Agenda and minutes

Venue: Livery Hall - Guildhall

Contact: Gemma Stokley
tel. no.: 020 7332 3414  Email: gemma.stokley@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Introductions

The Town Clerk opened the meeting by introducing herself.

 

A roll call of Members present was undertaken.

 

The Town Clerk highlighted that the meeting was being recorded as well as live streamed and would be made available on the City Corporation’s YouTube page for a period of time after the meeting had concluded. With this in mind, it was confirmed that participants in the meeting had all individually agreed and given their consent to being recorded and that all personal data would be processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. The Town Clerk highlighted that, for further information on this, viewers could contact the City Corporation using the details provided on the public webpages.

 

The Town Clerk also reminded Members, and any members of the public observing the meeting on-line, that this was an informal meeting and that any views reached by the Committee today would therefore have to be considered by the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection or those deputising for him after the meeting in accordance with the Court of Common Council’s COVID Approval Procedure and that they would make a formal decision having considered all relevant matters. The Town Clerk highlighted that this process reflected the current position in respect of the holding of formal Local Authority meetings and the Court of Common Council’s decision of 15th April 2021 to continue with virtual meetings and take formal decisions through a delegation to the Town Clerk and other officers nominated by him after the informal meeting has taken place and the will of the Committee was known in open session. Details of all decisions taken under the COVID Approval Procedure would be available online via the City Corporation’s webpages.

 

Apologies for absence were received from Peter Bennett, Peter Dunphy, Christopher Hill, Deputy Tom

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

Members' Declarations under the Code of Conduct in respect of items on the agenda

Minutes:

There were no declarations.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 319 KB

To agree the public minutes and summary of the informal meeting held on 7 September 2021.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Minutes:

The separately circulated public minutes and summary of the informal, hybrid meeting held on 7 September 2021 were considered and approved as a correct record.

 

MATTERS ARISING

Completion of the Riverside Walkway (page 26) – A Member reminded the Chair that he had raised this matter at the last meeting and requested an update on progress from Officers. He reported that he was still awaiting clarification as to any possible slippage. The Chair asked that Officers coordinate a response and resply to the Member in writing on this matter by the end of today. Another Member reported that he had raised this matter with the Chamberlain and that his recollection was that she had confirmed that the project was still in the system.

 

Panel Arrangements – Engagement Sessions (page 5) – A Member referred to the engagement sessions that the Chair had hosted last week and thanked him for the information circulated to the Committee around those residential associations that had been invited to attend. He asked whether the Chair was in a position to update Members further on this work and inform the Committee when they were going to have the opportunity to further debate the future of planning. The Chair responded to clarify that he had already met with various organisations and that these meetings were going well. He added that there were still more groups for him to meet with in the coming weeks and that once these sessions were complete, Officers would be taking account of feedback received through this process and feeding them back to this Committee as part of a future report.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

SNOW HILL POLICE STATION, 5 SNOW HILL LONDON EC1A 2DP pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director relative to Snow Hill Police Station, 5 Snow Hill London EC1A 2DP – specifically, external and internal alterations together with demolition and new build and associated change of use of existing building from police station (sui generis) to hotel with ancillary uses (Class C1) including: (i) refurbishment of façade to Snow Hill and the retained façade to Cock Lane; (ii) partial demolition, rebuilding and extension to provide a building ranging from 6 to 8 storeys, plus new plant at roof level; (iii) extension of existing sub-basement; (iv) provision of cycle storage; (v) highway works; (vi) greening and other ancillary works.

 

The Town Clerk introduced the report and referenced the Officer presentation pack and two further addendums containing late representations, adding to the list of planning policies referenced at Appendix B and providing further clarification as to service and deliveries that had also been published and circulated.

