Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Alderman Gordon Haines and George Abrahams.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

Resolved: that the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as an accurate record.

Verbal update by the Director of Open Spaces.

The Director provided Members with an update drawing their attention to her recent meeting with the Minister for Parks, Steven Williams MP. The Director informed Members that the Member of Parliament had a number of interesting views for the future of parks, including the possibility of making park services a statutory requirement. Members were also informed that controlling Oak Processionary Moth had proved to be challenging this year. Officers hoped to be more successful in controlling the disease next year, as the funding from DEFRA was due to end next year.

Report of the Director of Public Relations

Members were updated on Public Relations activities in support of the services for which the Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee was responsible during the period October 2013 to November 2014. The activities in this report are also in support of the Communications Strategy 2014- 2017.

Highlights of the support for the services of the Committee included:

·       Media

·       Public Affairs

·       Events

·       Website

·       Digital communications and social media

·       Literature and related activities

·       Member and internal communications

·       Filming

·       Sponsorship

Members thanked Officers from the Public Relations department for their continuous hard work throughout the year. Members noted that Twitter feeds were a useful way to share information with the public regarding various projects taking place. Officers informed Members that the website was receiving an increasing number of hits, with the downloadable maps proving to be very helpful.

Resolved: That Members agreed to receive the report on Public Relations activitiesduring the period October 2013 to November 2014 in support of the services for which the Committee is responsible.

Joint report of the Director of Open Spaces and the Director of the Built Environment.

Members were informed about the consultation process regarding the production of the draft of the City of London Open Space Strategy.

Following a period of public consultation, proposed changes were added where appropriate. Members were asked to agree the final draft of the City of London Open Space Strategy and allow its adoption as a Supplementary Planning Document within the City of London Local Plan. Comments from the consultation have been summarised and collated.

Members noted that a number of green spaces owned by the City of London Corporation are in fact outside of the square mile. Therefore, Officers would need to ensure that they work in coalition with their colleagues in local authorities to ensure the emerging local plans of these boroughs took into account the importance of these green spaces.

Resolved:Members approved the final draft of the City of London Open Space Strategy Supplementary Planning Document for adoption and publication.

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Open Spaces.

Members were updated on the latest approved revenue budget for 2014/15 and were asked for approval of a provisional revenue budget for 2015/16, for subsequent submission to the Finance Committee. The budgets were prepared within the resources allocated to the Director.

Overall the provisional Original budget for 2015/16 totalled £1.897M, which was an increase of £79,000 when compared with the latest approved budget for 2014/15.

In response to a query regarding the on-street parking reserve Members noted that with many new schemes came the ability to apply for funding to cover establishment costs, formerly for five, now twenty years. As there were a number of these schemes open at any one time, funded from different sources, Officers apply to the Chamberlain in arrears for establishment costs expended during the year. The sum applied for varies slightly from year to year as older schemes drop off and new ones are taken on board. It was not possible to show a projected figure for future years as this funding does not appear as expected income in my local risk budget, but was instead adjusted by the Chamberlain at outturn.

Resolved:

·       Members reviewed the provisional 2015/16 revenue budget to ensure that it reflected the Committee’s objectives and, approved the budget for submission to the Finance Committee;

·       Members approved the draft Capital Budget;

·       Members authorised the Chamberlain, in consultation with the Director of Open Spaces, to revise the budgets allowing for any further implications that would arise from Corporate Projects, departmental reorganisations and other reviews, and changes to the Additional Works Programme. Members agreed that works over £50,000 would need to be considered by the Committee;

·       Members agreed that if specific service based review proposals included with this budget report are rejected by the Committee, or other Committees request that further proposals are pursued,

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

Members noted the departmental performance at the end of the second quarter of financial year 2014/15. Members were updated on details of progress made delivering key projects and achievements against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and changes to key risks during the first half of the financial year.

Progress in delivering the current year’s business plan will continue to be monitored and the remedial action will be taken.

Resolved:Members approved the information received.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members noted the new Risk Management Strategy which was approved by the Audit and Risk Management Committee on 13 May 2014. All committees were provided information about the new Risk Management Strategy and progress on its implementation. This report covered the Open Spaces Department.

In line with the Cabinet Office’s Management of Risk (M_O_R) principles, a Risk Management Strategy has been developed to provide a clearer and dynamic framework for managing organisational risks. Key changes in the Risk Management Strategy included a new framework to define risks, a new 4x4 risk scoring model, the introduction of a target risk score and a clearer route to escalate risks.

Resolved: Members noted the new Risk Management Strategy and plans for the phased roll-out of the strategy within departments and City of London Institutions.

The Superintendent of City Gardens to be heard.

The Superintendent provided Members with the following update:

Finance

The City Garden budget was in line with agreed budget profiles.

Staff

A full complement of staff is in place.

Projects and winter works programme

The team have been undertaking a comprehensive winter works programme. As follows:

St Andrew’s Holborn

Both parts of the garden have been redesigned, funded through S106 and funds raised by the church. The City Gardens team have undertaken the soft landscaping which has included; the planting of 4,000 flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants, 2 small lawn areas, a tree and hedging. The latter will be planted by the end of March 2015. A celebration opening event is planned for the spring organised by the church.

The City of London Boy’s School

The frontage of the school has undergone a transformation in line with the Riverside Walk Way strategy and in consultation with the school. Seven trees, 4,000 seasonal flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants have been planted.

St Olave churchyard has also been re landscaped, the planting will be undertaken in the spring including a herb garden in acknowledgement of William and Peter Turner (father and son) both notable 16^th and early 17^th Century physicians and naturalists.

During November the team have planted seven additional trees, four Acers in Sun Street, three Acers in Silk Street and a further four to be planted in the coming months to replace failing trees.

Britain in Bloom - Officers attended the finalists RHS Britain in Bloom event on the 16^th October, held in Bristol. The City of London won Gold in the Champions of Champions category.

City in Bloom Campaign celebrations - On the 27^th October awards were handed out to 17 category winners, the full list is published on the City of London, City Gardens

There were no questions.

There was no urgent business.

MOTION: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

MOTION: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public

be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of

Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

Resolved: That the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee received the report of the Director of Open Spaces.

There were no questions.

There was no urgent business.