Agenda item

Delivery at Northstowe

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.

Minutes:

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, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)).

 

Upon returning to open session, the Scrutiny and Overview Committee supported by affirmation the recommendations contained in the report to the Cabinet meeting on 11 July 2022 namely

 

1.    that the Council invest more than £12 million in funding and move forward with its commitment to deliver high-quality community facilities for Northstowe residents. This would include the growing new town’s Sports Pavilion and Community Centre on Phase 1, and Civic Hub and additional Sports Pavilion on Phase 2; and

 

2.    that further development work on the Enterprise Zone be paused to allow time to focus on the community facilities; and a Member Governance Group be established to oversee progress on the buildings the Council is responsible for delivering.

Supporting documents: