Agenda and minutes

Under paragraph 4.2.1 of the Council Procedure Rules, the Chair used her discretion to alter the order of the agenda items.  However, for ease of the reader, these minutes will follow the order of the agenda.

Apologies were received from Councillors Herbert, Moghadas, Sinnott and Walsh.

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.

Councillor Smith declared a non-prejudicial interest as a member of the Cambridge Live Board.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 7 July 2016 were approved as a correct record subject to amending “Barnabas Road” to Barnwell Road on page 18 of the agenda, item 5(i).

Open Forum 07/07/16 Cllr Moghadas to follow up provision of access for residents only signage for Romsey Terrace

 

The County Council’s Head of Local infrastructure and Street Management had confirmed that the Council was no longer issuing signs.  A bid would need to be submitted to the Local Highway Improvement Scheme for funding.

 

Open Forum 07/07/16 Cllr Johnson to inform John Richards that residents still had concerns about the Riverside consultation process

 

Cllr Johnson reminded the Committee that he had met with John Richards on 2 September.  He added that the consultation document would be published soon.

 

Open Forum 07/07/16 Cllr Johnson to meet with Richard Newman to explore Christ Church’s plans for the development of Abbey Church

 

Cllr Johnson reported that he had not yet heard from Richard Newman.

 

Open Forum 07/07/16 Cllrs Roberts and Benstead to follow up lack of reply to Mr Harvey’s e-mail with the Head of the Environment Team

 

Cllr Benstead reported that Mr Harvey had not responded to the e-mail from the Head of the Environment Team.  Although the issue remained ongoing, the Cllr aspect of the action had been dealt with.

 

Open Forum 07/07/16 Sgt Norden to talk to the Safety Camera Partnership about cameras on various roads

 

It was noted that Sgt Norden had confirmed that there was no available redeployment of CCTV cameras at this point in time.  It was suggested that the Committee should receive more information at a future meeting.

 

Open Forum 07/07/16 Cllr Roberts to investigate possibility of additional litter and dog waste bins

 

It was noted that this item would be covered by the Environmental Reports –EAC.

 

The Chair informed the meeting that Councillor Herbert would provide written responses to his action.

 

After the Committee meeting it was noted that the Police had actions arising out of the 7/7/16 meeting:

i.     Sgt Norden to find out about possibilities for installing a camera at Elizabeth Way underpass

ii.    Sgt Norden to find out about possibilities for installing a camera at junction of Mill Road and Devonshire Road        

 

Sgt Ian Wood as East Area Committee’s Police representative provided the following update on the actions:

iii.   The Central Ticket Office had advised that they would not deploy their Safety Camera Vans for 20mph zones – as they should be ‘self-enforcing’.

iv.  Confirmed that there was a camera at the junction of Devonshire Road and Mill Road.  They also had a camera in the Elizabeth Way underpass.  The camera nearest Cherry Hinton Road was on Cherry Hinton High Street and had been down for a number of months.

Q1    Andy Harding: Raised the following:

 

(i)      drew attention to a number of issues raised about Petersfield and Bradmore Court by Jenny Kirner.

 

(ii)     concerns raised by the elderly about cyclists cycling on the footpath at Long Mansions and shouting abuse to pedestrians using the same footpath.  Mr Harding reported that he had been hit by cyclists four times.

 

(iii)    concerns about taxis blocking people getting in and out of Bradmore Street.

 

Answers

 

(i)      the Chair reported that the long list of issues raised by Ms Kirner would be passed on to Petersfield Ward Councillors to action.                    

Action: Local Members

 

(ii)     Cllr Blencowe drew attention to the comments about cycling on Palmers Walk raised as part of a survey of local community opinion about cycling on the path and acknowledged the need to educate cyclists to be aware of the issues raised.  Consultation was taking place about widening the path close to where Mr Harding lived which was adjacent to the pathway used by cyclists.  It was also noted that the current path could not easily accommodate disabled scooters.  He raised the need for all parties to be part of the discussions to widen the path.

 

Cllr Robertson reported that the Police had been asked to take action to address rogue cyclists on East Road and Hills Road.  The Chair reminded the meeting that cyclists and motorists obeying the Highway Code was an ongoing priority for the Committee.  Councillor Robertson also drew attention to the relationship with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and reported that there were regular liaison meetings where these issues could be raised.                                                                                                                 Action: Cllr Robertson

 

(iii)     Cllr Benstead reminded the Committee that Cambridge Hackney Carriages had the right to pick up anywhere on the street and from Council Taxi Ranks.  Private Hire Taxis could only pick up after being booked by telephone.  Cllrs Bird and Benstead, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Licensing Committee respectively, had regular meetings to consider issues with taxis.  He asked residents to take a photograph of a taxi parked illegally to enable the City Council to trace the taxi and censure the driver.  He would also ask Licensing Officers to patrol the area.                                                                                                                              Action: Cllr Benstead

 

One member of the public explained that he contacted the taxi company if a taxi was parked up and running its engine outside his house which usually resulted in the taxi moving on.  Cllr Roberts reported that the City Council was trying to encourage the taxi trade to switch to electric and hybrid taxis with charging points provided in the City.