 

Officers presented the applications highlighting that the concerned a site comprising 5 Snow Hill – a former City of London police station built in the 1920s and vacated in 2019 – which had frontages to both Snow Hill and Cock Lane. It was reported that the building was Grade II listed and sat within the Smithfield Conservation Area. Members were informed that the building was separated into two blocks, albeit linked at ground floor and basement level. It was noted that the surrounding area was predominantly commercial in character but that there were a number of residential premises on the opposite side of Cock Lane. It was highlighted that the application sought permission for the partial demolition, rebuilding and extension of the building to provide a 219 bedroom hotel. Block A fronting on to Snow Hill would be retained

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

4a

SNOW HILL POLICE STATION, 5 SNOW HILL LONDON EC1A 2DP - LISTED BUILDING CONSENT pdf icon PDF 494 KB

Report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4a

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director regarding Snow Hill Police Station, 5 Snow Hill London EC1A 2DP – specifically external and internal alterations together with demolition and new build associated with the change of use of a police station to a hotel with ancillary uses including (i) refurbishment of façade to Snow Hill and the retained façade to Cock Lane; (ii) partial demolition, rebuilding and extension to provide a building ranging from 6 to 8 storeys, plus new plant at roof level; (iii) extension of existing sub-basement; and other ancillary works.

 

Having fully debated the application and the associated application at Item 4, the Committee proceeded to vote on the recommendations before them. The vote was conducted by rollcall led by the Town Clerk with those Members present and eligible to vote asked to also confirm that they had been present for and able to hear the entirety of this item.

 

Votes were cast as follows:    IN FAVOUR –  24 Votes

                                                OPPOSED –    0 Votes.

                                               There were no abstentions.

 

RESOLVED – That Listed Building Consent is granted for the above proposal in accordance with the details set out in the attached schedule subject to:

 

(a)  Planning obligations and other agreements being entered into under Section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and Section 278 of the Highways Act 1980 in respect of those matters set out in the report, the decision notice not to be issued until the Section 106 obligations have been executed.

 

2. That Officers be instructed to negotiate and execute obligations in respect of those matters set out in ‘Planning Obligations’ under Section 106 and any necessary agreements under Section 278 of the Highway Act 1980.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a

5.

City Fund Highway Declaration: Millennium Bridge House EC4 pdf icon PDF 126 KB

Report of the City Surveyor.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the City Surveyor seeking approval to declare a volume of airspace totalling 75 sq. ft. of City Fund airspace (held for planning purposes) situated around Millennium Bridge House, 2 Lambeth Hill, EC4V to be surplus to requirements to allow its disposal in conjunction with the permitted development.

 

In response to a question, Officers clarified that this was in relation to the external lift in the north-west corner which would run from the second floor of the building up to the roof terrace on top of the building. With regard to the exact levels concerned, the City Surveyor reported that he had liaised with the Highways Team and had requested that delegated authority be granted to the Executive Director, Environment and the City Surveyor to determine these and ensure that they was suitable.

 

RESOLVED – That Members resolve to declare a volume of City Fund airspace (held for planning purposes) measuring a total of 75 sq. ft. situated around Millennium Bridge House, 2 Lambeth Hill, to be surplus to highway requirements to enable its disposal upon terms to be approved by the Corporate Asset Sub Committee.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Congestion Charge Consultation pdf icon PDF 149 KB

Report of the Executive Director, Environment.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment setting out a proposed response from the City Corporation to the TfL Congestion Charge Consultation.

 

A Member stated that she was totally in favour of the response generally but questioned the strength of the City’s proposed submission on weekend charging. She argued that the case around charging on Sundays could be strengthened and questioned whether the proposal to reduce the charging period by just one hour to 17:00 would be helpful to those wishing to travel into the City and worship for example.

 

Another Member seconded this and questioned whether it might be possible to get a cross-borough response along these lines.

 

A third Member was also supportive of this and also commented that he thought that a 12:00 start would also discourage worshipers from using the City churches, many of whom were elderly and had to travel by car. He also suggested that it might be helpful to seek feedback directly from the churches on this matter.

 

Another Member stated that residents and families wishing to visit them in the City would also be adversely affected by these proposals and he too agreed that the proposed response at paragraph 8.e. of the report really needed to be strengthened. He suggested that charging on Sundays per se was not acceptable.

 

Other Members agreed with the view that Sundays should be free of charge. It was, however, noted that other faiths worshipped on other days and that there was a large synagogue in the City.

 

A Member argued that the plea to reduce the hours of charging by one hour in the afternoon did not feel like a sensible proposal and questioned the rationale behind this.

