Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Wendy Mead, Councillor Melvin Cohen and Adeline Siew Yin Au.

There was one declaration from Sam Cooper who stated that he was an employee of English Heritage and could have a perceived conflicted in respect of item 10a regarding the proposed Humanitarian Aid Memorial Design at Kenwood House.

To receive the Order of the Court of Common Council dated 25 April 2019 appointing the Committee and setting its Terms of Reference.

Members received the Order of the Court of Common Council dated 25 April 2019 appointing the Committee and approving its terms of reference.

The Town Clerk noted that Stuart Fraser had since retired from Court but would remain listed on the Order as this could not be changed once issued for the year.

A Member noted that the constitution of the Committee listed a number of local bodies and local interest groups of relevance that required representation on the Committee and felt that a representative for disability should also be included within the terms of reference.

Members were advised that the constitution was defined by statute and whilst someone could be co-opted onto the Committee, it might not be possible for the constitution to be changed as this was set by the London Government Reorganisation (Hampstead Heath) Order 1989. The Town Clerk agreed to investigate the act and seek legal advice regarding representation of protected groups.

To elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No.29.

In accordance with Standing Order No.29, the Committee proceeded to elect a Chairman for the ensuing year. The Town Clerk read a list of Members eligible to stand and Karina Dostalova, being the only Member expressing their willingness to serve, was duly elected as Chairman.

The Chairman thanked Members for their support and took the opportunity to thank Stuart Fraser for his contribution to the Committee during his tenure.

To elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 30.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 30. The Town Clerk read a list of Members eligible to stand and Anne Fairweather, being the only Member expressing their willingness to serve, was duly elected as Deputy Chairman.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 13 March 2019.

RESOLVED, that the public minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2019 were approved as a correct record subject to an amendment on page 6.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members noted the various outstanding actions and the update provided thereon.

Members were advised that action 1 was complete as a representative for physical disability had been identified on HHCC.

With regards to action 2, the Chairman advised that the request to change to the Committee’s Terms of Reference to include an Alderman was turned down by the General Purposes Committee of Alderman.

The Superintendent noted that action 3 referred to Kenwood House not Keats House.

To receive the draft public minutes of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee meeting held on 29 April 2019.

The draft public minutes of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee meeting held on 29 April 2019 were received.

To receive the draft public minutes of the Highgate Wood Consultative Group meeting held on 3 April 2019.

The draft public minutes of the Highgate Wood Consultative Group meeting held on 3 April 2019 were received.

To receive the draft public minutes of the Queen's Park Consultative Group meeting held on 27 March 2019.

The draft public minutes of the Queen's Park Consultative Group meeting held on 27 March 2019 were received.

The Chairman noted a typo advising that 9,000 volunteers did not attend the Volunteers Reception which would be updated.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members considered a report of the Town Clerk regarding appointments to Committees and Groups for 2019/20.

RESOLVED, that:-

·         The terms of reference and composition of the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee be noted;

·         The terms of reference and composition of both the Highgate Wood Consultative Group and the Queen’s Park Consultative Group be approved;

·         The Chairman and Deputy Chairman to be appointed to the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee.

·         John Tomlinson be appointed to the Highgate Wood Consultative Group, and the further two vacancies be deferred until the next meeting of the Grand Committee for appointment;

·         Ruby Sayed be appointed to the Queen’s Park Consultative Group, and the further two vacancies be deferred until the next meeting of the Grand Committee for appointment;

·         John Tomlinson be appointed to serve on the Keats House Consultative Committee with the Chairman to also attend in an ex officio capacity;

·         The decision to appoint a local representative to observe meetings of the Open Spaces and City Gardens Committee be deferred until the next meeting of the Grand Committee.

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered a report of the Superintendent providing an update on matters concerning Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park. The following points were made:

·         The Chairman was sad to inform Members that there had been an incident at the weekend resulting in the death of a man at the Men’s Pond. The Committee sent its best wishes and condolences to the family and friends of the man and support to the lifeguards on duty.

·         The Superintendent advised that the Men’s Pond was closed and would not be reopened until the Metropolitan Police had completed their investigations.

Adventure Playground, Preachers Hill Playground and Vale of Health Playground

·         Members were advised that the concept designs would ensure that the playgrounds remain natural using pebbles and timber. It was noted that seal funding would be sought for additional play equipment.

