Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Jan Brooker (Highgate Conservation Area Advisory Committee)

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2015.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2015 be approved as an accurate record subject to the following amendment:

Item 5 “contractors would carry out spraying operations at the Wood in 2016” to be “contractors would carry out spraying operations at Hampstead Heath in 2016”

Matters Arising

Park Champions

Two members (Tree Trust for Haringey, London Borough of Haringey) volunteered for the Park Champions Scheme.

Conservation Management Plan

• Officers reported that the level of detail and the prohibitive cost of a LIDAR survey would not make procuring it beneficial to the Wood.
• It was felt that a detailed ground survey should first be carried out and a member (Highgate Society) agreed to make contact with Historic England to progress this.
• A member (London Borough of Haringey) also agreed to investigate the use of a 3D mapping system recently acquired by the Local Authority.
• The use of drones to survey the Wood was also discussed.

Water House Development

It was confirmed that the London Borough of Camden had rejected a planning application for the site. It was noted that an appeal was likely.

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

The Consultative Committee received a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath providing an update on the management and operational activities in Highgate wood since November 2015.

Members discussed in detail the recent award of the café contract to the chain Benugo, the subsequent petition that had been received, and the decision by the winning bidder to withdraw from all three cafes. The Chairman confirmed that the petitions had focused on the Parliament Hill and Golders Hill Park cafes, with one of the main concerns expressed being the lack of input from local users in the tendering process. The Chairman stated that this would be addressed when the contracts were re-tendered; however it was agreed to be important that the views of those that did not currently use the café also be sought. A tenancy at will agreement was currently in place with the incumbents of the café and it was felt that the agreement would take around a year to finalise. It was confirmed that the other two contracts awarded for the cafes at Queens Park and the Hampstead Heath lido would be proceeding. Where previously the contact was offered as a package the new process would separate the cafes.

Members proceeded to note the following matters arising from the Superintendent’s update:

Changes to Closing Times

• The closing time of the Wood would be 9:15pm from 2 May 2016 to the beginning of August 2016 - notices of the change had been on display since February.
• Officers had emphasised to residents that the decision had been made for the safety of staff.
• Members discussed methods of ensuring that the wood was empty before the gates were closed including the pros and cons of installing a one way gate.

Proposal to Change Working Arrangements

Officers reported that both the

There were no questions.

A member (Highgate Society) suggested that the signage to the café be improved.

To note that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday 9 November 2016.

RESOLVED – That the date of the next meeting to be held at 11:30am on 9 November 2016 be noted.