Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Peter Dunphy, Deputy Brian Harris, Hugh Morris, Deputy James Thomson, and Michael Welbank.

Vote of Thanks to the Director of the Built Environment

The Chairman took this opportunity to express Members’ sincere thanks to Philip Everett for his significant contribution to the work of the Committee during his time as Director of the Built Environment. The Director thanked the Committee for their kind words and wished luck to his successor.

Deputy Stanley Ginsburg declared a non-pecuniary interest in matters relating to public conveniences in Bishopsgate as a business owner on Middlesex Street.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the last meeting held on 5 May 2015.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting held on 5 May 2015 be approved.

Matters Arising

Public Conveniences

In response to a Member’s question, the Assistant Director of Street Scene and Strategy advised that the City of London Police (CoLP) had visited Middlesex Street recently regarding concerns of public urination. He added that warnings had been issued and relationships were established between the CoLP and local business owners. 58 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for public urination were issued in 2014/15, 26 of which were issued within the Ward of Bishopsgate.

Community Toilet Scheme (CTS)

In response to Members’ questions, the Assistant Director advised that new A4 CTS signage had been developed to replace older, smaller signs. He would ensure that the new A4 signs were displayed in the windows of all CTS members as soon as possible.

Massage and Special Treatment

The Director of Port Health and Public Protection advised that a visit to the potentially un-licenced massage parlour was carried out on 20 May 2015 by a member of the Police Licensing Team and an officer from the London Fire Brigade. There was no evidence found that the premises was being used for the provision of activities which would in any way suggest it was a brothel. A Member suggested an alternative premises to be investigated and agreed to consult with the Director regarding its exact location.

To note the list of outstanding actions.

RESOLVED – That the list of Outstanding Actions be noted.

To receive a resolution from theGrand Wardmote of theWard of Farringdon Within.

Members received a Resolution from the Ward of Farringdon Within regarding traffic in Cloth Fair. The Assistant Director of Street Scene and Strategy advised that technical officers within the Local Transportation team had been assessing the area. Their findings would be presented for consideration by the Streets and Walkways Sub Committee and the Planning and Transportation Committee. Members were advised that they would receive an update of the outcome at the next appropriate Committee meeting.

RESOLVED – That the Wardmote Resolution be noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk regarding the future of Signor Pasquale Favale Bequest, in the light of Recommendations 1.6 and 3.1 of the cross-cutting review of grant giving activities to consolidate small similar charities to create a single, larger and more flexible fund to streamline and align governance arrangements.

It was RESOLVED that the Signor Pasquale Favale Bequest would not be combined with any other smaller charities to create a single, larger fund and should therefore continue to operate in its current format. Members cited the Bequest’s historical importance and the positive publicity it brought to the City of London Corporation as reasons for this decision.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and Chamberlain that provided a key risks register for the Signor Pasquale Favale Bequest.

RESOLVED – That the risk register:-

a)    Satisfactorily set out the risks faced by the Charity; and

b)    Appropriate measures be in place to mitigate those risks.

To receive a presentation from Global Action Plan.

The Committee received a presentation from a representative of Global Air Action regarding action on air quality, emissions and exposure. Members were advised of several recent projects to reduce emissions and improve air quality, including encouraging drivers to switch off their engines whilst stationary, a four week travel challenge in association with Bart’s Health NHS Trust to change people’s commuting pattern away from car to public transport, walking, or cycling, and the introduction of garden plants that could play a role on trapping fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5) found in the air we breathe. A document providing further information on these air quality plants would be circulated to Members after the meeting.

In response to a Member’s question, the Global Action Plan representative advised that 80% of interactions with drivers asked to switch off their engines were positive, although some taxi drivers were reluctant due to the perception of their customers that they were not ready to take business.

In response to Members’ questions, the Environmental Health Officer advised that cleaner Transport for London (TfL) taxis would be gradually introduced due to the requirement for all newly-licensed vehicles to be Zero Emission Capable from January 2018 and the introduction of a voluntary and incentivised decommissioning scheme for taxis older than ten years.

RESOLVED – That the Cleaner Air Action presentation be noted.

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection that sought approval to the City of London Air Quality Strategy 2015-2020. Members were advised that the strategy fulfilled the City of London Corporation’s statutory obligation to assist the Government and Mayor of London to meet European Limit Values for nitrogen dioxide and fine particles (PM10) and reflected the high priority placed on reducing the impact of air pollution on the health of City residents and workers. The Director of Port Health and Public Protection noted that a meeting between the Chairman, Environmental Health Officer and a Defra Minister was taking place shortly to discuss a wider London strategy.

A Member suggested that the City Corporation should be seen as taking a lead in reducing the pollution caused by diesel vehicles and that serious consideration should be given to banning them completely. Other Members endorsed stronger action. The Director welcomed Members support for a strong line being taken and this clear political guidance would help with the campaign.  He added that the Department of Markets and Consumer Protection worked closely with colleagues in the Department of the Built Environment regarding the development of future pedestrian zones within the City of London.