Sports

·         Members were advised that the licencing arrangements of the Parliament Hill Bowling Green were changing to an annual licence which had been drafted and would be discussed at a meeting with the Club tomorrow. This change in licensing would allow for the Corporation to lease out the site to others during the winter months when it was not being used.

Mobility scheme

·         In response to a query from a Member concerning whether the distance from the Lido was a reasonable distance for people with disabilities to access the mobility buggies, the Superintendent confirmed that the Lido was selected for the scheme as it had disabled car park spaces which were very close to the Lido. It was noted that there was no charge for hire, but all users needed to receive instructions of how to use the buggies.

Waste & Recycling

·         Members were advised that a pilot would be carried out at Parliament Hill including the trialling of a couple of bins

Members considered the Humanitarian Aid Workers Memorial proposal at Kenwood Estate and the following comments were made:

·         The Chairman welcomed Dr Jeremy Ashbee, Sir John Holmes and Victoria Metcalfe who attended to respond to queries regarding the memorial. 

·         The Chairman noted that HHCC Members were shown the proposed site for the memorial during its Committee walk on Saturday 27 April and drew Member’s attention to the photographs provided in the agenda.

·         Members were advised that the Heath & Hampstead Society were not supportive of the selected site for the memorial on the basis that the 1871 Act advocated for the protection of the Heath and its fringes. It was noted that the Society had not yet spoken with the press regarding the proposed memorial but that a public campaign would follow should the proposal be allowed to progress. 

·         It was noted that the HHCC minutes reflected a negative view of the proposal from numerous societies represented on the Committee which was further illustrated by correspondence received by the Chairman from the Heath & Hampstead Society, Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents Association and London Wildlife Trust.

·         The Chairman was supportive of the worthy cause but voiced concern that agreeing to the memorial could open the Heath up to requests from other equally worthy causes which would be difficult to manage.

·         A Member noted that the Heath was not natural and wild, it was a carefully managed space.

·         It was noted that the Corporation regularly made representations against planning applications near to the Heath and the proximity of the memorial to Heath land raised reservations.

·         A Member did not feel this was an appropriate site as it clearly effected Heath views despite being on Kenwood land and was not viable for transport or footfall.

·         In response to a query regarding revenue, Members were advised that

Members noted the map of the proposed grazing sites.

RECEIVED.

Members noted the Open Spaces Learning Team Play Principles.

RECEIVED.

Members noted the concept design for the Preachers Hill Playground.

RECEIVED.

Members noted the concept designs for the Vale of Health Playground.

RECEIVED.

Members noted the Golders Hill Park Accessible Car Park Consultation Poster.

RECEIVED.

Members noted the Golders Hill Park Sensory Walk Poster.

RECEIVED.

Members considered and approved the Queen’s Park Event Applications.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath regarding the proposed High-Level Asset Management Plan for Hampstead Heath which was

developed in conjunction with the City Surveyors Department to ensure the effective

use and management of buildings and structures across Hampstead Heath.

The Chairman felt that the word “retail” should be removed from the third objective concerning the Parliament Hill Fields Review and changed to “visitor, engagement and education centre”. The Superintendent advised that this objective had already been changed to “Heath related retail” to incorporate income revenue which should be reflected.   

Members discussed the possibility for a Hampstead Heath app or web presence to share information, talks and videos from the space, etc. Members were advised that these ideas had been discussed on numerous occasions by the Chairmen of Open Spaces and had been informed by the IT Department that it was not possible. A Member disagreed and felt that Officers should work to make the website and app happen as it was the will of the Members.  

RESOLVED – That:-

·         Members approve the proposed High-Level Asset Management Plan for Hampstead Heath 2019-2021 (appendix 1) as outlined in para 7.

Report of the Director of Open Spaces.

Members considered and approved a report of the Director of Open Spaces concerning the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Risk Management providing Members with anupdate on the management of risks undertaken by the Open Spaces Department and the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood, and Queen’s Park Division.

 ----

RESOLVED - With two hours having elapsed since the start of the meeting, in accordance with Standing Order No. 40 the Committee agreed at this point to extend the meeting by up to thirty minutes.

----

RESOLVED – That Members:-

·         Note the Corporate Risk Matrix (Appendix 1);

·         Approve the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Risk Register (Appendix 2);

·         Approve the reduction of OSD NLOS 002 from Amber to Green at Appendix 2;

·         Approve the increase of NLOS 006 from Green to Amber at Appendix 2;

·         Note the risk history report at Appendix 3.

