecuted.

 

Simply altering a sign without making it clear to all drivers who may use the road that the limit is changing, will risk high levels of offending with may unaware of their behaviour who may well have complied if it look and felt like the limit.

 

This will simply leave the Police with a large-scale enforcement issue, which cannot be contained. National guidance to local authorities on installing adequately engineered 20mph limits/zones is unambiguous in not supporting unclear or inappropriate 20mph limit/zone or an increased demand on police forces to carry out routine enforcement where there is, in the opinion of the Police, insufficient interventions to make the limit obvious to visiting motorists and achieve a high level of self-enforcement.”

 

Commenting on the police updates, one member expressed disappointment at the lack of enforcement action; residents flagged up inconsiderate parking by parents as a recurring problem.

 

Children have come together to voice their views on how to make Cambridge a better place to live.  They will be feeding back their thoughts.

The Chair invited Steph Burwitz, City Council Engagement Officer, and four local young people from Trumpington Youth Forum to voice their views on how to make Cambridge a better place to live.  The following points were raised:

 

Child A: Liked the many clubs and activities for young people in the Trumpington area run by the Children and Young People’s Worker.  Speeding cars round the Trumpington Meadow estate were a problem; especially around Huntsman Road.  There was a lack of clear signs and pavements were narrow; this was quite scary and made it feel unsafe.

 

Child B: Loved that there were so many nature reserves round the area, and so many things to do.  It felt as if there were inadequate special needs services in school, and not enough environmental awareness, for example of the effects of plastic packaging and littering on the ecosystem.  A festival in Trumpington would be very good, similar to that in Chesterton, but particularly for children and young people.

 

Child C: Loved all the clubs and activities in the Trumpington area. There was an open alleyway, from near Fawcett School to near Trumpington Community College, which many people went down by bike and on foot after dark, but there were no lights and the path was uneven, so it would be helpful to improve this area.  Trampolines should be added to part of the Byron Square gardens; these would be unique, and encourage people to meet each other.

 

Child D: Liked that there were lots of things to do and lots of outside spaces, but disliked when young people got themselves in trouble.  There weren’t enough lights at night-time and in the evenings.  It would be great fun to have a trampoline at the park.

 

Child D thanked the Committee for listening to them, and for taking the time to hear their views.

 

A group of Scouts was also present, and were invited to put any questions.

 

Scout A: Asked what was going to be done about people putting rubbish into the pools at Cherry Hinton Hall this summer.

 

The Chair and members of the Committee thanked the young people for their contributions.  The Committee responded as follows:

 

Councillor O’Connell undertook to look into Child C’s point about alleyways.

Action: Cllr O’Connell

 

Councillor Avery explained that new developments were designed to have roads that naturally restricted speed to 20mph, with twists and turns and narrow pavements, and uncertainty in places as to whether car or pedestrian had priority, but this way of reducing speed was not always successful.  Because many roads on new estates had not then been adopted, they had not been included in the city consultation on the 20mph scheme, and did not have the appropriate street furniture or signs; Councillors had some catching up to do to get the signs up soon.  He thanked Child A for the good observation.

 

Councillor Ashton said that the problem at Cherry Hinton Hall had been that rubbish bins had not been fastened down securely, and it had been easy to get the bags out of them to throw into the pool.  The bins had now been secured, and it had been made harder to remove the bags.  Safety concerns and the risk of vandalism meant that it could be difficult to install trampolines on recreation grounds – trampolines were usually placed on a special bouncy surface, and were supervised when in use.  He welcomed the idea, and thought it might be possible to look into using vandal-proof materials.

 

Councillor Avery explained that the open spaces in Trumpington had been included as part of the large-scale development the area had accepted.  However, some of the older play areas such as Byron Square were in need of updating; Local Members should look into updating the play equipment in Byron Square, with or without a trampoline.

Action: Cllrs Adey, Avery & O’Connell

 

Councillor Avery invited Child B to send him an email about the idea of a festival in Trumpington.  Councillor Moore explained how to report things to the Council or a Councillor to get them fixed, by finding Councillors’ names and contact details at www.cambridge.gov.uk.

 

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

Sam Davies (Chair, Queen Edith’s Community Forum) asked Councillors when and how they had found out that Hills Road was to be closed to all traffic for five months.

 

Members’ answers included that they had found out from the newspaper, from the questioner recently, from the Leader of the City Council that day, from the County Council project officer that day, and from the question that had just been asked.  Members expressed great indignation at the lack of communication from the County Council. 

