Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Sheriff Christopher Hayward (Deputy Chairman), Munsur Ali, Deputy Keith Bottomley, Sophie Fernandes, Christopher Hill, Shravan joshi, Oliver Lodge, Natasha Lloyd-Owen, Andrew Mayer, Sylvia Moys, Oliver Sells QC and William Upton QC.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 28 January 2020.

The Committee considered the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 28 January 2020.

MATTERS ARISING

Beech Street Transport and Public Realm Improvements (page 2) – The Member who had raised this issue at the meeting on 28 January asked the minute be expanded on to also include the points she had made about children at local schools being particularly at risk from cars doing U turns, the Sub-Committee having information about the displacement of road traffic and pollution but seeming to ignore it and what she believed to be a problem with democratic accountability in the City Corporation with the perceived undermining of the ward committee structure making this matter worse.

The Chair was content for these points to be added and the Town Clerk undertook to expand upon the minute of the previous meeting accordingly.

Another Member requested an update on local consultation on this project. Officers reported that the traffic order would be in place in mid-March 2020. To date, 10,000 letters had been sent to local residents and businesses and that information available via GPS tracking showed that these had been successfully delivered to all addresses. Further to this, the first of seven scheduled drop-in sessions was scheduled to take place this afternoon with another set to take place later this evening and a further two next week.

Officers went on to report that they had also presented on the scheme at a public meeting of the Barbican Association  which had been attended by approximately 120 people. The concerns raised at this meeting were noted and would form part of the review of the scheme with any necessary amendments made in line with these once the scheme was in place.

The Member commented that he had been one of those in attendance at the

To receive the public minutes and summary of the Sub-Committee meeting held on 14 January 2020.

The Committee received the public minutes of the Local Plans Sub-Committee meeting held on 14 January 2020.

RECEIVED.

To receive the public minutes and summary of the Sub-Committee meeting held on 3 February 2020.

The Committee received the public minutes of the Local Plans Sub-Committee meeting held on 3 February 2020.

MATTERS ARISING

Smithfield and Barbican (page 26) – A Member expressed concern at the reference to the amending Strategic Policy S23. to restrict future uses of the market building by saying that these should be ‘appropriate to its status as a Grade II listed building’. The Chair stated that the Sub-Committee had been keen to make this addition and underlined that all members of this Committee would have an opportunity to review the Plan in full at their late March 2020 meeting.

Officers confirmed there was a policy presumption that any future use of the Market buildings ought to recognise their character and listed building status. 

Another Member questioned whether the reference to the future, long-term viability of Citigen in the minutes was in relation to environmental viability as opposed to the viability of the company. The Chair clarified that it was the former and asked the Town Clerk to clarify this further in the published version.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk detailing outstanding actions.

Members requested that actions be assigned target Committee dates as opposed to seasons and that Officer titles as opposed to named individuals also be used going forward. The Town Clerk undertook to make these changes for future reports.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk relative to their terms of reference and frequency of meetings.

In response to questions, the Town Clerk reminded the Committee that appointments to and the terms of reference for their various Sub-Committees would be considered at their first meeting of the municipal year, after the April Court of Common Council meeting – on 14 May 2020. The Town Clerk went on to report that whilst the grand Committee’s terms of reference were reported upwards to the Court of Common Council, the way in which its Sub-Committees operated and the matters delegated to those Sub-Committees was very much for the grand Committee to determine. Members were informed that, should the grand Committee be of the view that any one issue, project or scheme was sufficiently important or controversial for example, they were able to call that matter in from any Sub-Committee and request that only the grand Committee be able to take a final decision on it. Equally, Sub-Committees could refer matters of sufficient importance upwards to grand Committees. The Town Clerk provided the Committee with some examples of where this had already happened in the past.

A Member made a request for the start time of these meetings to remain consistent going forward. He also suggested that two meetings per annum might be held in the evening and dedicated to matters of residential interest, affording local residents a better opportunity of also being in attendance.

Another Member suggested that the meetings could be held in the afternoon going forward.

A third Member asked that consideration be given to live streaming future meetings in the way that some other local authorities already did.

The Chair commented that he had already met on a one to one basis with many members of the

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment seeking approval for a proposed amendment to the London Councils Transport and Environment Committee agreement which would have the effect of delegating to them certain regulatory functions relating tot eh coordination and installation of Electric Vehicle charging points and associated infrastructure.

RESOLVED – That, Members:

·         Agree the proposed amendment to Agreement as set out in full in Appendix 1; and

·         Authorise the Town Clerk to sign and return the letter as set out in Appendix 1.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The  Committee received a report of the Director of the Built Environment updating Members on Quarter 3 of 2019/20 (October – December 2019) of delivering the City of London Transport Strategy.

A Member referred to a matter sent directly to all Members of this Committee regarding a proposal to expand Liverpool Street Station to incorporate an additional five new platforms. He asked that Officers provide the Committee with further information on the proposals. Officers stated that they were currently looking into the details of this matter further and understood that Network Rail had deferred to the Department of Transport for a decision on this. The Member added that he felt that this was something that the City Corporation should take a view on. Other Members agreed that Officers should report back to the Committee with further information on this and how feasible the proposals were.

