Issue - meetings

The Council has made Community Orchards a priority action this year and is supporting local people establish or restore one in their area.  We aim to help six projects get up and running in 2010/11, but the more that can be achieved the better. Orchards need to have at least five trees and be accessible to the public to qualify for support.

Orchards are part and parcel of South Cambridgeshire’s landscapes and heritage, and give us beautiful spring blossom, distinctive varieties of fruit and havens for wildlife. They can create attractive places, dappled with sun and shade, and teach children about where food comes from and healthy eating.

Community orchards bring people together - everyone can contribute something - and give villages the chance to see an orchard grow and mature over time.

Community orchards are very much local projects run by local people. The community takes the lead, sets up an orchard group or enlists an existing group to organise the project, and arranges the planting and maintenance.

We will provide general advice and flag-up sources of guidance (for example on planting, tree care or involving communities) and funding (including our own grants). 

Enclosed is a copy of our Community Orchards leaflet that gives an introduction to:

• Getting started
• Choosing a site and trees
• Caring for your tree
• Involving your community
• Grants
• Sources of further information

Also enclosed is an article on Community Orchards from the Autumn South Cambs Magazine.

The leaflet, article and other information is on our web site www.scambs.gov.uk/CommunityOrchards. For more advice contact our Ecology Officer on (01954) 713402.  

Cabinet RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the following Vision for the Council be adopted:

“We will make South Cambridgeshire a safe and healthy place where residents are proud to live and where there will be opportunities for employment, enterprise and world-leading innovation. We will be a listening Council, providing a voice for rural life and first-class services accessible to all.” 

Council RESOLVED that the following Vision for the Council be adopted:

“We will make South Cambridgeshire a safe and healthy place where residents are proud to live and where there will be opportunities for employment, enterprise and world-leading innovation. We will be a listening Council, providing a voice for rural life and first-class services accessible to all.” 

Councillor RMA Manning moved, Councillor TJ Wotherspoon seconded and Council RESOLVED that the following Vision for the Council be adopted:

“We will make South Cambridgeshire a safe and healthy place where residents are proud to live and where there will be opportunities for employment, enterprise and world-leading innovation. We will be a listening Council, providing a voice for rural life and first-class services accessible to all.” 

Cabinet, at its meeting in October 2008, recommended that Council adopt a series of Aims, Approaches and Actions for the Council (the 'Three As'). These three As were subsequently adopted by the Council on 27 November.

The Council's agreed strategic aims are as follows:

a.         We are committed to being a listening council, providing first class services accessible to all.

b.         We are committed to ensuring that South Cambridgeshire continues to be a safe and healthy place for you and your family

c.                  We are committed to making South Cambridgeshire a place in which residents can feel proud to live

d.         We are committed to assisting provision for local jobs for you and your family

e.         We are committed to providing a voice for rural life

The Leader and Council expressed a wish to incorporate all elements of these aims into a Vision for the Council which encapsulates what South Cambridgeshire District Council is aspiring to achieve in the eyes of its employees, Members, partners and customers. 

Cabinet has worked with officers to develop this vision, and is now requested to RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL that the following Vision for the Council be adopted:

`To make South Cambridgeshire a safe and healthy place where residents are proud to live and where there will be opportunities for employment, enterprise and world-leading innovation. We will be a listening Council, providing a voice for rural life and first-class services accessible to all’. 

Cabinet

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the following Vision for the Council be adopted, subject to a check for grammatical accuracy:

“To make South Cambridgeshire a safe and healthy place where residents are proud to live and where there will be opportunities for employment, enterprise and world-leading innovation. We will be a listening Council, providing a voice for rural life and first-class services accessible to all.” 

Cabinet

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the following Vision for the Council be adopted, subject to a check for grammatical accuracy:

“To make South Cambridgeshire a safe and healthy place where residents are proud to live and where there will be opportunities for employment, enterprise and world-leading innovation. We will be a listening Council, providing a voice for rural life and first-class services accessible to all.” 

