Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Randall Anderson, Alex Bain-Stewart, David Bradshaw, Henry Colthurst, Revd. Dr Martin Dudley, Deputy Bill Fraser, George Gillon, Alderman Peter Hewitt, Alderman Robert Howard, Deputy Henry Jones, Oliver Lodge, Judith Pleasance, Tom Sleigh, Graeme Smith, Angela Starling, Patrick Streeter and Deputy James Thomson.

Marianne Fredericks highlighted a declarable interest recorded on her register of interests in respect of item 6 and withdrew from the meeting whilst the item was considered. She also advised prior to consideration of this item that she had entered in to no material discussions on this issue with relevant Members or officers.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 28 November 2016 (TO FOLLOW).

The public minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2016 were approved.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 30 November 2016 (TO FOLLOW).

The public minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2016 were approved.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment concerning the proposed introduction of an experimental safety scheme at Bank Junction. A resolution of the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee, which had considered this item at its meeting on 5 December 2016, was also noted.

The Assistant Director (Local Transportation) briefed the Committee on the background proposal, noting that Bank Junction was one of the busiest road junctions in London. The experimental scheme offered several benefits, but at this early stage the primary benefit would be public safety and a reduction in casualties; monitoring would be crucial to ensure that casualties were not simply being moved elsewhere as a result of traffic diversions and a number of attitudinal surveys, road safety audits, journey time measurements and air quality readings would be taken throughout the life of the trial to ensure a comprehensive understanding of its impact. Transport for London had examined the proposals in detail and had agreed they represented a sound potential solution to issues at Bank Junction, as well as offering real improvements to journey times for buses through the junction.

At the invitation of the Chairman, five persons addressed the Committee from the public gallery: Steven McNamara (Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association), Peter Murray (Construction Industry Cycling Commission), Vincent Stops (London TravelWatch), Steve Monk (London Cycling Campaign) and Tom Platt (London Living Streets) were heard.

Following these addresses, the Chairman opened debate by emphasising that a “do nothing” option did not exist in this case, highlighting the number of tragic accidents in each year, drawing attention to the fact that road safety was currently a red rated Corporate risk; to do nothing would be negligent. He added that he had recently met with representatives of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association who had asked if consideration could

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment presenting an alternative road layout design for the Tudor Street junction. This followed the Court of Common Council’s decision in April 2016 to reject the previously proposed layout caused by the introduction of Transport for London’s North-South cycle superhighway from Blackfriars to Stonecutter Street in view of the concerns raised by Members, residents and the Temples.

A Member spoke to commend the Chairman and officers for their positive engagement with TfL and the Temples on this issue and their success in achieving this much improved solution.

The Committee noted that a detailed design and safety audit would be reported back to the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee before works began, with the exception of the mitigation measures which needed to be put in place as soon as possible.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to recommend the Court of Common Council to:

·         agree and instruct officers to continue to work with TfL to progress the alternative layout as shown in Appendix 2.

·         approve a total estimated cost of £195,000, of which £175,000 is a contribution towards TfL’s costs in delivering the alternative layout.

·         approve and agree to the delivery of the mitigation measures (subject to the resolution of any objections arising from the statutory public consultation) as shown in Appendix 3.

Report of the City Planning Officer and Director of Development.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director concerning a reported breach of planning control at 15 Trinity Square, involving the unauthorised use of three flats as short-term lets in excess of the 90 nights permitted per calendar year.

Prior to consideration of this item, Marianne Fredericks highlighted a declarable interest recorded on her register of interests in respect of this item. She advised the Committee that she had entered in to no material discussions on this issue with relevant Members or Officers and would not participate in the debate on this item. Consequently, she then withdrew from the meeting for the duration of the consideration of this matter.

It was noted that the principal issues of concern in considering this breach were the loss of residential flats, the effect on the amenity of residents in terms of noise and shared facilities, security concerns, and the impact on the building.Having regard to the provisions of the development plan and the material considerations, it was considered expedient to take enforcement action, under section 172 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, to remedy the breach of planning control.

In introducing the report, the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director informed the Committee that the owners of the flats in question had accepted they had been in breach of the 90 day limit and had co-operated entirely throughout the process. They had since submitted additional representations which expressed their view that they had taken steps to improve the security and facilities of the building. They advised that they had also been unaware of any noise complaints and expressed dissatisfaction at being the first owners to have such enforcement action taken against them and queried the motives of the complainants.

In debating the report, Members

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment setting out a proposed response to the Mayor of London’s statement of ambition for the future of London and Londoners, ‘A City for all Londoners’. Responses to this consultation would be used to inform the development of the Mayor’s seven statutory strategies, including the London Plan and the Transport Strategy, which would then be published for consultation during 2017.

