Agenda item

40 Leadenhall Street S278 highway works – Amended Land Adoption Request

With the permission of the Chair, the Committee considered a late, separately circulated report of the Executive Director, Environment.

Officers reported that, as part of the Section 278 project at 40 Leadenhall Street, it was proposed that the City adopt a section of private highway at the corner of Fenchurch Street and Fenchurch Buildings to become public highway. Approval to alter the area of the previously agreed land adoption (originally agreed to in 2014) sits with the Planning and Transportation Committee. This report therefore asked Members to consider this amended adoption. It was reported that the other elements of the Section 278 project were being considered by the Streets & Walkways and Operational Property & Projects Sub Committees in January 2023 so that the Section 278 agreement can be signed, and funding exchanged. The amendment proposed was in order to make the area in question easier to maintain for both parties.

A Member questioned the logic of this proposal and including part of the paved area within the amended adoption. Officers stated that any pavement here was likely to be part of the overhang of the building around the private entrance. They added that the blue area on the plans circulated would be seen as public highway whether it formed part of the amended adoption or not. Officers highlighted that the green line around the development was part of the original public highway boundary. However, the building line in the new development had receded. It was now therefore proposed that the space between the red and green line be adopted which was currently private land.

Another Member questioned whether the curved line on the plan was indicative of a curb line and, if so, what the logic of adopting some of the paved area here was.

Following discussion as to the sequencing of the report, Officers explained that, as set out within the paper, this was a small aspect of a wider matter to be considered by Streets and Walkways at their next meeting later this month. It was only in drafting the report to the Sub-Committee that it became apparent that this particular aspect fell outside of the remit of the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee. He added that, if Members were so minded, they would ask that the entire matter be delegated to the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee to consider in its entirety. Members were unanimously supportive of this course of action.

RESOLVED – That this aspect of the wider 278 project for 40 Leadenhall Street, specifically whether to agree to adopt the amended area of private land highlighted in Appendix 1 as public highway, be delegated to the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee.