Agenda item

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 9 July 2019.

The Committee considered the public minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2019.

A Member proposed an amendment to the minute, under item 10 (City Fund Highway Declaration – 43 Golden Lane, EC1). He wished to further clarify and amend the paragraph which referenced his contribution as follows: “Another Member agreed with the case made by the previous speaker and noted that, whilst airspace was, ordinarily, uncontroversial, in this case the space in question was occupied by a large, mature tree. He went on to state that the development in question had no public benefit and had been sold to a developer to develop a number of luxury flats, and that if the Committee declared the land/airspace to be surplus to requirements, it would be declaring the tree to be surplus to requirements”.

The Committee agreed to the amendment and, with this, approved the minutes as a correct record.

MATTERS ARISING

Museum of London Public Realm Project (page 3) – A Member noted that Members had received further information on this work subsequent to the 9 July meeting. He added, however, that he was underwhelmed by the information provided in that it appeared to illustrate that Officers were taking a very reactive stance on this. He went on to acknowledge the complexities of the work but underlined that the Public Realm aspect of this was a vital part of the project. Officers noted the Members views.

Barbican and Golden Lane Conservation Area (page 14) – A Member enquired as to progress around this work. The Chief Planning Officer and Development Director reported that this had been a matter of discussion within the Department since the last meeting of this Committee. She added that authority had now been sought to recruit a new member of staff which would assist in progressing this work and it was hoped that the position would be filled by November 2019.

The Member responded with reference to a large planning application which would come before the Committee in the foreseeable future and added that, with this on the horizon, not fully understanding the Conservation Area would seem to be a huge weakness.

Ocean Diva (page 15) – In response to questions, the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director reported that, whilst more information had been received, Officers were of the view that this still did not adequately respond to the questions raised. They would therefore be reverting back to the applicant requesting further information.