Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Tunnacliffe and Councillor Sarris.

No Interests were declared.

The minutes of the meeting of the 16^th June 2015 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

 

Update on outstanding actions:

 

14/73/NAC Trees: Milton Road, Gilbert Road and Carlton Way. Councillor O’Reilly started that these issues would now come under the remit of the City Deal. Verge protection consultations were underway. The Committee asked for regular updates on the emerging Tree Strategy. The previous joint protocol with the County Council regarding verges and trees may not be possible in future due to budget constraints.

 

Play Equipment

Perse Way play equipment was almost completed and the designs had been modified to take into account Members’ concerns about accessibility. Chestnut Grove was also nearing completion but would be retained on the action sheet until fully completed.

 

14/13/NAC – Speed Awareness Courses

Courses for offences in 20pmh limit areas were now available and it was understood that motorists could choose to complete the course in their home area rather than where the offence took place.

 

14/65/NAC – Parking near Milton Road Library

County Council Transport Officers advised that it would not be possible to have dedicated parking bays for the library. Restricting parking to two hours in the area would require a Traffic Regulation Order and would include a wider area.

 

14/74/NAC – Chesterton Pavilion

To be addressed at the next meeting.

 

15/4/NAC – Tesco waste area

Councillor Price stated that work to improve the area was underway. He would push to have the double yellow lines in the area reinstated.

 

15/6/NAC Q6 – Local Sustainable Transport Fund

Councillor Manning stated that the bidding round was now complete and this item could be removed from the action sheet.

 

15/15/NAC – Buchan Street Exterior Area Improvements

 

Work was underway. Final update to be reported when work completed.

 

15/25/NAC Q4 Centenary Fields

Councillor O’Reilly stated that the criteria for inclusion of open spaces had now been confirmed. The City Council could consider renaming an existing open space or apply the name to new open spaces such as Clay Farm.

 

15/25/NAC

The zebra crossing outside Tesco’s had now been repainted.

6.40 to 7.10

Q1 Richard Taylor.

Can the Committee endorse the use of North Area Committee for consideration of matters of public interest such as: parking concerns regarding the new station, access to the business park and the new bridge design?

 

Councillor Mike Todd-Jones responded. North Area has an active policy of encouraging presentation and discussion on matters of community interest.

 

Councillor Manning stated that this was discussed at a separate specific meeting convened by the County Council.  The business park access was discussed at the local liaison forum.  Both of these are public meetings, both of which were advertised at North Area Committee.

 

 

Q2 Richard Taylor

At the last North Area Committee details of roads selected for Police action was left open for final decision by Ward Councillors. Which roads were selected?

 

Councillor Todd-Jones stated that the details of the road selected could be found as a post meeting note in the minutes of the last meeting.

 

Q3 Richard Taylor

Would County Councillors consider registering Ditton Fields path as a Right of Way to aid the Abbey-Chesterton Bridge project?

 

Councillor Manning stated that it had never been established that this was a right of way. Negotiations were on-going between the Parish Council and Gonville & Caius College. The Abbey-Chesterton Bridge project was important and negotiation was the best way forward. It would be difficult to establish that there had been 20 years of continuous use.

 

Q4 Leila Dockerill

The hanging baskets were appreciated and had been very pretty. However, requests for other improvement in the area had not been met.

 

Councillor Price stated that the Environment Improvement Programme had been suspended due the Ward Blitz initiative. The matter will be reconsidered next year.

 

Q5 Kay Harris

Campkin Road Speed Cushions have had very little maintenance since they were installed in 1992. Buses are forced to drive over them due to parked cars which were causing damage to the road surface.

 

Councillor Onasanya agreed with Mrs Harris. However, budget constrains had resulted in funding only being available for the worst areas across the City being repaired.

 

Q5 Kay Harris

Jolley Way footpaths have not been resurfaced for 20 years, despite promises that the work would be completed.

