Agenda and minutes

Apolagies were recived from Wendy Mead and Deputy Phillip Woodhouse.

There were no declarations received.

To agree the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting of the Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee held on the 3^rd of February 2020.

The Committee considered the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the Open Spaces & City Gardens Committee meeting held on the 3rdof February 2020.

RESOLVED- That the public minutes of the Open Spaces & City Gardens Committee held on the 3^rd of February 2020 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of Town Clerk on the Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee’s Terms of Reference. The report explained that the Committee were required to review their Terms of Reference as part of the post-implementation review of the changes made to the City Corporation’s governance arrangements in 2011.

RESOLVED- That: -

1. That the terms of reference of the Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee be approved for submission to the Court of Common Council in July, and that any further changes required in the lead up to the Court’s appointment of Committees be delegated to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman; and
2. That Members agreed no change was required to the frequency of the Committee’s meetings.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces on the Open Spaces Department, City Gardens and West Ham Park Risk Management. The Director of Open Spaces introduced the report and invited questions from the Committee.

A Member requested further information on risks CR32 Wanstead Park Reservoirs and OSD 005 Pests and diseases. The Director of Open Spaces replied by confirming that the management of the Wanstead Park Reservoirs was one of primary risks for the Open Spaces Department and explained the current context of the project. It was explained that a panel engineer had been employed who would be producing a report on structure development options for the site. In addition, it was confirmed by the Director of Open Spaces that, while the risk at the Wanstead Park Reservoirs remains relatively high, Officers were confident that all required activities to mitigate this risk had been undertaken at this time.

In response to the Member’s second question the Director of Open Spaces informed the Committee that, while not as significant as the peak at Hampstead Heath, the Oak Processionary Moth remained present across all the City of London managed open spaces and would be considered fully in a committee report due to be finalised later in 2020. Replying to a Member’s additional question the Director of Open Spaces clarified that the problem of pest control in the City of London managed open spaces was a complex one with a varying degree of success against differing pests at each site. The Chairman noted that this would be an ongoing concern for the Open Spaces Department which must be viewed in a long-term context.

RESOLVED- That: -

I.   The Departmental risk register be approved; and

II.   That the City Gardens elements of the City Gardens and West Ham Park

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces on the closure of the St Botolph Bishopsgate Churchyard Improvements project.  The Chairman noted that he had been in communication with Archdeacon of London regarding possible works to improve churchyards within the City of London and would inform the Committee accordingly of any further developments on this matter.

RESOLVED- That the project be closed.

There were no questions received in the public session.

There was no urgent business considered in the public session.

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.

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

To agree the draft non-public minutes of the previous meeting of the Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee held on the 3^rd of February 2020.

The Committee considered the non-public minutes of the Open Spaces & City Gardens Committee meeting held on the 3rdof February 2020.

RESOLVED- That the non-public minutes of the Open Spaces & City Gardens Committee 3^rd of February 2020 be approved as an accurate record.

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

There was no urgent business considered in the non-public session.