Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors O’Reilly, Price and Richards.

No declarations of interest were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed 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=199&MId=3515&Ver=4

Members of the public asked a number of questions, as set out below.

 

1.   Lilian Rundblad raised the following issues:

             i.        A14 diversion routes led to heavy goods vehicle night time traffic on Histon Road.

            ii.        Queried if the statistics from the 030 Speed Camera showed an increase of speeding offences on week days between 9pm to 6am from the beginning of June until end of August.

           iii.        Queried if the statistics could be attributed to cars or heavy goods vehicles.

 

Action Point: Linda Kilkelly to send Committee Manager police response to question on A14 Diversion routes HGV night time traffic Histon Road. Committee Manager to forward response to Lilian Rundblad.

 

2.   Alan Hart raised the following issues:

             i.        Queried if De Freville, Elizabeth and Ascham parking zones could be integrated. This would allow Ward Councillors to work together.

            ii.        The proposals for Ascham and Milton Road would create issues for adjacent areas and the scheme for the Triangle could not work as proposed. Residents would continue to work with Councillor Manning on this matter, but the issues are actually broader than one County Councillor could tackle alone.

           iii.        Asked for other schemes to be paused until issues with the Elizabeth scheme were resolved.

          iv.        A group of residents has just circulated a detailed report on residents' parking (chestertontriangle.uk) to a number of the councillors.

           v.        Suggested the parking schemes caused problems as they stopped people parking near their homes.

 

Councillor Bird read out a statement from Nicola Gardner

(Parking Policy Manager, Highways Service): “The Traffic Management Team have today been made aware of this report. We would be happy to discuss the content of the report with your local County Councillor, Cllr Manning.”

 

Councillor Manning acknowledged there were issues. He had been liaising with officers. He was happy to facilitate discussions between resident groups and officers. Officers would need to treat resident groups equally, one scheme/group could not be prioritised over others.

 

Councillor Scutt said the County Council ward boundaries changed after the May 2018 elections. As such she had liaised with Ascham residents but not Triangle residents as they were no longer within her jurisdiction. The parking schemes were part of a traffic regulation order. Due to the stage of the scheme, any changes would need to be agreed by all affected residents, parking schemes could not be amended on an individual basis. Residents should make representations to the county council by 28 September.

 

Post meeting note: Proposals for parking schemes are available on the County Council website. https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/roadworks-and-faults/traffic-regulation-orders/ For example:

·        Proposed TRO (Reference Number PR0480) – Residents Parking Scheme in the Victoria Road area.

·        Proposed TRO (Reference Number PR0481) – Residents Parking Scheme in the Ascham Road area.

 

Action Point: Councillor Scutt to liaise with Dr Hart regarding De Freville, Elizabeth and Ascham parking zones. Specifically how to respond to the Traffic Regulation Order consultation which closes 28 September 2018.

 

3.   Ruth Yule expressed concern about dangerous dogs running loose in the Fen Road area. They had harassed her and another pedestrian.

 

Nick Kester said dangerous dogs should be reported to the Police. He would ask the Dog Warden to undertake more patrols in the Fen Road area.

 

4.   Kay Harris asked for street furniture to be painted in the Campkin Road area as it needed maintenance.

 

Action Point: Nick Kester to liaise with Kay Harris regarding maintenance of street furniture on Campkin Road.

 

5.   Sarah Newberry said that residents did not have enough parking permits for visitors and traders in the De Freville Avenue area. Information on the county council website was of limited help and assumed tradespersons turned up at regular times in the same vehicle (which they did not).

 

Councillor Manning said residents could give permits out to visitors. It was the responsibility of tradespersons to obtain exemptions to park in the area when undertaking work. They should not request visitor permits from residents.

 

Action Point: Councillors Scutt & Manning to liaise with residents and trade representatives to ensure they have enough visitor and tradesperson exemption permits to park in the De Freville Avenue area.

 

6.   Richard Taylor expressed concern how police priorities had been minuted for the last meeting of North Area Committee. He also queried if the Committee set police priorities, or just local concerns which the Police could choose to adopt or not.

 

Councillor Dalzell said the Police had been informed of local priorities at the last North Area Committee.

This item will give Members an update on the latest position for the Cambridge Northern Fringe East project, including that the revised timetable will be contained within a new Local Development Scheme to be presented to Members in October 2018.

The Committee received a presentation regarding Cambridge Northern Fringe east (CNFE).

 

The Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development outlined:

     i.        Greater Cambridge strategic ambitions, opportunities and challenges.

    ii.        CNFE development area plans.

 

The Strategic Director outlined:

     i.        Housing Infrastructure Fund details.

    ii.        The developing business case would be submitted in December 2018.

 

Members of the public and a councillor asked a number of questions, as set out below.

 

1.      Richard Cushing asked what was the relationship between CFNE and the Milton Road Corridor? Also if they would impact on each other?

 

The Joint Director said:

                     i.        CNFE and the Milton Road Corridor were related projects.

                    ii.        The City Council was working with Greater Cambridge Partnership and other partners to address congestion issues in the A10 corridor. Better connections were needed between where people were living and working.

                   iii.        The intention was to avoid growth in vehicle trips (for commuting) as the area population grew. A mode shift from private vehicles to public transport would help reduce commuting in/out/around the city.

 

2.      Richard Cushing asked if the same transport model was used for CNFE as the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in the south of the city?

 

The Joint Director said:

                     i.        He hoped the transport model had been improved since it was used for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

                    ii.        The intention was to better design the area in future to make communities better joined up with walkable distances to jobs, homes, open spaces and Cambridge North Station.

 

3.      Ruth Yule asked what was happening to the area east of the railway line.

 

The Joint Director said this was a flood plain so could not be developed.