 

Councillor Onasanya stated that there was very little funding for footpath repairs.

7.10 to 7.40

The Committee received a report from Sergeant Wragg regarding Policing and Safer Neighbourhood Trends.

 

The report outlined actions taken since the North Area Committee of the 9th April 2015. The current emerging issues/neighbourhood trends for each ward were also highlighted (see report for full details).

 

The Committee and members of the public asked the following question regarding the report:

 

Q1 Resident of Victoria Road

Concerned that heavy goods vehicles continue to use Victoria Road in the early hours of the morning. Can technology be used to monitor this and seek prosecutions?

 

Sergeant Wragg stated that it was hard to tell what work to date had achieved. Police would be happy to continue with the priority and would welcome feedback for the community.

 

Q2 Kay Harris

Mrs Harris agreed that lorries using inappropriate roads at night were a problem. Histon Road also suffers.

 

Q3 Doug Whyte

What has happened to the Speed Watch volunteer training?

 

Volunteers had been trained. Their reports generate advisory letters. Further action could be taken against repeat offenders.

 

Q4 Councillor Bird

The mobile camera outside Grumpy’s has achieved the desired results. Could a permanent camera be considered?

 

Sergeant Wragg noted the request.

 

Q5 Councillor Bird

A horse and trap was again being used in Chesterton Recreation Ground and is dangerous for children.

 

Sergeant Wragg requested more information on this matter.

 

Mr Bond said that a steel fence had been removed and this allowed the owner of the horse and trap to access the recreation ground. The City Council’s open Spaces Manager had been informed.

 

Q6 Councillor Scutt

Bateson Road residents report drug dealing happening in the gardens.

 

Sergeant Wragg stated that the area was monitored regularly.

 

Q7 Councillor Scutt

Would an additional pedestrian crossing on Arbury Road help reduce speeding and if yes where should it be?

 

Sergeant Wragg suggested a crossing near the Manor School and Arbury Court would have a visual impact.

 

Q8 Councillor Austin

Residents of Arbury Road and Orchard Road complain that vehicles are rat running in residential streets.

 

Sergeant Wragg would look into this.

 

Q9 Councillor Austin

Can Sergeant Wragg comment on why the crime figures for West Chesterton all show an increase?

 

Sergeant Wragg suggested that housing in West Chesterton was as easy target due to the layout of the street and the feature of the housing. Overall crime figures were low so the activities of a few individuals could skew the figures.

 

Q10 Councillor Austin

Drug dealers are reported to be targeting younger children. Is advice being targeted at the 14 plus age group?

 

The police had not seen an increase in young drug users. Educational teams do target this age group in schools.

 

Q11 Richard Taylor

Do you have to return to the area of the offence to undertake a speed awareness course?

 

Councillor Todd-Jones had investigated this and confirmed that the courses could be taken anywhere.

 

Q12 Richard Taylor

The statistics in the Police report continue to be broad brush strokes and do not offer sufficient details.

 

The Safer Communities Section Manager stated that it was not possible to break down the statistics at present. This would have to be done manually and was not considered the best use of Police time.

 

Q13 Councillor Pitt

Is the rise burglary and violent crime seasonal?

 

Sergeant Wragg stated that a change to crime recording was a significant factor in the increased crime rates. Police are being encouraged to log incidents that might previously have been dealt with by the individual officer. However, the darker evening do contribute to increased crime figures. In addition, prison releases of serial offenders can produce a spike in crime figures.

 

The committee discussed on-going priorities around traffic concerns.

 

Sergeant Wragg requested that the priorities were limited due to resourcing issues. Councillor Manning suggested that this was a political discussion and that the Committee should be free to set priorities. If those priorities were not achieved, the Police should give an account of the reasons why at the next meeting.

 

The Committee:

 

Resolved unanimously to prioritise the following:

 

     i.        Continue the safeguarding / enforcement work around the supply of Class A Drugs (Op Hexham).

    ii.        Road enforcement action (to include overnight use of Victoria Road by heavy goods vehicles).

