Agenda and minutes

Election of Chair and Vice Chair – EAC

The Committee Manager took the chair whilst the East Area Committee elected a Chair. 

Councillor Massey proposed, and Councillor Moore seconded, the nomination of Councillor Barnett as Chair.

Resolved unanimously that Councillor Barnett be Chair for the ensuing year.

Councillor Barnett assumed the chair from the Committee Manager at this point.

Councillor Massey proposed, and Councillor Davey seconded, the nomination of Councillor Moore as Vice-Chair.

Resolved unanimously that Councillor Moore be Vice-Chair for the ensuing year.

Welcome, Introduction and Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Councillors Smith and Herbert.

No declarations were received.

Councillor Taylor advised that under item 19/10/EAC it was not Huntingdonshire District Council but South Cambridgeshire District Council.

The minutes of the meeting held on 04 April 2019 were then signed as a correct record by the Chair.

The Action Sheet was noted and an updated copy could be viewed at the following link under ‘Committee Action Sheet’:

https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=147&MId=3710&Ver=4

To welcome a group of young people to present a petition concerning the resurfacing of the Tennis Court on the corner of Newmarket and Barnwell Road.

The Chair welcomed three young people to present a petition concerning the resurfacing of the Tennis Court on the corner of Newmarket and Barnwell Road.

The petitioner stated the people of Abbey deserved a safe tennis court to play on. The tennis court on the corner of Newmarket Road and Barnwell Road was poorly maintained, with loose gravel and broken glass, making the court very unsafe to play on. There were holes in the fencing and the lines have faded, making it nearly impossible to safely play a full game on the court.

Abbey was a great place to live, people are very sociable, but the lack of a decent tennis court was very unfair, compared to other parts of the city. People from Abbey had to travel across the city or to surrounding villages to play tennis, which was very hard if you don’t have a car, and hard on the environment if you do.

In response Councillor Johnson agreed that the court was approaching a point where the court would become unplayable and had spoken with the relevant officers on this matter. It had been agreed that the court would be resurfaced with new line markings and the fence repaired.  This work would be carried out after the school summer holidays with the Court closed in September and October. In the meantime Officers would ensure that the court was usable and safe in time for the school holidays and would carry out weekly checks during this period.

Councillor Johnson explained that the Court fence was vandalised on a regular basis and asked the public to report any criminal activity to the Police on 101.

Councillor Kavanagh advised there were two tennis courts at Coleridge Recreation Ground, the surface of the courts were of a good standard but one better than the other. He requested that Officers undertook strict quality control when the resurfacing work was being undertaken on the Newmarket and Barnwell Road Court. Also it would be prudent to have some signage up to encourage people to respect others and have a maximum playing time of 1 hour if people were waiting so the court was accessible to everyone.

Councillor Johnson responded he would take the comments back to the Executive Councillor for Communities, Councillor Smith and thanked the petitioners for bringing the issue to the members of the East Area Committee (ACTION).

Before Sergeant Stevenson introduced the report regarding policing and safer neighbourhood trends he announced that as from July 1, Detective Sergeant Kiri Mazur had taken over as East Area Sergeant.

The report outlined actions taken since the last reporting period as written by Sergeant Stevenson. 

The current emerging issues/neighbourhood trends for each ward were also highlighted (see report for full details). Previous issue of focus and engagement activity noted in the report were:

i.    Dealing of drugs, drug use and the associated anti-social behaviour

In response to questions and comments from the Committee and members of the public Sergeant Stevenson and Detective Sergeant Mazur said the following:

     i.        Cycle theft made up a third of crime in Cambridge.

    ii.        Following reports of a stolen cycle being sold on facebook; the Police would need to identify the individual by requesting information from the social media company which was difficult and a long process and likely to be unsuccessful due to American laws. 

   iii.        Would advise the member of the public to contact the seller of the stolen cycle and to arrange to meet. The Police would go with the member of the public if the resource was available at that time.

  iv.        Cycle owners should use the National Crime Property Register or Immobilise who would send a Security Marking Kit to etch on the cycle.

   v.        Cyclists should know the make and model of their bike and make a note of the frame number. Have proof of ownership.

  vi.        Stolen cycles that were distinctive and unusual (such as in colour) had a better chance of recovery.

 vii.        Cycle parking at the train station was run by a private company. It would be the company’s decision to determine if the CCTV should be monitored full time as a deterrent to cycle theft.

viii.        Would request that an Environmental Visual Assessment (EVA) be carried out at the station’s cycle park.

  ix.        Would speak with the Community Safety Officer regarding the survey which had been carried out to change the anti-social behaviour on Petersfield Green as had not seen a copy.

   x.        Could not comment on the issues after Strawberry Fair as was not on shift that day.

  xi.        The Community Safety Officer regularly meets with colleges and language schools to highlight a number of issues and talk to the students, emphasising a number of differences in legislation between the UK and their country of residence. If students were witnessed breaking the law by the public this should be reported.

 xii.        With regards to enforcement on parking around Cambridge Leisure Park this had to be witnessed by the Police in order for action to be taken. If a vehicle had illegally parked, this could be ticketed by the relevant authority.

xiii.        Advised it was best to send all photos of illegal or inconsiderate parking to the Camera, Tickets and Collision Unit at Stevenage rather than posting on the Police’s twitter or facebook page. Posting photos on social media could rarely be used as evidence.

xiv.        Believed that a large proportion of street based violence highlighted in the report was linked to drug related activities. 

xv.        In response to the ‘Hippy Crack Canisters’ found in Ravensworth Gardens these  did not come under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The canisters once emptied did not pose any bio-hazards or health risk. The Police were aware of the anti-social behaviour in the area and action would be taken.

xvi.        Noted the comments regarding anti-social behaviour on the junction of Suez and Hobart Road, Rustat Road including Carter Bridge.

