Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Deputy Alastair Moss (Deputy Chairman), Deputy Randall Anderson, Brendan Barns, Emily Benn, Deputy John Fletcher, Jaspreet Hodgson, Amy Horscroft, Alderman and Sheriff Alastair King, Deputy Edward Lord, Judith Pleasance, Deputy Henry Pollard, Shailendra Umradia and William Upton KC.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 10 January 2023.

The Committee considered the public minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2023 and approved them as a correct record.

Matters Arising

A Member asked for information on the Member Training Programme and was advised this would be considered under Item 13 of the agenda.

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment which provided an update on the progress of the review of the traffic mix and timing restrictions at Bank Junction.

Members were informed that work was in progress and was scheduled to be completed in Spring 2024. Members were advised that the report set out four traffic mix options that had been investigated using 2022 traffic flows. This indicated that the option to reintroduce all traffic was likely to have significant traffic implications and therefore would not be feasible. However, further investigations should continue for the other three options. The Officer stated that the remaining three options included taxis, powered two wheelers or a combination of both. The Officer stated that these vehicle types were the only types of vehicles with a definition and signage related to them which could be used to restrict usage if the traffic mix was changed.

Officers advised that the next stage of work would involve traffic modelling assessments, equalities assessments, updates on collisions and the general context of the current situation in terms of the post-pandemic recovery of the area. This work would highlight the benefits and likely impacts of each of the options. A further report would be presented to the Committee in May 2023. This report would set out findings and make recommendations on which options could proceed for further design and public consultation.

The Chairman stated that the scenarios for the traffic mix were shown in Paragraph 9 on Page 21 of the Officer’s report and reiterated the Officer recommendation that the option of general traffic across Bank Junction should not be put forward for further investigation.

A Member commented that although there was signage for cyclists to dismount, many did not. He asked Officers if there could be two lanes

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment which outlined the findings of the Building Control’s review into previous fees and charges increases and the recommendations for revised fees for 2023/24.

An Officer reported that this was the Annual Report to Committee to reset the building control charges taken for applications under building regulations. He informed Members that under CIPFA guidance, charges set should equate to the costs to provide the service. The current charge was £115 per hour and the revised figure was £126. However, as the guidance stated that over a five-year period there should be a zero budget and as the service had run at a deficit of £342,000 since 2018/19, it was proposed to increase the charge by 20% to £152 per hour.

An Officer informed the Committee that many large schemes lasted several years and therefore setting a 20% surcharge now would enable the five-year deadline to be met. As there was an annual report to Committee, if the requirement was being exceeded, and with the Committee’s agreement, the surcharge could be dropped at a later date.

A Member asked whether the costs, for schemes that would take a number of years, were set at the start of the scheme or at the time the work was undertaken. An Officer reported that the estimated fees were based at the rate at the time the estimate was given. However as of April 2023, a quarterly review of fees would be introduced for large schemes.

Following a question from a Member, an Officer advised that the fees undertaken through the hub approved by Committee in January 2023 would be at the rate approved by Committee.

A Member asked if the fee had been benchmarked and was advised that all London councils had submitted hourly

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment which presented the high-level Business Plan for the Environment Department for 2023/24.

An Officer stated that the report set out the key areas of work for 2023/24 and the way in which services would support the Corporate Plan, other key strategies and policies. The Officer advised that more strategies and policies might be introduced during the year and the Business Plan could be amended accordingly.

Members requested that the Sporting Strategy and Small and Medium (SME) Strategy be referenced as forthcoming strategies. An Officer confirmed they would be referenced and the strategies would be incorporated into the Business Plan once approved.

A Member asked about data collection in relation to the Whole Lifecycle Carbon Planning Advice Note (PAN). An Officer stated that monitoring had begun of schemes approved over the last two years. Members were advised that post-completion data was the most relevant data but there was currently no post-completion data as none of the monitored schemes had yet been completed. Officers would provide planning stage data on the schemes approved to date. A Member commented that going forward there should be more of a focus on performance monitoring of Whole Life Carbon PAN.

