Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: The Council Chamber, Shire Hall, Cambridge

Contact: Graham Watts  03450 450 500 Email: democratic.services@scambs.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Councillor Lewis Herbert, Chairman of the Executive Board, read out a statement on behalf of the University.  The statement highlighted that the University of Cambridge had held a position as a City Deal partner since the programme’s inception in 2014, along with the three Councils and the Local Enterprise Partnership, making it clear that the University was represented by a non-voting Member on the Executive Board.

 

As one of the biggest employers in the City, the University took an interest in City Deal proposals and submitted responses to consultations, in the same way as any other stakeholder.  However, where there was any actual or perceived risk of a conflict of interests the University representative on the City Deal Board would choose to abstain from taking part at the meeting.  In view of this and the fact that an item on the agenda for this meeting concerned consideration of a preferred bus route from Cambourne to Cambridge, Professor Nigel Slater, who was the University’s representative on the Board, submitted his apologies for absence, thereby abstaining from participation during consideration of this issue.

2.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 196 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 1 September 2016 as a correct record.

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 1 September 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

3.

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Executive Board.

Minutes:

Councillor Francis Burkitt stated that his Register of Interests was lodged with South Cambridgeshire District Council and was available for viewing on its website.  In the context of item 9 he reported that he had no other specific interests to declare and confirmed that he was not pre-determined on this matter and therefore intended to participate in the discussion and vote as he would with any other item. 

 

Councillor Burkitt was of the view, however, that it was perhaps good practice to remind people of the following items which he, the Legal Officer and the Programme Director felt were 'interests' that would not disbar him from participating:

 

·         he was a District Councillor for Coton and Madingley, villages which were part of the study, and he therefore naturally knew many people in those villages;

·         when the Cambourne to Cambridge public consultation was launched, and in his capacity as a District Councillor, he coordinated and published a response to the public consultation that was branded as CambridgeBOLD.  At that time he was a Member of the City Deal Joint Assembly, which was an advisory body with no decision-making powers.  When he became a Board Member, with decision-making powers, he ceased doing any CambridgeBOLD work, and the initiative lapsed at that time and effectively ceased to exist, except that it remained on public record as one of the consultation responses;

·         he was a Member of Cambridge Past, Present and Future, was a patron and had been a Board Member for four years.  This organisation owned the Coton Countryside Reserve and, separately, some of the field in Coton adjacent to Cambridge Road that stretched up the hill;

·         he had been at Trinity College Cambridge and had sat on its Finance Committee, with the College owning Moor Barns Farm in Madingley;

·         he was born in Cambridge and had lived there on and off for most of his life, so he naturally knew lots of people who lived along the Cambourne to Cambridge corridor.

4.

Questions by members of the public pdf icon PDF 174 KB

To receive any questions from members of the public.  The standard protocol to be observed by public speakers is attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Lewis Herbert, Chairman, reported that twenty-five requests to speak had been received.  Questions were grouped together based on their subject and were asked and answered as follows:

 

Question by Councillor Bridget Smith

 

Councillor Bridget Smith, as a South Cambridgeshire District Councillor, was extremely keen to ensure that as many South Cambridgeshire residents as possible benefitted from the Greater Cambridge City Deal.  She felt that the A428 proposals as they stood were very city focussed and failed to acknowledge that South Cambridgeshire residents needed to get anywhere other than Cambridge or that they also may experience congestion, disruption and high costs getting to their workplace destinations.  She asked the following questions:

 

·         how many people of working age currently lived in Cambourne and of those how many worked in Cambridge;

·         how many additional people of working age would be living in the new developments at Cambourne West and Bourn Airfield and was it likely that a similar percentage would be commuting to Cambridge from these new developments;

·         how many people from Cambourne commuted to the main line station in St Neots and were any of them able to do so by bus;

·         bearing in mind that the Greater Cambridge area included all of South Cambridgeshire, would the Board promise that any cycle route from the city through the new A428 corridor would run to the St Neots main line railway station and that any bus service would also carry residents to this location;

·         why was the City Deal so focused on getting buses into the centre of Cambridge when that was not generally where people worked.