 

Q2    Margaret Cranmer raised concerns about Peak-time Congestion Control Points (PCCPs) claiming the scheme was undemocratic, untimely and disadvantageous to city residents.  She asked the Committee what it intended to do about it.

 

Cllr Baigent reported that he had attended some of the City Deal Executive Board meeting which was taking place at the same time as the East Area Committee.  He stressed that nothing had been decided.  There had been a consultation which had included as a suggestion PCCPs.  He informed the Committee that the consultation had received 9,000 responses which now needed to be analysed by the Executive Board and Assembly.  Although there had been no decision, it was important to note that any proposal would need to include provision for Blue Badge Holders, carers and access to GP and Veterinary Surgeries.  He stressed that proposals would only be introduced after a political decision had been taken.

 

Cllr Robertson added that Local Members had tried to make sure the views of local residents were known as part of the consultation and then listened and acted upon.  They would make clear to the City Deal those issues which were not acceptable.

 

Q3    Dr Timothy Grout queried how Cambridge City Council would spend up to £70m with up to 500 new council houses and with local Housing Associations as part of the proposed Cambridgeshire Devolution Deal.

 

In the absence of Cllr Herbert, Cllr Robertson explained that £70m would be allocated to Cambridge City with £100m being allocated to the rest of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.  He reported that the detailed plans were not yet available.  However, he acknowledged that Housing Associations might have a role.  Dr Grout reported that £3billion was available nationally.  He urged the City Council and Housing Associations to submit a bid.  It was suggested that the Chair talk to Councillor Price, Executive Councillor for Housing, to find out what the Council was doing and report back.

Action: Cllr Smith

The Committee noted a delegated decision by the Streets and Open Spaces Development Manager in consultation with the Chair and Opposition Spokes of East Area Committee to agree the community facilities funding detailed in the project appraisal.

The Chair invited Steph Burwitz, Children and Young People’s Services Project Worker, and local children, to provide feedback on how to improve their area.  Steph Burwitz reported that the children had been asked to identify what they liked, what they didn’t like and how their area could be improved.  The following points were raised:

 

	Like	Dislike	Would Like To Change
Child 1	Parks and Clubs	Rubbish and glass in parks	Introduce a Secondary School and Holiday Clubs.
Child 2	Youth Club	Litter in Ditton Fields and Newmarket Road	Introduce a Secondary School, café and disco.
Child 3	Nothing	Litter everywhere
Child 4	Youth Club C3	Broken glass in parks	Weekend activities and school buses in Ditton Fields and Coleridge
Child 5	Clubs	Rubbish side of house	Introduce a Secondary School, writing or story clubs.
Child 6	Green spaces	House building and too busy	Remove broken glass and litter from parks
Child 7	Park	Random knocking on doors	Introduce a secondary school and more play equipment.

 

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

 

i       more bins were planned for Abbey Ward.  The children were invited to identify roads where they would like extra bins.  Sadly there were cases where young people drank in parks leaving broken glass behind.  The Council used its powers to force them to pick it up rather than just fine them.  The Chair reported that would liaise with officers about monitoring the area.                                                                  Action: Cllr Smith

 

ii.       there was a plan to build a Secondary School on the Cherry Hinton side of the airport but it was not clear how quickly this would happen.

 

iii.      the Council was trying to provide housing to meet the future needs of the City.

 

iv.      new play equipment was being installed in Dudley Road and Ditton Fields on the Recreation Ground. 

 

v.      invited the children to join Local Members and members of the community on a Ward Walk

The Committee welcomed Mark Boon, Vice-Chair, Anthony Delaney, Head of Finance, Cambridge Live, to present a report on Cambridge Live; where we are and what next for City events.  As part of what was proposed next for City events, a City Events Questionnaire was circulated at the meeting.

 

The following responses were given in response to the presentation:

 

i.      the subsidy from the City Council for 2015/16 was £507k which would reduce over five years to £231k.  Facilities were being put in place to make up the reduction.  It was approximately 10% of a business turnover of £5m.  It was acknowledged that Cambridge Live had been gifted the Corn Exchange but it also had to fund the running costs.

 

ii.       a new ticketing system would be in place from October.  The CRM function would enable Cambridge Live to gather useful demographic and price information.  This information would then be reported quarterly as part of Key Performance Indicators to the City Council.  It would enable Cambridge Live to reach out better to certain areas.  It was also agreed to ask the Head of Marketing to identify the number of people from outside of Cambridge using the facility.  The Committee was informed that Cambridge Live saw inclusivity as a powerful unifying force and an opportunity.

 

iii.    Cambridge Live was attempting to identify and measure more partnership and sponsorship in order to add value.  However, it was still very early days and this work would be progressed as part of its five year strategy.  It was expected that Cambridge Live would be able to report on this issue in 12-18 months.

