In decreasing number of participants,

the locations of the participants in the Zoom call (as known by Zoom) were:

1. 46 Cambridge (GB )

2. 5 London (GB )

3. 3 Ely (GB )

4. 2 Marsh Gibbon (GB )

5. 2 Kings Lynn (GB )

6. 2 Huntingdon (GB )

7. 2 East Molesey (GB )

8. 1 New York (US )

9. 1 Newmarket (GB )

10. 1 (GB )

11. 1 Bridport (GB)

1. The Mill Road Bridge closure has had big effects on traffic, businesses, noise and air pollution levels, pedestrian and cycle safety. It has divided opinions and communities. What is your long-term vision for how Mill Road should be? If you don’t yet know, how will you decide?

2. Campaign fliers always express support for local businesses and local residents, but one set was printed in Manchester, another in Watford. How will you protect the well-being of Petersfield businesses and residents from conflicting commercial pressures from both inside and, especially, from outside the City?

3. Which support services for the vulnerable, disabled and elderly are the most important to preserve and to expand?

4. What are your thoughts on ending segregated education for disabled children, and allowing them to attend school with their siblings, friends and neighbours? Should there be a maximum class size of 20?

5. What do you think of local library and school library services? What should become of the listed old library building by the Depot site?

In decreasing number of participants,

the locations of the participants in the Zoom call (as known by Zoom) were:

1. 56 Cambridge (GB )

2. 7 London (GB )

3. 3 Weymouth (GB )

4. 3 (GB )

5. 2 Kings Lynn (GB )

6. 2 Huntingdon (GB )

7. 2 East Molesey (GB )

8. 1 Marsh Gibbon (GB )

9. 1 Hampstead (GB )

10. 1 Frankfurt am Main (GB )

11. 1 Chelmsford (GB )

1. The pandemic has accentuated Petersfield‘s extreme lack of public open space. Do you have any ideas for how Petersfield ‘s public open space provision in general (i.e., beyond St Matthew’s Piece) could be increased?

2. St Matthew’s Piece is a vital and much loved public park that has been under continual threat of development. How will you work for its long-term protection? Would you support the compulsory purchase of land on the Piece, at a reasonable price?

3. Homelessness, precarious housing and housing benefit problems are widespread in Cambridge, particularly for those on low pay. How would you address these problems?

4. Campaign fliers always express support for local businesses and local residents, but one set was printed in Manchester, another in Watford. How will you protect the well-being of Petersfield businesses and residents from conflicting commercial pressures from both inside and, especially, from outside the City?

These answers submitted 14 hours after the 24 hour deadline (but are nevertheless included for the sake of public interest)

Opening statement

I have lived in the Mill Road area since 2010 and when I first moved here I worked on Hills Road in the area that is now going to become part of Petersfield. Mill Road is my ‘high street’ for shopping and my evenings out are spent on this colourful multi-cultural street. Now that I have retired from my work as a teacher I want to spend more time working to protect this wonderful environment that is my home and the home of my children and grandchildren. Since moving into the city I have sold the car and my husband and I cycle everywhere. We want to see the development of Petersfield moving forward in a way that improves the lives of all who live and work here balancing the needs of increased housing with improving our air quality, improving accessibility of services and safety for all.

1. 1. Petersfield has less open space than any other ward in Cambridge and the plans submitted recently for various sites in the ward are proposing high density development: Ironworks, Devonshire Road, Flying Pig and the Station Car Park. All of these show us plans that propose that they will offer trees and green space in amongst the buildings but in truth the tiny pieces of green space will be overshadowed by tall buildings. These plans need to be scrutinised and challenged to ensure that the developers give us some real, useable open spaces.

In addition I am disappointed by the lack of imagination in these plans for improving our environment in other ways. We could be using Green Walls to improve air quality all over the city.

More immediately we should clean up and improve all of the existing green spaces that we have and make sure that those spaces are accessible to all. We need to address the dreadful lack of biodiversity in the planting of many of the smaller green spaces. In Petersfield every small corner that can accommodate planting should be used.

1. 2. Due process on the planning committee is dependent on the policies stated in the local plan. Liberal Democrats have stated that as part of our new community wellbeing framework we will strengthen protection for public open spaces (and also make it a priority in new developments). Having those policies in place in the Local Plan is what will protect St Matthews Piece in the long term.

As others have stated, compulsory purchase would be difficult and expensive but if it seemed to be possible I would support it for this important space.

1. 3. It is very commendable that Cambridge managed to offer accommodation to 100% of rough sleepers during the pandemic but the longer term issues are much more complex. We want to see much greater attention paid to the relationship between the rough sleeping problem and addictions and mental ill-health. It is critical that we address these issues with co-ordinated support from health services and the police.

Tenant satisfaction in Council housing has fallen since the Liberal Democrats lost control of the Council in 2014 with 1 in 9 homes classed ‘not decent to live in’ last year including 271 homes posing serious risk to health and safety. While Labour take council tenants for granted the Liberal Democrats team have been working hard to improve our area and get help for tenants needing basic repairs.