 

Another Member suggested that the City should not support the congestion charge at weekends per

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Business Plan 21/22 - Q1 pdf icon PDF 324 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment setting out the progress made during Q1 of the 2021/22 Departmental Business Plan.

 

RESOLVED – That Members note the report and appendices.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Outstanding Actions pdf icon PDF 139 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Minutes:

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

 

Radiance Studies – A Member noted that radiance studies were now being presented alongside relevant applications and questioned whether this matter could therefore be removed from the list. The Chair remarked that these were coming forward as the City Corporation was requesting them but noted that this was not policy. The Chief Planning Officer and Development Director responded to underline that the outstanding action referred to a planning advice note in order to create more clarity on the methodology and that Officers were still working through this with BRE and other stakeholders to deliver this. He added that, to date, Officers had not had any pushback from the industry when requiring the provision of these.

 

RECEIVED.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Delegated decisions of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Minutes:

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.

 

RESOLVED – That Members note the report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

VALID PLANNING APPLICATIONS RECEIVED BY DEPARTMENT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT pdf icon PDF 27 KB

Report of the Chief Planning Officer and Development Director.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Minutes:

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.

 

A Member questioned whether the application concerning London Wall Car Park in the Ward of Bassishaw was likely to come to this Committee for a decision as he was aware that there had been a number of objections. The Chief Planning Officer and Development Director reported that, as things currently stood, it would come to this Committee for consideration in due course.

 

RESOLVED – That Members note the report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Questions on matters relating to the work of the committee

Minutes:

City Plan

A Member requested an update on progress and the current status of the City Plan. Officers undertook to respond to the Member in writing on this matter.

 

The Tulip Inquiry

A Member questioned whether there was any update as to when the outcome of the inquiry was expected. The Chief Planning Officer and Development Director reported that the Secretary of State had announced that a decision would be taken on or before 14 October 2021.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

Any other Business that the Chairman considers urgent

Minutes:

Member Training

The Town Clerk commented that, at the beginning of this year, Committee Members had been offered regular training sessions ahead of these Committee meetings on various different planning related issues. Feedback received on these had been overwhelmingly positive and all sessions had also been recorded for the benefit of those who had been unable to attend which had also enabled the department to begin to build up a learning library of sorts for any new Members joining the Committee in future. The Town Clerk went on to report that the intention was to now email Members at the conclusion of this meeting to ascertain any further training requirements that they may have and to then begin to schedule in some dates for future training sessions around these.

 

The Town Clerk undertook to recirculate the link to the learning library to all Members.

 

A Member underlined that there were likely to be a number of new members joining this Committee and indeed the Court following the March elections and asked that future training be scheduled with this in mind. He also suggested that an hour long training session was not necessarily sufficient for all topics, some of which were more complex. Officers undertook to factor this into the scheduling of future sessions. The Town Clerk reported that there would be a wider Member Induction Programme for those who were new to the Court exploring the generalities of key Committees such as Planning and Transportation and that more specialist training would then be offered as and when they were appointed to this Committee.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Exclusion of the Public

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.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 13.

Minutes:

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 Nos.                                                                    Paragraph No(s).

                 15                                                                                       3 & 7

                 16                                                                                     1, 2 & 3

              17-18                                                                                        -

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Non-public minutes

To agree the non-public minutes of the informal meeting held on 7 September 2021.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 14.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the non-public minutes of the last informal, hybrid meeting held on 7 September 2021 and approved them as a correct record.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

RESOLUTION OF THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING BOARD

Resolution from the Health and Wellbeing Board meeting held on 16 July 2021.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 15.

Minutes:

The Committee received a resolution of the Health and Wellbeing Board regarding suicide prevention dated 16 July 2021.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Suicide Prevention in the City of London

Report of the Deputy Town Clerk and Chief Executive.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 16.

Minutes:

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Deputy Town Clerk & Chief Executive regarding suicide prevention in the City of London.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Non-Public questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

There were no questions in the non-public session.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Any other business that the Chairman considers urgent and which the committee agrees should be considered whilst the public are excluded

Minutes:

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

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.