Cabinet RECOMMENDED to Council:

A)           That the attached Aims, Approaches and Actions be adopted with effect from 1 April 2009;

B)          That the Corporate Plan, existing service plans and strategies based on the current Corporate Objectives remain in force until they would normally be revised;

C)          That, for the remainder of the current financial year, new and revised policies and strategies should be tested for compatibility with the Aims, Approaches and Actions agreed in (A) above, and also with the existing Corporate Objectives. 

The report and appendices considered by the Cabinet can be accessed using the following links to the Council’s website, www.scambs.gov.uk:

- Report

- Appendix

A hard copy of the papers is available to view in the Members’ Room. Please contact Democratic Services if you wish to obtain a hard copy – telephone (01954) 713016 e-mail democratic.services@scambs.gov.uk

Council RESOLVED:

A)           That the Aims, Approaches and Actions set out in the report at Agenda pages 11-14 be adopted with effect from 1 April 2009;

B)          That the Corporate Plan, existing service plans and strategies based on the current Corporate Objectives remain in force until they would normally be revised;

C)          That, for the remainder of the current financial year, new and revised policies and strategies should be tested for compatibility with the Aims, Approaches and Actions agreed in (A) above, and also with the existing Corporate Objectives. 

Councillor RMA Manning moved, Councillor TJ Wotherspoon seconded and Council RESOLVED:

A)           That the Aims, Approaches and Actions set out in the report at Agenda pages 11-14 be adopted with effect from 1 April 2009;

B)          That the Corporate Plan, existing service plans and strategies based on the current Corporate Objectives remain in force until they would normally be revised;

C)          That, for the remainder of the current financial year, new and revised policies and strategies should be tested for compatibility with the Aims, Approaches and Actions agreed in (A) above, and also with the existing Corporate Objectives. 

Cabinet RECOMMENDED to Council:

1.      That the Aims, Approaches and Actions, set out in the Appendix to the report, be adopted with effect from 1 April 2009;

2.      That the Corporate Plan, existing service plans and strategies based on the current Corporate Objectives remain in force until they would normally be revised;

3.      That, for the remainder of the current financial year, new and revised policies and strategies should be tested for compatibility with the Aims, Approaches and Actions agreed in (1) above, and also with the existing Corporate Objectives.

Cabinet

RECOMMENDED    to Council

A)           That the Aims, Approaches and Actions, set out in the Appendix attached to the report, be adopted with effect from 1 April 2009;

B)          That the Corporate Plan, existing service plans and strategies based on the current Corporate Objectives remain in force until they would normally be revised;

C)          That, for the remainder of the current financial year, new and revised policies and strategies should be tested for compatibility with the Aims, Approaches and Actions agreed in (A) above, and also with the existing Corporate Objectives. 

Councillor RMA Manning introduced this item on the adoption of new Council priorities to replace the current Corporate Objectives. He amended paragraph 5 of the report to read “… have been developed by the Conservative Group.” He also corrected the figure for revenue cost in 2009/10 to £300,000 in paragraph 10. An amended version of the recommendation at paragraph 13 was circulated, which stated that the new Aims, Approaches and Actions would take effect from April 2009 instead of immediately.

Councillor TJ Wotherspoon emphasised that this report had the support of the entire Conservative Group.

Councillor SGM Kindersley suggested that these new priorities were insufficient both in terms of the development agenda and the threat of climate change. Councillor JD Batchelor stated that the Conservative leadership needed to deliver on these objectives and that it was his duty as Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee to hold them to account for these aspirations.

Councillor SM Edwards explained that whilst the current Corporate Objectives would be in place until April 2009, he expected that due consideration would be given to the new objectives when any new policies were being considered before then.

Concerns were expressed regarding the specific actions in the appendices of the report, in particular the relationship between parish councils and neighbourhood panels and the removal of litter on A roads. It was noted that specific concerns could be discussed when this matter was determined by Council.

Cabinet

RECOMMENDED    to Council

A)           That the Aims, Approaches and Actions, set out in the Appendix attached to the report, be adopted with effect from 1 April 2009;

B)          That the Corporate Plan, existing service plans and strategies based on the current Corporate Objectives remain in force until they would normally be revised;

C)          That, for the remainder of the current financial year, new and revised policies and strategies should be tested for compatibility with the Aims, Approaches and Actions agreed in (A) above, and also with the existing Corporate Objectives.