Agenda and minutes

The Chair gave permission for Mr Antony Carpen to film the meeting. It was confirmed that the filming would cease if members of the public or speakers expressed a desire not to be filmed.

 

Members of the public were given an opportunity to state if they did not want to be filmed.

 

Apologies were received from City Councillors Benstead and Robertson and County Councillors Kavanagh and Walsh.

No interests were declared.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2014.

 

(To follow)

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2014 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

• Cambridge Airport Consultative Committee

• East Barnwell Community Centre 

 

Resolved that Councillor Hart be the representative for the Cambridge Airport Consultative Committee for the ensuing year.

 

Resolved that Councillor Roberts be the representative for the East Barnwell Community Centre for the ensuing year.

 

Visit to Coleridge College

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that Councillors had visited the College in April for a Q&A session. A follow up visit was being planned for September.

 

Police item - breakdown of violent crime figures

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that this issue would be raised at the Area Committee Chairs meeting scheduled for 26 August.

 

20mph – breakdown of Wadloes Road consultation results

 

This has now been actioned.

 

Hogging Path – Abbey Pool area

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that this would form part of ongoing discussions around Coldham’s Common. The East Area Committee would however monitor the situation.

 

Councillor Johnson confirmed that Council officers had assured him that the play equipment would be installed by the start of September.

 

Tree root damage at Abbey Pool car park

 

Councillor Johnson confirmed that Council officers were still awaiting completion of the Engineers Report. Until this was completed it would be difficult to make an informed decision.

 

Closure of Methodist Church in Sturton Street

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that the local Residents Group had been invited to present a business case to the Church Committee but were unfortunately unsuccessful.

 

Letter to be sent regarding HGV speeding in Ditton Lane

 

Councillor Roberts confirmed that that this would be undertaken shortly.

 

Contribution from North Area for River Bridge

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that whilst North Area Committee had agreed a contribution at their last meeting he was unsure of the figure. The issue would be discussed in more detail at the Area Committee Chairs Meeting on 26 August.

 

1.    Ms Jean Glasberg raised concern about infill developments within the City. Whilst the new Local Plan specifically identified new development areas outside of the City in order to preserve the historic core of Cambridge, many city centre applications were still being approved. Overcrowding and overlooking was a big problem for many residents and was not likely to improve.

 

2.    Mr Roy Stamp raised concern about the Romsey Terrace development and the developer’s proposal for a short two week consultation over the summer period. Many residents would be on holiday during this period and would lose their opportunity to respond.

 

3.    Ms Elizabeth Jackson raised concern about the Romsey Terrace development and asked for confirmation that Councillors and officers would undertake a site visit before determining the application.

 

The Principal Planning Officer responded that the Romsey Terrace development was a current application and full details were available on Public Access. It was also noted that Planning Officers undertook site visits on every application.

 

The City Council were unable to refuse to accept an application for outline permission due to insufficient detail. Government rules had changed so that less detail was required and it would be down to the individual committee to determine the application on the detail provided.

 

Councillor Blencowe responded that the new Local Plan was still subject to a public examination prior to it being finally adopted. Current applications would therefore be judged against the 2006 Local Plan.

 

There was a requirement for a statutory three week consultation period for each application but there was not a requirement to restart this every time a minor amendment was made to the application. On major amendments it would however be advisable for the period to restart.

 

Councillor Blencowe confirmed that he conducted site visits to every application that he would be determining and that Councillors were encouraged to do so as good practice.

 

Councillors spoke in support of ensuring an extension to the proposed consultation period, especially as it was over a holiday period.

 

The Principal Planning Officer noted these comments and agreed to feed them back to the Case Officer and the applicant.

 

4.     Mr Antony Carpen asked if consideration could be given to having notice boards at the Coleridge Splash Pad, Cambridge Railway Station and Balzanos/The Rock on Cherry Hinton Road. Head Teachers of local schools had suggested that their pupils could help manage them.

 

Councillor Herbert confirmed that funding may be available and suggested that Mr Carpen contact the Executive Councillor for City Centre and Public Places to discuss in more detail.

 

Councillor Roberts responded that the Executive Councillor was currently looking at installing maps on all open spaces. It was suggested that notice boards could fit in with this project.

 

Councillor Smart highlighted the importance of identifying someone in the local community to update and look after the notice boards.

 

5.    Mr Antony Carpen expressed concern about commuter parking in Davy Road and the danger caused to children using the Splash Pad.

 

Councillor Smart responded that the issue had been looked at for many years and a working group had recommended that single yellow lines be installed in order to manage the problem. The County Council were however unwilling to undertake this work.

 

Councillor Owers expressed his frustration at the County Council’s lack of action on this issue.

 

Councillor Bourke responded that, whilst the issues were well known, there was a cost to the County Council to administer and enforce single yellow lines. There was no money available at the County Council to rectify this issue.

 

Councillor Moghadas reinforced the safety issue caused by the commuter parking and asked that a solution be found.

 

6.    Ms Fiona Neilson spoke on behalf of the Sturton Street ‘Save Our Space’ group and asked if the Council would be willing to purchase the Methodist Church and lease it back to local residents as a self-funded venue.

