Members are reminded that automatic e-mail forwarding ceases from today, 30 September 2009, in accordance with the decision of the Policy and Performance Portfolio Holder, upheld by the Scrutiny and Overview Committee.  Democratic Services have been busy trying to contact all members with details of their PINs, but have not yet heard from a few of you. 

Please get in touch as soon as possible so you do not miss out on any important e-mails from your constituents and from the Council.

If you need assistance, please contact IT on 01954 713400 or Democratic Services on 01954 713030.

Democratic Services Officers are happy to arrange one-on-one training with upon request, and will also be hosting a drop-in session in the IT training room on the second floor from 9.30 am until 1 pm on Thursday 8 October 2009 (before Cabinet that afternoon).  Please bring your dongle and network ID / password.

The evening will include:

·                      Displays put together by service users of work undertaken in our groups

·                      Photographs showing our work during the year.

Please RSVP to:

Office Administrator

100 Chesterton Road

Cambridge CB4 1ER

Tel: 01223 311320

admin@cam-mind.org.uk | www.cam-mind.org.uk

A new Complaints, Comments & Compliments Policy document has been created to provide detailed information for Officers & Members when dealing with complaints, comments and compliments. The document is scheduled for Portfolio Holder approval in December 2009, but it has been suggested by a number of Members that some brief guidance on Member complaint handling is provided in the interim.

In response I have attached a summary of the current complaints procedure for your information.

Should you require any further information please feel free to contact me.

Kind Regards,

Paul Knight

Customer Services Coordinator

Tel: 01954 713309

Email: Paul.Knight@scambs.gov.uk

The Chairman’s Delegation Meeting will take place on 5 October 2009 at 10.00 in the Jeavons meeting room.

The applications to be considered are as follows:

S/1213/09/F - Removal of Condition 3 at Level Crossing Offices, Oakington: Officer Recommendation – Approval

S/1173/09/F - Etheldred House, Clay St, Histon - Staff Accommodation: Officer Recommendation – Approval

S/1099/09/F - 1 Aingers Rd, Histon - Variation of Condition 9 of S/0229/08/F: Officer Recommendation – Approval as amended

S/1137/09/F - Variation of conditions 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 10 of planning permission S/1398/06/F at IQ Cambridge (formerly Cambridge Research Park), Ely Road, Landbeach: Officer Recommendation – Approval

S/1160/09/F - Extensions and alterations, 24 Barley Road, Gt & Lt Chishill: Officer Recommendation - Request delegated powers to approve contrary to PC recommendation

S/1180/09/F - Infill Extension to Doctors Surgery, 25 Alms Hill, Bourn: Officer Recommendation – Approval

S/1232/09/F – Extension 53 Winfold Road, Waterbeach: Officer Recommendation – Approval

S/1276/09/F – Annexe 8 Mortlock Street, Melbourn: Officer Recommendation – Approval

S/1172/09/F - Erection of 6 bay portable building for use as classroom, Gamlingay Village College, Gamlingay: Officer Recommendation – Approval

S/1207/09/O - One dwelling, Land to the North-west of 3 Town Close, Sawston: Officer Recommendation - Approval 

Would Members please note that the items might not be taken in this order?

Members’ attention is drawn especially to (c), (e) and (f) of the protocol agreed by Planning Committee on 3 June 1998 as amended by Committee on 1 August 2007.  It is hoped that members will take the opportunity to discuss the relevant application(s) with the Planning Officer in the Area Team before the meeting.

Please contact the Area Team if you have any difficulties.

This item is intended to update Members on appeals against planning decisions and statistics about appeals.  Information is provided on appeals lodged, proposed hearing and inquiry dates, appeal decisions and when appropriate, details of recent cases in interest, and forms part of the agenda for the Planning Committee on 7 October 2009. 

For Members, Parish Councils and Capital Project Co-ordinators (see also the following item on Community Development Grants)

This programme includes three schemes:

1.                  Community Facility Grants (for village halls, youth facilities and play facilities)

2.                  Village Sports Facility Grants (for pitches courts greens, pavilions and youth sport projects)

3.                  Arts capital Grants (for arts facilities, public art and equipment)

The programme is already over-subscribed for 2009/10, particularly the Community Facility Grants scheme, and a number of applications are still expected to come in over the coming months. 

In order to be as fair and equitable as possible, as from 11 September 2009, all applications will be held over for decisions to be made in March 2010.

In March 2010, each scheme will be considered on merit and how it fits with the relevant published guidelines. In addition, decisions will be based on:

·                      Value for money

·                      How the scheme meets locally identified need

·                      How the scheme fits with SCDC priorities

Any project co-ordinators who have already submitted applications will be informed directly by SCDC officers and advised of the new decision-making timescale.

A number of project co-ordinators have been in discussion with SCDC officers for many months, to prepare their applications, and we hope that these important projects will still be submitted for funding. We would, however, ask all potential applicants to speak to the lead officer concerned for further advice, as we want to minimise the amount of work done by volunteers where applications may not be successful.

The Council still invites new grant applications for all three schemes with a new deadline of 31 January 2010.

For further information please contact:

Community Facility Grants – Joseph Minutolo 01954 713359 or Jane Thompson 01954 713348

Village Sport Facility Grants – Jane Lampshire 01954 713349

Arts Capital Grants – Andy O’Hanlon 01954 713343 

(Please see also the previous item about Community Capital Grants.)