1. 4. Support for local businesses is a critical feature of safeguarding and improving our local environment. I love living, shopping and enjoying relaxing on Mill Road and I want this area to thrive economically for the future.

It is a shame that both Labour and Conservatives have made the future of Mill Road into a divisive political issue rather than doing the important work of a councillor in informing residents, engaging with them, and being open and honest about their aims and processes.

We in the Liberal Democrats team have been talking to many of the traders on Mill Road and in other parts of Petersfield recently and listening to their ideas and visions for the future. We have found that the opinions of the Mill Road Traders Association do not reflect the views of all of the traders and many of them are excited by the opportunities presented by a less noisy and polluted street which might attract more customers, not less, when the Covid restrictions are fully lifted. A Liberal Democrat Council would fund an evaluation of a New Business Improvement District for Mill Road with interested businesses.

1. We would like to see substantial green space (not just a small patch of lawn) being a required part of any new developments. I believe we could also add much more of a green feeling by having street trees where possible. I think we could also learn a lot from the likes of Singapore about the benefits of integrating plants into buildings, either with green walls, or roof gardens on the top of flat roofed buildings (like the seemingly infinite blocks of flats being built). Perhaps it would also be nice to look into community gardening spaces? While large open spaces are in short supply in Petersfield it could be possible to have raised beds taking up a very small part of the parking space on roads, that would allow the community to plant flowers, herbs, vegetables for the wellbeing of everyone. The Green Party manifesto states that we will protect nature and green spaces for everyone, including identifying and creating wildlife corridors between biodiversity hotspots in the city.

2. I would love for St Matthew's Piece to be protected from development. I would back purchase of the land in order to protect it, if this could be achieved for a reasonable price.

3. I would love to see the affordable housing requirements of new developments actually reflect what is needed, and to not define "affordable" as 80% of the market price, as we all know that 80% of market prices in Cambridge is still extremely unaffordable. Cambridge Green Party wants to see 50% of new buildings be affordable housing, and for that affordability to be true affordability for lower income households. We want to increase the council house stock, and the quality of the existing housing stock, while also working to enable co-housing schemes like that on marmalade lane to be created when new developments are built.

4. To encourage people to support local businesses and avoid retailers such as Amazon we would support a publicity drive in local papers, radio, social media, and television. We would work to allow cafes, pubs and restaurants to be able to have tables and chairs on the pavement with awnings to allow for outdoor socialising and dining, and make it safe for people to support the places they love. Running schemes where the cost of travel is offset from purchases from participating local businesses would encourage people into independent shops and perhaps find gems they did not know about.

Opening statement

Hello, my name is Kris (or Krzysztof if you are fine with multiple consonants in a row) and I stand for the City Council as a Green Party representative. I joined the Green movement because it represents a significant change and hope for a truly better tomorrow with a coherent and systemic approach to policies and politics.

1. Petersfield is very dense, indeed. There is little opportunity to find space for new, significant open spaces. So the priority should be to make open spaces in neighbouring wards more accessible for Petersfield residents. Coldham's, Midsummer and Stourbridge Commons are not that far away but difficult to reach from Petersfield due to Newmarket Rd and the rail tracks. We need to make it easier to cross them on foot and on a bike.

That being said, we need to keep in mind that even in dense areas we need to make sure to seize each opportunity that creates green areas where possible (like current parking space next to the station or the Travis Perkins area at Devonshire Rd that are soon going to be (re-)developed.

2. The decision by the County to sell the lot was a mistake and space will be under constant pressure to bring a return on investment as long as it will be in private hands. Compulsory purchase is a difficult process, it is often useful - hopefully in this case it might not be needed - likely developers took notice of the lively community that engaged in the protection of the park and will agree to sell voluntarily.

3. Decent housing is a basic human need. The current framework for 'affordable' housing is not fit for purpose - I do believe in actively managed social/council housing - it has proven to be the best way to provide for the vulnerable and poor. Cambridge is in a difficult position, with enormous pressure to grow unsustainably. It needs a long-term sustainable strategy to develop together with the rest of Cambridgeshire - which should be possible with a better public transport system. That would make it easier for the City Council to offer better housing options for the community, which could and should be done (we also support cooperatives, co-housing initiatives etc., but in the foreseeable future they will not substitute council housing)..

4. Making sure that local businesses thrive is at the core of Green policy proposals. The Green Party stands for many small-business supporting, systemic, changes in areas such as taxes, public services, anti-trust regulations etc. There are limits to what can be done on the local level - we can ensure that the council buys locally (but it won't save anyone's business alone), we can support local networking efforts (such as the Cambridge Network) hoping that awareness and proximity will provide some boost. For a big and significant change, you need to vote Green in the national elections.

Closing statement

All the issues discussed are interconnected, important to our daily lives and deeply political. City councillors cannot address all aspects of complex topics such as climate emergency, but by voting for the Green Party you can show you care and that can influence the priorities of other parties. Green parties around the world often shift the agenda and convince coalition partners to change their programmes. So, vote Green even if there is little chance these candidates will get elected in your ward - it can still have an impact! Be a part of the Green Wave!