Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: The Council Chamber, South Cambridgeshire Hall

Contact: Graham Watts  03450 450 500 Email: democratic.services@scambs.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Mark Robertson and Councillor Tim Wotherspoon.

2.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 180 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 August 2016 as a correct record.

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 August 2016 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

3.

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Joint Assembly.

Minutes:

Helen Valentine, in respect of item 8, declared that she had been appointed onto the Joint Assembly by the University of Cambridge but that she was not employed by the University and was not obliged to represent its views.

 

Dr John Wells declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in item 8 as he was employed by the University of Cambridge.  He made the point that he was not in any way involved in the University’s decision-making processes regarding this scheme, but intended to leave the meeting room prior to consideration of the item to avoid any perception of undue influence.  Dr Wells also declared that he had been appointed onto the Joint Assembly by the University of Cambridge, not as a direct representative of the University, and that he was a resident of Hardwick.

 

Councillor Bridget Smith, in respect of item 8, declared that she was the Vice-Chairman of the A428 Local Liaison Forum.

4.

Questions by members of the public pdf icon PDF 174 KB

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

Minutes:

It was noted that all public questions that had been received related to item 8.  In view of this, it was agreed that questions would be put as part of considering that item.

5.

Petitions

To note that no petitions for consideration by the Joint Assembly have been received since the last meeting.

Minutes:

No petitions for consideration by the Joint Assembly since the previous meeting had been received.

6.

City Deal Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 103 KB

To consider the attached City Deal Forward Plan.

 

(Changes to the Forward Plan document made since the previous meeting are purposely highlighted using tracked changes.)

Decision:

The Joint Assembly NOTED the City Deal Forward Plan.

Minutes:

The Joint Assembly considered the City Deal Forward Plan.

 

Tanya Sheridan, City Deal Programme Director, presented the Forward Plan and reported that the City Deal scheme regarding the Chisholm Trail had been considered by the County Council’s Economy and Environment Committee, at the same time as the Abbey Chesterton bridge.

 

The Joint Assembly NOTED the City Deal Forward Plan.

7.

City Deal progress report pdf icon PDF 321 KB

To consider the attached progress report.

Decision:

The Joint Assembly NOTED the City Deal progress report.

Minutes:

The Joint Assembly considered the City Deal progress report.

 

Tanya Sheridan, City Deal Programme Director, presented the report and highlighted that the next stage of public consultation for the Histon Road and Milton Road schemes would need to move to allow community design workshops to take place in advance to inform the proposals and facilitate stakeholder engagement.  This meant that the consultations on the detailed design for the two schemes would now take place in the first half of 2017, rather than November and December 2016. 

 

The Joint Assembly NOTED the City Deal progress report.

8.

A428 Cambourne to Cambridge Better Bus Journeys: Selection of a catchment area for detailed scheme development pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To consider the attached report.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The Joint Assembly RECOMMENDED that the Executive Board:

 

(1)        Notes the accompanying Option Assessment Report, the further background papers containing the Outline Strategic Business Case, and the Map Appendix to the Report.

 

(2)        Agrees in principle that a wholly or partly segregated bus route between Cambourne and Cambridge, with the possibility of the potential for a segregated, cross country super cycleway running close to or through the key villages between Bourn Airfield and the M11 best meets the strategic objectives of the City Deal and the City Deal Agreement, given the wider economic benefits.

(3)        Instructs officers to undertake further appraisal on:

 

(a)       possible specific route alignments within Catchment Areas 3a and 4 (with the possibility of a bridge to the north of the existing M11 bridge), noting that both may connect with and potentially go through Cambridge West, in accordance with the scheme design criteria set out in Paragraph 12 of the report, and within established environmental and planning policies;

 

(b)        new Park & Ride locations 1, 2 and 3, as set out in Figure 3 of the report, and also Scotland Farm, via comparison.

