Agenda and minutes

The Chair made several brief housekeeping announcements.

Apologies have been received from Councillor Richard Stobart. To receive apologies for absence from committee members. 

Councillor Richard Stobart sent apologies. His substitute was Councillor Lisa Redrup.

There were no declarations of interest although Councillor Anna Bradnam noted the significance to all Members present of the Greater Cambridge Local Plan.

To authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2022 as a correct record.

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee authorised the Chair to sign the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2022 as a correct record subject to the following:

Minute 6 – Quarter 4 Performance Report

In the third paragraph from the end, replace the words ‘…waste sat community events…”  with the words “…waste at community events…” so that the paragraph reads as follows:

“Councillor Stephen Drew asked about C8 (Improve recycling and reduce waste at community events). Bode Esan. Head of Climate, Environment and Waste, referred to the toolkit aimed at addressing this issue.”

Attendance list

Councillor Heather Williams attended the meeting and was present in the Council Chamber.

If you would like to ask a question or make a statement, then please refer to the

Document called Public Speaking Scheme (Physical Meetings)

and contact the Scrutiny and Governance Adviser in Democratic Services by no later than 11.59pm three clear working days before the meeting (Friday 17 June).

There were no public questions.

Mr. Daniel Fulton (Fews Lane Consortium) withdrew his application to make a statement about the recent reorganisation of the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service,

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee is asked to review and comment upon the attached draft report to Cabinet.

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee considered a draft Cabinet report?detailing the results of the consultation relating to the Greater Cambridge Local Plan First Proposals (Preferred Options) held in late 2021, and the representations received. The report also sought Cabinet approval of a revised timetable for future stages of the Local Plan, and of the North East Cambridge Area Action Plan, as set out in an update to the Greater Cambridge Local Development Scheme.

Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins (Lead Cabinet Member for Planning), the Strategy and Economy Manager and the Planning Policy Manager introduced the two themes of the report. Councillor Anna Bradnam welcomed the wide-ranging nature of the Local Plan consultation exercise in terms of both the number of different methods used to obtain feedback and the breadth in the demographic of respondents. Councillor Dr. Aidan Van de Weyer said that it was important for the Local Plan to focus on issues but accepted that Members might in addition be interested in who had made representations. He suggested that any gaps in the feedback from different communities should be identified for the future. 

Councillor Sue Ellington asked that, where possible, there should be some analysis of the type and quantity of responses originating from the Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire administrative areas. She was keen to make sure that the overall result would not be skewed against the rural way of life. Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins said that she would ask officers to carry out some analysis.

Councillor Ellington continued by saying that the pressure placed on the Uttons Drove Sewage Treatment Works by developments at Bourn Airfield, West Cambourne and Northstowe must not be underestimated. The Planning Policy Manager assured the Committee that officers were continuing to engage with partner organisations to make sure that appropriate infrastructure was in place.

Should the Water Treatment Plant be relocated away from North East Cambridge, Councillor Ellington said that the consequent time required to achieve that must be considered in assessing the reasonableness of the Local Plan’s timescales. Councillor Peter Fane observed that this was a joint Local Plan between South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council. He recognised that there would be issues for the two Councils that were dependent on work being completed by third parties. The Strategy and Economy Manager said that the Cabinet would be asked to revise the Local Development Scheme to make sure that there was a realistic correlation between those things under the control of South Cambridgeshire District Council (like the Local Plan) and matters relating to other organisations such as the Development Consent Order upon which the North East Cambridge Area Action Plan was dependent. She confirmed that the new Local Plan would make reasonable assumptions on delivery of development taking account of site-specific circumstances.

Councillor Dr. Martin Cahn noted that the majority of housing proposed in South Cambridgeshire was in the north of the district whereas major employment expansion was focussed on the south. He said it would be crucial to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To note the draft Forward Plan of Key and Non-Key Decisions and Scrutiny and Overview Committee work programme.

The Chair updated Committee members about arrangements being made to develop the work programme. He also highlighted his aspirations for the scheduled Committee meeting on 6 September 2022.

Tuesday 26 July 2022 at 5.20pm

Members noted that the next scheduled Scrutiny and Overview Committee meeting was on Tuesday 26 July 2022 at 5.20pm.

Appendices A, B,  D and E are attached to the report, and Appendix C is a separate document. Appendices F, G and H are restricted.

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee considered a report providing an update on a range of issues concerning Northstowe and making several recommendations related to the provision of community buildings; development of the Enterprise Zone and funding, including a funding shortfall in the Legal Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Councillor Helene Leeming emphasised the importance of securing value for money especially in view of current inflationary pressures. Officers outlined how they intended to achieve this, and the Leader commented that sometimes quality should be prioritised over cost in order to assure effective futureproofing. The Head of Economic Development and Investment was confident that the community facilities referred to in the report could be delivered within cost parameters outlined in the financial appendices.

In response to a question from Councillor Anna Bradnam, the Head of Finance clarified that Cabinet would be recommended to increase the Capital Programme allocation for Northstowe to £34.6 million. Councillor Bradnam said there must be no compromise in community facilities complying with South Cambridgeshire District Council’s ‘Green to our Core’ aspirations.

Referring to South Cambridgeshire District Council’s intention to buy 60 affordable homes on Phase 2B, Councillor Graham Cone applauded the fact that, once the contract had been concluded these homes would be managed as Council property.

While noting that community buildings were available for use by everyone, Councillor Stephen Drew said the differing needs of Faith groups must be considered in the longer term.

Councillor Dr. Martin Cahn emphasised the importance of good architectural design for the community buildings in Northstowe and the need to determine the future governance of such buildings. The Leader assured Councillor Cahn that discussions about governance were ongoing and the Head of Housing summarised briefly the different business plans being worked on for the different types of community buildings.

Councillor Peter Fane said that the economic strategy must champion clean technology as being of prime importance.

Councillor Dr. Aidan Van de Weyer welcomed the proposals as a step towards place-making and observed that facilities at Northstowe would be important for South Cambridgeshire as a whole. However, he cautioned against such expenditure being at the expense of some other demand on the District Council’s finances. Councillor Stephen Drew clarified that place-making at Northstowe must enhance the quality of people’s lives.

The Chair invited Councillor Heather Williams to speak. Councillor Williams hoped that ‘landmark building’ would not simply mean ‘large building’. She continued by saying that Cabinet members might find it useful to have before them on 11 July some draft terms of reference for the Governance Board. Contingencies must be put in place to cope with unexpected challenges along the way.

The Chair proposed, and the Committee affirmed, that the Press and public be excluded from the meeting at this stage so that Members could consider restricted information contained in appendices F, G and H to the report in accordance with Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that, if present,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.