Agenda item

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

Members considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces on the Open Spaces & Heritage Business Plan 2017/18 and the following points were made.

·         The Head of Corporate Strategy noted that the version before members was a draft corporate plan which would undergo several rounds of consultation before it was finalised in April 2018. In the meantime departmental business planning continued as normal.

·         In response to a question regarding reduction of fuel consumption, the Superintendent noted that all assets – including vehicles – were reviewed as and when they came up for renewal and the Open Spaces Department had decided to move away from diesel.

·         In response to a question the Open Spaces Business Manager confirmed that there was no hierarchy of priorities within the business plan.

·         A Member noted that the draft corporate strategy referred only to the Square Mile – where none of the North London Open Spaces (NLOS) were located. The Head of Corporate Strategy replied that NLOS were considered part of the People strand of the strategy rather than the Place strand, given their role in wellbeing and recreation.

·         A Member was heard regarding the fact many members of the public would not related to the terms Square Mile or indeed ‘co-working space’. Head of Corporate Strategy replied that comments such as this would be factored into future iterations of the strategy and the final version would be scrutinised by the Director of Communications to ensure language was as accessible as possible.

RESOLVED, that the Open Spaces & Heritage Business Plan be approved.