 

It was resolved unanimously that the Chairman should write to the County Council on behalf of the Area Committee to complain in the strongest possible terms that the lack of communication and the blatant disregard for local residents and Councillors were totally unacceptable.

Action: Cllr Pippas

 

Discussing the proposed closure, members:

 

i.     reported that a request had been made for the justification for closing the road completely for five months, and for evidence of where it was predicted that traffic would go instead

ii.    expressed concern at possible overrun, in view of experience with other projects in the area

iii.   objected that there appeared to have been a lack of proper project management, and no attempt to explore the option of closing one side of the road at a time, or of switching between sides so that the predominant direction was always open morning and evening

iv.  reported that there were drop-in exhibitions on 18 January at the Addenbrooke's concourse and on 26 January at St John’s Church [http://www.gccitydeal.co.uk/citydeal/info/2/transport/1/transport_projects_and_consultations/4]

v.   suggested that officers should have attended the SAC to explain the plan to close the road, and that they should be asked to attend the next meeting of SAC – the Hills Road closure and plans for work at the Fendon Road/Queen Edith’s Way roundabout and the  Robin Hood junction meant that all three south area wards would be affected

Action: Joel Carré

vi.  it was important to encourage all road users to use cars more responsibly, and travel by other means whenever possible, and to reduce one’s own car use

 

Points raised by members of the public included:

i.     this was phase 2 of a City Deal project, and there had been concerns about design, landscaping and safety aspects of phase 1

ii.    redevelopment of the Queen Edith’s Way/Fendon Road roundabout presumably could not start until Hills Road was completed; any delay on Hills Road would affect other work

iii.   closing the road would cause even greater delays to bus journeys between Addenbrooke's and the city centre than those currently being experienced

iv.  how would those living on the closed stretch of road be affected, particularly elderly residents who needed to travel by car 

v.   even closing only one side of the road at a time would cause serious difficulty and delay to road users and residents.

 

Alex Smith raised the issue of persistent parking on unclaimed land between the pavement and the shops in Wulfstan Way; she had received no response from her Councillor or the Council to requests for action such as white or double yellow lines.

 

Councillor Moore said that he, with the assistance of the police, had persuaded one person to stop parking there, and was keeping a log of another car’s parking.  Other members said that the installation of double yellow lines involved a lengthy process, and advised calling the parking enforcement team if a car was illegally parked, or calling the police if a parked car was causing an obstruction.

 

Valerie expressed concerns about four issues:

i.     the possible environmental impact of the Addenbrooke's railway station on the green belt or the Nine Wells nature reserve

ii.   the danger to the many children who climbed up and down the bank at the Long Road bridge over the guided busway

iii.  the increase in rubbish, vandalism and drug-taking in the allotment and orchard area; help, dog waste bins and litter bins were all needed

iv.  the extreme ugliness of the new-build three-storey housing on Foster Road, and the visual impact on those living nearby.

 

Members responded to each point:

i.     Councillor O’Connell welcomed Valerie’s support for the railway station, and reported that feasibility studies were being conducted; if only two or three platforms were to be built, it seemed likely that there would be no need to take any green land.

ii.    Councillor O’Connell had been advised that Long Road bridge was too steep for steps because of the danger of people – not just children – falling and being injured.  She undertook to see if there had been any change in this view.  Councillor Adey also undertook to speak to the County Council about the bridge.

Action: Cllrs Adey & O’Connell

iii.   Councillor Adey, an allotment holder himself, shared Valerie’s concern.  He was due to spend a day with the Enforcement Team and would look at the issue then.  Valerie was encouraged to report drug hotspots to the Operations Manager – Community Engagement and Enforcement.

Action: Cllr Adey

iv.  Sympathy was expressed on the planning point.

 

The Chairman apologised to two people for the lack of time to consider their questions, and offered to send them a written reply if required.

 

The Area Committee noted the project update on Cambridge South Station.  Councillor Adey suggested that John Laing be invited to a future meeting of EAC; this was agreed. Councillor Crawford reported that David Plank of the Trumpington Residents’ Association was keen to have the results of the feasibility study as soon as possible, because residents were concerned about the possible environmental impact on Hobson’s Park. 

Action: Joel Carré

 

The Area Committee noted the update report on the council new build development at 9-28 Anstey Way.

