Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Gawthrope Wood, Swift, Thittala Varkey and County Councillor Meschini.

No interests were declared.

The notes of the meeting held on 8 June 2023 were noted subject to the amendment of references to ‘Garden Walk Resident's Association’ to 'Garden Walk Residents' Association'.

Sam Dyer CEO of Cambridge Sustainable Food (CSF) attended North Area Committee to give an overview of what Cambridge Sustainable Food was all about:

i.               About — Cambridge Sustainable Food

ii.             Cambridge Sustainable Food had been in existence since 2013 and their work focused on partnerships, projects and campaigns that captured the imagination and helped to deliver change in Cambridge and the surrounding area.

iii.            Had achieved a Silver Sustainable Food Places award and was working towards a Gold award.

iv.           Key issues they worked on:

a.    Food which was good for us and was good for the planet and our future.

b.    Good food governance and action.

c.    Active food citizenship.

d.    Tackling food poverty.

e.    Sustainable food economy.

f.     Revitalising local supply chains.

g.    Climate and nature emergency. 

v.             Noted a number of community food projects which took place in the north of Cambridge. 

vi.           To view the presentation please follow the following link: (3) North Area Committee - Thursday 7 September 2023, 6.30pm - YouTube

 

In response to comments made by the Committee, the CSF Representative said the following:

      i.         Councillors could help by representing CSF at council meetings, supporting the partnership, volunteering and attending events.

    ii.         The CSF conference was due to take place at the beginning of October 2023. Over 100 people were due to attend but people could still register to attend. The theme of the conference was food justice and health.

   iii.         In response to a question about social supermarkets, commented that there were a lot of projects set up during the covid pandemic to address the need of food. Noted that during the pandemic there had been lots of funding available to do this. Since then, community groups had found that it was economically unviable to continue to give food away for free. This is where the ‘social supermarket’ concept arose.  Community groups charged a small amount, which could be per bag or per item, so that people were able to access food. Noted that there was a number of different charging models used by different groups.

  iv.         If anyone wanted to donate pet food suggested that they made contact with the CSF distribution centre.

    v.         Noted that there were some raised beds being used to grow community food at Daily Bread and Arbury Court.

 

Two members of the public submitted questions which were read out by the Committee Manager.

 

Question 1:

When will the newly built community centre on Campkin Road be open? It isn't currently listed on the council web site but appears from the outside to be finished and ready for use. https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/community-centres

 

I also understand that this centre has been designated as a replacement for both the Nun's Way pavilion and the 37 Lawrence Way centre (https://bidstats.uk/tenders/2023/W10/794231135 ).

 

I have not seen any other announcement relating to the closure of Nun's Way Pavilion, do the committee have any comments on the potential closure of two centres strongly linked to open space, to be replaced by a single centre with no apparent outdoor space attached?

 

The link given on the Council website for the Lawrence Way centre directs you towards the NCCP website, which lists their only venue as the Nun's Way Pavilion. https://www.nccp.org.uk/facilities/

 

Recent news stories published by the council mention the centre, but until it is open and functional it isn't really delivering for the community at all.

https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/news/2023/08/24/75-new-council-homes-completed-at-campkin-road-cambridge

 

Councillor Todd-Jones read out the following response which had been provided by officers:

 

Campkin Road Community Centre has been built as an accessible modern replacement for 37 Lawrence Way which has been returned to housing stock. Campkin Road Community Centre was offered to local community groups through a tender process. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a group that could meet the criteria for running the centre through that process.

 

As a result the City Council will take on the running of the centre for the first year of operation. We aim to open it by the end of October 2023.

 

We are working closely with North Cambridge Community Partnership (NCCP) to move their programme from both 37 Lawrence Way and Nuns Way to the new community centre. We will continue to work in partnership with NCCP over the coming months to build up a programme at the new centre.

 

Nuns Way pavilion will be retained for sports and recreation purposes.

 

Councillor Bird advised that they were willing to liaise with the member of the public following the meeting.

 

Question 2:

 

I'd like to know about the play equipment on the Morello Place site. The figure quoted is that £50,000 is being spent on this, but so far I can see one small wooden climbing structure (currently fenced off). Is it possible to know what the full extent of the equipment will be and to see the itemised cost?

 

Councillor Todd-Jones read out the following response which had been provided by officers:

 

The play equipment includes one small wooden climbing structure only (as shown in the attached image). There is no more equipment to install as the works on site are complete. The source of the quoted £50,000 figure is unknown; however, this wouldn’t relate directly to the play equipment cost provided at Morello Court. This has been confirmed by the Employers Agent/Quantity Surveyors involved in the scheme.

 

Until the source and context of the data highlighted is confirmed, a more detailed response is unable to be provided.

 

Councillor Carling advised that they were willing to liaise with the member of the public as play areas fell within their Executive portfolio.

 

Councillor Todd-Jones undertook to communicate the officer responses to the public questioners.

The Committee received a report from the Community Engagement and Enforcement Manager.

 

The report outlined an overview of the council’s Streets and Open Spaces, Environmental Health and Shared Waste service activity in the Area Committee area over the past six months.

 

The Committee discussed the following issues:

i.               Fly tipping had increased in 3 wards.

ii.             Hoped any fly tipped waste which was in a good condition could be repurposed.

iii.            Reasons why fly tipping occurred.

 

 

 

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

 

Agenda for North Area Committee on Thursday, 7th September, 2023, 6.30 pm - Cambridge Council