Agenda, decisions and minutes

To authorise the Leader to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2013 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2013 were agreed as a correct record.

Councillor David Bard declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 of the agenda, as his wife was a trustee of the Ward’s Charity in Sawston. Councillor Bard remained in the room and participated in the discussion.

Councillor Nick Wright declared a non-pecuniary interest it item 7 with regard to land along the A428 corridor as he was acquainted with those whom it affected. Following advice from the Monitoring Officer that Cabinet were being asked to put the Local Plan out to consultation, Councillor Wright remained in the room and voted on the item.

The Leader was pleased to announce that according to the Government, major improvements to the A14 would be carried out, with a provisional start date of 2016.

None.

Cabinet

APPROVED   The updated Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy and Procedure attached as Appendix A to the report, subject to the inclusion of a section under the heading Roles and Responsibilities listing the responsibilities of councillors.

Councillor Mark Howell, Housing Portfolio Holder, presented this report which invited Cabinet to agree a revised Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy. He recommended that an extra paragraph be added to section 2 on the responsibilities of councillors.

Councillor Howell expressed the hope that a members’ champion for children would be announced shortly, but he had been unable to contact his preferred choice.

Councillor Bridget Smith recommended that details of the Council’s policies on child and vulnerable adult protection be included as part of the councillors’ induction process. Councillor Howell agreed that councillors should receive feedback on the status of cases that they had referred.

Cabinet

APPROVED   The updated Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy and Procedure attached as Appendix A to the report, subject to the inclusion of a section under the heading Roles and Responsibilities listing the responsibilities of councillors.

Appendices A and B to the report are bound together in a separate document

Appendices D and F can be viewed on the following link:

http://www.scambs.gov.uk/content/cabinet-meeting-27-june-2013

Appendix C was originally accessed via link to the website. The files were added to this page after the meeting.

Appendix E is attached to the report in the agenda pack

Cabinet

AGREED

A)           The Proposed Submission South Cambridgeshire Local Plan for consultation, including the evidence base listed in the plan (Appendix A);

B)           The Proposed Submission Policies Map (Appendix B);

C)           To note the Draft Final Sustainability Report (Appendix C);

D)           To note the Duty to Cooperate Statement (Appendix D);

E)           To agree the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Memorandum of Cooperation (Appendix E)

F)           To note the Statement of Consultation (Appendix F);

G)          To agree the consultation arrangements set out in paragraph 13;

H)           To agree that the Proposed Submission Local Plan housing target and plan period be used to calculate 5-year housing land supply pending adoption of the plan;

I)                   To agree that any subsequent minor amendments and editing changes be made in consultation with the Planning Policy and Localism Portfolio Holder.

J)                   To agree the responses to issues raised in representations received to the consultations on Issues and Options from summer 2012 and winter 2013, and the spring 2013 single issue consultation on a proposed Sawston Football Stadium which can be found in Appendix C: The Draft Final Sustainability Appraisal (Annex 1).

Councillor Pippa Corney, Planning Policy and Localism Portfolio Holder, invited Cabinet to agree the Proposed Submission South Cambridgeshire Local Plan covering the period to 2031 for public consultation. The Plan had been discussed at the Planning Policy and Localism Portfolio Holder meetings on 21 March, 11 April and 11 June. It was noted that an additional recommendation (j) had been added following the publication of the agenda.

In response to questioning, Councillor Corney expressed confidence in the planning procedures to prevent developers from circumnavigating the correct process.

Waterbeach

Concern was expressed that delay in building homes on the site of the barracks would not sustain the village community and the viability of building a new town, especially in terms of improving the infrastructure, was questioned. Councillor James Hockney, local member for Waterbeach, confirmed that the community wanted to see the old barracks site developed and was pleased to report that the first residents were expected to move in during August. He stated that the community felt that they had been listened to and that through lobbying the proposed size of the planned new town had reduced from over 10,000 houses to 8-9,000, with a separate village identity and green separation agreed for the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey, but this would only mitigate the impact and the village will still oppose the new town. Councillor Peter Johnson, local member for Waterbeach, was concerned about the ability of the town to provide suitable improvements in infrastructure and without this the proposed new town could not be built. It was understood that the earliest development of a new town at Waterbeach could commence was over ten years away.

Bourn airfield

In response to concerns that the process was not member-led, Councillor Corney stated that the proposed development of Bourn airfield had been recommended by councillors and had been supported by some members at the recent workshops. The Local Development Framework Team Leader explained that any environmental impact assessment would have to be carried out as part of the planning application process. Stakeholders, including the Environment Agency, had been consulted with regard to this proposed development.

Councillor Tumi Hawkins expressed her opposition to the development along the A428 and stated that the proposals would mean residential housing from the Caxton Gibbet round-a-bout to Caldecote.

Sawston and Babraham

It was noted that site H/1:b land north of Babraham Road was actually in the parish of Babraham and not Sawston as stated and part of the site H/a:c land south of Babaraham Road was in Babraham and was not exclusively in Sawston as stated. It was agreed that this would be made clear in the Plan.