 

7.40 to 8.00

 

The Chair welcomed Rebecca Avery, the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Outreach Worker to the meeting.

 

Rebecca gave a presentation on her role and that of Sir Graham Bright in his capacity as the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Police and the Crime Plan and the work of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office.

 

The Committee were advised that Rebecca’s role was to listen to the public both individually and collectively, and to work in partnership with local agencies, to identify and deliver shared solutions to local crime and anti-social behaviour problems in Cambridge, Huntingdon, South and East Cambridgeshire priority areas.

 

Rebecca explained that the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Graham Bright, was to set the budget, the amount of Council tax charged for the Police, the strategy for local Police whilst ensuring that Police were held accountable and to ensure needs of the community were met.

 

Rebecca reminded those present of the contact point details, where she would be present in order to meet members of the public who could ask questions and give feedback on the local policing and crime in the area.

 

Questions and Comments from the public

 

Q1 Councillor Onasanya

You gather a lot of information. What is done with that information?

 

The information is used to build up the bigger picture. It was not the Commissioners role to interfere with day to day policing matters.

 

Q2 Councillor Bird

Please ask the Commissioner to raise concerns about the proposed reduction of street lighting.

 

Q3 Councillor Bird

Can the Commissioner help to publicise the Bobby Scheme.

 

The Community Navigators publicise this service.

 

Q4 Councillor Smart

The Committee would welcome a visit from Sir Graham Bright.

 

The Commissioner was unable to attend this evening. He has been holding street surgeries where the public could approach him for casual conversation and holding drop in sessions. Filming of these events has been problematic as some members of the public have found if off putting and may have been deterred from taking part.

 

Q5 Kay Harris

How was the information gather by the Commissioner passed on to local Police forces?

 

It is not the role of the Commissioner to direct the local policing. However, local concerns would be passed on.

 

The Chair thanked Rebecca Avery for attending and stated that the Committee would invite Sir Graham to attend a future meeting.

A brief introduction to the work of the Chesterton / Mitcham’s Corner Co-ordinator.

8.00 to 8.10

The Chesterton / Mitcham’s Corner Co-ordinator was unable to attend and had sent the following updates:

 

The Traders’ Association is up and running and has been since mid-February – on average around 6-8 regular people attend out of 150 traders – so not brilliant but hopefully after last weekend’s event – the Mitcham’s and More Festival, things will pick up.

 

The Festival, the first of its kind was held at the back of Barclays Bank Car Park. Two members from The Friends of Mitcham’s Corner organised back to back music under the name of ‘Sounds around the Corner’.  This was a great success and they were turning musicians and performers away by the end. On the Saturday we held a Food and Wine, Pop Up Market, again very successful despite the weather which was cloudy and drizzly. Sunday was our Family Day. Cambridge Community Circus came to teach us circus skills.

 

Since the weekend, we have had some great press and feedback in general. It has resulted in a new relationship between a popular street vendor, Steak and Honour, and a new venture, Thirsty Cambridge, a new wine merchants.

 

We hope via the events and some fundraising to have raised enough to light one tree on the verge this Christmas, the next event being a Festive Light Switch On.

 

There are many new developments in the area, Staples, Evans Cycles, Thirsty Cambridge, Pack and Send, a specialist packing company and coming soon, Stir, a large ‘networking café’ aimed at cyclists and rowers in the area – also focusing on local community and children.

 

The main concerns of the Traders, as always, were the parking or lack of parking in the area. They would ideally like somewhere for them to park let alone customers, I have tried to get across that this currently is not available to any traders in the Cambridge and is highly unlikely.

 

8.10 to 8.25

8.25 to 8.45

The Committee received an Environmental Report from Wendy Young the Operations Manager (Community Engagement and Enforcement)                    .

 

The Committee discussed the emerging priorities.

