Agenda item

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

Question by Claire Tripp

Claire Tripp attended the meeting to represent the partners of the Biomedical Campus Delivery Group and asked the following question:

“The Cambridge Biomedical Campus partners understand the need for the 8 Point Plan and are supportive of the need to address the transport challenges. However, what are City Deal’s main strategic objectives over a 10-15-year timeframe?”

The background to the question was that partners were putting a lot of work into a new Campus Master Plan and an associated Campus Transport Strategy.  Claire Tripp said it would be useful to gain at least a broad understanding of what the transport, and to a lesser extent housing, landscape may be like in 2025-30.

Tanya Sheridan, City Deal Programme Director, responded by reiterating the City Deal’s objectives which were to:

·         enable a new wave of innovation-led growth that would facilitate the continued growth of the Cambridge phenomenon;

·         invest in infrastructure, housing and skills to support local plans;

·         improve connectivity, including connectivity between new homes and jobs sites;

·         create conditions for continued economic growth and jobs growth;

·         maintain a good quality of life and to enable South Cambridgeshire to continue to be a desirable place in which to live;

·         ensure sustainable transport networks.

Councillor Tim Bick requested that any further detail in response to this question be shared. Assurance was provided that further detail would be made available on the City Deal website.

Question by Erik de Visser

Mr de Visser asked whether the City Deal was a sham and sought assurance that officers would listen to the Local Liaison Forums when, in his view, they had not taken proper notice so far to any of the responses to the public consultation.

Tanya Sheridan provided an assurance that consultation responses were carefully analysed in order to understand the public’s views on proposed options.

Councillor Roger Hickford, Chairman of the Joint Assembly, provided assurance that the City Deal was not a sham, adding that he had attended the Milton Road and Histon Road Local Liaison Forum meetings and thought they had been very useful. He reiterated and emphasised to the public that their views were being listened to.

Question from Antony Carpen

Antony Carpen asked what specific plans Cambridge Regional College and Anglia Ruskin University had for hosting outreach events on the City Deal for their students.

Having spoken to Helen Valentine at Anglia Ruskin University, Tanya Sheridan responded with the following points:

·         the University was very positive about engaging with students and staff, especially in areas such as cycling improvements and Smart Cambridge which were likely to be of particular interest to its students;

·         posters and leaflets were regularly disseminated in order to advertise consultations;

·         the bus stop panel continued to advertise relevant consultations including advertising tackling peak time congestion from the end of August to October;

·         a consultation event for the Chisholm Trail was held at Anglia Ruskin University as it was a location near the proposed route.

It was noted that the City Deal had held an event at Cambridge Regional College for cross-city cycling and had attended its open day.  As stakeholders, both Cambridge Regional College and Anglia Ruskin University had received information about consultations.

Mark Robertson, Interim Principal of Cambridge Regional College, informed Mr Carpen that the college was entirely open to engaging with the community in any way possible. It was already doing a great deal with regards to apprenticeships and welcomed ideas  regarding wider engagement with the community.

Councillor Hickford acknowledged that engaging with young people was a challenge and thanked Mr Carpen for the question and for bringing the issue to the forefront.

Question from Lilian Rundblad

Lilian Rundblad said that a recommendation for an installation of a Signalised Pedestrian Crossing located near the Borrowdale Bus Stop had been brought forward to the Local Highways Improvement Bid 2014-2015 and listed as an approved project in 2015-2016 and made the point that this project has not yet been started.

She noted that on the City Deal Draft 70012012-GA-401 there was a proposed signalised pedestrian crossing outlined by the Borrowdale Bus Stop.  Lilian Rundblad therefore asked whether this proposal had been coordinated with the Local Highways Improvement programme and if this construction would be starting in coordination with Local Highways Improvement programme in 2016 in accordance with its budget plans.

She emphasised that the safety of the local residents was of the greatest importance and should be adhered to urgently. A time plan for the Signalised Pedestrian Crossing by the Borrowdale Bus Stop was also requested.

Tanya Sheridan made the following points in response to the question:

·         the potential for a new crossing to be provided on Histon Road near the Borrowdale bus stop through the County Council’s Local Highways Improvement programme, was raised at an early stage in the Histon Road scheme development. The original intention was for a zebra crossing to be delivered through the programme, but the potential for the road to be widened to provide a bus lane and cycleways as part of the City Deal scheme had raised concerns over the safe operation of a zebra crossing across a wider road width;

·         the close proximity of the safety camera to a new crossing location also caused a potential problem as the prescribed road markings required for a zebra crossing and safety camera could overlap, which could jeopardise their safe and legal operation. Against this background, it had not proved possible to deliver a zebra crossing as part of the Local Highways Improvement programme;

·         the potential for the City Deal scheme to provide a new crossing as an alternative delivery mechanism was reflected in the plans in the Interim Options Report, which showed a potential new signalised crossing close to the existing bus stop;

·         as the City Deal was taken forward, consideration would be given to the provision of a signalised crossing point in support of delivering improvements to walking and cycling trips on Histon Road. Careful consideration would be given to the exact location of a new crossing to ensure that it met local needs and did not interfere with the operation of the safety camera. The forthcoming design workshops being undertaken through the Local Liaison Forum would give an opportunity for the local community to inform this aspect of the scheme design;

·         all safety camera locations across the county were under review by the County Council as part of a programme to upgrade cameras to new digital technology.