The Committee
AGREED To refer the decision back to the Planning Portfolio Holder for reconsideration of the issues raised by the Committee regarding his proposed response to the County Council.
The Committee
RECOMMENDED That decision makers in future take more active steps to consult members and other interested parties on important decisions, rather than relying on them to be aware of agenda items listed for Portfolio Holder meetings.
The Planning Portfolio Holder AGREED the following amendments to the District Statement by South Cambridgeshire District Council for inclusion within the Cambridgeshire Local Transport Plan 3:
(A) The first sentence of paragraph 1.3 to read: “In some parts of the district public transport is good, mostly along the main roads or ‘corridors’. However, there are many villages where access to a bus or train service is poor, absent or under threat of cancellation because of subsidy removal.
(B) The end of paragraph 6.4 was amended to read: “… it is crucial for the Councils to continue to work with partners in order to manage change effectively, including consultation with voluntary transport providers, for example voluntary community car schemes.”
(C) The last sentence in paragraph 7.3 was amended, so that the sentence reads: “Improvements to this junction will be delivered as part of the Cycle Cambridge programme.”
(D) The first sentence of paragraph 7.4 was amended to read: “… now largely well developed.”
The Portfolio Holder:
(a) supported the emerging Local Transport Plan 3.
(b) endorsed the District Statement for inclusion within LTP3 (attached at Appendix 3).
The Planning and New Communities Portfolio Holders AGREED that the Council make the following representation to Cambridgeshire County Council in response to the LTP3 consultation:
“The Council supports the overarching objectives of LTP3 and prioritises non-car modes as these will provide travel choice and best achieve the objectives with limited resources. The strategy areas should be prioritised as follows:
(1) Public Transport
(2) Cycling
(3) Walking
(4) Smarter Choices
(5) Road Safety
(6) Traffic Management
“It is important to ensure the needs of all sectors of community are addressed, including the most vulnerable – the young, elderly and disabled. At present many residents experience social isolation as they are unable to access essential services, shopping, leisure or simply meet with friends, due to a lack of bus or community transport service and/or the prohibitive cost of using it.
“The Council would urge the County Council not to forget linkages to market towns outside the county as many of the remoter parts of the district look to these areas for their services.
“The Council would also ask the County Council to take in to consideration the outcomes of plans and strategies produced by other organisations, including the South Cambridgeshire Local Development Framework, Community Transport Strategy and Air Quality Action Plan, Parish Plans, the Children and Young People’s Plan (BigPlan2), and Cambridgeshire Horizon’s Green Infrastructure Strategy, to name a few. These may provide an extensive evidence base of transport provision and need, highlight issues concerning specific groups of people, and many contain an action plan including issues that can be addressed through LTP3.
“The Council would like to continue to work closely with the County Council and the other Cambridgeshire districts on drafting LTP3.”