Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Clare James, Deputy John Owen-Ward, Tom Sleigh, Councillor Melvin Cohen, Martyn Foster and Charlotte Kemp.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 23 September 2013.

RESOLVED - that the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 23 September 2013 be approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

Oak Processionary Moth (OPM)

The Director noted that OPM was spreading in a south westerly direction away from City of London Open Spaces. She added that whilst it was spreading over a wider geographic area, the number of reported OPM nests had reduced from 10,000 in 2012 to 5,000 in 2013. She concluded by noting that the bid for a further round of funding from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for eradication work was being prepared.

All-Member Visit to Hampstead Heath

The Chairman noted that the preferred date for the visit was 20 January 2014 at 10:00am, and that transport from Guildhall would be arranged.

Dogs

In response to a query from a member, the Superintendent confirmed that the proposed report on dogs and dog users on the Heath would come to the January meeting of the committee.

Fatality

In response to a question from a member the Superintendent confirmed that the inquest into the recent fatality in the Ladies’ Pond had not yet taken place.

Parliament Hill Athletics Track Showers

The Superintendent noted that four temporary showers had been installed at the Athletics Track whilst a long term solution, in conjunction with the City Surveyor’s Department, regarding boiler works was identified and implemented.

London Councils Summit

The Deputy Chairman updated the committee on the Open Spaces stand at the London Councils summit at Guildhall on 16 November. She noted that it had proved popular, with a steady stream of visitors and that it was hoped to repeat its appearance at future summits. The Chairman thanked on behalf of the committee both the Director and the Superintendent for their efforts in making

The Chairman introduced the draft minutes and summary of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee meeting dated 20 November, noting that they were before this committee for information only and that any comments and matters arising within them would be dealt with by the Consultative Committee at their next meeting.

RECEIVED

The Superintendent of Hampstead Heath to be heard.

The Superintendent updated the committee on matters currently affecting Hampstead Heath.

Planning - Garden House

He noted that the recent appeal against the planning application for Garden House had been rejected. In response to questions from a member, he reported that the appeal had been hindered by the fact that the appellants barrister could not address the Inspector on the initial day of the hearing as planned and was unable to attend on the reconvened date. He noted that the City of London had engaged a planning consultant and had dealt with the application in a similar way to those that had been previously made on the site, but on this occasion the appeal was not granted. He noted that the Vale of Health Society had placed on record their appreciation for the support provided by the City of London at the recent Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee meeting on 12 November. He concluded by noting that the site lay on Metropolitan Open Land which was broadly equivalent to ‘green belt’ land, hence the contentious nature of applications affecting the site, which in the particular case involved an increase in the building’s footprint and the construction of a basement.

Planning - The Water House

He reported that the planning application affecting The Water House – which would see intensive and arguably inappropriate use of Millfield Lane by construction traffic – had not yet been formally reported upon by the London Borough of Camden.

Planning - Athlone House

He reported that a further planning application had been logged by Camden last week for Athlone House – a site that had been the subject of a successful planning appeal in the past. He noted that he had not yet seen the application but that initial feedback from local societies indicated that the development

Report of the Town Clerk.

The committee considered a report of the Town Clerk concerning its terms of reference.

RESOLVED, that –

·         The current terms of reference of the committee be approved for submission to the Court on 1 May 2014 and that any further changes in the lead up to the Court’s appointment of committees be delegated to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

A joint report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Open Spaces.

The Group Accountant introduced a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Open Spaces on revenue and capital budgets for 2014-15, noting that the report had been prepared in line with guidelines set by the Policy and Resources and Finance Committees. She added that a three-year allocation of City Bridge Trust (CBT) funding was due to end in March 2014 but that it was anticipated that a fresh three-year allocation of £252,000 would be applied for, and that the figures within the report took this into account. Moreover she noted that and additional £80,000 had been allocated to the budgets to mitigate the loss of the current CBT funding.

She continued by reporting that in respect of the Additional Works Programme works that it was anticipated would not take place in 2013/14 had been rolled forward until 2014/15, and that these had been add to the bids for 2014/15 which had been approved by the Corporate Asset Sub Committee and were awaiting approval from the Resource Allocation Sub Committee. The proposals would be resubmitted to the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee in the event of any major changes being made. She concluded by noting that the forecast 2013/14 outturn figures were in line with the budgets.

In response to a question from a member the Group Accountant confirmed that the summary figures on the first page of the report took into account the issues outlined in paragraph seven on pages three and four of the report.

RESOLVED, that –

·         The committee had reviewed the provisional 2014/15 revenue budget to ensure that it reflected the committee’s objectives and approved its submission to the Finance Committee;

·         The committee had reviewed and approved the draft capital budget;

·         The Chamberlain be authorised, in consultation with the Director of

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

The Chairman introduced a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath regarding the Preferred Options and Non-Statutory Consultation on the Hampstead Heath Ponds Project. He noted that the preferred options were the result of over 20 meetings of the Ponds Project Stakeholder Group (PPSG), and that many of the suggestions and critique arising from the PPSG had been incorporated into the preferred options report. He continued by noting that, subject to the committee’s decision, the City of London was now due to embark upon a 12-week period of consultation and information giving on the preferred options and the project was therefore moving into a new phase. He noted that the preferred options remained in outline only, and that detailed design would be the next phase. He concluded by stating that the City of London planned to submit a planning application to the London Borough of Camden in June 2014.

The Superintendent reiterated the Chairman’s comment that the report before the committee was the culmination of a period of 15 months of engagement with the PPSG. He noted that throughout that time the proposals had been narrowed down from broad ‘blue sky’ thinking, to constrained options, through to the current preferred options. He noted that the constrained options report – influenced by the PPSG – had set the design philosophy of the project, including the principle of creating additional storage capacity around the central areas of the two chains of ponds.

He went on to acknowledge that much of the terminology around the project was technical and complex, but that nevertheless the central tenet of the City of London’s approach was to ensure that the dams on the Heath were capable of withstanding the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) in the event of a major storm. He made it clear that the

Superintendent of Hampstead Heath to be heard.

The Superintendent provided an update on issues affecting Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park.

St Jude’s Storm

He noted that the St Jude’s Storm on 28 October had affected around 100 trees in Highgate Wood, particularly oaks. To deal with the damage it had been necessary to divert resources away from Hampstead Heath, and it was anticipated that works would take three to four weeks.

In response to a question from a member, the Superintendent agreed to consider removing some of the damaged oaks at Highgate Wood in order to open up areas of the wood to encourage habitat diversity. Furthermore, the Superintendent agreed with a comment by the Chairman that the oaks were in good health and that this was likely due to lower levels of caterpillar infestations.

The Chairman suggested that the management of Highgate Wood’s oaks be the subject of a future committee report.

Highgate Wood Conservation Management Plan

He noted that a draft summary document had recently been submitted to the Highgate Wood Joint Consultative Committee and that officers were awaiting comments upon its layout and structure. He added that an updated version of the document would be submitted to a future meeting of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee.

Queen’s Park Day

He noted that the Queen’s Park Day on 15 September had attracted 7,000 visitors. This was half the usual number due to inclement weather on the day. He added that, within the wider park, works had begun on restoring the Quiet Garden.

Maps

At the request of a member, officers agreed to provide maps at future committee meetings to allow members to appreciate the location of various sites, such as current planning applications.

Date of the Next Meeting

The Chairman noted that the committee would next meet on 27 January 2014 at 1:45pm.

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

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

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2013.

RESOLVED - that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2013 be approved as a correct record, subject to an agreed amendment.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.