Councillor Massey informed the Committee the feedback she had received regarding Strawberry Fair was that there was a large number of people who had visited from out of the City using the train stations. At one point late at night the station was swamped with people trying to get back home and there simply was not enough transport police to cope with this unexpected issue while dealing with a separate incident. It was reported that drugs inside the Fair was a concern and underage drinking on the way to the Fair.

Officers were working with Strawberry Fair representatives and Police on next year’s operational fair to ensure these issues did not occur the following year.

Following a further discussion on Strawberry Fair Councillor Whitehead recalled that the licensing regulations stated the Fair should be advertised locally only; viewed as local event. Councillor Massey agreed to look into this further (ACTION).

MOP: The City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council are committed to go zero carbon by 2050. This is not soon enough. Did all Councillors present support the notion of being zero carbon by 2025.

Cambridge was a rich city and should set the best example. For instance there could be a push for an entrance to the Cambridge Station from the other side of the tracks and the introduction of a policy of electric vehicles only in the City.

Councillor Moore agreed that action was needed but was not sure it was possible to be zero carbon by 2025. The suggestion of the entrance to the train station and electric cars were not in the power of the City Council but the suggestion would be shared with the relevant agencies.

The City Council did support a clean air zone in the city but there were a number of factors which needed to be addressed in the first instance.

The City Council were also exploring the possibility of a Cambridgeshire Climate Commission with external agencies while working towards reducing their own emissions.

MOP: The City Council’s Planning Committee refused approval for retrospective planning permission for raised ground levels in rear garden and rear boundary fence in excess of permitted development parameters at 107 Agrile Street.

No action has been taken by Enforcement Officers and since the application trees and bushes have been planted further impacting the light on neighbouring properties.  What could the Committee do to resolve this issue?

The Chair advised she was aware that Councillor Smith had been looking into this matter and that she would contact Councillor Smith for an update. A copy of the e-mail would also be sent to the Executive Councillor for Planning Policy and Open Spaces (ACTION).

Councillor Robertson confirmed that Officers were aware of this matter but there had been staffing issues in the Enforcement team which had meant that this could not have been dealt with as quickly as it should have been. Those staffing shortages were being addressed.

MOP:  Every Summer the City is visited by international students who do a number of activities, yet there is no opportunity to meet local school children and residents. Would it be worth investigating with various external agencies to determine if there were resources to enable those local children and teenagers who were otherwise unable to take part in joint summer activities?

Councillor Barnett advised that she would pass the suggestion to the Executive Councillor for Communities.  

To welcome Christian Criscione (Communications Officer Anderson) who will give a verbal presentation on Burnside Lakes.

The Committee welcomed Christian Criscione, Communications Officer (Anderson) who gave a verbal presentation on the management of Burnside Lakes which covered the following points:

     i.        The land on which the Lakes stood was jointly owned by Anderson (major land owner),Cambridge City Council and Peterhouse College.

    ii.        Primary point of anti-social behaviour and trespassing on to the Lakes was through Peterhouse College land.

   iii.        Trespassers were putting their safety at risk.

  iv.        There would be a proposal to Peterhouse College on how the site could be secured on their land to resolve trespass issue. The work would be undertaken by Anderson.

   v.        With the further security measures in place this should reduce the amount of vehicles in the area to the Lakes, particularly around the St Bede’s area.

  vi.        Contractors visited the site twice a week during term time which increased to four times during the school summer holidays, picking up litter, replacing stolen or displaced life buoys and repairing any damage to the perimeter fence.

 vii.        Trespassing had an adverse effect on the environment.

viii.        Public safety was the priority.

In response to questions from the Committee and members of the public Mr Criscione  said the following:

     i.        Andersons have been very clear that the Lakes were private and access prohibited.

    ii.        If any crime was witnessed by local residents this needed to be reported to Police.

   iii.        Committed to opening the lakes to the public but if the Lakes were permanently open then the management of the Lakes long term would need to be looked into.

  iv.        To open the lakes permanently would need financial investment.

   v.        The ecological impact on the Lakes had to be considered should public access be permitted.

  vi.        No evidence to suggest that the site was not appropriate for residential development.

 vii.        If the Lakes were to be open, public access would be over the Tins Link Bridge; left of the bridge access would be created. Parking would be created the other side of the train line.

To welcome representatives from Greater Cambridge Partnership on City Access / Choices for Better Journeys and a wider project update of more local issues.

The Chair welcomed Isobel Wade, Head of Transport Strategy and Mike Davies, Cycling Projects Team Leader, Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP), who presented information on the Choices for Better Journeys and Wider project update

A copy of the presentation can be viewed at the link below:

https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=147&MId=3710&Ver=4

In response to questions and comments from the Committee and Members of the public, the Head of Transport Strategy and Cycling Projects Team Leader said the following:

     i.        Agreement from Network Rail was needed for the Petersfield section of the Chisholm Trail between the Station and Mill Road Bridge. There were alternatives if permission was not granted. 

    ii.        Last mile delivery system would be looked at in detail around December. A pilot scheme had been run at the Cowley Road Park and Ride site but now a suitable site needed to be found.

   iii.        Would investigate what happened with regards to the proposals for the last mile delivery system at Trumpington and produce a briefing note to inform the Committee.

  iv.        Noted the opinion that Snakey Path required upgrading.

   v.        Congestion, air quality and carbon admissions in the City which is at the top of the agenda for the Choices for Better Journey project.

  vi.        Seventy six cycle racks had been ordered which would be installed across the city. Looking at possible locations for a cycle park in the City.

 vii.        Recognised a need for cycle racks along some of the streets off Mill Road.

viii.        GCP funding was time limited to 2031 and wanted to create a legacy in the City.

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

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