A Member commented on the cycle route Quietway 11 upgrade – a project that was currently reporting a red RAG status. She thanked Officers for the information provided to date on the Queen Street cycle track proposals but requested further information as soon as this was available to feedback to voters. Officers clarified that this had been put on hold as a result of TfL asking the City to revise their designs. It would, however, be revisited next year.

Another Member referred to the All Change at Bank project which indicated that a Capital bid decision was expected in January. He therefore requested an update on this matter. Officers confirmed that the project had been through the Capital Bid process and had been allocated approximately £4million to progress through to the next Gateway.

The same Member referred to the Last mile delivery hubs project, specifically the noise assessments for the Barbican and Middlesex Street sites.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment providing Members with a general overview of the structural inspection and maintenance regime for the Bridge House Estates river crossings and associated structures during the 2019/20 financial year.

A Member questioned the somewhat vague four-year timescale referred to in terms of ‘starting date’ for parapet repairs and painting works to Blackfriars Bridge. Officers stated that the tender for these works was currently in the process of being finalised and would be put out next month. He added that the starting date for the works was, at this stage, deliberately vague although it was hoped that works could commence by October 2020.

Another Member picked up on the reference to Blackfriars Bridge referring to what were, in some spots, gaps of up to 20mm in the paving which were a trip hazard. Officers reported that TfL were the highways authority for the Bridge and, as such, were responsible for any surface issues/repairs.

In response to a question regarding the Illuminated River project, Officers reported that this had neither helped nor hindered any inspections or maintenance to date.

A Member questioned progress on the River camera project. Officers reported that this was being led by the City of London Police.

RESOLVED – That Members note the report and that 2019/20 was the sixth and final year of the inspection contract carried out by AECOM. A new six-year programme of inspections will commence in 2020/21 under a new contract following a competitive tender process.

Report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director.

The Committee received  a report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director detailing development and advertisement applications determined by the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director or those so authorised under their delegated powers since the report to the last meeting.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director detailing development applications received by the Department of the Built Environment since the report to the last meeting.

RECEIVED.

The Tulip – Appeal

A Member referred to an update circulated to all Members of the Committee in advance of today’s meeting and questioned the reference within the update to the applicant being willing to contribute the necessary funding for the City Corporation’s participation at the Inquiry. The update suggested that this was appropriate in the circumstances provided the City Corporation is transparent about this but the Member went on to question this statement and how the City Corporation could reconcile its quasi-judicial role as a planning authority with the proposal that it should actively support an appeal made by a developer in relation to an application that this Committee had previously considered.

The Chair highlighted that he had received an email setting out similar concerns from a Member who had been unable to attend today.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor reported that Counsel’s advice had been sought on this point and that the advice received had been as set out within the update to Members. She undertook to take the views of Members onboard but highlighted that the cost of participating in the Inquiry could equate to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Members stressed that, despite the reassurances of Counsel, this was not a legal point but a political and reputational one. Members recognised that the City Corporation had a statutory duty to engage with the appeal and defend the position they had taken on the application but were of the view that they should do so independently in terms of costs.

In response to further questions, the Comptroller and City Solicitor confirmed that costs were already being incurred after engaging Counsel. She undertook to discuss with the Town Clerk how best to take forward a report to the Policy and Resources and/or Finance Committee to secure a budget

PUBLIC LIFT REPORT

The Committee received a report of the City Surveyor containing details of the five public escalator/lifts that were working for less than 95% of the time. The report, with the Chair’s permission, had been separately circulated as a late item.

A Member questioned whether the sensors for the London Wall West lifts were now stored as parts. The City Surveyor reported that the fault with this lift had now been identified and corrected. She added that sensors were kept in stock as critical spares.

The same Member also questioned why the London Fire Brigade had forced the release of the lift door at Blackfriars Bridge. The City Surveyor reported that those stuck inside the lift had called 999 to be released as opposed to using the emergency button within the lift. Signage was now in place informing those using the lift of the correct procedure in the event of any lift failure.

RECEIVED.

Housing Delivery Test

Officers reported that the Government’s national figures against the Housing Delivery Test had been published last week. The City Corporation had scored particularly poorly at just 32% of the housing requirement, however, this figure was being challenged by Officers on the basis that it did not take in to account the development at Sugar Quay – its inclusion would have resulted in the City Corporation achieving approximately 90% of the housing requirement. Representations had now been made to the Ministry of Housing who were currently considering their response.

The Chair highlighted that the City Corporation’s score had already attracted some negative press and hoped that the figures could be corrected in line with the representations made.

Interim Chief Planning Officer and Development Director

The Chair formally reported that Gwyn Richards had been appointed as interim Chief Planning Officer and Development Director

MOTION – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

            Item No(s).                                                     Paragraph No(s).

                  15                                                                          3

                  16                                                                       1 & 3

                17-18                                                                       -

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2020.

The Committee considered and approved the non-public minutes of their meeting held on 28 January 2020.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

The Town Clerk informed the Committee that consideration of the report of the Director of the Built Environment relative to the write-off of outstanding debt was to be deferred on the basis that it required additional legal input.

There were no questions in the non-public session.

There were no additional, urgent items of business for consideration in the non-public session.