Agenda item

Report of the Director of the Built Environment – report to follow.

The Committee received a report from the Director of the Built Environment updating them on the St Mary-At-Hill Churchyard Gateway 4 project.

Members noted that St Mary-At-Hill church was a grade I listed building that was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke in 1670-74. The churchyard represented one of the few open spaces in the Fenchurch & Monument area, but it was currently underutilised as it is in a state of disrepair with low quality paving, poor access and limited planting. In addition to the poor design quality, surveys have revealed below ground structures and inadequate drainage causing potential damage to the church and churchyard wall.

In response to a query from Members, Officers said that the Fenchurch and Monument Area Enhancement Strategy identified St Mary-At-Hill Churchyard as a key opportunity to increase access to, and enhanced the quality of the churchyard for the increasing numbers of workers, residents and visitors to the area. To achieve this, the total available funding of £100,000 was allocated to the scheme from the Section 106 Agreement related to the redevelopment of 20 Fenchurch Street.

In order to address all of the current problems associated with the space, the Working Party developed a series of objectives which were approved at Gateway 3 in April 2015. The proposed concept design seeks to address these objectives by delivering new ramped and stepped access, new tree planting and soft landscaping, sustainable drainage, new seating, lighting and re-use of heritage assets.

Members were informed that there were still a number of uncertainties surrounding the delivery of this project, principally relating to archaeology, drainage and funding.

Resolved – that Members:

·       Authorised the progression of the project and the release of funds, as set out in Section 17 of this report;

·       Authorised officers to arrange additional funding as per the agreed funding strategy to secure the delivery of all project objectives;

·       Authorised officers to develop a formal agreement to carry out the works on the privately owned churchyard and develop a long term maintenance agreement;

·       Authorised officers to pursue all necessary Planning and Faculty permissions;

·       Authorised the use of interest accrued on the £100,000 Section 106 Agreement.