Agenda and minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of 11 January 2021.

The minutes of the meeting of 11 January 2021 were confirmed.

Members to receive an update on the previous meeting’s Action Plan.

Members were provided with an update on the status of actions raised at previous meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel. 

Most of the comments were in relation to Action 8 and the visit from Anglian Water (AW). 

1.    Councillor Connor said his issue with Clarion has still not been resolved so he would like a response and action as soon as possible. Regarding flooding, he has been told AW is not updating infrastructure in Wimblington and Doddington for the next five years so he also wants an answer regarding what can be done in respect of future planning applications when flooding issues are so prevalent. Without updated infrastructure, the flooding issue will only get worse. 

2.    Councillor Booth said in relation to the infrastructure, he raised the concerns of rural residents about low water pressure from the Fridaybridge pumping station. AW could not confirm any replacement work or upgrade in the next five years. He is also still waiting for a response to his question about the design life for the pumping station.

3.    Councillor Miscandlon said although he appreciated that AW did not have to come before the panel, they did kindly send a representative. However, as she was unable to answer the more technical questions, he would like to invite AW back but for them to send someone with more technical knowledge.

4.    Councillor Skoulding said pressure needs to be put on Clarion to finally sort out Lake Close as it is still in a dangerous state and we have waited a long time.  Councillor Mason said he would discuss making a direct approach to Clarion with Councillor Skoulding after the meeting.

5.    Councillor Cornwell said both he and Councillor Count never received a proper response to their complaint about the smell from the March sewage treatment works and therefore they need an update on that.

6.    Dan Horn provided an update on the Turf Fen travellers site (Action 10) and confirmed that all pitches are let. A gypsy/traveller needs assessment for future provision is a statutory requirement that FDC will be working on. Councillor Booth said it would be useful when the needs assessment is completed that councillors be provided with that information and a rough timescale for when it is likely to be completed.

·         Road Safety Partnership Strategy

The first item will be the Road Safety Update - Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Vision Zero Partnership : https://www.cambridgeshire-pcc.gov.uk/accessing-information/cambridgeshire-and-peterborough-vision-zero-partnership/  presented by Matt Staton, Road Safety Partnership Delivery Manager

(Presentation slide 3 may not work but is available via YouTube link: https://youtu.be/k2tOye9DKdQ )

·         CSP Action Plan

The purpose of this report is to set out how the Fenland Community Safety Partnership (referred to as partnership) identifies priorities for Fenland. The report also details an up to date performance picture for 2020/21 and includes the performance report relating to CCTV services for 2020.

Councillor Mason welcomed Councillor Lynn to the panel meeting and congratulated him on his elevation to Cabinet. He also welcomed Matt Staton, Highway Projects and Road Safety Manager at Cambs County Council and Inspector Ian Lombardo from Cambs Police. 

Councillor Mason added that the Overview & Scrutiny Panel have been raising road safety concerns for some time now, so they are delighted that this item is now being given focus and consideration. 

Members firstly considered the Road Safety Partnership Strategy report presented by Matt Staton.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Miscandlon said he does not see much by the way of road safety education for schools. He asked what initiatives there are to encourage the use of motorcycles as a cheaper form of travel than the car. Matt Staton responded that over the last two years they have been working with other authorities within the East of England and Highways England on an online programme for enhanced compulsory basic training for young motorcyclists called RIdefree. The course has won a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award and was adopted last year by the DVSA and is now available nationally. The course contains 5 online learning modules, we are one of the pioneering areas with several providers available within Cambridgeshire.

2.    Councillor Miscandlon said he does not see any advertising for Ridefree and asked why the parish and town councils have not received any publications that they can use to promote safe riding to young people. Matt Staton said that because of the adoption process they were going through, they now want to promote the DVSA adopted version, so this is something the partnership will now take forward. Councillor Miscandlon thanked Matt Staton.

3.    Councillor Cornwell said he realises it is difficult when putting something together on a county-wide basis that tries to show the situation within each individual place. For example, he understands the collisions and casualty figures, but how do they affect the quantity of traffic which in turn influences the figures themselves? For example, South Cambs has a large section of the M11, A14 etc. One would naturally expect that the numbers of incidents would be affected by the amount of traffic but is there any way this can be described more simply? Matt Staton said the graphs were there to provide an indication, there is a huge amount of data analysis available, but Councillor Cornwell is correct that it is difficult to draw area comparison. However, a lot of work has been undertaken in measuring traffic levels during lockdown and seeing how that has impacted on different types of collisions. All severity collisions have reduced considerably but the most severe collisions on the network have not reduced to the same extent. Therefore, the reductions in traffic have not seen corresponding reductions in killed or seriously injured casualties, which is the same nationally, and relates to some of the speeds seen during the lockdowns.  Moving forward, they are  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC41/20

This report sets out the Council's progress in delivering the corporate objectives from April 2020 to December 2020.  This is to ensure that members have the most up to date information possible.

Members considered the Progress of Corporate Priority – Environment report presented by Councillor Murphy. 

Councillor Murphy added his grateful thanks to the workforce and volunteers who have gone the extra two miles to keep the refuse service functioning and ensured ongoing customer satisfaction. Councillor Mason added his appreciation to all staff for their hard work in such challenging conditions. Councillor Miscandlon said as Chairman of Fenland District Council he would like to endorse these comments and offered his gratitude and thanks to all staff.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Booth noted the 28% household waste recycling rate and asked what is being done to improve that rate and how do we compare against other councils. Councillor Murphy said COVID-19 has affected the recycling rates. However, a new bin app has been created which can be used to see what products can be recycled and this is being widely advertised. We also have a successful garden waste service which is more highly subscribed then ever. The aim is to increase the recycling rate and we try to educate customers whose recycling bins are rejected due to misuse.

2.    Councillor Purser said he too wished to thank to all the refuse staff who have kept the service running during the pandemic and praised the new bin app. He said it is very simple and easy to use and a brilliant piece of work and congratulated those behind it. Councillor Murphy thanked Councillor Purser.

3.    Councillor Wicks said he would also like to complement the Recycling Officer for all the work she has continued to undertake on new recycling initiatives at this time. He asked Councillor Murphy what is being done in respect of known individuals in the area responsible for fly-tipping. Councillor Murphy said that it is unfortunate that we have seen an increase in fly-tipping during this pandemic but it is very difficult to take action against known offenders if we do not have people willing to make witness statements. Unfortunately, we cannot take people to court without backup. The only alternative is for us to catch offenders in the act and this is extremely difficult.

4.    Councillor Count said the clause in the corporate strategy is to ‘improve our environment’. He said this should be at no detriment to existing facilities. He raised concerns about moorings at West End park which have been taped off for some while and would like to enquire about what is happening with these. Councillor Mrs French responded that she has already made enquiries about these moorings and officers are looking into this.

5.    Councillor Miscandlon asked where we are in respect of car parking enforcement. Councillor Mrs French said we are making progress and she hopes to bring an update to Cabinet in March. The timescale for this will be between 18-24 months.

6.      Councillor Purser asked if there are any policies regarding recycling old laptops to share with school children and if not, can anything be  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC42/20

To consider the Draft Work Programme for Overview & Scrutiny Panel 2019/20.

Councillor Mason said work will be undertaken to the Future Work Programme for the new municipal year and asked that if members had any suggestions or comments in respect of the Plan, then to let him or Anna Goodall know.  

1.    Councillor Count said in view of the coronavirus, it would be useful for the Panel to consider our performance during the pandemic to see what we did or did not do well. This is not to undermine FDC’s fantastic response to the pandemic, but merely as a form of fine tuning our response to any such incident in the future.