Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Susan Rose, Ray Booth Dr Gaye Henson, Steve Ripley, Simon Taylor and David Walton. Members noted that Rachel Mackenzie was attending in place of Cindy Galvin (Heath Hands), Nick Fielding was attending in place of Helen Payne (Friends of Kenwood) and Lynda Cook was attending in place of Thomas Radice (Heath and Hampstead Society).

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2018.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2018 were approved as a correct record subject to the amendment of three points noted by a Member:

·         Change “older age group” to “younger” on page 2.

·         It was felt that the phrase “historic nature”, which could imply geology and botany, be replaced with the word “history” on page 8.

·         Replace the typographical error of the word “were” to “where” on page 10.

Members also felt clarity should be made to the paragraph regarding the Heath’s Heritage Day.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee noted the various outstanding actions and the updates provided thereon.

To receive the Minutes of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood, and Queen's Park Committee meeting held on 21 February 2018.

The minutes of the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee (HHHWQPC) meeting held on 21 February 2018 were received.

The Chairman highlighted the concern raised by a Member at this meeting that people with physical disabilities were under represented on Open Spaces Committees and advised that investigation of appropriate representation on the Hampstead Heath Consultative Committee (HHCC) was currently underway and that an interview for fair selection would take place in due course.

The Chairman also drew Members’ attention to item 10 and the decision of the HHHWQPC regarding the use of performing animals on the Heath. It was noted that the HHHWQPC received the feedback of the HHCC on this matter but had decided not to approve the recommendation put forward by the Committee, the reasons of which were immediately relayed to Members by the Chairman via email.

A Member of the HHCC questioned the legal advice of the Chief Solicitor regarding decisions based on ethical grounds as he felt most decisions by the Open Spaces Committees were based on ethical grounds. The Town Clerk noted that this decision was based on case law. Members requested a more in-depth explanation of the legality of this advice from the Chief Solicitor and for this point to be subsequently clarified in the minutes.

To receive the public minutes of the Hampstead Heath Sports Advisory Forum meeting held on 5 February 2018.

The minutes of the Hampstead Heath Sports Advisory Forum meeting held on 5 February 2018 were received.

A Member questioned the validity of the minuted point that there was a sewage leak at Kenwood House. The Superintendent confirmed that the minutes were correct and did not require amendment. 

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered an update report of the Superintendent and the following points were made:

Divisional Plan

·         The Superintendent advised Members that the columns “status” and “update” had been added to the Divisional Plan.

·         The Superintendent advised that due to a duplication of Project 3.5 in the 2017/18 Divisional Plan, an additional project has been developed (3.14) to separate the events and cultural strategies and develop a broader cultural strategy.

·         Other changes to the Divisional Plan included:

o   3.12 (Develop the Hive) – this project is on hold and will go to Gateway 7 for closure due to the cost of the conversion being considerably higher than first planned. Other options would be looked at.

o   3.14 (Develop the Cultural Strategy) – this project will be led by the new Principal Curator of Keats House (Rob Shakespeare). The Superintendent advised that the project would take longer than July to complete and he would provide an update along with the project plan at the next meeting.

·         In response to a query regarding what the relationship was between the cultural strategy and events strategy, the Superintendent advised that they work together and consequently play, events and culture would be given greater emphasis in the Management Plan. A Member recommended looking again at that the word “culture” as this has a broader meaning than what it is being used for.

·         A Member queried what the initial thoughts for the Hive Building were. The Superintendent advised that a wider study looking at capacity of a number of Heath buildings including the Lido, Clubhouse and Parliament Hill Staff Yard, was planned to explore opportunities for providing additional learning spaces, volunteering and information hubs. It was noted that this would be added to Divisional Plan Project 1.12.

·         The Superintendent drew Members’ attention to the Hampstead Heath Shared

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath regarding the Hampstead Heath 2018 Management Plan which had reached another important milestone in its development and the following points were made:

·         The Projects Management & Support Officer noted that this was to mark progress with the development of an Outcomes and Measurement Framework for Hampstead Heath and to set out the next steps for completion of the Management Plan.

·         In response to a question from a member about what the Management Plan would include, the Projects Management & Support Officer stated that the Management Plan would not exceed 20 pages to ensure a more concise and readily updated document than the 2007 Management Plan.

·         The Projects Management & Support Officer invited Members to put themselves forward to engage in the final stages of the development of the Management Plan.