In response to a Member’s question, an Officer informed the Committee that Local Plans Sub-Committee meetings were being arranged. A Member commented that she hoped there would be continuation in the membership of the Local Plans Sub-Committee. The Chairman advised that whilst the membership of both the Grand Committee and the Local Plans Sub-Committee could change, having oversight of the Local Plans at the Grand Committee would provide continuation of the work of the Local Plans Sub-Committee.

A Member queried whether the Blackfriars Bridge parapet refurbishment and repainting project had received funding from Bridge House Estates.

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment which requested reapproval at Gateway 3/4 to carry out essential waterproofing and repair works to the highway structure in order to maintain structural integrity, utility and asset value.

A Member commented that although it was important to review, it should be noted that there were financial implications to the associated slippage. An Officer responded that without the slippage, some of the costs would have been incurred in the current year, whereas they were now fully incurred in the current year. There was a direct cost as a result of the delay. In addition, the delay had meant the Bank Junction works now had to be completed before the work could commence.

RESOLVED, That the Committee

1)    Note the total estimated cost of the project at £2,384,000 (excluding risk);

2)    Grant delegated authority to the Chief Officer to appoint the successful contractor at Gateway 5 and to instruct the Comptroller and City Solicitor to enter into contract, subject to tendered works costs remaining within the £2,200,000 estimate provided by this report (or to instruct under the new highways term contract subject to satisfactory agreement of costs and the same proviso).

3)    Approve a total Costed Risk Provision of £240,000 for use following Gateway 5, subject to tender costs remaining within budget, for expenditure against identified sums from the project risk registers against specified risks at the construction stage and to be drawn down to the Assistant Director Engineering.

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment which updated the Committee on progress of the review of all traffic orders in the City being undertaken as a result of the motion that was passed at the Court of Common Council meeting in April 2022.

Members were informed that Stage 1 of the review was to compile a list of all permanent and experimental traffic orders. This was completed in September 2022 and comprised over 1,500 measures introduced by a traffic order. Stage 2 of the review was to assess the orders against the outputs from the data collected and assessed against relevant City of London Corporation policies such as the Transport Strategy. The methodology in relation to Stage 2 was agreed by the Planning and Transportation Committee and Court of Common Council in September and October 2022. Stage 3 would look to implement any modifications that were identified. The Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee was tasked with scrutinising the detail and they agreed the scoring and ranking system as well as to expand Stage 2 to include a) a desktop study which scored and ranked the 1,299 traffic orders in scope and b) a more detailed site assessment as well as further work on 78 of the poorest scoring/performing orders. Following the site visits recommendations had been made to amend or consider amending 36 orders. Officers also identified an additional 32 orders which could benefit from being amended.

An Officer informed Members that if the Planning and Transportation Committee and Court of Common Council agreed, a new programme would be established to assess the merits of these of the recommendations and where appropriate changes could be delivered as part of existing or planned projects or by using underspend from the review. If additional funding was required, this would

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda and replaced with an item for decision to be considered under Agenda Item 19.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee considered a report of the City Surveyor which outlined the availability and performance of publicly accessible lifts and escalators monitored and maintained by City Surveyors.

RESOLVED - That Members note the report.

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment providing them with assurance that risk management procedures in place within the Environment Department were satisfactory and that they met the requirements of the corporate Risk Management Framework.

The Committee considered the key risks managed by the service areas of the Environment Department which fell within their remit.

RESOLVED - That Members note the report and the actions being taken by the Environment Department to monitor, mitigate and effectively manage risks arising from their operations.

Report of The Chamberlain.

[N.B. A non-public appendix is included in Part 2 of the agenda.]

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain which informed Members of action taken in respect of any deficit or surplus in its On-Street Parking Account for the year 2021/22 before submission to the Mayor for London.

RESOLVED – That Members note the contents of the report before submission to the Mayor for London.

