Agenda

A petition has been received containing over 500 valid signatures stating the following:

We call on Cambridge City Council to prevent a 30 metre high phone mast from being erected on Jesus Green.

The petition organiser will be given 5 minutes to present the petition at the meeting and the petition will then be discussed by Councillors for a maximum of 15 minutes.

Council is aware of the large structural changes in the retail sector occurring during the pandemic, both reflecting and accelerating the trend towards online shopping, and that recent bankruptcies impact a significant proportion of retail space in Cambridge city centre;

Council believes that this has the potential for profound impact not only on the precious environment in the centre itself but also on the economic and social contribution it makes to the whole of our city and beyond; that this represents a challenge beyond straight-forward bounce-back recovery; and that it is therefore timely and opportune to start a conversation to take stock of the centre's recent evolution and to re-imagine it for the future, using a placemaking approach in the public interest. 

It resolves that the council, as the city’s representative body and, with its key roles in planning, streets & open spaces and commercial property ownership, should lead this process, working with partners and stakeholders and involving the public: the broad aim of the exercise to maintain the city centre as a destination of vitality and jobs for local people, and of hospitality to its many visitors, in a way which complements its identity as historic university city encircled by public open spaces and residential areas and growing city quarters with neighbourhood centres of their own. 

In the process it urges consideration of:

• means of facilitating a larger and much stronger range of local independent shops, including start-ups, making the centre a destination for retail that is genuinely differentiated from elsewhere and what is online
• ensuring a secure future for a thriving, popular 7-day market which works for customers and traders
• the changing nature of physical retail for ongoing high street businesses, in particular the key anchor presences 
• the demand for co-working spaces which builds on remote and flexible working trends outside the home, which seem likely to have a post pandemic legacy
• the role that a larger arts and culture offering might play
• the importance of conserving the city’s heritage
• developing a pipeline of public realm schemes such as the market square, available to capitalise on the likely availability of government funding for city centre improvements
• faster development of improved public transport access and cycle parking and completion of the traffic-free goal envisaged in our “Making space for People” process
• the need for continued strong challenge to national planning policy proposals under which even more switches between use classes may become 'permitted development' and therefore beyond local planning policy and control.

Council requests the Chief Executive to bring an initial report to the July meeting of Strategy & Resources Scrutiny Committee on how the council can most effectively start to take this matter forward. 

As an organisation Cambridge City Council is committed to the Work to Stop Domestic Abuse campaign. Cambridge City Council fully recognise that for many people, the workplace is not just a vital source of independent income but can also be a source of support, which enables staff to be safe at home and at work. Much has been done by the Council to date, however the GMB has recently introduced a Charter which identifies good practice, and now is the time to review our practice using the Charter as a model.

Everyone has a responsibility to end domestic abuse and as an organisation, Cambridge City Council will commit to the following actions:

• Train managers how to best support staff members experiencing domestic abuse
• Ensure that all staff have access to a domestic abuse in a workplace toolkit
• Every staff member will have access to our workplace policy, and we will actively take steps to ensure it is adhered to.
• Commit to reviewing our existing Policy by May 2021 and monitoring the amended policy on a regular basis
• Display domestic abuse national and local support/advice in workplaces across the organisation
• Sign up to GMB Union’s ‘Work to Stop Domestic Abuse’ Charter.

Council commends the young people in Cambridge who selflessly provide care for others.

Council notes that:

• Recent research shows that one in five secondary school children may be a young carer. For many, their caring journey begins at a much younger age and can continue past 18.

• Caring for someone can be isolating, worrying and stressful. For young carers, this can negatively impact on their experiences and outcomes in education, having a lasting effect on their life chances. 

• Each year, The Carers Trust has organised a Young Carers’ Action Awareness Day. In 2021 this will be renamed Young Carers’ Action Day and marked on March 16.

• The purpose of the day is to raise public awareness of the challenges faced by young people and young adults because of their caring role, and to campaign for greater support for young carers to meet their needs.

Council resolves to:

• Promote Young Carers Action Day as widely as possible on an annual basis, where possible particularly to young carers and their families.
• To use the Spring edition of ‘Cambridge Matters’ to promote awareness of the valuable work of Centre 33 in supporting Young Carers.
• To work with local businesses and higher and further education providers around Cambridge to promote awareness of young carers and to encourage them to work with The Carers' Trust to promote opportunities and support for this group of people.
• Write to the County Council to express our willingness to form a partner alongside them, in their All Age Carers Strategy, when it is reviewed in 2022.