Chair's Report to the Annual General Meeting of the Petersfield Area Community Trust, 6 Nov 2002

PACT continues to campaign vigorously on behalf of local residents on issues they have raised with PACT. This is a summary of the major developments over the past year, including the following spectacular and conspicuous successes:

• The opening of the Millennium Gardens by Mayor Phillipa Slatter, on 25 June.
• Our best ever Summer Event, on St Matthew's Piece, on 29 June.
• A public meeting on 'Making Petersfield a Safer Place?', on 22 July, arranged jointly by PACT and the Community Safety Partnership
• Plans for a new Community Centre for Petersfield were unveiled at a public exhibition on 18 September - part of plans for the Eastern Gate redevelopment (Newmarket Rd/ Harvest Way).

PACT's 4th Year

Community Facilities and Services

• A new community centre for Petersfield has been proposed as part of the Newmarket Rd/Harvest Way outline planning application.
• There are regular discussions about the Centre between PACT, the developers, and the City Council.
• PACT has started work on a Business Plan to help meet the challenge of the community running a new community centre. Few resources are expected from the City Council, so alternative funding sources need to be sought.
• Its ownership, management, and range of possible activities all need consideration.

Former Howard Mallett

• In December 2001, PACT lodged a formal complaint to the Chief Executive of the County Council and Chair of Parkside Governors regarding a range of issues relating to the management of the former Howard Mallett Centre.
• The Chief Executive said this was Parkside's responsibility; Parkside Governors rejected PACT's complaints.
• PACT appealed against this decision, resulting in an Appeal hearing held 23 July 2002, the results of which have not yet been given to PACT.
• Should the results of this Appeal not be satisfactory, PACT could choose to take this matter further (e.g., to the Local Government Ombudsman) for resolution.

Petersfield Community Forum

• Forum set up in response to PACT's petition to the City Council Community Development & Leisure Committee about our lack of local community facilities.
• Multi-agency issues being addressed include: sport facilities; improving community use of St Matthew's School's all-weather pitch; services for older people; resources directory; facilities for all; junior and senior youth clubs (3 funding streams have been identified);
• Petersfield residents are welcome to attend Forum meetings and lunch gatherings ('Mingle Munches'), which need to be better publicised.

Petersfield Youth Clubs

• Junior and senior clubs were closed when the County Council shut down the Howard Mallet Centre
• Following pressure from PACT for a senior club, Parkside Community Education set up a junior club which ran sporadically, with frequent changes of staff and venue.
• No youth clubs are currently running in Petersfield, and neither Parkside Community Education nor the City Council Children's Team will run a junior club. They have offered support, if volunteers will set one up and seek funding.
• Parkside Community Education are talking about setting up series of 'activities' (not a fully fledged youth club) for 13-17-year-olds (e.g. DJ sessions) - but this has not yet materialised.
• PACT feels structured youth activities would be a sound investment for our community (which has the highest crime rate in Cambridge).

Services for Older People

• Dorothy Runnicles has been representing older peoples for PACT on the Cambridgeshire Older Peoples Advisory Group (COPAG). COPAG meetings at Shire Hall include officers from local authority departments, health service and voluntary agency workers with older peoples representatives from 14 organisations - who raise issues of importance to older people
• Older people in Petersfield area have already added many items to the agenda including: the need for more home care services to keep people living independently; delayed discharges from hospital ('bed blocking') and the proposed increase in charges for services.
• More older people are welcome to participate in COPAG's efforts to tackle ageism & discrimination.
• PACT piloted offering coffee mornings for the Over 50s in the Community Room at Red Studio. PACT resumed these coffee mornings on October 18th 2002. They are now running every Friday (10.30 am to noon) at the Cherry Trees Day Centre in St Matthew's Street. Cambridge. The City Council Community Development is supporting this. We hope that those who come along will have ideas for possible activities as well as coffee! PACT is very grateful for the help of volunteers in offering this. All over 50s are warmly invited.

Planning

General Planning Issues

• The Strategy on Planning Obligations recently adopted by the City Council is about monies collected from developers to offset the impact on the community of their developments. PACT has campaigned for more openness about the sums coming in and how they are to be spent (e.g, on improvements to open spaces and provision of community facilities).
• PACT's two proposed amendments for the revised County Structure Plan were (a) re-development of brown-field sites should be "subject to capacity and environmental considerations" (in line with Regional Planning Guidance) and (b) that there should be more flexibility in required density of housing (in line with National Planning Guidance). This is because density as measured in "dwellings per hectare" has little meaning when a dwelling could be anything from a one-bed flat to a four-bed house!
• New decision-making structures at the City Council came into force last June - with Executive Councillors and Scrutiny Committees. The Planning and Licensing Subcommittees, were not affected by these changes.
• Provision for the Homeless continues to be concentrated in the Mill Rd area, causing concern amongst nearby residents.