 

4.      Ruth Yule asked when the area around Cambridge North Station would be developed and get transport links to the Science Park.

 

The Joint Director said the intention was to co-ordinate development between land owners over the next 3-5 years.

 

The Strategic Director said development in the area would be limited until the water treatment facility (sewage works) moved.

 

5.      A member of the public suggested there would be difficulties commuting from CNFE into town and back.

 

The Joint Director said the intention was to improve connectivity through and from CNFE.

 

6.      Councillor Scutt raised the following issues:

     i.        Queried provision of social/affordable housing.

    ii.        Stated transport infrastructure should be in place from CNFE to the rest of the city for work and leisure.

   iii.        Stated residents had concerns about the relocation of the water treatment facility.

 

The Joint Director and Strategic Director said the following:

     i.        The Joint Housing Strategy would set out details on housing provision. This would be compliant with the policy to make 40% of housing affordable.

    ii.        CNFE would be a community with all necessary facilities (eg shops), but people would be able to travel into the city too.

   iii.        Relocation of the water treatment facility would be strictly controlled through policy. The new facility would be modern and so have less issues (eg smell) than the old one.

Representatives of the Safer Communities Team will talk about the work they do to address Anti-social Behaviour across the city.

The Committee received a presentation from the Safer Communities Section Manager and Senior Anti-Social Behaviour Officer about how the Safer Communities Team tackled anti-social behaviour.

 

Members of the public and a councillor asked a number of questions, as set out below.

 

1.       Leila Dockerill asked what facilities were available for older children ie 8-16 year olds.

 

The Safer Communities Section Manager said the council tried to set up some projects some time ago but teenagers were not interested. The council would review what could be offered by community centres in future.

 

2.       A member of the public asked for an update on the Fen Road CCTV camera.

 

The Safer Communities Section Manager said the City Council had given a grant for a column to be erected in Fen Road, on which a CCTV camera could be mounted as it would not fit on a streetlight etc. The camera had been purchased, the column was on order from Balfour Beatty and should arrive in the autumn.

 

3.       Mr Taylor asked for an update on the Fen Road Task and Finish Group, also if the CCTV camera column money would be controlled by residents.

 

The Safer Communities Section Manager said the City Council would work with Fen Road residents to install CCTV. The Council would own the column.

 

Councillor Bird said there was no Fen Road Task and Finish Group. Two public meetings had been held in March and May 2018 to which the Police and public had been invited. There had been no subsequent meetings. Councillors Bird, McQueen and Thittala would consider setting up another meeting with residents in future, if residents did not, to give a report on actions to date. This meeting would (again) be open to the public.

 

4.       Councillor Thittala asked how evidence of anti-social behavior was processed.

 

The Senior Anti-Social Behaviour Officer said the Legal Team took evidence to the Civil Court to obtain injunctions against individuals committing anti-social behaviour. If necessary criminal proceedings were pursued through the (County) Civil Court via joint working with the Police.

 

If City Council Officers were notified that the Police were already pursuing criminal proceedings after council officers had started civil proceedings, options could be pursued through the problem solving group that partner agencies were members of. (To avoid a conflict of processes.)

 

5.       Mrs Harris asked who viewed carpark CCTV.

 

The Safer Communities Section Manager said authorised persons in Central Operations viewed CCTV footage if an incident needed to be followed up.

The Committee received a report from the Enforcement Team Manager.

 

The report outlined an overview of City Council Refuse and Environment and Streets and Open Spaces service activity relating to the geographical area served by the North Area Committee.

 

The report identifies the reactive and proactive service actions undertaken in the previous year, including the requested priority targets and reports back on the recommended issues and associated actions to be targeted in the following period. It also includes key officer contacts for the reporting of waste and refuse and public realm issues.

 

Members of the public raised the following issues:

     i.        Expressed concern that fly tipping occurred due to the high charges for removal of bulky goods.

    ii.        If people booked collections, but the operator arrived late, it may look as though items had been dumped.

 

Councillors raised the following issues:

     i.        Ofo were slow to collect abandoned bikes.

    ii.        Fly tipping in Arbury Court.

 

In response to Members’ questions the Enforcement Team Manager said the following:

     i.        Officers reported abandoned Ofo bikes to the operator via their UK number, not the publically advertised Philippines call centre, which got a faster response.

    ii.        County lines drug issues were a police priority.

   iii.        Abandoned needle figures fluctuated. A large number may unexpectedly be found in void properties, which increased the reported number.

  iv.        Officers did not routinely look for needles. They responded to reported sightings within 2 hours as a priority for action. Particularly if needles were reported near play areas.

 

The Committee asked the Enforcement Team Manager to make the following amendments to recommendations:

     i.        Councillor Todd-Jones: To include Perse Way in priority 2.

    ii.        Councillor Dalzell: Future reports to include Ofo in the breakdown of abandoned bikes figure.

 

 

Following discussion, Members unanimously resolved to approve priorities for action as amended above.

 

1.   Enforcement patrols to tackle fly tipping on communal archways and green areas at Minerva Way area (including Augustus Close, Hercules Close, Neptune Close and Apollo Way), Arbury Court, Hazelwood/Molewood Close area, Church Street recycling centre, Crathern Way / Cameron Way, Cockerel Road, Dundee Close and Sackville / Aragon Close recycling areas.

2.   Patrols to address dog fouling on Perse Way, Chesterton Recreation Ground and Molewood / Hazelwood Close area including early mornings, evenings and weekends.

3.   Enforcement patrols to tackle abandoned vehicles across the East Chesterton ward.

4.   Enforcement patrols to deal with illegal camping at Logan’s Meadows.

 

Future reports to include breakdown of abandoned bikes figure to show the percentage of these belonging to Ofo.