 

(4)        Requests officers to:

 

(a)        Ensure designs for the Western Orbital bus route, the bus route through North West Cambridge to the Science Park, and the management of buses in the city centre fully integrate with this project.

(b)        Seek to deliver all these schemes as close in time as possible to the eastern section of the A428 Cambridge to Cambourne scheme.

(5)       Delegates to Cambridgeshire County Council’s Executive Director of Economy, Transport and Environment:

 

(a)        Authority to act on input from the A428/A1303 Local Liaison Forum, the Parish Councils and Residents’ Associations along Catchment Areas 3a and 4, interested members of the Joint Assembly and interested Councillors from the County, City and District Councils, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the City Deal Executive Board.

 

(b)        Responsibility to:

 

(i)         Identify specific route alignments within Catchment Area 3a and 4.

 

(ii)        Identify a Park and Ride location.

 

(iii)        Bring back the result of (i) and (ii) to the Joint Assembly and Executive Board for approval prior to release for public consultation.

 

(iv)       Undertake a public consultation on those specific route alignments and Park & Ride locations, planned for May to July 2017.

 

(v)        Subsequent to the above consultation, provide a report to the Joint Assembly and Executive Board, targeted for November 2017, containing a recommendation and Full Outline Business Case for a specific route alignment and one Park & Ride location that would then subsequently be developed in detail and an application made for Statutory Approval in 2018.

Minutes:

NOTE - Dr John Wells, having declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in this item, left the meeting at this stage of proceedings.

 

The Joint Assembly considered a report which set out the next stage of the A428 Cambourne to Cambridge Better Bus Journeys City Deal scheme and recommended a catchment area and Park and Ride location.  The report also sought to develop a specific route alignment within that catchment area, using the Transport Appraisal Guidance, together with an associated new Park and Ride site and proposed that both of these aspects be approved for public consultation in the summer 2017.

 

Bob Menzies, Director of Strategy and Development at Cambridgeshire County Council, presented the report and provided a brief presentation to Members.  It was noted that this scheme supported a number of significant local policies, including Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire Local Plans, the Local Transport Plan, the Transport Strategy for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire and the Long Term Transport Plan. 

 

Mr Menzies reported that the recommended option contained within the report was the best option from the perspective of the City Deal's objectives taking into account the longer term view of the Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire Local Plans, including the significant proposed development at Cambourne, Cambourne West and Bourn Airfield.  It represented the fastest and most reliable route, equating to a 28 minute return journey between Cambourne and Cambridge, and was the route best positioned to enable effective transport into the city.  The wider economic benefits were estimated as being £679 million over a 30 year period with the scheme estimated to cost £142 million to deliver.  He acknowledged that the option proposed was the most expensive option and that there were significant environmental issues to consider, but he believed that the investment would be worthwhile and that the sensitivities regarding the environmental aspects of the scheme could be mitigated against.  He highlighted that the route would be designed and developed at ground level and in many areas dug into the ground in order that its visual impact was kept to a minimum.

 

Referring to the busway aspect of the proposal, Mr Menzies reported that evidence elsewhere in the county suggested that this would encourage development in areas such as Cambourne and be seen as an attractive quality. 

 

Councillor Roger Hickford, Chairman of the Joint Assembly, invited those members of the public who had provided notice to present their questions.  Questions were therefore asked and answered as follows:

 

Question by Dr Hans Hagen

 

Dr Hans Hagen said that Cambridge Biomedical Campus partners welcomed the Cambourne to Cambridge Better Bus Journeys assessment and saw it as a positive step forward for those staff currently living in the A428 area and the 2,000 new Papworth Hospital and AstraZeneca staff who would be commuting from the west of Cambridge to the Campus from October 2017 onwards.

 

He asked for clarification as to how the current plans for this scheme would ultimately link to an effective sustainable transport route from the A428  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Independent economic assessment panel update pdf icon PDF 340 KB

To consider the attached report.

Decision:

The Joint Assembly RECOMMENDED that the Executive Board:

 

(1)        Notes the overview of the gateway review process for future tranches of funding.