 

Councillor Owers, in his capacity as Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources, responded that he had asked the Head of Property Services to make some initial enquiries. Whilst no commitment could be agreed at this stage it was suggested that a meeting be arranged with the ‘Save Our Space’ group to discuss the options in more detail.

 

Councillor Sinnott spoke in support of the proposal.

 

7.    Mr Martin Lucus-Smith raised concern about the new cycle racks in Mill Road which blocked the pavement.

 

Mr Frank Gawthrop confirmed that he had spoken with the City Council’s Cycling Officer who had claimed that Ward Councillors had been fully consulted on the location of the racks. She was however unable to locate the correspondence. Mr Gawthrop confirmed that discussions were ongoing with the officer concerned and that he would share this correspondence with Councillors.

 

Councillor Blencowe agreed to liaise with the Cycling Officer and provide an update at a future meeting.

 

Councillor Sinnott suggested that cycle racks that were parallel to the pavement, such as those just off Victoria Road, would be a better option.

 

8.    Mr Martin Lucus-Smith requested that a full consultation be undertaken on any changes to the public realm as a result of Mickey Flynns planning application.

 

Councillor Blencowe responded that any realignment of the highway would have to form part of the planning application and would therefore be fully consulted on. He added that County Highways would probably have to carry out a separate consultation if a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) was required for any such realignment.

 

9.    Mr Antony Carpen raised concern that the ‘Shape Your Place’ website was not compatible with many video and audio programmes. It was also noted that the County Council had no funding to provide more posters and local residents were not allowed to print their own.

 

Councillor Bourke agreed to meet with Mr Carpen to discuss the issues in more detail.

 

10.                    Mr Antony Carpen highlighted the ‘Be the Change – Cambridge’ event taking place on 13 September at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). Discussions had taken place with the City Council but Mr Carpen asked if the County Council would like to be involved. 

 

Councillor Bourke confirmed that he would be happy to attend on behalf of the County Council.  

 

 

 

 

Subject to the agreement of Full Council on 24 July 2014 – a discussion by Committee Members on the frequency of Area Committee meetings post October 2014.

 

Current schedule (Sept 2014 – May 2015) attached.

 

 

Resolved (by 9 votes to 1)

 

       i.          To remove the following East Area Committees from the meeting calendar:

 

-        4 December 2014

-        19 February 2015

 

       ii          To retain the option of holding additional meetings if required throughout the 2014/15 municipal year.

 

 

The schedule for the rest of the 2014/15 municipal year would therefore be:

 

11 September 2014

23 October 2014

8 January 2015

9 April 2015

 

 

 

Councillor Hart left the meeting at this point.

The Committee received an application for full planning permission.

 

The application sought approval for the conversion and extension of existing frontage building from office to 1no. flat and 1 studio flat; and erection of 4 studio flats to the rear (following demolition of existing outbuildings), together with associated infrastructure.

 

The Committee:

 

Due to the omission from the amendment sheet of the transcript of the appeal decision notice relating to a materially relevant previous application on this site – the Committee:

 

Resolved (unanimously) to defer the item.

 

The Chair apologised to those members of the public who had attended the meeting for this item.  

The Committee received an application for full planning permission.

 

The application sought approval for a two storey rear extension, loft conversion, single storey side extension, and conversion/extension of garage into a studio

 

The Committee received a representation from Ms Hart.

 

The representation covered the following issues:

 

       i.          Lived at number 99 Perne Road and had raised the original concern over unauthorised development.

     ii.          The pitch of the roof had caused flooding to the fence line and could cause damp to her property.

   iii.          Planning regulations were in place for a good reason and should be adhered to.

 

Mr Hall spoke on behalf of the applicant in support of the application.

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved (by 5 votes to 2) 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.

 

 

The Committee received an application for full planning permission.

 

The application sought approval for change of use from C4 to no.7 bed Sui-Generis HMO including single storey side and rear extension (amendment to planning permission 12/0657/FUL

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved (by 7 votes to 0) 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.

 

 

The Committee received a request from the Head of Planning Services to review the resolution to refuse planning application 14/0452/FUL – 80 Ainsworth Street for a two storey rear extension.

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved (by 5 votes to 0) 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.

 

 

The Committee received an Enforcement Report regarding unauthorised development at 24 Chalmers Road, Cambridge (Enforcement reference: CE/5922)

 

The Committee received a representation from the home owner Mr William Kaminski.

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved (by 8 votes to 0):  

 

       i.          To authorise an enforcement notice under S172 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) in respect of the Material Change of Use, specifying the steps to comply and the period for compliance set out in paragraphs 5.2 to 5.3, for the reasons contained in paragraph 5.4 of the officer’s report.

 

     ii.          To authorise the Head of Planning (after consultation with the Head of Legal Services) to draft and issue the enforcement notice.

 

   iii.          To delegate authority to the Head of Planning (after consultation with the Head of Legal Services) to exercise the Council’s powers to take further action in the event of non-compliance with the enforcement notice.