Agenda item

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.

In response to a question from Councillor M Burke, the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources, Councillor B A Mickelburgh, advised that the data in relation to the introduction of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) was in the process of being compiled and would be including in the Parking Strategy report which would be due into the democratic cycle in Spring 2026.

Following a question from Councillor A Jennings, the Executive Councillor for Economy, Regeneration and Housing, Councillor S Wakeford advised the Chamber that the Council were still in the process of taking ownership of the St Neots Market Charter but that this was at the point of conclusion, Councillor Wakeford advised that due to the legal  and contractual details he would be happy to further discuss with Councillor Jennings outside of the public forum of the meeting.

In response to a question from Councillor Hassall, the Executive Leader, Councillor S J Conboy advised that conversations with partners in relation to water bodies and flooding were ongoing and that those agencies were aware of residents concerns. The success of the water and flooding conference hosted earlier in the year was praised and noted that a further conference was being planned with a date to be advised. It was further noted that following flooding from previous years, significant improvements had been made to Cambridgeshire County Council’s website and that residents now had the ability to report areas of standing water or concern to assist agencies in managing and responding to flooding concerns.

Following a question from Councillor M Pickering in relation to winter accessibility of footpaths within the Loves Farm area of St Neots, the Executive Councillor for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene, Councillor J E Kerr advised the Chamber that Officers were investigating the matter and that an update would be provided in due course.

In response to a question from Councillor R Martin, the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources, Councillor B A Mickelburgh advised that, as previously mentioned in relation to CPE, the quarter two figures were not yet available and that a full decision would be made by the Cabinet once all the data was available. Councillor Martin observed that whilst he felt this to be a prudent approach, it contradicted the Council’s budget which stated that prices would change upon the implementation of CPE. In response to which Councillor Mickelburgh stated that with the benefit of time, it had been decided to pause the changes pending an analysis of the available data in order to make a fully informed decision.

Following a question from Councillor N J Hunt in relation to pollution of rivers, specifically the dumping of waste from vessels, Councillor Kerr advised that work was in progress to develop signage for moorings in the district with the Riverside Park area in Huntingdon identified as the first location.

In response to a question from Councillor C Tevlin, the Executive Councillor for Planning, Councillor T D Sanderson, advised that in relation to planning stats, the Planning department were current exceeding expectation with the targets they had been set and the maintenance of caseloads for officers, it was also noted that additional support had been resourced in light of some staff absence and in order to ensure targets continued to be met. It was further noted that an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet would be held on 21st October 2025 to consider the progress of the Preferred Options Draft Local Plan to 2046 and to move it into the consultation period.

Following a request from Councillor A Blackwell to receive an update on the Constitution Review Working Group, the Executive Councillor for Governance and Democratic Services, Councillor J E Harvey, advised that the group had met several times since June and that the report would be brought to the Corporate Governance Committee over the coming months.