Agenda and minutes

 

Apologies were received from Councillors Benstead, Marchant-Daisley, Walsh and Whitehead.

 

Name	Item	Interest
Herbert	13/66/EAC	Personal: Lives near to the application site and has had discussions with the applicant and the objectors.

 

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 25 July 2013.

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 July 2013 were approved and signed as a correct record.

      i.          Open Forum Question - Cycle Parking: Further update to be requested from officers.

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that further discussions had been held with the City Council’s Cycling and Walking Officer. It was noted that an audit of cycle parking provision at community and civic building across the City had been undertaken by the Cambridge Cycling Campaign and the Cycling and Walking Officer was progressing the issue with these venues. However funding for additional cycle racks at venues owned by third parties may continue to be a problem.

 

    ii.          Open Forum Question – Local Plan: request for a hard copy of the document.

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that Mr Harvey had now received a hard copy of the Local Plan and communication was on-going regarding his specific queries on the Plan.

 

 iii.          Open Forum question – Riverside Moorings: Further update to be requested from officers.

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that the issue would be discussed in full at the Environmental Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 8 October 5.30pm.

To note decisions taken by the Area Committee since the last meeting.

 

The decision was noted.

1.    Mr Baigent congratulated the Council on the work undertaken to improve pavements in Romsey Ward. Support was expressed for the proposed S106 project to create a town square by Mill Road Co-op and St Phillip’s Church.  The following inclusions to the project were suggested:

 

-        Raised planting beds

-        Public notice boards

-        Benches

-        Public art

 

Support was also expressed for improvements at the Mill Road end of Cavendish Road (play equipment, benches, and raised planting beds) and improvements at the Great Eastern Street play area.

 

Councillor Moghadas expressed support for each of these proposals and highlighted the wealth of public support for the town square proposal.

 

Councillor Saunders confirmed that he had held discussions with the Police regarding the street drinking and anti-social behaviour (ASB) taking place in the Great Eastern Street play area. Patrols of the area had been increased and some of those causing the problems had been removed. A number of people in breach of conditions had also been imprisoned.

 

Councillor Smart expressed support for the town square proposal but emphasised the need for further discussions with the Co-op who owned part of the site.

 

Mr Baigent confirmed that he had spoken to the Manager of the Co-op store and he was keen to work with local residents and Ward Councillors on the proposal.

 

Councillor Kavanagh also expressed support for the proposal but highlighted the need to retain adequate cycle parking at the Co-op store.

 

2.    Mr Bond provided an update on the improvement works at Cherry Trees Day Centre. He confirmed that additional insulation had been installed in the roof of the main hall and work was nearly complete. The project in total had cost £300,000 with £80,000 being provided by the East Area Committee. Thanks were expressed to the Committee for their support of the project.

 

It was noted that further improvements at the Centre were being looked into, and Mr Bond would welcome any comments on the cycle parking provision at the venue.

 

Councillor Brown responded that the Cambridge Cycling Campaign had identified that cycle racks at the venue may be too close to the building.

 

Mr Bond agreed to discuss this further with Council Officers as any further work progressed at the Centre.

 

3.    Mr Bond thanked the East Area Committee for their support of the Stourbridge Common bio-diversity project. Members were invited to the Friends of Stourbridge Common Annual General Meeting taking place on 13 September.

 

Councillor Johnson thanked Mr Bond and emphasised the importance of the project on Stourbridge Common.

 

4.    Mr Carpen noted the challenge faced by the Council to engage with young people and reach out to a wider audience. He had visited a number of poorly attended events recently and felt there was a need for a more coordinated community development strategy. 

 

Mr Carpen also confirmed that, as part of the Citizenship Programme, he had visited local schools and colleges to discuss democratic engagement.

 

Councillor Hart confirmed that she was involved with Abbey and Coleridge Action for Youth and invited Mr Carpen to feed into the group.

 

Councillor Owers confirmed that he had attended a meeting with Community Development Officers and local residents and a ‘Community Day’ had been planned at St Thomas’ Hall on Saturday 5 October. The Children and Young People's Participation Service (ChYpPS) would also be in attendance.

 

Councillor Brown confirmed that, through her role as Executive Councillor for Community Wellbeing, she had recently approved funding for the creation of a new community room at Rock Road Library.

 

 

Report attached separately

The Committee received a report from the Environmental Projects Manager regarding the Environmental Improvement Programme.

 

Individual Members spoke in support of their preferred schemes.