This is a reminder to all that Community Development Grants are currently available to non-profit groups and organisations based in South Cambridgeshire, or benefiting South Cambs residents. Grants can be for both new projects or for developing existing projects. The Project must have relevance to at least one of the Council’s Corporate Priorities and there must be evidence of how the project meets local need and ensures equality of access.

A grant can be awarded for up to 50% of a project’s costs, up to a maximum of £3,000, but the remainder must be found from other sources. This can include contributions in kind, for example, time donated by volunteers.

This grant scheme cannot give capital funding for buildings.

Applications are welcome at any time and there are no closing dates for applications but only one grant may be awarded in any financial year.

Applicants should discuss their project briefly with Susannah Harris, Community Development Officer, 01954 713355, before completing an application form.

The Rural Services Network is a group of over 250 service providers and local authorities working to establish best practice across the spectrum of rural service provision. The network has representation across the complete range of rural services.  For general comments or enquiries, email: editor@ruralcity.co.uk 

·                      Post Office to double as rural bank: Allowing the Post Office to offer banking services could save rural branches from closure, say experts.

·                      Poverty blights rural England: Much of rural England suffers significant poverty and social exclusion, reveals a report.

·                      £10m for low carbon communities: The government has launched a £10m fund to encourage communities to reduce carbon emissions.

·                      Fears over rural broadband levy: A planned telephone tax won’t raise enough money to fund faster rural internet access, say business leaders.

·                      Sharing staff ‘saves rural schools’: Formal collaboration can help save rural primary schools from closure, suggests a study.

To view the list of planning applications submitted in the past seven days, please visit the Council’s on-line Planning Application Search.  Once the page has loaded, select the relevant parish from the drop-down list, set the date period to ‘7 days’ and click the Search button or click the Advanced button, select a ward from the drop-down list, then set the date period to ‘7 days’ and click the Search button.

The system will provide a range of information on current and decided applications since 1948, including a brief description of the development, reference number, decision and the date of decision.  More recent applications show the name and telephone number of the council officer who is dealing with the application.

Search results are presented in a collection of pages, the number of which depends on the number of results your search produces.  Each page displays 30 results and there are navigation tools to allow you to browse these results.

In accordance with the Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution, any executive decision shall be published normally within five days of being made.  That record will bear the date on which it is published and will specify that the decision will come into force, and may then be implemented, on the expiry of 5 working days after the publication of the decision, unless called in for review by the Chairman of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee or by any five other councillors.

A list of decisions currently within the call-in period is available on the Council’s website.

Unless otherwise specified, the Democratic Services Manager must be notified of any call in by Wednesday 7 October 2009 at 5 pm. All decisions not called in by this date may be implemented on Wednesday 8 October 2009.

Any member considering calling in a decision is requested to contact the Democratic Services Section to determine whether any relevant amendments have been incorporated.

The call in procedure is set out in full in Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution, ‘Scrutiny and Overview Committee Procedure Rules’. 

The Sustainability, Procurement and Efficiency Portfolio Holder SUPPORTED and ENDORSED the achievement of Council-wide Customer Service Excellence accreditation within the next financial year 2010/11 and NOTED the current position of the project.

Decision taken and published 24 September 2009.  Call-in expires 1 October 2009 and decision can be implemented from 2 October 2009 if not called-in.

The Housing Portfolio Holder called a public meeting, on Wednesday 23 September 2009, in the Communal Room at the Avenells Way Sheltered Housing Scheme.

The meeting was called to enable the Portfolio Holder to receive and consider the contents of a petition containing 28 signatures received from the residents of the Sheltered Housing Scheme at Avenells Way and Grays Road, Gamlingay.

The petitioners’ concerns were NOTED.

The Portfolio Holder requested that a copy of the minutes be sent directly to Mr Doug Gilbert, the lead petitioner.

The Sustainability, Procurement and Efficiency Portfolio Holder AGREED to adopt and publish the policy for handling unreasonable or unreasonably persistent complaints, subject to amendments made at the meeting. 

Decision taken and published 24 September 2009.  Call-in expires 1 October 2009 and decision can be implemented from 2 October 2009 if not called-in.

Agendas

·                      Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder’s meeting 6 October 2009

·                      Planning Committee 7 October 2009

·                      Cabinet 8 October 2009

Decisions

·                      Housing Portfolio Holder 23 September 2009:

·                     Gamlingay: Warden Service at Avenells Way and Grays Road - Petition

·                      Council 24 September 2009:

·                     Barrington: Review of Community Governance Arrangements

·                     Local Development Framework (LDF) - North West Cambridge Area Action Plan (Joint Plan with Cambridge City Council)

·                     Cambridge City Fringes (Section 29) Joint Committee - Appointment of Substitute

·                      Sustainability, Procurement and Efficiency Portfolio Holder’s meeting 24 September 2009:

·                     Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Project Plan

·                     Policy for Handling of Unreasonable or Unreasonably Persistent Complaints

Minutes

·                      Planning and New Communities Portfolio Holders’ joint meeting 1 September 2009

·                      Planning Committee 2 September 2009

·                      Senior Management Team 16 September 2009 (intranet only)

Issues

·                      Community Capital Grants Programme 2009/10

·                      Consideration of a Revenues / Benefits Partnership with another Local Authority / Authorities

Meetings

·                      Corporate Governance Committee Friday 23 October 2009 at 2 pm (re-scheduled from Wednesday 30 September 2009)

Transfer

Liz Irvine will be acting up into the role of Housing Advice and Homelessness Team Leader on a temporary basis from 5 October 2009.

Leaver

David Rush, Development Control Manager, will be leaving on 18 October 2009.