Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Randall Anderson, Chris Boden, Deputy Michael Cassidy, Dominic Christian, Oliver Lodge, Angela Starling, David Thompson and Mark Wheatley.

The Chairman declared his standing interest as a Member of the Board of Governors of the Museum of London, which was the subject of agenda item 4.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2016.

The public minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2016 were considered and approved as a correct record.

MATTERS ARISING

Car Park Charging (page 2) – The Chairman informed the Committee that the Markets car park report would now be run in parallel with the Department of Built Environment’s wider review of car parks across the City of London. He added that this report would be considered by the Markets Committee at their November meeting.

Strategic Review of Markets (page 2) – The Director reported that the GLA had now decided not to proceed with their intended review of wholesale markets. They were, however, conducting a review of retail markets elsewhere within the GLA. The Director planned to discuss with the GLA whether the wholesale markets could also be added to this review but, failing this, he highlighted that he would need to seek funding from both the Markets and Finance Committee to conduct the City’s own review as it would not be possible to conduct something of this scale in-house.

Heat Damage to Glass Panel (Smithfield) (page 3) – In response to a question, the Superintendent of Smithfield Market reported that, following an investigation, he had been informed that the glass panel shattered in the normal way when placed under stress (in this case heat damage) and did not, therefore, present a safety hazard. He went on to inform the Committee that the panels were held in place by rubber grommets and were designed to shatter in the same way that a car windscreen would when placed under stress. Officers had been informed by those conducting the investigation that the likelihood of a reoccurrence of this was very rare. It was therefore deemed that no further action was necessary.

Spitalfield’s Market Renewal of leases (page 4) – The

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk updating Members on the proposed relocation of the Museum of London and a funding request.

The Chairman highlighted that it was the duty of Members of the Markets Committee to safeguard the City’s Markets as working entities and that, if there were to be a request from the Museum relocation project for space on the ground floor area of the Poultry Market,  it would be up to the Markets Committee, after suitable assessment and consultation, to decide whether that space was now surplus to Market requirements.

In response to a question, the Chairman reported that the Museum of London was owned by both the GLA and the City of London on a 50/50 basis. Another Member added that the contractual obligations of the GLA had been discussed in full by the Policy and Resources Committee when they had considered this report earlier this month.

A Member reiterated to the Committee that he was of the view that the possibility of consolidating the City’s Markets on one site should also be considered going forward.

In response to a question from the Deputy Chairman, the Director confirmed that he and other Officers, including the Officer now appointed to manage the Project, had met with SMTA representatives regarding the relocation project and had established a good channel of communication with them as a result. Both sides had agreed that there would be ‘no surprises’ going forward.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection providing Members with an update on progress for Period 1 (April-July) of 2016-17 against key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives outlined in the Markets’ Business Plan.

The City Surveyor reported that final terms had only been agreed with advertising hoarding company Clearchannel at the end of last week. He therefore sought  Member’s authority to sign off on this under Delegated Authority ahead of the November Markets Committee meeting. The Committee were supportive of this approach.

In response to questions regarding charging points for electric vehicles in the Billingsgate Market carpark, the Superintendent of Billingsgate Market reported that, whilst he had received enquiries about this in the past, there were no charging points in the car park at present. He added that the car park was currently being used to capacity and reserving adequate space for the introduction of vehicle charging points was therefore not practical at present.  The Superintendent concluded by stating that he was happy to review this issue if there were sufficient demand going forward but underlined that he would not want passers-by utilising the space solely to charge their vehicles and then departing. The Chairman suggested that electric vehicle charging points across all City car parks was a wider issue for consideration by the Planning and Transportation Committee.

In response to questions regarding sickness levels during Period 1 (April-July) the Superintendent of Billingsgate Market reported that 81 of the recorded days for his site were attributable to one member of staff who continued to be on long-term sick leave. He added that legal proceedings in which the individual was involved would commence in mid-October and that, following their conclusion, he would look to agree a formal return to work plan. The Superintendent of Billingsgate

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection providing Members with assurance that risk management procedures in place within the Department of Markets and Consumer Protection are satisfactory and that they meet the requirements of the corporate Risk Management Framework.

The Chairman was pleased to report that there were no red risks on the Committee Risk Register at present. He went on to inform Members that the completion date for the installation of a controlled barrier entry system for pedestrians and vehicles at Spitalfields Market had now been brought forward to Summer 2017.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Superintendent of Smithfield Market.

The Committee considered a report of the Superintendent of Smithfield Market updating Members on discussions to implement a comprehensive Traffic Management Plan at Smithfield Market for the Christmas period 2016 following the success of previous similar plans.

The Deputy Chairman reiterated that the Committee had previously requested data monitoring car park usage and questioned when this would be made available.  The Superintendent of Smithfield Market reported that he had discussed the request with colleagues in the Department of Built Environment and understood that this would form part of their wider car park review. He undertook to confirm this.

RESOLVED – That Members:

·        Approve the Traffic Management Plan attached to the report; and

·        Agree to fund the additional traffic control measures such as the appointment of private stewards outlined in the report from the Smithfield Central Risk budget.

The Committee received oral Updates from the Market Superintendents as follows:

Billingsgate Market

The Superintendent of Billingsgate Market reported that the Chairman of the Market’s Tenants Association had been in hospital since mid June following a planned operation. In his absence, the Superintendent had recently received two letters from the market tenants seeking the sale of the current site, relocation of the market and for them to receive compensation as a result of this.

Secondly, the Superintendent reported that he had received concerns from tenants about the Seafood School on site and the need for them to pay their own element of the service charge. The Superintendent reported that he would meet with tenants to discuss this matter in the near future.

The Committee suggested that the Chairman write to the Chairman of the London Fish Merchants Association on their behalf wishing him a speedy recovery following his operation.

Smithfield Market

The Superintendent of Smithfield Market reported that trade had been quieter on site recently, ahead of the usual Christmas rush. He went on to inform Members that the Market’s annual FSA Audit had taken place yesterday and that Smithfield had retained its overall ‘Good’ rating – the highest rating possible. The audit had highlighted some minor housekeeping issues on site to address going forward.

Spitalfields Market

The Superintendent of Spitalfields Market began by reporting that the invitation to tender for the waste contract on site would be issued next week. In future, all tenants would pay for what they threw away only and new proposals around fruit and vegetable waste would also be introduced. The Superintendent was delighted to report that waste had reduced by 900 tonnes on site compared with last year.

Secondly, the Superintendent informed the Committee that a Gateway 5 report for the introduction of pedestrian

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.

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 Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act as follows:-

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2016.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2016 were considered and approved as a correct record.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the City Surveyor relative to the Poultry Market – Major Repairs Project.

The City Surveyor to be heard.

The City Surveyor was heard relative to the Condenser Water Cooling System.

Report of the Superintendent of Smithfield Market.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Superintendent of Smithfield Market concerning concessionary parking at Smithfield Market during the Christmas Period 2016.

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection setting out the strategy for procuring Waste Collection, Recycling and Cleansing Services at New Spitalfields Market.

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection on Tenancies at Will that have been granted at the City of London’s Wholesale Markets and on lease assignments.

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

There were no urgent items of business for consideration in the non-public session.