Agenda item

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Before the report on Fees and Charges was introduced to the Committee, the Chairman noted some amendments that had been put forward at the meeting of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee on 20 January 2014. These were:

·         Athletics Track Season Ticket – Adults and Athletics Track Season Ticket – Concessionary Rate remain frozen at their approved 1 April 2013 level of £60.00 and £30.00 respectively, as a gesture of goodwill following ongoing issues with the Parliament Hill Athletics Track showers.

·         Croquet (Golders Hill) was played on a lawn as opposed to a rink, as described in Appendix 3 of the Report.

·         Under Lido – Swimming, the second instance of Evening – Adult should be listed as Evening – Concessionary.

The Acting Superintendent of Hampstead Heath then introduced the report, noting that the proposed increases in charging were in line with the 2.6% Retail Price Index of October 2013. He noted that in some instances, lower charging had been deliberately maintained to promote ease of cash handling in facilities such as the Lido. He noted that Simon Lee had worked closely with the Sports Advisory Forum in setting the policy behind the charges, and the policy was underpinned by the intention to set differential charging aimed at encouraging greater participation in particular activities. He concluded by noting the Charging Policy, once it had been further developed, would be submitted to a future meeting of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee for comment before coming back to the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee in November 2014.

A member of the Committee welcomed the report but stated his opposition to setting concessionary rates based upon race, religion or creed as seemed to be the intention expressed on page 94. The Chairman replied that this was not the intended aim of concessionary charging, and that the report simply acknowledged that certain groups were underrepresented among those persons using facilities on the Heath.

RESOLVED –

·         That Members approve the proposed fees and charges for 2014/15 subject to the amendments noted by the Chairman;

·         That Members approve the Charging Policy and framework that is being developed to implement a differentiated approach to setting charges for the wide range of sports and recreational activities on the Heath.