In accordance with the Council Procedure Rules, all questions –
v Must be relevant to an item which the Council has powers or duties;
v Must not relate to an item which is included elsewhere on the Agenda
v Should be limited to obtaining information or pressing for action; and
v Should not exceed two minutes in duration.
Questions should not divulge or require to be divulged, confidential or exempt information.
Contact:30 Minutes.
Minutes:
With reference to residents in the northern part of the District, Councillor Bywater drew attention to the impact of the decision by Peterborough City Council to impose a residents only permit parking scheme at Fengate Household Recycling Centre. Given that the Alconbury Household Waste Recycling Centre no longer accepted the disposal of paint products, clarification was sought as to whether the City Council had consulted with the District Council about the decision to implement permit parking and whether any other option has been given for Huntingdonshire residents to access Fengate recycling centre. The Executive Councillor for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene reiterated that responsibility for Household Waste Recycling Centres sat with Cambridgeshire County Council but undertook to respond to the Councillor in writing and agreed that a meeting to explore potential solutions with relevant officers and members or the RECAP partnership might be appropriate.
Councillor J A Gray reiterated previous concerns regarding the absence of any comprehensive monitoring report on the impact of the green bin subscription service since its introduction and sought an undertaking from the Executive Councillor that this be brought through the Overview and Scrutiny process within the next two months. In response to which, the Executive Councillor for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene sought clarification on the information which would be required from such a report and undertook to discuss the matter further with Officers. She also took the opportunity to reiterate that it was a matter for Overview and Scrutiny to lead their own work programme.
With reference to recent discussions in Parliament concerning Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and grooming, Councillor K P Gulson expressed concern at the absence of any information on the District Council website for signposting and reporting. He also drew attention to the Community Safety Strategic Assessment for Huntingdonshire which had identified Huntingdonshire as having the largest proportion of CSE Crimes in Cambridgeshire and sought clarification as to whether the recommendations within the report had been implemented. In responding to the issues raised, the Executive Councillor for Resident Services and Corporate Performance outlined the ongoing work which was undertaken to address CSE. He reiterated that CSE was a key objective for the Police and Crime Commissioner and for Huntingdonshire Community Safety Partnership, who had established a multi-agency working group to discuss issues involving children and young people at risk. Attention was also drawn to the role of District Council Officers in shutting down a café in Huntingdon after allegations of exploitation. In terms of the District Council’s website, Councillor Ferguson undertook to ensure that specific reference was made to CSE and Grooming Gangs within the Community Safety pages.
With reference to the recent failure to secure CIL funding to contribute towards the new Warboys Community Centre and the difficulties being encountered with the build, Councillor C A Lowe sought a commitment from the Executive Councillor that he would meet with the local District Councillors and the Parish Clerk to discuss potential way forward.
In response to a request from Councillor J E Kerr for details of tree and bulb planting undertaken within the District, the Executive Councillor for Parks and Countryside, Waste & Street Scene provided an update for the Council. Councillor Taylor was pleased to report that 5000 trees have now been planted, enabling the 2025 target to be achieved. She also took the opportunity to draw attention to various planting initiatives within the District. Members were also advised that 90,000 bulbs had now been planted by the Grounds Maintenance Team.
With reference to a specific case which had recently been highlighted within the local press and issues within in his own ward, Councillor N Hunt enquired what the District Council was doing to put pressure on Housing Associations to ensure that their properties are maintained and fit for people to live in. In response to which, the Executive Councillor for Economy, Regeneration and Housing explained that the District Council engages frequently with its Housing Association Partners. Whilst maintenance issues should initially be reported to the relevant landlord or housing association, these could be escalated to the District Council’s Environmental Health team who have a range of enforcement options available should they not be undertaking their responsibilities appropriately. Council was advised that Members could also have a positive impact by assisting residents directly and representing their needs to housing associations.
In response to a request from Councillor C H Tevlin for an update on the last Planning Service statistics, the Executive Councillor for Planning provided an update for the Council. An update was also provided to Members on the implications of the new targets for house building within the District and tilted balance. The Council were also informed that a revised edition of the Local Development Scheme had been considered by the Cabinet at their February meeting to enable submission to Government by their deadline of 6th March 2025.
In response to a question from Councillor I P Taylor regarding the difficulties he was experiencing in securing the installation of two Community Access Defibrillators onto buildings owned by the Council, the Executive Councillor for Communities, Health and Leisure Councillor S Howell explained that whilst the Council has a policy in place for buildings which it owns and operates, requests for those which it does not operate have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Details of the reasons for the delay in the specific case referred to were also provided.
With reference to an undertaking which had been made at a previous meeting regarding the provision of updates to Members on progress which was been made against the actions agreed as part of the Local Government Association Peer Review, the Executive Leader agreed to provide an update in advance of the Review Team’s imminent return.
With reference to the detrimental impact that he believed the previous Car Parking Strategy had had upon St Neots High Street, Councillor B S Chapman asked the Executive Councillor for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene to ensure that any solution supported the needs of residents and businesses. In response to which the Executive Councillor, Councillor S Taylor responded that she was passionate about providing a better solution for parking across all the market towns and was keen to work with all Members and adopt a holistic approach to achieve this.
With reference to the increased government figures for housing development for the District, Councillor J Neish enquired whether the Administration had made any formal response on the new targets to government. The Executive Councillor for Planning explained that this was a national issue, with East Cambridgeshire being the only local authority area in Cambridgeshire that had not seen an increase in housing targets. He acknowledged it would be a challenge to meet the targets, especially given that during the previous 4 years targets had already been exceeded by 164%. However, he recognised the commitment of Members of Local Plan Advisory Group and the Development Management Committee to work together to tackle the situation.