The deadline for receipt of public questions is 23:59 on Tuesday, 30 November.
The Council’s scheme for public speaking at committee meetings may be inspected here:
Public Questions at Committee Meetings
a) From Mr. Daniel Fulton
In the Cambridge Independent on 15 September, Cllr Tumi Hawkins, lead cabinet member for planning, stated that, “We are committed to work with Longstanton Parish Council and Northstowe Parish Council to investigate water levels across the local area.”
As part of its investigations, has the district council actually obtained any data on groundwater levels in Northstowe or Longstanton after May of this year, for example from borehole BH144 or any of the other boreholes being regularly monitored by the developers?
If the district council has obtained any such data, why hasn’t it been made available to planning officers and members of the public?
If the district council hasn’t obtained any such data, why hasn’t it done so?
b) From Mrs. Jane Williams
In May 2020, the council voted to give all delegation powers for planning decisions to a single unaccountable, un-elected officer. You may recall that this change was quite controversial and attracted vociferous opposition from councillors and from a number of parish councils and local activists.
You may also recall that during the debate, the leader of the council, the lead cabinet member for planning, and other from the majority group repeatedly promised that this change was only temporary and that the delegation scheme would be comprehensively reconsidered in light of the findings of a report by the Planning Advisory Service.
The report has long since been published and forgotten, and yet the majority’s undemocratic delegation scheme, which was promised to be “temporary”, remains in place a year and a half later.
The council’s leadership has promised time and time again that this will be a “modern and caring council” that operates in an open, honest, and democratic fashion, and yet the council keeps falling short of these goals.
What steps will the council’s cabinet take to get the council back on track towards open, honest, democratic governance, and when will a truly democratic planning delegation scheme be put into place for the Parishoners of Waterbeach and residents of South Cambridge?
Minutes:
Cabinet received two public questions ahead of the meeting. Both questioners attended virtually:
a) From Mr. Daniel Fulton
In the Cambridge Independent on 15 September, Cllr Tumi Hawkins, lead cabinet member for planning, stated that, “We are committed to work with Longstanton Parish Council and Northstowe Parish Council to investigate water levels across the local area.”
As part of its investigations, has the district council actually obtained any data on groundwater levels in Northstowe or Longstanton after May of this year, for example from borehole BH144 or any of the other boreholes being regularly monitored by the developers?
If the district council has obtained any such data, why hasn’t it been made available to planning officers and members of the public?
If the district council hasn’t obtained any such data, why hasn’t it done so?
Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins responded:
The District Council does not have specific borehole data on groundwater levels. As part of the application for Northstowe Phases 3a and 3b, the applicant has supplied a technical report setting out the assessment of the impact of that development upon groundwater for consideration as part of the planning application. The Planning Service is, with consultee’s reviewing that material.
Earlier in 2021, SCDC funded a study on behalf of Longstanton Parish Council investigating the issue of groundwater impacts upon the Kingfisher Pond. The final report from HRW Wallingford was submitted to the Parish Council in May 2021. The Council has prepared a draft action plan in consultation with the Parish Council that seeks to respond to the conclusions in that report. SCDC continues to engage with the Environment Agency and the Lead Local Flood Authority on the issue of groundwater conditions at Northstowe.
The Leader invited Mr. Fulton to ask a supplementary question:
Mr. Fulton asked if the Lead Cabinet Member was being regularly updated by the Head of Service.
Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins responded that she regularly met with the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development
b) From Dr. Kate Grant on behalf of Mrs. Jane Williams
In May 2020, the council voted to give all delegation powers for planning decisions to a single unaccountable, un-elected officer. You may recall that this change was quite controversial and attracted vociferous opposition from councillors and from a number of parish councils and local activists.
You may also recall that during the debate, the leader of the council, the lead cabinet member for planning, and other from the majority group repeatedly promised that this change was only temporary and that the delegation scheme would be comprehensively reconsidered in light of the findings of a report by the Planning Advisory Service.
The report has long since been published and forgotten, and yet the majority’s undemocratic delegation scheme, which was promised to be “temporary”, remains in place a year and a half later.
The council’s leadership has promised time and time again that this will be a “modern and caring council” that operates in an open, honest, and democratic fashion, and yet the council keeps falling short of these goals.
What steps will the council’s cabinet take to get the council back on track towards open, honest, democratic governance, and when will a truly democratic planning delegation scheme be put into place for the Parishioners of Waterbeach and residents of South Cambridge?
Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins responded:
The Council remains committed to ensuring that the scheme of planning delegations provides good value for money to the residents and businesses of South Cambridgeshire, whilst at the same time ensuring that local voices are heard and recognised in planning decisions.
The Planning Advisory Service recommended, as part of its report, that the Council keep the scheme of delegations under review. A combined group of members and officers was therefore formed and have had discussions about what changes – if any – are needed to the current delegation arrangements to ensure they best serve our community. There is a wide range of views within the group about what arrangements might work best. An exercise is therefore currently underway to gather information from other planning authorities about the schemes of delegation used elsewhere and their respective merits. This information will inform further discussion within the group which will allow a recommendation to come forward in the new year.
The Leader invited Dr. Grant to ask a supplementary question:
Dr. Grant asked why minutes from the delegation meetings hadn’t been published, and asked for an update on the Waterbeach new town east cycleway and footway delegation meeting.
Councillor. Dr. Tumi Hawkins responded that she would investigate why the minutes had not been published, and a further response regarding the cycleway delegation meeting would be shared in due course.