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered and approved a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath in relation to three large or major events; Zippos Circus, The London Youth Games and the South of England Athletics Association Cross Country Championships.

Members were advised that each of these events has been assessed by the Officer Event Group and considered and supported by the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee.

RESOLVED – That Members:-

·         Approve the Zippo’s Circus event (appendix 1);

·         Approve the London Youth Games event (appendix 2);

·         Approve the South of England Athletics Association Cross Country Championships event (appendix 3).

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered and approved a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath concerning the proposed tendering process for the Queen’s Park Café.

The Constabulary & Queen’s Park Manager confirmed that the current licensee, Urban Leisure Group (ULG), had served notice to terminate their lease ending on 2 October 2019. The process to select a new licensee would follow the same process as last time with a decision made from the anonymised information of all potential businesses. The Chairman stated that thorough tendering would be required to ensure the business model is valid.

RESOLVED – That Members:-

·         Members agree to tender the lease for the Queen’s Park Café, as described in paras 9 & 10;

·         Members agree the proposed tendering process and timeline, as set out in Para 11.

Report of the Head of Corporate Strategy and Performance

Members considered a report of the Head of Corporate Strategy and Performance concerning the City of London Corporation’s Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for 2019-23.

• A  Member was very concerned that this was the proposed final version as a number of relevant Committees had not inputted into the Strategy and their Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen had not been properly consulted.

• Members voiced concern over the timelines of the report with the final decision to be taken by the Policy & Resources Committee (P&R) on 4 July 2019. It was felt that the timelines were not appropriate as they would not leave enough time for valuable input from every relevant Committee.

• The Chairman noted that the Strategy covered a significant period of time (2019-23) and therefore the objectives needed to be right.

• The Head of Corporate Strategy and Performance stated that similar comments had been received from other Committees agreeing that the front page was confusing based on standard report language. She clarified that whilst the report stated For Information, this meeting was an opportunity for the Committee to input into the Strategy.

• Members were advised that two extra informal meetings had been arranged to follow consultation with all Committees: 1) a breakfast briefing chaired by the Chair of Policy & resources (CPR) on 28 June 2019 whereby all interested parties would be invited to attend and discuss the Strategy and 2) a meeting with experienced co-optees, the Chairman of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood & Queen’s Park Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Epping Forest & Commons Committee and the Chairman of the Hampstead Heath Sports Advisory Forum.

• It was noted that the Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerk had deemed it appropriate to take the final report incorporating all feedback from Committees back to the Public Relations & Economic Development Committee (PRED)

Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Open Spaces.

Members considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and Director of Open Spaces comparing the revenue outturn for the services overseen by the Committee in 2018/19 with the final agreed budget for the year.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Town Clerk and Chief Executive.

Members received a report of the Town Clerk and Chief Executive concerning the City of London Corporation’s policy on gender identity, and the findings from independent analysis of an online survey conducted in 2018. The following comments were made:

·         The Chairman stated that the Policy was publicised with no warning and requested that the Media Team consider the potential implications and press issues prior to the publication of press releases in future.

·         It was noted that there was significant interest and concern being voiced on social media and within the press and it was agreed that it would have been helpful to understand the implications of the situation in advance. Members were reassured that there were 21,000 valid responses to the survey which were largely supportive and that there had been a number of misconceptions shared on social media. It was agreed that a Member Q&A would be circulated.

·         To provide clarity, Members were advised that the Policy had been to Chief Officers and the Summit Group before publication and it was their responsibility to inform their teams of policy changes. The Policy was made public in early May and campaigners had only recently used this within the context of the Heath’s Ponds. It was noted that as soon as the Media Team were informed of the press issues at the Heath, two media representatives attended site to help deal with the matter. Members were advised that any queries from the press must be directed straight to the Media Team for a response.

·         The Superintendent advised that there were two single sex facilities at the Ponds which were prone to media attention. This was having a knock-on effect on Partners who were being asked for comment but did not have the support or understanding of how to deal with

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.

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 as follows:-

Item No.                                                         Paragraphs in Schedule 12A

RESOLVED, 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 they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2019.

RESOLVED, that the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2019 were approved as a correct record.

There was one question.

There were no urgent items.

The date of the next meeting is 11 September 2019 at 3.00pm.

The date of the next meeting on 11 September 2019 was noted and the Town Clerk confirmed that this meeting would start earlier at 3.00pm to be followed by an event hosted by the Heath & Hampstead Society.