·         Various comments were made on the Heath Vision which was included as an appendix to the report. The Projects Management & Support Officer advised Members that the Heath Vision had been discussed with Members in detail in July 2017 and was approved by the HHHWQPC on 27 September 2017, and therefore no changes would be made to the wording. A Member noted an idea on the scale of difficulty based on the length of sentences and highlighted that there were a number of sentences within the Heath Vision that reached the very difficult to understand level. The Projects Management & Support Officer agreed take this into account when writing the Management Plan. A Member noted potential contradictions in the language as different users of the Heath visit for different reasons and therefore have different views on what is needed. It was noted that the local community fought for 175 years to ensure the Heath was kept open and to protect the Heath as an open

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath regarding the Open Spaces Events Policy including the Policy Framework and site-specific guidance for Hampstead Heath. The following points were made:

·         The Superintendent thanked the Advisory Group (Helen Payne, John Beyer and Nick Bradfield) for their work and support on this project.

·         It was noted that Part 1 of the Events Policy was reviewed by the Open Spaces Committee that morning for feedback and Members were invited to provide comments which would be fed into the process.

·         It was noted that interaction between Parts 1 and 2 required further attention. Members concentrated on Part 2.

·         A Member highlighted contradiction between the two parts and felt that the language and specifically wording regarding environmental protection was much better in the Act, specifically reference to “material injury”. The Deputy Chairman added that similar comments around the language and understanding were made in the Open Spaces Committee meeting that morning.

·         It was noted that “other events” stated under item 4(b) Frequency and timing required clarification.

• A Member felt that clarification was needed to the description under item 4(c) Scale which states that events requiring temporary structures to be erected will be limited to areas defined as Zone A in the Schedule of Locations. The Member questioned if this may potentially restrict consideration of desirable events in the future. For example, in the past Parliament Hill Fields hosted an ice skating rink which proved very popular in winter months.

• A Member queried whether ethical considerations could be included in the policy.

·         Members discussed the event scales provided in item 6.3 Table 1. Some Members felt the threshold for consultation with Members should be lower. The Member for Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents’ Association proposed that this threshold be reduced to medium-scale events. This was supported

Report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath.

Members considered a report of the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath regarding the Hampstead Heath Ponds and Draft Wetlands Strategy and the following points were made:

·         It was noted that the Marylebone Birdwatching Society were supportive of recommendation to restrict public access to the island, and the draft outline of the Hampstead Heath Ponds and Wetlands Strategy.

·         A Member queried whether access to the Model Boating Pond Island could be cut off completely with the removal of the land bridge. The Superintendent advised this had been considered previously and had been rejected on the basis that it could cause a health and safety risk of people swimming to the island.

·         In response to a suggestion that the wording be changed to state that the public be permanently excluded from this area, the Superintendent advised this could not be done under the 1871 Act.

·         The Superintendent advised that netting was already being removed in order to open up the bays and the fencing would gradually be reduced as the aquatic planting matured.

·         A Member queried whether the monitoring had considered the surrounding areas and to what extent the increased number of birds was attributable to the MBP mock-island. Was it therefore enough to warrant the change of management focus from a pond for recreational pursuits to a water fowl reserve? The Senior Ecologist responded that these areas were rare with the aim being to increase these habitats not substitute them.

·         A Member suggested replacing the fencing with the attractive, unused gate currently located next to the Parliament Hill tennis hut and hawthorn hedges; Members agreed this was a good idea.

·         It was noted that protecting the island was initially designed to ensure the protection of the trees located on it.

·          A Member recommended referencing the extensive hydrology survey within the document.

·         It

There were no questions.

The Chairman gave special thanks to Meg Game, Senior Ecologist, who was retiring this week after 15 years working at Hampstead Heath. The Committee echoed this thanks and congratulated Meg on all her valuable contributions to the Heath and the Committee. 

The Chairman also gave thanks to Conservation Ranger Phil Stead, who would also be retiring in April after 30 years working at Hampstead Heath.

The date of the next meeting is 9 July 2018 at 7.00pm in the Parliament Hill Conference Room, Parliament Hill Staff Yard, Parliament Hill Fields, Hampstead Heath, NW5 1QR.

The date of the next meeting of 9 July 2018 at 7.00pm in the Parliament Hill Conference Room was noted.