Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: To agree the minutes of the meeting as a true record.

RESOLVED: To agree the minutes of the meeting as a true record.

Councillor Ibitson declared a non pecuniary interest as an employee of the GLA.

Councillor Fletcher declared a non-pecuniary interest as a temporary employee of the GLA, on an interim basis, employed via an agency.

RESOLVED: To note the response from Mayor and Cabinet.

RESOLVED: To note the response from Mayor and Cabinet.

RESOVLED: To note the report

Joe Gillam (Project Manager) introduced the report. The key points to note were:

·         This report was an update to the report received in September.

·         A number of appointments have been made, the demolition contract is currently being tendered.

·         A planning application has been submitted and it is hoped work will begin at the end of the month.

·         In relation to the specific recommendations made by the Committee: an update has been put up on the Council website, with the site being named the Lewisham Central Opportunity Site, within the town centre section of the website.

·         Officers have attended the two local assemblies closest to the site, Ladywell and Lewisham Central to give an update.

·         Discussions regarding the future development of the site are on-going.

In response to questions from the Committee Joe Gillam advised that:

·         The site is designated as a mixed use site and is suitable for retail; some interest has been expressed by food retailers already.

·         Retaining the freehold of the site will be considered.

·         Viability work to consider and understand the most appropriate use and development of the site will be carried out to identify the most sustainable use of the site.

·         He will speak to strategic housing, as at Housing Select Committee the previous evening, a list of sites being considered for development was considered and the Lewisham Central Opportunities Site was not included in that list.

RESOLVED: To note the report

Lesley Brooks (service group manager, parking services) introduced the report. In response to questions the Committee was advised:

·         Cash payments for visitors parking permits can now be made at Lewisham library, and this is a manual process.

·         Processing applications and payments requires access to key council systems to check eligibility.

·         The added cost of managing cash at all libraries makes rolling that provision out to all libraries in the borough prohibitive.

·         The recommendation of free permits for carers has been implemented as has a book of 10 vouchers for £10. The recommendation of 10visitors passes to be issued with each resident permit issued will happen automatically from April.

RESOLVED: To note the information provided.

The Chair welcomed Hutchison Whampoa and associates to the meeting and thanked them for coming. Phil Hayden (senior project manager, Hutchison Whampoa) advised that he and his associates would give a 25 minute presentation and then take questions. The key points to note were:

·         Hutchison Whampoa envisaged building 3500 new homes on the site of which 15% would be affordable homes, a 2 form entry primary school and creating 2150 new jobs. There would also be further contributions locally through Section 106 monies and a contribution to the London Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

Duncan Hawkins gave an overview of the archaeology of the site:

·         English Heritage has been involved in monitoring the archaeological investigations. The archaeological investigations are the largest carried out on any historical dockyard in the world and have been based on old maps and old evidence and what is known about the yard from its closure in 1869.

·         The great dry dock was rebuilt between 1839 and 1841 on the site of previous docks; those previous docks were destroyed with the creation of the dock in 1839. Only small fragments of smashed up timber have been found. English heritage have made clear they will not support any proposal for demolition of that area so an open area, in memorial of it, is planned.

·         The Tudor store house was demolished at the end of WW2 and only the foundations remain – English heritage have monitored the excavations as this is the most important archaeological site in Lewisham.

·         The Olympia building was built in 1844-1846 with the roof being rebuilt in 1890.

In response to questions Ian Turkington advised:

·         Sayes Court Mansion House was previously demolished and rebuilt as a work house, some garden walls have been found but no evidence of the gardens were found – English Heritage specifically asked that these were looked for.

·         There has been a lot of public and academic interest in the excavations on the site; over 1000 people have visited to view the site to hear about the work.

·         A full report will be available by the end of 2014.

In response to questions, Duncan Hawkins advised:

·         Very few artefacts had been recovered, it appeared the site was picked clean in 1869 and kept clean due to fire risks. A Neolithic axe has been found and a 19^th century pot.

·         Part of the Sayes Court Mansion House foundations recovered will be incorporated into the planned study centre.

·         Given the depth of the archaeology, its fragility and the relative amounts found, in this instance it is not appropriate to rebuild, but to map what has been uncovered and recover it to protect it.

Nigel Bidwell and Phil Hayden advised:

·         The site is a key site for Lewisham as it covers more than half of the Borough’s river frontage.

·         It was previously a military and industrial site so the general public did not have access to it, the master vision for the site would ensure public access to the riverfront, whilst recognising the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

RESOLVED: To move some items back to January to create a travel themed meeting, and to ask the Chair to liaise with the scrutiny manager to make any necessary amendments to the programme to allow for the savings item to be considered by the Committee when the report becomes available.

RESOLVED: To move some items back to January to create a travel themed meeting, and to ask the Chair to liaise with the scrutiny manager to make any necessary amendments to the programme to allow for the savings item to be considered by the Committee when the report becomes available.

There were none.