 

Councillor Smith asked whether it would be more sensible to run buses to a series of transport hubs located before the congestion pinch points and either for those buses to continue to the key employment sites or for passengers to be able to transfer to buses destined for the employment sites, rather than having to travel into the city centre only to have to travel out again.

 

Bob Menzies, Director of Strategy and Development at Cambridgeshire County Council, confirmed that he would provide the information requested by Councillor Smith via a written response from the data that his team had access to.  Addressing the first point, data from the 2011 census stated that 4,826 people of working age lived in Cambourne, with 1096 of those people working in Cambridge. 

 

In respect of onward journeys, Mr Menzies said that discussions would need to be held with bus operators at a later stage of the process but that Councillor Smith's suggestion was something to aspire to. 

 

Councillor Francis Burkitt made the point that there was a focus on the centre of Cambridge but also lots of other places, with this scheme being one of many things the Executive Board was looking at as part of the City Deal programme.  He reminded the Board that he had written to all Parish Councils in South Cambridgeshire District Council regarding transport hubs, the outcome of that piece of work he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Petitions

To note that no petitions for consideration by the Executive Board have been received since the last meeting.

Minutes:

Councillor Lewis Herbert reported that several petitions had been received, with the relevant petition organisers scheduled to be contacted and encouraged to present their respective petitions as part of the next cycle of meetings of the Joint Assembly and Executive Board.

6.

Reports and recommendations from the Joint Assembly

To receive any reports or recommendations following the meeting of the Joint Assembly on 29 September 2016.

Minutes:

The Joint Assembly had met on 29 September 2016 and agreed a number of recommendations relating to item 9 at this meeting.  It was therefore agreed that the Chairman of the Joint Assembly would present the Assembly’s recommendations as part of item 9.

7.

City Deal Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 103 KB

To consider the attached City Deal Forward Plan.

 

(Changes to the Forward Plan document made since the previous meeting are purposely highlighted using tracked changes.)

Decision:

The Executive Board NOTED the City Deal Forward Plan.

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered the City Deal Forward Plan.

 

Tanya Sheridan, City Deal Programme Director, presented the Forward Plan and reported that the City Deal scheme regarding the Chisholm Trail had been considered by the County Council’s Economy and Environment Committee, at the same time as the Abbey Chesterton bridge.

 

Discussion ensued on the potential cancelation of the December cycle of meetings in view of the relatively small number of items currently scheduled for those meetings of the Joint Assembly and Executive Board.  It was agreed, however, that these meetings should remain in the programme at this stage in view of the number and significance of the items currently scheduled for consideration at the November cycle of meetings.

 

Reference was made to the item on Cambridge access and congestion scheduled to be considered in January 2017.  It was noted that over 10,000 responses had been received to the public consultation in respect of this item so officers would be exploring how best to consider these and report them into the Assembly and Board.  It was also agreed that the supporting commentary in respect of this item on the Forward Plan should be replaced with something which more accurately described the current position.

 

The Executive Board NOTED the City Deal Forward Plan.

8.

City Deal progress report pdf icon PDF 321 KB

To consider the attached progress report.

Decision:

The Executive Board NOTED the City Deal progress report.

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered the City Deal progress report.

 

Tanya Sheridan, City Deal Programme Director, presented the report and highlighted that the next stage of public consultation for the Histon Road and Milton Road schemes would need to move to allow community design workshops to take place in advance to inform the proposals and facilitate stakeholder engagement.  This meant that the consultations on the detailed design for the two schemes would now take place in the first half of 2017, rather than November and December 2016. 

 

Councillor Burkitt referred to the Smart Cambridge workstream and understood that a contract had been awarded for the development of the app.  He was keen for this to be promoted more widely.

 

The Executive Board NOTED the City Deal progress report.

9.

A428 Cambourne to Cambridge Better Bus Journeys: Selection of a catchment area for detailed scheme development pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To consider the attached report.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Executive Board:

 

(a)        NOTED the accompanying option assessment report, the further background papers containing the outline business case and the map appended to the report.

 

(b)        AGREED, in principle, that a segregated route between Cambourne and Cambridge, with a Park and Ride near the Madingley Mulch roundabout, best meets the strategic objectives of the City Deal and the City Deal Agreement, given the wider economic benefits.