In response to Members’ concerns regarding Biomass boilers, the Environmental Health Officer advised that they were not being installed in any new premises but implementation was not possible with existing premises. In response to further questions, she added that dust monitoring was required at all construction sites and non-road mobile machinery had to meet emissions standards. A bid to fund a new full time post across central London authorities to focus on construction emissions would be submitted shortly.

The Director of Port Health and Public Protection added that an update report to be submitted to the

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces that sought approval to the installation of equipment that enabled hot water created as part of the mercury abatement process to be used to heat the crematorium service chapels during the winter.

In response to a Member’s question regarding potential public relations difficulties, the Superintendent of the Cemetery and Crematorium advised that this had been discussed with the Public Relations Office but it was not seen as a risk because the heat recovery method was being used by many other crematoriums across the UK.

RESOLVED – That the installation of waste heat recovery equipment at the City of London Crematorium in order to use waste heat from the mercury abatement process to heat the service chapels, be approved.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment that sought approval to formally close a project following the successful delivery of installations of barriers at Royal Exchange (within the Bank Underground Station subway) and Eastcheap public conveniences.

Members were advised that the actual income for 2014/15, after a full year in operation, was £34,500 for Royal Exchange and £29,000 for Eastcheap.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted and the project be formally closed.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee received a report of the Director of the Built Environment that provided details of the progress relevant to the work of the Committee made during Period 3 against the 2014-17 Departmental Business Plan.

RESOLVED – That the end of year update and financial outturn report be noted.

Joint report of the Chamberlain, Director of Open Spaces, Director of Markets and Consumer Protection, and Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee received a joint report of the Chamberlain, Director of the Built Environment, Director of Markets and Consumer Protection, and Director of Open Spaces that compared the revenue outturn for the services overseen by the Committee in 2014/15 with the final budget for the year. Members were advised that overall total net expenditure for the year was £13.770 million, whereas the total agreed budget was £14.775 million, representing an underspend of £1.005 million.

RESOLVED – That the report and the proposed carry forward of underspendings to 2015/16 be noted.

In response to a Member’s question regarding time banding timings for City of London residents, the Assistant Director of Street Scene and Strategy advised that compliance with the Time Banding Scheme had been generally good since its introduction in 2012. However, if there were specific issues that had arisen in a certain location then the Assistant Director for Cleansing Operations agreed to consult with the Member and visit these specific areas of concern to consider what options were available to assist in complying with the Scheme.

Any items of business that the Chairman may decide are urgent.

In response to a question from the Chairman regarding idling vehicles belonging to mobile shredding companies, the Assistant Director of Street Scene and Strategy advised that an officer working group would be established to consider the enforcement powers available against any breaches to legislation committed by the vehicles. A report outlining the working group’s findings would be submitted to the appropriate Committee(s) in due course.

Members were advised of the award for best team within the CoLP received by the Operation Broadway team. Members congratulated the team for their deserved recognition and noted the importance of trading standards powers within the CoLP.

Members also thanked the Chairman for the recent Annual River Inspection event and the Chairman thanked all those involved in the organisation of such a successful event.

MOTION – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining 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 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.

To agree the non-public minutes of the last meeting held on 5 May 2015.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 5 May 2015 be approved.

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection regarding a review of Environmental Health-based regulatory services.

In response to a Member’s question, the Assistant Director of Environmental Health and Public Protection advised that the provision of a Pest Control Service would be disbanded to meet savings as it was a non-statutory function. He added that the statutory function of responding to notifications of pests and providing recommendations to building owners would remain but external Pest Control contractors would now have to carry out pest removal.

In response to a Member’s question regarding the handling of noise complaints, the Assistant Director advised that most other local authorities dealt with complaints via their Licensing Teams as decisions could be made in reference to the Licensing objectives. The Out of Hours service would remain and complaints would be passed to the appropriate Team.  A review would be undertaken to see whether an improved service could be provided by noise complaints associated with licensed premises being investigated and handled by the Licensing Team, rather than Pollution Control.

In response to a Member’s question regarding food safety and the donation by retail premises of surplus food to charities, the Assistant Director advised that officers could investigate whether certain foods were being kept at correct temperatures but powers did not exist to force commercial businesses to donate excess food to charity. The Assistant Director of Street Scene and Strategy added that the Clean City Award Scheme co-ordinated best practice regarding food waste, recycling, and sustainability.

There were none.

A model of a Thames rowing cutter was presented to the past-Chairman, Deputy John Tomlinson, for his support provided to the Port Health Rowing Team during his term as Chairman of the Committee. Deputy Tomlinson thanked the Team for their gesture of appreciation.