Agenda item

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces providing an update on the progress of the Parkland Plan.

The Head of Operations, Epping Forest, reported that the proposal was to put together a Project Group to draw this work together. The City Surveyor would then hopefully submit a paper through the correct gateway process in December 2018.

The Chairman asked that the Director give some thought to how best Verderers might be included in this process. A Verderer commented that it would be particularly useful to have a South Verderer involved. The Director stated that Project Boards tended to be at Officer level but that he would give some thought as to appropriate Verderer engagement.

In response to questions, the Head of Operations reported that the plan was still at a very early stage but would be presented to the Committee in its entirety in due course.

A Verderer questioned whether the funding for the plan would therefore already be approved before the Committee had an opportunity to view/comment on it. The Director reported that Officers were simply looking to initiate the project at this stage and that the Gateway process was a means of making Members aware of the likely financial requirements of the project in broad terms. It would then be for the service Committee and the Project Sub Committee to agree the particulars of the plan at various Gateway stages.

The Chairman stated that it would be useful to have further information on the report being prepared for Project Sub ahead of its submission there. A Verderer commented that Wanstead Park was very topical at the moment, particularly in the Southern Forest, and that it would therefore be helpful to move quickly on this matter.

A Member clarified that the Gateway 2 report would need to come to this Committee for comment/approval under the new Gateway system. He went on to talk of lessons learned in terms of the importance of community engagement and communication from the Hampstead Heath Dam Project.  

RESOLVED – That, Members approve the preparation of a combined LRR and Parkland Plan (Gateway 1/2) project proposal for submission to the Project Sub (Policy & Resources) Committee for December 2018.