Introducing the report, the Policy & Performance Director was pleased to note the statement’s continued support for and commitment to the protection of the international business cluster within the City of London and the rest of the Central Activities Zone. The statement’s recognition of the need to improve transport infrastructure and resilience, as well as an improved focus on air quality, were also particularly welcome. A draft response to the consultation was set out at appendix one to the report which also highlighted additional issues that the City Corporation would wish the Mayor to consider, including further thought on increasing airport capacity and facilitating swift progress in this area, as well as the need to balance increased housing provision with the preservation of the central area as an employment hub.

In considering the proposed response, a Member asked that a request be included for the existing scope of protected views be revisited. The importance of pressing for the development of a Freight & Delivery Policy was stressed, as was the need to highlight how crucial the safety and security of London and its workers, residents, tourists and infrastructure was, with the potential impact of an attack on the economy of the entire country highlighted. It was also asked that more robust wording be used at appropriate points to emphasise the importance of the various issues set out in the response being

Report of the Director of Markets & Consumer Protection.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection that sought approval to the draft City of London Corporation Air Quality Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for public consultation.

In response to queries around the proportion of development proposals which were air quality neutral, the Port Health & Public Protection Director advised that the majority of applications were already such but that the Plan was intended to increase the proportion further. He also agreed to include reference to both air and ground source heat pumps within the next version of the Plan.

RESOLVED: That the draft SPD be approved for an eight week public consultation period.

Joint report of the Chamberlain, Director of the Built Environment and Director of Culture, Heritage & Libraries.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Chamberlain, the Director of the Built Environment and the Director of Culture Heritage and Libraries seeking approval to the latest revenue budget for 2016/17 and the provisional revenue budget for 2017/18, for subsequent submission to the Finance Committee.

A Member noted that the repair and maintenance works for Blackfriars Bridge were now scheduled for 2017/18 and expressed concern at the delay, given that the Committee had previously been informed that the works had been scheduled for this year. The Chamberlain advised that the delay to the works was likely to be linked to the timings of the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, but undertook to confirm with the relevant technical officers and confirm with the Member following the meeting.

RESOLVED: That Members:-

·         note the latest 2016/17 revenue budget;

·         confirm that the provisional 2017/18 revenue budget reflects the Committee’s objectives and approve the budget for submission to the Finance Committee;

·         approve the draft capital budget;

·         approve the draft 50 year Bridges’ Repairs, Maintenance and Major Works Fund budgets and the consequent required contributions; and

·         authorise the Chamberlain to revise these budgets for changes to the Additional Works Programme and in respect of recharges.

Report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director setting out the list of valid planning applications received by Department of the Built Environment since the last meeting.

It was noted that the list of delegated decisions, which normally accompanied this report, would be presented to the next meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee received a report of the Director of the Built Environment detailing the progress made in securing and implementing financial and non-financial planning obligations secured under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (As amended)(CIL), Section 106 (S106) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (The Act) and The London Plan, in the financial year 2015 to 2016. The report also provided an analysis for the period and included a financial summary. 

Noting that only £51.8m of the £128.6m S106 monies received so far had been spent, Members sought assurances that the funds would be committed to appropriate projects and not returned to developers unused. It was advised that a review was currently underway to improve the efficiency with which these monies were spent to ensure that this was the case and the Chief Planning Officer confirmed that no funds had been required to be returned to developers to date.

In response to further questions, it was clarified that the Mayoral CIL monies were currently all committed to the Crossrail project. It was also confirmed that S106 agreements were used to secure non-financial obligations as far as possible, within the limits provided by the three statutory and policy tests for the use of planning obligations.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

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RESOLVED: With two hours having elapsed since the start of the meeting, in accordance with Standing Order No. 40 the Committee agreed at this point to extend the meeting by up to thirty minutes.

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Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee received a report of the Director of the Built Environment updating on the current risks that existed in relation to the operations of the Department of the Built Environment and, therefore, Planning & Transportation Committee. In response to the Committee’s recent request, those risks belonging to the Port Health and Environmental ServicesCommittee had been separated out and removed from this report.

RESOLVED: That the report and the actions taken in the Department of the Built Environment to monitor and manage effectively risks arising from the department’s operations be noted.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee received a report of the City Surveyor providing an update in respect of the status of public lifts and escalators in the City.

The City Surveyor advised that the two lifts and one escalator which had been out of service at the time of writing the report had now been repaired and were back in use.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

Millennium Bridge

In response to a Member’s query concerning potential instability on the Bridge, the Director of the Built Environment was asked to undertake a check of its condition and advise the Member accordingly.

There were no urgent items.

MOTION – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2016 (TO FOLLOW).

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2016 were approved.

Report of the Built Environment.

The Committee received a report of the Director of the Built Environment setting out the levels of arrears associated with services provided by the Department and providing an analysis of the various debts, as well as action being taken to recover outstanding debts.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.