Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Alderman Gregory Jones and Deputy Alastair Moss.

Paul Martinelli declared an interest in Agenda Item 8 – Special Events on the Highway -  as he was the treasurer of the SMTA (150th Anniversary of the Market which was shown in the report as being an SMTA event).

Marianne Fredericks declared an interest in Agenda Item 9 – Culture Mile Pop-Ups -  as she was due to sit on a relating Licensing Committee. Ms Fredericks advised that she would take no part in the discussion or voting on this item.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 24 November 2017.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 24 November 2017 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

RESOLVED – That the list of outstanding references be noted and updated as appropriate.

Matters Arising

Swan Pier

The City Surveyor advised that consultant engineers were currently preparing technical documentation for tenders to repair the flood defence wall, and this would be completed by 9^th February 2018.

Discussions had taken place with the Fishmongers’ Company which was the registered freeholder of land on the east side of Old Swan Stairs, regarding essential repairs to the flood defence wall which was part of their title, to explore the possibility of co-operation in carrying out repair works. Fishmongers’ Company had advised that under the terms of a lease granted (23^rd February 1981) by the Fishmongers’ Company to the City in connection with a right of way along the riverside walkway in front of Fishmongers’ Hall from London Bridge to Swan Lane, responsibility for maintenance of the flood defence wall lay with the City. Consequently, the City’s consultant had been instructed to include works to this section of the river wall in the tender documentation.

The Planning Officer had confirmed that any proposal to remove the remnant (fixed brow) of Swan Lane Pier would require planning permission which would be refused unless suitable replacement facilities of an equivalent or higher standard were provided.

London Wall Place

The Committee noted that a report was on the agenda for the 29 January Planning and Transportation Committee meeting, however a member requested a short update be emailed to him in order that he could respond directly to a query from a constituent.

In response to a question concerning the lift at Moore House, officers advised that this was also on the agenda for Planning and Transportation and was included in the Public Lift Update.

It was agreed that the recent update on the Millennium

Report of the Director of the Built Environment

The Members considered a Gateway 3/4/5 Authority to Start Work report of the Director of the Built Environment.

RESOLVED – To:

·         Approve the adjustment of the evaluation budgets to reflect the expenditure incurred;

·         Approve the implementation of the Section 278 highway works with an estimated cost of £674,060 as listed in the design summary in the main report and shown in the General Arrangement drawing;

·         Delegate authority for any adjustments between elements of the approved budget to the Chief Officer in consultation with the Chamberlain’s Head of Finance;

·         Delegate authority for any budget increases to the Chief Officer in consultation with the Chamberlain and Town Clerk, provided there is no change to the approved scope of works and the City receives upfront funding from the developer;

·         Authorise the City to sign a Section 8 agreement (S.8) with Transport for London (TfL) permitting the City to implement the works on Bishopsgate, part of the Transport for London Road Network.

·         Authorise Officers to seek relevant regulatory and statutory consents, orders and approvals (e.g Traffic Regulation Orders) as may be required to progress and implement the scheme; and

·         Agree that the commencement of the Section 278 works be dependent upon full funding being first received from the developer.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment

Members considered a Gateway 7 Outcome Report (Light) report of the Director of Built Environment regarding Cousin Lane – Street Enhancements.

RESOLVED – To:

·         Note the lessons learnt and authorise closure of the project

·         Authorise the return of the £103,395 underspend to the developer, under the terms of the S278 agreement.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment

Members considered a Gateway 4 Detailed Options Appraisal (Complex Route) report of the Director of Built Environment regarding 60 – 70 St. Mary Axe which had been considered by the Project Sub-Committee on 17 January 2018.

Members were advised that the Projects Sub-Committee had commented that the staff costs appeared to be very high and had requested further information to be obtained in relation to the charged hourly rate compared to the market value.

Members noted the view of the Projects Sub-Committee but were satisfied with the proposed way forward.