 

(c)        AGREED, in principle, that the possibility of a segregated cross country super cycleway running close to or through the key villages between Bourn Airfield and the M11 should be explored as part of a wider examination into improving cycle links between settlements in Greater Cambridge.

 

(d)        INSTRUCTED officers to undertake a topographical survey of the A1303 from Madingley Mulch to the M11 and undertake preliminary design to assess whether or not it is feasible to provide a two way busway, a cycleway and a road within the existing highway boundary, and to share the information with the Local Liaison Forum.

 

(e)        INSTRUCTED officers to undertake further appraisal on:

 

(i)         Possible specific route alignments within catchment area 3a, with catchment area 3 as an alternative if option 3a proves unviable, noting that both would connect with and potentially through Cambridge West, in accordance with the scheme design criteria set out in paragraph 12 of the report, and within established environmental and planning policies.

 

(ii)        A new Park and Ride at either Scotland Farm or a new location 4, which combines site 2 with the north portion of site 3, as set out in the report, with the remainder of site 3 not to be used for any Park and Ride facilities, in accordance with the scheme design criteria set out in paragraph 12 of the report, and within established environmental and planning policies.

 

(f)        REQUESTED officers to:

 

(i)         Ensure designs for the Western Orbital bus route, the bus route through north-west Cambridge to the Science Park and the management of buses in the city centre fully integrate with this project.

 

(ii)        Seek to deliver all of these schemes as close in time as possible to the eastern section of the A428 Cambridge to Cambourne scheme.

 

(g)        DELEGATED to Cambridgeshire County Council's Executive Director of Economy, Transport and Environment:

 

(i)         To act with input from the A428/A1303 Local Liaison Forum, including the Parish Councils and Residents' Associations along catchment areas 3a and 3, interested Members of the Joint Assembly and interested elected Members from the County Council, City Council and District Council.

 

(ii)        To act in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the City Deal Executive Board.

 

(iii)       Responsibility to identify a specific route alignment(s) within catchment area 3a or, if necessary, catchment area 3.

 

(iv)       Responsibility to identify a footprint for a Park and Ride location at either Scotland Farm or new location 4, as set out above.

 

(v)        Responsibility to bring back the results of (d), (g)(iii) and (g)(iv)  above to the Joint  ...  view the full decision text for item 9.

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered a report which set out the next stage of the A428 Cambourne to Cambridge Better Bus Journeys City Deal scheme and recommended a catchment area and Park and Ride location.  The report also sought to develop a specific route alignment within that catchment area, using the Transport Appraisal Guidance, together with an associated new Park and Ride site and proposed that both of these aspects be approved for public consultation in the summer 2017.  The recommended option contained within the report, from the officers’ perspective, represented the fastest and most reliable route, equating to a 28 minute return journey between Cambourne and Cambridge, and was the route best positioned to enable effective transport into the city.  The wider economic benefits were estimated as being £679 million over a 30 year period with the scheme estimated to cost £142 million to deliver. 

 

Bob Menzies, Director of Strategy and Development at Cambridgeshire County Council, presented the report.  It was noted that this scheme supported a number of significant local policies, including Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire Local Plans, the Local Transport Plan, the Transport Strategy for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire and the Long Term Transport Plan. 

 

Mr Menzies highlighted that this was still a very early stage in the developmental process for this scheme, with at least two further public consultations due to be held with subsequent decision points for the Executive Board, as well as the high likelihood of the scheme involving a public enquiry.  The Board would be required to prove that the scheme was needed and that all environmental issues had been assessed and mitigated against.  It was emphasised that the next stage of the process would begin to explore those issues and develop detailed route options, setting out the pros and cons of each.  Mr Menzies said it was imperative that that Board could demonstrate that it had not ruled anything out too early and could evidence that it had given due consideration to all possible route options.  This was the main reason behind the catchment area being so wide.