 

iv.      Cambridge Live was working with other partners as part of City Roots, a series of events in February 2017 which embraced the spirit of the Folk Festival, strengthening the link between folk and roots music and the City of Cambridge.

 

v.     the Survey would help Cambridge Live identify possible future events including the possibility of a cultural festival.

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 East 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.  It also included key officer contacts for the reporting of waste and refuse and public realm issues.

 

The following were suggestions for Members on what action could be considered for priority within the East Area for the period September to November 2016:

 

Continuing Priorities:

 

1.   Enforcement patrols to tackle fly tipping at Riverside, Ditton Fields and St Matthews Street area.

 

2.   Early morning, daytime and weekend patrols for dog fouling at the following locations:

 

·        Ravensworth Gardens play areas

·        St Bedes Crescent

 

3.   Illegal camping barbeque and green space patrols at Stourbridge Common.

 

4.   Enforcement patrols to tackle environmental crime at Thorpe Way estate.

 

Amendment to continuing priorities: Add Mill Road Cemetery to item 2.

 

The Committee was informed that unused dog bins would be redistributed to Wards.  Local Members and the public were invite to submit suggestions to the Operations Manager – Community Engagement and Enforcement by the mid November.                                                                                Action: Local Members

 

The Committee considered a number of comments from the public as follows:

 

-              queried why the Council was introducing new public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) to tackle dog-related issues across the city.  It was noted that existing Dog Control Orders would automatically have become PSPOs in October 2017 due to changes in legislation.  However, the council was proposing to make this change early to allow for new areas requiring dog control to be considered and consulted on.  The consultation would start on 17 October and last for six weeks.  Details of the consultation would be made available to Vets, Dog Clubs etc. and circulated via social media.

 

The proposed locations for the new PSPO would vary from existing Dog Control Orders in several ways.  Dog exclusion areas would be introduced at fenced-in parks, the need for dogs to be kept on leads in some areas would be removed, while dogs on leads would be introduced in some areas where complaints have been received.  A map detailing new areas would be available on line.  The Chair and Vice-Chair emphasised the fact that it was not proposed to ban dogs from parks.  However, there might be a need to fence off a play area to prevent fouling or provide extra dog bins.

 

-        thanked Councillors who had come on a number of Ward Walks and for the actions which had followed.

 

-        expressed concern about fly tipping at the end of Tenison Road.  There was particular concern about the piling up of litter in the alleyway near the Mosque on Mawson Road.  Cllr Robertson hoped that Tenison Road would be open before Christmas which would enable the issue of litter bins to be addressed.  The Chair agreed to talk to Environmental Health Officers about the alley way which was believed to be privately owned.  It was also proposed to add a community pay back litter pick.                                 Action: Cllr Smith

 

The Committee discussed the following issues:

 

i.          the fact that there were still free dog chips available.

ii.         requested a further allocation of litter bins and dog waste bins to Abbey.  It was suggested that the allocation should reflect the views of local children raised at the meeting.

iii.       queried why St Bedes Crescent was included in the priorities as it was not in the East Area Committee patch.  It was noted that this priority reflected the links with “The Tins” and the boundary with Coleridge.  It was suggested that it should therefore be referred to as “The Snakey Path” area.

iv.       the need for a community clear out of pieces of furniture near the flats on Ekin Road.  A member of the public commented that such action had been taken by volunteers three months ago with the Council being informed.

v.        the need to clean litter and dog bins.

vi.       expressed thanks for keeping the Carter Bridge clean on the inside.  It was noted that the cost of cleaning the outside of the Bridge was approximately a quarter of a million pounds.  Cllr Roberts confirmed that the City Council cleaned the inside of the bridge four times a week.

vii.     asked whether the Council charged businesses for using the park in Coleridge for exercise boot camps on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  There was concern about large vehicles parking very close to the railings and blocking the pavement.  Cllr Roberts confirmed that there was a charge to people using city parks for commercial reasons.  The Chair agreed to look into the issue with Events and Open Spaces Team.                                                              Action: Cllr Smith

viii.    the possibility of community pay back being used to clear channels. Members were informed that there was a need to make sure the cars were not obstructing the channels preventing this work taking place.

ix.       queried the action being taken to remove graffiti on the subway roundabout.  It was noted that a quarter of the project had been completed.  However, the Abbey Road side would not be completed until after Christmas as the old surface had to be taken off using hand tools which took time.  The County Council had provided paint and any offensive graffiti was being removed as quickly as possible.  There had been some positive comments about the National Tyre side and consideration was being given to some public art projects.

x.        the need for a Ward walk in the areas identified by the young people.  The Operations Manager agreed to engage with the Children and Young People’s Services Project Worker to see if the young people were available.                                                                                            Action: Operations Manager

 

Following discussion, Members resolved (unanimously) to approve the continuation of the four previous priorities for action above, with the addition of Mill Road Cemetery and the renaming of St Bedes Crescent to “Snakey Path” for priority 2.