Agenda item

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 12 June 2013 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2013 were approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

Tennis Courts

The Queen’s Park Manager noted that the in-person advance booking system had been reviewed over the summer and that feedback had been largely positive. In response to a question from a member the Superintendent of Hampstead Heath confirmed that there were no plans to implement an online booking system given that the in-person system was working well and that furthermore this would have a detrimental impact on existing staff time and resources, given that activities such as the drafting of a business case would need to be carried out.

In response to a question from a member the Park Manager confirmed that the current allocation of four courts for coaching children and two for adults had proved satisfactory and had not been expanded upon.

Personal Trainers

A member raised her concerns over the use of the Park by personal trainers, noting that Wandsworth had recently introduced licences for such activity at the cost of £350 per annum. She felt that it was inappropriate for persons to be profiting from the use of City of London facilities at a time when City of London resources were under pressure. She highlighted a recent Atlantic Sports Development Soccer School held in the Park during July and August that had been sponsored by a local Estate Agent and advertised locally. She noted she had no issue with such events in principle, given what they offered to local residents, but with the fact the City of London was not receiving, arguably, income it was entitled to from such activities.

The Superintendent said that he shared her concerns but that the issue was governed by the legal powers at the City of London’s disposal. He added that whilst an organisation like the Royal Parks had the power to regulate such activities, the City of London did not and that this reflected the City’s current in-house legal advice. He noted that it would perhaps be appropriate to seek Counsel’s advice on the issue.

The Chairman added that the issue of licencing was one that affected the whole of the City of London’s activities, and that for example the issue of street trading was currently being looked at. He warned that in order to gain the licencing powers alluded to it might be necessary to seek a Various Powers bill in Parliament, and that such a process took years and was very expensive.

The member who first raised the issue said that she felt the City of London was using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and rather than seeking clarification of its legal powers, or seeking new ones, it should simply licence the personal trainers. She noted that the City of London currently charged for use of football pitches, and queried why this principle could not be applied in this instance.

The Chairman replied that the City of London could not accept the reputational risk of acting outside of its powers. The Superintendent added that the City had the power to charge for football pitches as the power to do so clearly exist in current regulations, which was not the case for licencing of personal trainers.

Twitter Feed

The Park Manager noted that the use of a dedicated Twitter feed for the park had been considered, but due to his recent secondment to West Ham Park this had not been progressed and was currently a low priority. He added that the Park was already promoted on Facebook.

Representation on the Joint Consultative Group

The Park Manager noted he had approached some groups prior to the last meeting, and that in the meantime he understood there to be some concern over the perceived lack of geographic relationship between these groups and the Park. Nevertheless he added that he would like to continue to pursue the issue of greater representation and that he was keen to involve Transition Town Kensal to Kilburn given they operated a vegetable plot in the Park.

Recycling Bins

In response to a question from a member over the number of recycling bins in the Park, the Park Manager noted that there were around sixty recycling bins at various locations and that it was planned to reduce this number to around twenty-five.

QPJCG Visit to Hampstead Heath

The Chairman noted that the visit to Hampstead Heath would now take place at the next meeting of the Group in June 2014.

Queen’s Park Café Lease

In response to a question from a member the Superintendent replied that the new café lease would be signed shortly and backdated as appropriate.