Specific Local Planning Issues

• Mill Rd/Gwydir St - Carpet Mill building now converted to a billiards hall - residents report that it is not causing any problems. Grotty toilets have been demolished and replaced. But residents are disappointed that talk of money to improve The Bath House and the car park have come to nothing.
• Ivy Villa, Stone St and the Labgear site in York St - are still being discussed and there is a confused picture. Local residents are unhappy about both these sites.
• St Columba's Hall, York St has been demolished and work has started on the new doctors' surgery and pharmacy (to replace the Newmarket Rd surgery).
• Philip's site, York St. - The terrible problems with noise and vibration from hammer pile-driving endured by residents around the site have ensured that any future developments in Cambridge must agree with the City Council the planned method of piling before work begins.
• Beehive site. A strange building is appearing near to the entrance - dubbed the 'green armadillo' by a planning officer!
• APU frontage, East Rd - PACT has written to try to save the mature trees which are threatened with felling.
• Newmarket Rd/Harvest Way - Plans for a new community centre are included in this proposed mixed-use office/residential redevelopment
• In the pipe-line - Residential developments in Riverside, Young St and the Simper's site. Crown Court to be built on Mackays former car park.

Campaigning for, Creating & Celebrating Petersfield Facilities

Open Spaces: Millennium Garden

• This year has seen the completion of designing, building, and planting the Millennium Garden.
• The first mosaic, representing Petersfield's Open Spaces was created with clients from the Ditchburn Day Centre - this was mounted in the Millennium Garden.
• The Garden was officially opened by the Mayor, Philippa Slatter, and celebrated with a wonderful party on 25 June. Enthusiastic support from local businesses, residents, and glorious weather made it a splendid occasion.
• The second mosaic is being created in Cherry Trees Day Centre, involving a group of physically challenged young adults from the Papworth Trust

Open Spaces: St Matthew's Piece

• In response to sustained encouragement from PACT, the City Council Parks & Recreation Department held a well-publicised, well-attended, active public consultation to discuss possible improvements to St Matthew's Piece on 22nd May in St Matthew's Church Hall.
• Many ideas were put forward for how to spend (and in what priority order) substantial S106 money available for making improvements.
• The establishment of a 'Friends of St Matthew's Piece' was proposed - although no further action appears yet to have been taken on this.

Benches

• John Roebuck and Caroline Biggs have proposed to PACT having a 'walk about' to decide where benches are needed. This will be arranged soon!

Social Events

• As well as our cheerful Community Celebration last December, we enjoyed PACT's best ever Summer Event on 29 June. Around 250 adults and children enjoyed Maypole Dancing by the children of St Matthew's School and other dance displays on the newly grassed area behind the Howard Mallett Centre. Huge thanks to everyone involved - especially Adrian Frost, Christine Bradley and Trudi Tate.

Traffic & Transport

Petersfield Streets for People

• Set up in 2000, when local residents identified changes they would like to see to make our streets better and safer places where people live, rather than short cuts for cars.
• A report was sent to the Joint City/County Transport Committee
• Three immediate goals were identified: (a) gateway features at East Rd./St.Matthew's St. junction and Coldhams La./New St. junction; (b) extended park and road closure at St. Matthew's St./Petworth St. junction; (c) removal of wheelie bins from our narrow pavements
• More active members are needed: please contact John Collins (tel. 562364) for copy of report or if willing to become involved.

Stagecoach

• A debate with Stagecoach was initiated by one of PACT's members, focussing on (a) price increases (some tickets have gone up by 50% in just 2 years); (b) poor service - reliability, frequency and routes all leave much to be desired.
• We are therefore campaigning for a two-tier pricing system to be introduced, to make the cost of weekly tickets fairer for those who live in Cambridge, or do not use the bus on a daily basis.
• Although Stagecoach's responses have been discouraging so far, Councillors Ben Bradnack and Kevin Blencowe, and Anne Campbell MP are supporting PACT's pursuit of a more effective dialogue.
• Please (a) make a note of occasions when buses arrive late - or not at all, and (b) write to Anne Campbell with details of these experiences. These facts will help us tackle Stagecoach.

Crime and Safety

• A public meeting was held at St Matthew's School on 22 July on 'Making Petersfield a Safer Place?', which had been arranged jointly by PACT and the Community Safety Partnership. Speakers from the Cambridgeshire Police, the Probationary Service and Cambridge City Council presented information about the high crime levels in Petersfield (the busiest 'beat' in the City), answered residents' questions, and listened to their concerns.
• Mill Road cemetery: PACT members continue to support the work of the 'spin-off' group FOMRC (Friends of Mill Road cemetery). Although improvements and restoration work is very welcome, irresponsible drugs use in the local area is becoming a serious issue. In the last 3 months, 323 syringe needles have been recovered in Petersfield - mostly in Mill Road Cemetery.
• Graffitti continues to be a serious problem, with 87 new 'hits' (8 of these formally recorded as 'offensive') in the last 3 months alone.

Communication

• PACT produced a 4th annual issue of ImPACT in 8 stunning pages, and distributed 3,000 free copies to Petersfield homes, groups and businesses.
• A record amount of content and advertising helped make this our most successful issue yet.
• Our hardworking distribution team enables information from PACT to be regularly circulated and displayed throughout the community
• PACT maintains a new community noticeboard on Norfolk Street, offering up-to-date news on local activities.
• PACT's website http://www.colc.co.uk/cambridge/forum/pact/) has developed and flourished.

And Last But Not Least...

• PACT has held dozens of Management Committee and Subcommittee meetings to maintain progress on key issues.
• Regular scrutiny is made of PACT's accounts and finances, including at this AGM.
• PACT has been active in fundraising to support key PACT activities

The management committee has been particularly delighted by the many important and active contributions of new members over the past year. Fresh faces are always welcome in PACT, on its working parties and on its management committee - there are many ways in which you can become involved. We are looking forward to another year of vigorous and constructive local community action.