 

In response to Member’s questions the Environmental Projects Manager confirmed the following:

 

       i.          Acknowledged Member’s concern that it could look like the Council had simply given up on verge parking prohibition. However, it was noted that, as verge parking prohibition had yet to be successfully implemented in the City, alternative measures were being considered to tackle the issue. Officers would be working closely with Ward Councillors in the development of these alternative measures.

     ii.          The Environmental Improvement Programme could not fund a Resident’s Parking Scheme. This would need to be set up by the County Council and be funded by the local residents. 

   iii.          All projects would be subject to positive consultation with local residents and final approval by Ward Councillors.

   iv.          Confirmed that the benches on the corner of Coleridge Road and Mill Road (Project No 14) had already been replaced, and therefore could be removed from the list for consideration.

    v.          Confirmed that the Mill Road phone box removal project (No 16) was in Petersfield Ward (not Romsey as indicated in the officer’s report).

   vi.          Suggested that the Mill Road Co-op forecourt improvement project (No 11) be funded from Public Realm Developer Contributions.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

       i.          Reallocate the £8,000 currently allocated to the Silverwood Close/Whitehill Estate Verge Parking Prohibition scheme.

 

     ii.          Reallocate the £7,500 currently allocated to the Brooks Road/Perne Road Verge Parking Prohibition.

                                     

   iii.          Allocate an additional £5,000 to the existing approved Catharine Street traffic calming project.

 

   iv.          Allocate an additional £5,000 to the existing approved scheme to plant street trees on Greville Road and Chalmers Road.

 

    v.          Allocate funding of £1400 to the highway schemes in appendix A that have secured Local Highway Improvement (LHI) funding from the County Council

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

   vi.          Allocate funding to the following proposed new projects as listed in Appendix A of the Officer’s report:

 

-        No 1: Budleigh Close/Burnside (£4,000) – Landscape Improvements

 

-        No 4: Ditton Lane: Handrail (£3,000) - Guardrail to be installed along the steep section of footway in order to improve pedestrian safety, particularly for the elderly in adverse weather conditions.

 

-        No 5: Birdwood Road (between Perne Road and Chalmers Road): Verge Protection (£15,000) - Badly damaged verges to be reinforced and reseeded.

 

-        No 8: Peverel Road (£13,000) - Installation of knee-high rail fencing on two selected grass verges, in order to prevent parking on green spaces.

 

-        No 13: Ross Street: Tree Planting (£15,000) - Construction of footway build-outs at least three locations in order to provide suitable planting sites.

 

 

Resolved (by 6 votes to 3) to:

 

 vii.          Allocate funding to the following proposed new project as listed in Appendix A of the Officer’s report:

 

-        No 16: Mill Road phone box removal (£5,000) - Removal of two existing BT phone boxes in the footway between Willis Road and Guest Road. Principle agreed with BT.

 

Resolved (by 9 votes to 0) to:

 

viii.          Allocate funding to the following proposed new project as listed in Appendix A of the Officer’s report:

 

-        No 18: Mill Road Footway Grants (£5,300) - A grants programme to provide 50% funding to shopkeepers to support improvements to their privately owned public frontage areas.

 

With an agreement that any underspend on the other projects be used on Mill Road Footway Grants project, up to the £10,000 total identified as the estimated budget.

 

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

   ix.          Approve the allocated projects for implementation, subject to positive consultation and final approval by local Ward Councillors.

 

    x.          Note the progress of existing schemes listed in Appendix C of the Officer’s report.

 

 

 

Report attached separately

The Committee received a report from the Urban Growth Project Manager regarding the 2nd round short-listing for developer contributions.

 

Mr Burnett from Lifecraft spoke in support of the project to improve the Bath House play area (No 22).

 

Mr Jenkins spoke in support of the project for the ‘Entertainment Hub’ for Mill Road Depot (No 7).

 

Mr Brigham spoke in support of the project to create a town square by Mill Road Co-op and St Philip’s Church (No 35).

 

Individual Members spoke in support of their preferred projects.

 

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

       i.          To short-list the following project ideas to consider in more detail in the follow-up report in November 2013:

 

Community Facilities

 

-        No 2: Develop East Barnwell Community Centre, possibly with a community café [Abbey]

 

-        No 6: Expand meeting space and improve access at St Thomas’ Hall, Ancaster Way [Coleridge]

 

-        No 8: Extension to Ross Street Community Centre [Romsey]

 

Open Spaces

 

-        No 11: Outdoor gym/trim trail by Howard Road/Dudley Road play area [Abbey] – packaged together with No 21 – see below

 

-        No 12: New open space at St Martin's Church by opening garden for community use [Coleridge]

 

Play Areas

 

-        No 20: Improve Ditton Fields play area for toddlers/pre-schoolers [Abbey]