 

The Committee received a report from the Operations Manager – Community Engagement and Enforcement. It 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 quarter, including the requested priority targets, and reported back on the recommended issues and associated actions to be targeted in the upcoming period. It also included key officer contacts for the reporting of waste and refuse and public realm issues.

 

Members noted that it was intended to align the priority setting period with area Committee dates in future.  The following were suggestions for Members on what action could be considered for priority within the South Area for the period December 2016 to February 2017:

 

The Committee discussed the following issues:

 

i.     Coldham’s Lane: a local resident had voluntarily undertaken some cleaning in Coldham’s Lane, but was now back at work and unable to continue this.

The Operations Manager undertook to request a deep cleanse in Coldham’s Lane, and to ensure that the work the volunteer had been undertaking would continue to be done.

Action: Wendy Young

 

ii.    Anstey Way: particularly the area round the shops could benefit from targeted work; there were 20 – 30 black bins straying onto the pavement, and an increase in levels of flytipping.

The Operations Manager suggested that Anstey Way be added to priority 6 for action.  The leaving of bins on pavements had recently been decriminalised, but she would ask the Waste Team to work with those leaving bins out in order to improve matters.

Action: Wendy Young

 

iii.   Hanover and Princess Court: could the parts of Hanover and Princess Court that were not the responsibility of housing be added to the list of areas to be kept under review.

 

iv.  Wulfstan Way, near the shops: there was a path parallel to the road just before the GP surgery that needed to be trimmed back as the overgrowing vegetation was a trip hazard for elderly and disabled residents.  Also, people were slipping on leafmould caught in the gutters near the sheltered housing.

The Operations Manager undertook to take these points back to the Operations Team.

Action: Wendy Young

 

 

v.   Litter picks: would it be possible for local members to be informed of routine litter picks, so that they could know when the streets were due to be swept.

The Operations Manager undertook to consult the Senior Operations Manager about Councillor Taylor’s request, and report back to the Committee on the data available.  Councillor Taylor asked to receive the reply sooner than the next SAC in April.

Action: Wendy Young

 

vi.  The Orchard, Byron Square, and the Foster Road path were all suffering from increased numbers of people using them and dropping litter, which volunteers were clearing up every day.

The Operations Manager said that the City Ranger Ed Nugent did a lot of work in the Orchard.  He reported to the Operations Manager, so local groups should report any feedback to him, and he would pass it on.

 

vii. Colville Road recycling area: the number of recycling bins had been reduced, increasing the amount of space available where people could just dump other rubbish. It would help prevent this if the area of open space near the recycling bins could be reduced.

 

The Chairman congratulated the Operations Manager and her team on the good work that they were doing for Cambridge.  He reported that, in response to a survey, more dog bins had been requested in the Gunhild play area, and near the GP surgery in Wulfstan Way.

 

In considering the SAC’s priorities for targeted action, it was suggested that Anstey Way, Coldhams Lane, Fendon Close, Fendon Road, Hannover Court, Princes Court and Wulfstan Way be added to the list in Priority 6 for enforcement patrols to deal with litter, abandoned vehicles, and flytipping.

 

It was resolved unanimously to adopt the following priorities:

 

Number	Priority details
1.	Early morning, daytime and weekend patrols for dog fouling on Bliss Way/Tenby Close, Nightingale Avenue Recreation Ground, Cherry Hinton Recreation Ground and Cherry Hinton Hall.
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.
3.	Enforcement to work with the County Council, against utilities and companies that damage the verge on Mowbray and Fendon Road.
4.	Enforcement action against nuisance vehicles being repaired at Arran Close and vehicles for sale at Queens Meadow and Fulbourn Road layby.
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.
6.	Enforcement patrols to deal with litter, abandoned vehicles and fly tipping in and around Anstey Way, Coldhams Lane, Fendon Close, Fendon Road, Hannover Court, Princes Court, Teversham Drift and Wulfstan Way.

 

The Committee is asked to agree the SAC dates for 2017/18:

·       5 June 2017

·       2 October 2017

·       15 December 2017

·       23 April 2018

The following dates were agreed unanimously:

 

·        5 June 2017

·        2 October 2017

·        15 January 2018

·        23 April 2018.

 

It was suggested that, because of the population growth in Trumpington Meadows and the southern fringes, the possibility of SAC meeting in venues other than Cherry Hinton and the northern end of Hills Road be investigated, to make it easier for residents in the southern end of the South area to attend meetings.

 

 

The meeting ended at 9.00pm