Agenda item

To receive the attached advice note.

Council ENDORSED the advice note on elected Member involvement in the Greater Cambridge City Deal.

Councillor Francis Burkitt, Portfolio Holder for the Greater Cambridge City Deal, proposed that the advice note on elected Member involvement in the Greater Cambridge City Deal, as included within the agenda pack, be endorsed. 

Councillor Ray Manning, Leader of the Council, seconded the proposal.

Councillor Bridget Smith, Leader of the Opposition, could not support the advice note which she felt essentially said that the District Council had no special position as a consultee on City Deal projects.  She had originally understood that the Council would be a ‘super-consultee’ as a City Deal partner and said that the advice note now made it clear that the Council had no greater voice on City Deal issues than anyone else.  Councillor Smith felt that the Council had been misled and that the protocol as suggested in the note was undemocratic.  She therefore requested that it be sent back to the Executive Board for further work as, in her view,  it was currently not fit for purpose.

Councillor Aidan Van de Weyer referred to the Notice of Motion agreed by the Council at its meeting on 26 November 2015, where it requested a protocol as to how Members individually, and the Council as a body, should respond to City Deal consultations.  He did not feel that the advice note described how the Council as a body could respond to City Deal consultations.  Referring to the advice note itself, paragraph 2.4 stated that Members of the partner Councils were fully involved in the City Deal programme.  He did not agree with this statement.  The note also suggested that Members could lobby individual officers and he therefore requested a list of officers and their contact details.  Councillor Van de Weyer was of the opinion that this document was not a protocol for how the Council as a body interacted with the City Deal and supported Councillor Smith’s suggestion of sending it back to the Executive Board for reconsideration.

Councillor Nigel Cathcart, particularly in view of the next Local Development Plan, felt that the voting arrangements for the City Deal should be reconsidered.  He suggested a system where only those Members of South Cambridgeshire District Council should vote for issues affecting the South Cambridgeshire area in order to safeguard the district.

Councillor Robin Page agreed with the comment that the City Deal was undemocratic and was concerned that it’s projects would ruin South Cambridgeshire’s countryside.  Councillor Deborah Roberts had the same view in respect of the countryside and was unsure as to what exactly the City Deal would provide for the people of South Cambridgeshire.  She made the point that the City Council Member on the Board gained more coverage in the local press than any other Member. 

Councillor Sebastian Kindersley raised concerns regarding the establishment of Local Liaison Forums, as referred to in paragraph 3.5 of the document.  He said that some of the City Deal transport infrastructure scheme projects would have significant impacts on a wide ranging area, so it was likely that some villages affected by some of these schemes may not be represented on the Forum.  

Councillor Manning reminded Members that there were three Members entitled to vote on the City Deal Executive Board, with one of those votes being a South Cambridgeshire District Council vote.  He was of the opinion that the person appointed to represent the Council on that body would have an idea of what the District Council would want and cast their vote accordingly.  Councillor Manning also made the point that any Member of the Council had the right to address the Executive Board or Joint Assembly in the same way as members of the public.

NOTE – Councillor Robin Page left the meeting at this stage of proceedings.

Councillor Francis Burkitt made the following points in response to the comments raised during debate:

·         the title ‘City Deal’ gave people an incorrect perception and he wanted to make it clear to people that this was a joint venture for the Greater Cambridge area, not solely for the City of Cambridge.  He implored Members to get behind and support the implementation of the City Deal in view of the fact that the Council was a key strategic partner.  This was one of the reasons why the Council as a body could not be a ‘super-consultee’, because it would effectively mean consulting with itself on City Deal consultations.  It was therefore much better that individual Members could provide their input into the Executive Board or Joint Assembly, as suggested in paragraph 4.1 of the advice note;

·         the exception to the Council being a ‘super-consultee’ was in relation to the Local Development Plan, the detailed arrangements around which would be worked up in more detail as reflected in paragraph 4.2 of the advice note;

·         a list of officers for the various workstreams of the City Deal programme would be published in due course;

·         in terms of concerns about the future of South Cambridgeshire’s countryside, Councillor Burkitt made it clear that he would be a loud rural voice on the Executive Board;

·         the more people understood what the City Deal was about and what it was seeking to deliver, the more people would appreciate and support it.  The City Deal’s new Strategic Communications Manager, due to commence their new role at the end of the month, would assist in promoting the City Deal in this respect;

·         the City Council Member on the Board did appear in the local media more often than any other Member, due to the fact that Councillor Lewis Herbert as the City Council’s representative on the Executive Board was the Chairman and spokesperson for the Board;

·         Local Liaison Forums already existed via the County Council for transport infrastructure schemes and the City Deal’s transport infrastructure schemes would follow the same process in that respect.

Councillor Burkitt closed by saying that he wanted Members to get on board with the City Deal and think of it as an extension of the District Council.

Voting on the proposal, with 36 votes in favour, 12 against and 2 abstentions, Council ENDORSED the advice note on elected Member involvement in the Greater Cambridge City Deal.

Enough Members as prescribed in Council Standing Orders requested a recorded vote.  Votes were therefore cast as follows:

In favour

Councillors David Bard, Val Barret, Francis Burkitt, Brian Burling, Tom Bygott, Graham Cone, Pippa Corney, Christopher Cross, Kevin Cuffley, Simon Edwards, Sue Ellington, Andrew Fraser, Roger Hall, Roger Hickford, Mark Howell, Caroline Hunt, Peter Johnson, Douglas de Lacey, Mervyn Loynes, Ray Manning, Mick Martin, Raymond Matthews, David McCraith, Charles Nightingale, Tony Orgee, Alex Riley, Tim Scott, Ben Shelton, Edd Stonham, Peter Topping, Richard Turner, Robert Turner, Bunty Waters, David Whiteman-Downes, Tim Wotherspoon and Nick Wright.

Against

Councillors Henry Batchelor, Anna Bradnam, Nigel Cathcart, Jose Hales, Philippa Hart, Tumi Hawkins, Sebastian Kindersley, Janet Lockwood, Bridget Smith, Hazel Smith, Aidan Van de Weyer and John Williams.

Abstention

Councillors Cicely Murfitt and Deborah Roberts.