Councillor Tony Orgee stated that as the proposed football stadium had been rejected on the grounds of increased traffic it made sense that the proposed 540 dwellings in Sawston and Babraham be rejected on the same grounds.

Agreeing the Plan

The Local Development Framework Team Leader explained that the Council had some flexibility with regard  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Reference to appendices in Appendix A to the report can be found by accessing the following link: www.scambs.gov.uk/cilpdcs

Cabinet

AGREED

A)        To note the interim viability report attached as Appendix A to the report

B)        To approve the Community Infrastructure Levy Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule (PDCS) shown in paragraph 40 of the report for consultation under the emerging Local Plan.

Councillor Nick Wright, Planning and Economic Development portfolio holder, introduced this item which detailed the progress being made with regard to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and sought approval for the Council to consult on the Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule. It was noted that the paragraph number referred to in recommendation (B) should be 40 and not 39 and the sites listed in paragraph 34, (b) should include the text “& III” after the words “Darwin Green II”.

It was understood that the CIL would be non-negotiable and would replace section 106 agreements in the majority of cases, although these would remain for large developments. It was noted that current developments would continue to operate under Section 106 agreements, until the new arrangements were agreed. The aim was to introduce these charges in April 2014.

Concern was expressed that this would mean a large reduction in the charge paid by developers as the Council had been receiving excellent value for money with regard to Section 106 Agreements. It was noted that small residential developments that had been exempt from Section 106 Agreements would be covered by these new charges. It was suggested that parish councils would receive far less under these proposed arrangements than being currently received under Section 106 Agreements.

The Director of Planning and New Communities explained that supermarkets had been assessed by experts as being able to afford the charges as laid out in paragraph 40, whilst other businesses could not and so were exempt.

Cabinet

AGREED

A)        To note the interim viability report attached as Appendix A to the report

B)        To approve the Community Infrastructure Levy Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule (PDCS) shown in paragraph 40 of the report for consultation under the emerging Local Plan.

Cabinet

AGREED to

A)        Note the provisional outturn position as stated in Appendix A;

B)        Approve the use of approximately £48,000 of identified savings to fund the purchase of cameras on refuse vehicles.

The Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder

APPROVED   the additional capital and revenue budget rollovers totalling £118,940, as listed in Appendix B, to be carried forward into the 2013-14 financial year.

Councillor Simon Edwards, Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder, presented this report which provided Cabinet with a provisional outturn position statement on the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account and Capital Expenditure and to consider requests for budget rollovers from 2012-13 to 2013-14.

Councillor Mark Howell, Housing Portfolio Holder, warned that bed and breakfast charges were likely to continue to increase. He was happy to confirm that there had been no problems with the recruitment of Sheltered Housing staff. The Home Improvement Agency were planning to recruit their own Occupational Therapist to carry out referrals.

Councillor Manning congratulated staff on the returns achieved on the Council’s investments, which were £195,800 more than expected and compared favourably with those of other authorities.

Cabinet

AGREED to

A)        Note the provisional outturn position as stated in Appendix A;

B)        Approve the use of approximately £48,000 of identified savings to fund the purchase of cameras on refuse vehicles.

The Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder

APPROVED   the additional capital and revenue budget rollovers totalling £118,940, as listed in Appendix B, to be carried forward into the 2013-14 financial year.

Cabinet

AGREED        To approve the Strategic Risk Register in Appendix A and matrix at Appendix B, subject to the amendment of the likelihood of risk STR03 Illegal Traveller encampments from 2 to 3.

David Whiteman-Downes, Corporate and Customer Services Portfolio Holder, presented this report which invited Cabinet to review the current risks affecting the Council and approve the Strategic Risk Register.

STR24, HRA Business Plan

It was agreed that the Likelihood score for the above risk should be 3 (possible) not 2 (unlikely), as the Government had not given a guarantee that Councils would not be asked to take on additional debt.

STR12, Supported Housing

It was agreed that the Impact score for the above risk should be 3 (medium) and not 2 (low), as the Council was going out to tender with Cambridgeshire County Council.

STR03, Illegal Traveller encampments or developments

It was agreed that whilst the Council looked set to exceed its target 85 pitches, the Likelihood score should be amended to 3 (possible) not the recommended 2 (unlikely) in the report, as illegal encampments could occur at any time and it was unclear if the number of new pitches would meet the demand from the different traveller groups.

It was suggested that dealing effectively with risks could have a positive effect on the Council. It was noted that the review of the Strategic Risk Register would form part of the quarterly financial and performance monitoring report in future, Cabinet being in an ideal position to provide an overview.

Cabinet

AGREED        To approve the Strategic Risk Register in Appendix A and matrix at Appendix B, subject to the amendment of the likelihood of risk STR03 Illegal Traveller encampments from 2 to 3.

None.

Nick Wright reported that he had recently attended a meeting of Papworth Everard Parish Council.

A report from Sue Ellington, Health and Wellbeing Champion, was circulated.