 

(2)        Notes the progress on the procurement of the Independent Panel on the evaluation of local growth interventions.

 

(3)        Endorses the preferred tenderer status.

 

(4)        Notes the links between the Economic Assessment Panel and the prioritisation of City Deal infrastructure investments.

Minutes:

The Joint Assembly considered a report which provided Members with an update on the procurement of the Independent Economic Assessment Panel, which would undertake the gateway review to which future City Deal tranches were subject.  The report also set out relevant background detail regarding the Panel, the gateway review process and the link between these and infrastructure scheme prioritisation.

 

It was noted that the 2019 gateway review was expected to involve evaluation of the following:

 

(a)        delivery of prioritised schemes on track and on budget, according to their full business cases;

(b)        realisation of benefits forecast for those schemes that had been delivered in time to measure this, according to their full business cases;

(c)        wider economic impacts.

 

Councillor Tim Bick made the point that even if schemes were on target it would be difficult to properly assess (a) and (b) above as part of the 2019 review for those schemes in tranche 1 of the City Deal programme.  Tanya Sheridan acknowledged this point and said that a realistic assessment would need to be undertaken by the Panel to reflect this, with the issues referred to in (a) and (b) likely to be fully assessed as part of the 2024 review.  For tranche 1 she expected the key issue to be whether schemes were being delivered on track and on budget in accordance with their final business cases, adding that the Panel’s review would provide useful information to help assess which schemes would best contribute to economic growth.

 

The Joint Assembly RECOMMENDED that the Executive Board:

 

(1)        Notes the overview of the gateway review process for future tranches of funding.

 

(2)        Notes the progress on the procurement of the Independent Panel on the evaluation of local growth interventions.

 

(3)        Endorses the preferred tenderer status.

 

(4)        Notes the links between the Economic Assessment Panel and the prioritisation of City Deal infrastructure investments.

10.

City Deal financial monitoring pdf icon PDF 182 KB

To consider the attached report.

Decision:

The Joint Assembly NOTED the financial position as at 31 August 2016.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Joint Assembly with the financial monitoring position for the period ending 31 August 2016.

 

Sarah Heywood, Head of Finance and Performance at Cambridgeshire County Council, presented the report and took Members through the summary of expenditure against the profiled budget up to the end of August 2016.

 

The Joint Assembly NOTED the financial position as at 31 August 2016.

11.

City Deal Strategic Risk Register pdf icon PDF 378 KB

To consider the attached report.

Decision:

The Joint Assembly NOTED the position in regard to the Strategic Risk Register.

Minutes:

The Joint Assembly considered a report which provided the Joint Assembly with an update on the City Deal Strategic Risk Register.

 

Aaron Blowers, City Deal Project Manager, presented the report and highlighted that it contained the latest information regarding the City Deal’s Strategic Risk Register, including mitigating actions and control measures in place.

 

Helen Valentine referred to the Risk Register as appended to the report and asked a generic question as to whether the scores felt right.  Focusing on risk number four, regarding stakeholder engagement, she questioned whether the likelihood and impact scores under the inherent risk and residual risk were at the correct level.  She saw this particular issue, primarily the significant opposition to some schemes, being one of the largest reputational risks to the City Deal programme and made the point that this should be reflected in the Risk Register. 

 

Tanya Sheridan acknowledged that this was a good challenge in terms of assessing what the City Deal was doing to more effectively promote the City Deal’s strategic vision. 

 

Councillor Kevin Price agreed with Helen Valentine’s point but said that the appointment of the Strategic Communications Manager had significantly addressed an initial problem with public perception and a lack of understanding, accepting however that further work was necessary to improve communication of the City Deal’s wider strategy.

 

Officers agreed to give further consideration to the impact and likelihood of the inherent and residual risks associated with risk number four.

 

The Joint Assembly NOTED the position in regard to the Strategic Risk Register.