RESOLVED – To

·                Approve Option 1 for progression to the next Gateway;

·                Authorise the Gateway 5 report to be considered by the Chief Officer under

Delegated Authority, as per the City’s project procedure;

·                Authorise officers to pursue the necessary approvals, such as Traffic

Regulation Orders.

·                Approve the funding set out in Table 2 of the report.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment outlining the major special events planned in the City in 2018 which had been considered by the Policy and Resources on 18 January 2018.

Reference was made to the Culture Mile event and officers advised that whilst Policy & Resources Members had been supportive, concern was expressed about the need to close Beech Street for a period of six days to accommodate it. The report had therefore been agreed subject to the length of the road closure associated with the Culture Mile event being reduced.

Members shared the concerns of the Policy and Resources Committee, particularly in relation to the impact of the road closures on residents.

The Managing Director of the Barbican was present at the meeting to respond to questions, and arising from the discussion, undertook to provide a revised schedule for the project to comply with a reduced period of closure.

RESOLVED – That the events outlined in the report be agreed subject to the length of the road closure associated with the Culture Mile event being reduced.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment

Members considered a Gateway 6 Progress Report (Light) of the Director of Built Environment regarding Culture Mile Pop-ups:

Members were advised that the projects Sub-Committee had commented that the fees seemed high and had asked which budget they were coming from.  The Chamberlain had confirmed that they were coming from the Cultural Budget Provision.

In response to the question of value for money, officers advised that the budget for outdoor programming was very modest in comparison to other successful cultural districts against which this activity had been compared. In addition, a mixed funding model seeking external sponsorship to support Culture Mile programming would be developed later in 2018. Finally, the installations described in the report would be able to be displayed for between 1-2 years, thereby maximising their value for money.

In response to a question concerning whether or not residents had been consulted, officers advised that this was done by way in a range of ways, including via statutory consultation as part of planning applications, through public surveys and with Barbican residents through the Culture Mile Sub Group.

RESOLVED – To approve

·         The outlined ‘Phase 2’ (2018) of the Culture Mile Pop-ups, comprising events, installations and greening in the public realm in support of the Culture Mile.

·         The Culture Mile way-finding pilot subject to approval of the agreed signage system for use across the City, as set out in the Gateway 3 / 4 report entitled ‘City-wide way-finding signage review’.

·         The funding of £470,700 to implement the Culture Mile Pop-ups as set out in this report

·         That officers seek any approvals, permits and consents necessary to implement Phase 2 of the Pop Ups programme.

·         To note that future reports on Pop Ups will be received on an annual basis

To receive any update

Officers reported that a workable scheme had now been developed with Transport for London (TfL) which was currently being assessed and costed before officers would be in a position to report to Members.

In response to a question concerning whether or not the scheme still included a new bus-stop at Blackfriars, officers advised that Tfl were not prepared to change this.

The Sub-Committee requested that an update and timeline be reported to the next meeting.

Yellow Bikes

In response to a question concerning the dumping of yellow bikes in the City,

officers reported that as a dockless cycle hire scheme could operate with no

on-street infrastructure, companies were able to operate their schemes without

the express consent of the Highway Authorities although bikes deemed to be

causing an obstruction or nuisance could be removed.

Officers agreed to speak to the relevant operators and report back to a future meeting.

CCTV

In response to a question concerning the installation of CCTV in the City, officers advised that the CoL Police were responsible for on-street cameras, and private buildings were responsible for their own.

The Chairman reported the following:

Ludgate Circus

A meeting between Chairman, Deputy Chairman and TfL representatives was due take place that afternoon and the outcome would be reported to the Planning and Transportation Committee next week.

Road Closures

A report on the new arrangements and the involvement of the Chairman in the consideration of road closures would be brought to a future meeting.

London Planning Awards

The new Bloomberg development had been voted ‘Best Mixed Use’ building.

Walbrook Wharf

Officers were due to meet with the Port of London Authority to discuss more use being made of the river for the transportation of goods and other material via the riverside wharf as this would help to reduce congestion.