 

Q1 Leila Dockerill

Campkin Road is looking untidy and messy.

 

Wendy Young agreed to arrange a walk about with the rangers.

 

Q2 Councillor Austin

What is the deadline for requesting new bins and where can people view the styles available?

 

Requests for new bins were welcomed as soon as possible, so that work could be programmed in and full details of the styles available could be found the bin mapping website.

 

Q4 Councillor Bird

Welcomed the work recently undertaken in East Chesterton.

 

Q5 Councillor Scutt

Residents had raised concerns about dog fouling on Bateson Road Play Area.

 

Councillor O’Reilly stated that the area was rather tired. However, it had been cleaned and dog waste bins had been installed.

 

Q6 Councillor Scutt

Milton Road has no recycling bins. Why?

 

The installers were out of stock of the metal recycling bins when other bins were installed in this area. They would be reminded to return to the area and complete the installations.

 

Councillor Perry suggested a new priority be added to address fly tipping in Akeman Street and Darwin Drive.

 

The Committee

 

Resolved unanimously to:

 

     i.        Enforcement joint working and patrols to deal with littering from students of Cambridge Regional College in the areas of Campkin Road and Nuns Way Recreation Ground and to work with the local businesses to address litter from their premises.

    ii.        Enforcement patrols to tackle fly tipping on communal archways and green areas at Minerva Way.

   iii.        Enforcement patrols to address issues of littering in and around the Bermuda Terrace area and to follow up on intelligence received as a result of the mail drop to the area.

  iv.        Patrols to address fires and illegal camping at Logan’s Meadow.

   v.        Patrols to address dog fouling on Kings Hedges “Pulley” Recreation Ground including early mornings, evenings and weekends.

  vi.        Joint working patrols to address the issues of illegal camping and dogs being off lead at Histon Road cemetery.

 vii.        North area patrols of focus on abandoned, untaxed and nuisance vehicles.

viii.        Park deep cleanse, to include removal of graffiti, flyposting, litter, dog fouling, vegetation cut back and sweeping at Blandford Walk play area, St Albans Recreation Ground, George Nuttall Close/Woodhead Drive play area and Chesterton Recreation Ground.

  ix.        Fly tipping in Akeman Street and Darwin Drive.

The Chair will give an update on the Q and A from the Network Rail presentation on 16^th June 2015.

8.45 to 9.00

Councillor Todd-Jones updated the committee on progress with the new Railway Station. Full details of question and answers session with Network Rail at the last North Area Committee had now been published with the minutes of that meeting.

 

Councillor Manning said that a Supplementary Planning Application would be going to the Joint Development Control Committee in the near future. He confirmed that the Cowley Road Access had been secured.

 

Future Local Liaison Forum meetings kept the public informed of future developments.

 

The Chair confirmed that Network Rail would be invited to attend North Area Committee to provide an update in the New Year.

 

9.00 to 9.15

The Chair introduced the item gave a brief overview of the recent Architect Presentation regarding the Abbey Chesterton Bridge. Artist impressions of the initial designs were available for members of the public to view.

 

Councillor Manning stated that the project was still at the concept stage and would be subject to change. The proposals would be discussed the County Council Economy and Environment Committee on the 17^th November 2016.

 

Michael Bond welcomed the solutions offered to the access points.

 

A member of the public stated that there was an active group opposing the proposal to allow the bridge access route to encroach on green space and meadowlands. She stated that there was a live petition to oppose the proposals.

 

The November meeting will now be held on the 19^th November at Chesterton Community College and not the 12^th November as previously advertised.

 

The Committee is also asked to agree a change of date for the January meeting from 7^th January 2016 to Wednesday 20^th January 2016.

There will be no discussion on this item.

 

If you would like your local, not for profit, community event listed here, please contact the Committee Manager.

The Committee resolved Nem. Con. to approve the changes to future meeting dates as follow:

 

19^th November 2015 at Chesterton School

20^th January 2016 at Shirley School