Report of the Executive Director Environment.

Members considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment which set out a series of training opportunities for Members of the Planning and Transportation Committee to ensure members had access to the most up to date information on key aspects of the planning system and transportation issues.

RESOLVED – That Members note the report.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk setting out its list of Outstanding Actions.

A Member requested that in future agendas, that the Outstanding Actions be moved to the main again pack after the minutes and that the document be kept updated. The Member asked for an update on the Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD). An Officer advised that this was taking longer to update than expected due to the complexity of issues being explored with the consultant. It was intended to submit a report to the July 2023 Committee. The Chairman requested that this report include details of the reasons the consultants had been unable to keep to the timeframes.

RECEIVED.

The Committee received the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the Streets & Walkways Sub Committee meetings on 17 January 2023 and 14 February 2023.

RECEIVED.

The Committee received the draft public minutes and public summary of the Planning Applications Sub-Committee meetings on 22 November 2022, 13 December 2022 and 31 January 2023.

RECEIVED.

Dockless Cycles

A Member requested an update on the issues relating to dockless cycles. An Officer informed the Committee that this was an item on the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee agenda later in the day and an Officer would be attending that meeting for the discussion. He stated that Members could be provided with an update following the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee meeting.

Monitoring Climate Change in Planning Applications

A Member referenced a 2019 Committee report on the monitoring of buildings once completed e.g., in relation to BREAAMM and requested an update report. An Officer confirmed that the 2019 report was a monitoring report on climate change in planning applications. Members could be provided with an update on how BREEAM requirements were being met and there could be a wider discussion on how applications were meeting climate aspirations. This could be discussed at the Local Plan Sub-Committee and then be reported to the Grand Committee in July 2023.

National Planning Policy Framework

An Officer informed the meeting that the Government had recently consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework as part of the wider planning reforms. A response on this had been submitted under delegated powers before the deadline of 2 March 2023. A draft response had been circulated to all Members of the Committee.

The Committee considered a late, separately circulated, report of the Executive Director, Environment, which provided information on the consultation responses received for the Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Optioneering Planning Advice Note. It set out the consultation engagement undertaken, the type of responses received and the subsequent changes that were made to the Planning Advice Note in response to the received comments and feedback.

An Officer stated that a threshold had been introduced for the optioneering requirement for all major applications and for other applications that were proposing to demolish more that 50% of the existing building. Applicants would be asked to use the optioneering exercise to demonstrate how the scheme evolved to become the planning application scheme. Applicants would not be challenged on the optioneering calculations when assessing the planning application scheme as the calculations were only used to compare the options with each other. The optioneering results were based on less detail than the planning application scheme so it would not necessarily be possible to compare the optioneering results with the planning application scheme. Third party verification had been introduced with optioneering results required to be independently assessed to ensure high quality and robust schemes developed.

An Officer stated that work had taken place on the Planning Advice Note following consultation and changes had been made to the structure and layout. Officers had worked to improve the flow and navigation of the Planning Advice Note and align it more with the design of other City of London policy documents recently published. An Officer stated that the planning advice note was based on the GLA Guidance but was at a less detailed level, consistent with the conception stage of the exercise which took place at the pre-application stage.

An Officer stated that the options chosen depended on the opportunities and constraints

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 Nos                                                         Paragraph No(s)

                 23                                                                           3

                 24                                                                           3

                 25                                                                           3

                 26                                                                           3

                27-28                                                                       3

To agree the non-public Minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2023.

The Committee considered the public minutes of the meeting held on 10 January 2023 and approved them as a correct record.

Director of the Built Environment.

The Committee considered and approved a non-public Gateway 5 report of the Director of the Built Environment.

To note the non-public minutes of the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee meeting held on 17 January 2023.

The Committee received the draft non-public minutes of the Streets & Walkways Sub Committee meeting on 17 January 2023.

The Committee considered a non-public appendix to the public report.

There were no questions raised in the non-public session.

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