 

Mr Menzies reported that the option recommended in the report consisted of a dedicated, segregated route that was off-road, rather than an option that used existing infrastructure.  The fact that the route was segregated would mean that more people would be attracted to use buses rather than their own cars, on the basis that bus journeys would be more reliable as a result.  Mr Menzies referred to evidence elsewhere in the county which suggested that this busway would encourage development in areas such as Cambourne and be seen as an attractive quality.  He acknowledged that there were significant environmental issues to consider, but he believed these could be mitigated against and that it would be up to officers to demonstrate this as part of the next stage of the process. 

 

It was noted that work had already taken place in terms of landscape evaluation for the proposed Park and Ride sites, with plans being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Independent economic assessment panel update pdf icon PDF 340 KB

To consider the attached report.

Decision:

The Executive Board:

 

(a)        NOTED the overview of the gateway review process for future tranches of funding.

 

(b)        NOTED the progress on the procurement of the Independent Panel on the evaluation of local growth interventions.

 

(c)        ENDORSED the preferred tenderer status.

 

(d)        NOTED the links between the Economic Assessment Panel and the prioritisation of City Deal infrastructure investments.

 

(e)        AGREED that the details of the successful bidder be made public as soon as possible.

 

 

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered a report which provided Members with an update on the procurement of the Independent Economic Assessment Panel, which would undertake the gateway review to which future City Deal tranches were subject.  The report also set out relevant background detail regarding the Panel, the gateway review process and the link between these and infrastructure scheme prioritisation.

 

It was noted that the 2019 gateway review was expected to involve evaluation of the following:

 

(a)        delivery of prioritised schemes on track and on budget, according to their full business cases;

(b)        realisation of benefits forecast for those schemes that had been delivered in time to measure this, according to their full business cases;

(c)        wider economic impacts.

 

The Executive Board agreed that details of the successful bidder should be made public as soon as possible.

 

The Executive Board:

 

(a)        NOTED the overview of the gateway review process for future tranches of funding.

 

(b)        NOTED the progress on the procurement of the Independent Panel on the evaluation of local growth interventions.

 

(c)        ENDORSED the preferred tenderer status.

 

(d)        NOTED the links between the Economic Assessment Panel and the prioritisation of City Deal infrastructure investments.

 

(e)        AGREED that the details of the successful bidder be made public as soon as possible.

 

 

11.

City Deal financial monitoring pdf icon PDF 182 KB

To consider the attached report.

Decision:

The Executive Board NOTED the financial position as at 31 August 2016.

 

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Executive Board with the financial monitoring position for the period ending 31 August 2016.

 

Sarah Heywood, Head of Finance and Performance at Cambridgeshire County Council, presented the report and took Members through the summary of expenditure against the profiled budget up to the end of August 2016.

 

The Executive Board NOTED the financial position as at 31 August 2016.

 

12.

City Deal Strategic Risk Register pdf icon PDF 378 KB

To consider the attached report.

Decision:

The Executive Board NOTED the position in regard to the Strategic Risk Register.

Minutes:

The Executive Board considered a report which provided the Members with an update on the City Deal Strategic Risk Register.

 

Tanya Sheridan, City Deal Programme Director, presented the report and highlighted that it contained the latest information regarding the City Deal’s Strategic Risk Register, including mitigating actions and control measures in place.  She reported that the facilitation of a meeting with Government by Heidi Allen MP, as per item 8 at this meeting, would assist with addressing risk 1 in the Strategy which related to the failure of the City Deal to achieve triggers for future funding tranches.

 

It was noted that the inherent and residual likelihood and impact scores for risks 4 and 7 in the Strategy, regarding stakeholder engagement and delivery of the strategic vision for the City Deal, respectively, would be reconsidered by officers.  Tanya Sheridan also highlighted that the following risks should also not be underestimated at this time:

 

·         risk 11 – inability to recruit and retain sufficiently skilled and experienced staff throughout the City Deal programme and that negatively impacting on delivery;

·         risk 12 – inability to recruit and retain sufficiently skilled and experienced staff in the transport infrastructure programme workstream and that negatively impacting on delivery or distracting from strategic focus on sustainable economic growth for the area;

·         risk 13 – insufficient capacity among consultants, meaning that the demands of the infrastructure programme cannot be met in full therefore reducing the likelihood of delivering on time and on budget.

 

The Executive Board NOTED the position in regard to the Strategic Risk Register.