Venue: Committee Rooms - Second Floor West Wing, Guildhall
Contact: Richard Holt Email: Richard.Holt@cityoflondon.gov.uk / 020 73323113
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Apologies Minutes: Apologies were received from Caroline Haines, the Deputy Chairman Graeme Doshi-Smith and Wendy Mead.
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Declarations of interest under the Code of Conduct Minutes: There were no declarations. |
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To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting of the West Ham Park Committee held on the 9th of December 2019.
Minutes: The Committee considered the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting of the West Ham Park Committee meeting held on the 9th of December 2019.
Replying to a query from a member of the Committee the Chairman and Director of Open Spaces confirmed that the Charity Commission form completed by the Comptroller and City Solicitor would be provided to the Committee promptly.
RESOLVED- That the public minutes of the West Ham Park Committee on the 9December 2019 be approved as an accurate record.
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PARK MANAGER'S UPDATE Report of the Director of Open Spaces. Minutes: The Committee received the Park Manager’s update on activities in the Park since December 2019. The Director of Open Spaces introduced the report highlighting to the Committee that the Senior Development Manager role to support the Nursey project had been appointed, and that the Playground Project had successfully passed round 1 applications for external funding.
Replying to a question from a member of the Committee the Director of Open Spaces clarified that the Senior Development Manager would be funded from the City Surveyor budget but that work undertaken on the project could be recharged to the project budget. In addition, it was confirmed that Officers attended an extraordinary meeting of the Friends of West Ham Park to brief them on the background to the Nursery project, but that this had not been included in the Manager’s update as it had been confirmed at the last meeting of the Committee. The Director of Open Spaces clarified that the background of the project had been explained by Officers at this meeting with the exception of those details which were exempt under the 1972 Local Government Act. The Committee commented that providing the public with information on the project was important.
RESOLVED- That the report be noted.
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May 2020 Fairground proposal Report of the Director of Open Spaces. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces on a proposal for a Fairground event to be held in May of 2020.
The Director of Open Spaces introduced the report and outlined the context of increasing budgetary pressure on the management of West Ham Park which would require additional sources of funding to be explored. In addition, it was explained that the cost breakdown in the report had been benchmarked against similar events held at other open spaces in the locality and that, dependent on the success of the Fairground event, similar events would be considered for the Park. In response to a comment from a member of the Committee it was agreed that income from these events should be maximised from holding these events with consideration made to standard market rate and competition from other open spaces in the locality. Further to this the Committee were informed that the Manager of West Ham Park sits on the London Parks Benchmarking Group.
Replying to a query from a member of the Committee the Director of Open Spaces confirmed that appropriate mitigation measures were in place to limit environmental impact and cancel the event if the weather conditions mean that the impact on the Park would be too high.
In response to a query from a member of the Committee the Director of Open Spaces confirmed that the event was considered legally compliant with the 1874 Conveyance regarding the usage of West Ham Park.
The Committee requested that a report be produced to assess impact of the event and to detail any key lessons learnt. Further to this Members requested that consideration be given to providing healthy food options at the event noting the issues of obesity apparent in the Borough of Newham.
RESOLVED- That: -
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Joint report of the Director of Open Spaces and Chamberlain. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered a report of the Director of Open Spaces on the Budget Estimates and high-level summary Business Plan 2020/21 for the Open Spaces Department.
A Member highlighted the considerable financial contribution to the management of West Ham Park from the City of London Corporation noting the Fundamental Review and requested that outside grants be explored, including sponsorship possibilities, to bridge funding gaps. The Director of Open Spaces noted that a similar sponsorship engagement had been utilised for specific capital projects and that the City of London Corporation’s Charity Review would consider using sponsorship for management budgets.
A member of the Committee commented that the responsibility for ongoing management of West Ham Park was held by the City of London Corporation as denoted in the 1874 Conveyance. The Chairman replied to this comment by explaining that the agreement did not stipulate a specific level of contribution and highlighted that the City of London Corporation contribution would not be maintained at the level of previous years.
In response to a query from a member of the Committee the Director of Open Spaces clarified that the budget had been approved to advance the Nursey Site project to the next stage. A Member requested that a staff member from the Comptroller and City Solicitor’s Department attend the April meeting to clarify the differing obligations relating to pink and blue land with regards to the Nursey Site.
RESOLVED- That: -
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Questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee Minutes: There were no questions considered in the public session. |
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Any other business that the Chairman considers urgent. Minutes: There was no further business considered in the public session. |
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Exclusion of the public 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 that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.
Minutes: RESOLVED – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act. Item No. Paragraph 10 3 |
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Minutes To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting of the West Ham Park Committee held on the 9th of December 2019. Minutes: The Committee considered the non-public minutes of the West Ham Park Committee meeting held on the 9th of December 2019.
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of the West Ham Park Committee 9 December be approved as an accurate record. |
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Questions on matters relating to the work of the committee Minutes: There was one question received in the non-public session. |
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Any other business that the Chairman considers urgent Minutes: There was no urgent business considered in the non-public session. |