 

-        No 21: Improve Howard Road/Dudley Road play area [Abbey] – packaged together with No 11 – see above

 

-        No 22: Improve Bath House play area [Petersfield]

 

-        No 24: Improve Coldham’s Lane play area [Romsey]

 

Public Art and Public Realm

 

-        No 31: Landscaping around the front of the Bath House [Petersfield ward]

 

-        No 35: Create town square (quality paving/seating/public art) by Mill Road Co-op/St Philip's Church [Romsey]

 

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

     ii.          To prioritise the following project ideas now, subject to project appraisal:

 

Open Spaces

 

-        No 15: Update the seat and provide paving at Mill Road end of Cavendish Road [Romsey]:

 

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

   iii.          That no project ideas on the East Area list be referred to a scrutiny committee (as a strategic project idea) or to another area committee (possibly for joint funding).

 

   iv.          To note other comments and suggestions (not eligible for developer contributions funding) made as part of the recent consultation.

 

 

The Committee received an application for full planning permission.

 

The application sought approval for the construction of a 2-storey Passivhaus apartment block comprising two 2-bed apartments with secure entrance lobby, separate 2-car garage with space for bins and bikes and associated external works.

 

Mr Grieve (Applicant) addressed the Committee in support of the application.

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved (unanimously) to grant the application for planning permission in accordance with the officer recommendation, for the reasons set out in the officer report, and subject to the conditions recommended by the officers, and subject to the additional condition as follows:

 

Condition 12 - Prior to commencement and in accordance with BS5837 2012, a phased Arboricultural Method Statement (AMS) and Tree Protection Plan (TPP) shall be submitted to the local planning authority for its written approval, before any equipment, machinery or materials are brought onto the site for the purpose of development (including demolition). In a logical sequence the AMS and TPP will consider all phases of construction in relation to the potential impact on trees and detail the specification and position of protection barriers and ground protection and all measures to be taken for the protection of any trees from damage during the course of any activity related to the development, including demolition, storage of materials, ground works, installation of services, erection of scaffolding and landscaping. The approved AMS and TPP will be implemented throughout the development and the agreed means of protection shall be retained on site until all equipment, and surplus materials have been removed from the site. Nothing shall be stored or placed in any area protected in accordance with this condition, and the ground levels within those areas shall not be altered nor shall any excavation be made without the prior written approval of the local planning authority.

 

Reason: To protect the visual amenity of the area and to ensure the retention of trees on site.  (Cambridge Local Plan 2006 policies 3/4, 3/11, 3.12 and 4/4).

 

Unitlateral Undertaking complete.

 

 

 

The Committee received an application for full planning permission.

 

The application sought approval for the erection of three maisonettes and roof garden above the rear of the restaurant at 44 Mill Road.

 

The Committee received a representation in objection to the application from Mr Jamie Giles (on behalf of Mr Turney).

 

The representation covered the following issues:

 

(i)             Concerns regarding the security of the gate and the backyard, and the management of keys for this area.

(ii)            Concerns regarding possible reoccurrence of anti-social behaviour if the backyard area is not secure.

(iii)          Concerns regarding access and parking issues during the construction phase.

 

Mr Tristan Rees Roberts (Applicants architect) addressed the Committee in support of the application.

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved (unanimously) to grant the application for planning permission in accordance with the officer recommendation, for the reasons set out in the officer report, and subject to the conditions recommended by the officers, and subject to the additional condition and informative as follows:

 

14. Before the development hereby permitted is commenced details of the following matters shall be submitted to and approved by the local planning authority in writing.

 

I)                  contractors access arrangements for vehicles, plant and personnel,

 

ii)                 contractors site storage area/compound,

 

iii)                the means of moving, storing and stacking all building materials, plant and equipment around and adjacent to the site,

 

iv)                the arrangements for parking of contractors vehicles and contractors personnel vehicles.

 

Thereafter the development shall be undertaken in accordance with the approved details.

 

Reason: To protect the amenity of the adjoining properties during the construction period. (Cambridge Local Plan 2006 policy 4/13)

 

New development can sometimes cause inconvenience, disturbance and disruption to local residents, businesses and passers by. As a result the City Council runs a Considerate Contractor Scheme aimed at promoting high standards of care during construction. The City Council encourages the developer of the site, through its building contractor, to join the scheme and agree to comply with the model Code of Good Practice, in the interests of good neighbourliness. Information about the scheme can be obtained from The Considerate Contractor Project Officer in the Planning Department (Tel: 01223 457121).

 

Also subject to completion of s106 by 11 October 2013.