Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: To confirm Cllr Liam Curran as Chair and Cllr James-J Walsh as Vice Chair.

RESOLVED: To confirm Cllr Liam Curran as Chair and Cllr James-J Walsh as Vice Chair.

RESOLVED: The Chair agreed to check the detail with the appropriate officer before signing the minutes as a true record.

Cllr Ingleby queried the record of the “key points discussed” under item 7.

RESOLVED: The Chair agreed to check the detail with the appropriate officer before signing the minutes as a true record.

There were none.

RESOLVED: The 5 high priority items for the Committee to consider in detail this year are agreed as: Enforcement, Local High Streets, Modern Roads, Waste Strategy and Employment. Further initial scoping of how these matters will be scrutinised will be considered in September, when further details of the Lewisham Future Programme timetable may also be available.

Those matters in the draft work programme that are not considered high priority at this time, to be dealt with by way of a brief update report to the September meeting, other than: Bakerloo Line extension, Flood Strategy consultation, Lewisham Central Opportunity Site and Heritage and Tourism, all of which are to be considered in brief at the most appropriate point over the course of the year.

Salena Mulhere introduced the report and invited members to discuss and agree a work programme for the year.

The Chair advised the Committee that it was important that the work programme:

·         focused on matters of a high priority,

·         allowed sufficient time to consider the priority topics agreed in a suitable amount of detail

·         prioritised pre-decision scrutiny to ensure the maximum possible influence of scrutiny

·         left sufficient space to effectively scrutinise the rolling programme of savings that was anticipated later in the year.

The Committee then discussed the draft work programme and a range of suggestions. They key points to note from the discussion were:

·         The implementation of the pledge to become a 20mph borough can be reviewed as part of pre-decision scrutiny, so that scrutiny can inform the development of an appropriate policy and associated plans for implementation. This should be done as part of a wider review of “modern roads” as outlined within the report to ensure that all relevant issues to road safety, including improving the borough for cyclists, the lack of “Boris bikes” in Lewisham and improving air quality can be considered holistically.

·         What the Council can do to support and develop thriving local high streets should be reviewed in detail by the Committee as there are a range of issues across a number of the high streets in the borough. Specifically a review should cover, the outcomes and learning from the Portas pilot and the pop- up Catford Canteen, the role and impact of both “chain” shops and independent shops, the ability of the Council to influence, shape and support vibrant high streets through planning and enforcement and it’s role as a landlord in some instances, including supporting/developing the “meanwhile usage” of vacant units

·         A review of enforcement should be carried out, appropriately timed in relation to informing consideration of any proposals brought forward by the Lewisham Future Programme, to take a holistic look at enforcement in Lewisham, including, planning enforcement, licensing enforcement, noise and fly tipping enforcement.

·         The role of the Council and partners locally in supporting the development of and access to employment opportunities, including the apprentice programme being delivered by the Council and partners should be considered by the Committee at some point this year

·         A review of the Waste strategy should be carried out, appropriately timed in relation to informing consideration of any proposals brought forward by the Lewisham Future Programme, to take a holistic look at waste management in Lewisham

·         All other suggested items should be covered by way of a brief update report to the next meeting, apart from the Bakerloo Line extension, Flood Strategy consultation, Lewisham Central Opportunity Site and Heritage and Tourism, which should all be placed on the work programme to enable an update to be received at the most appropriate point over the coming year.

RESOLVED: The 5 high priority items for the Committee to consider in detail this year are agreed as: Enforcement, Local High Streets, Modern Roads, Waste Strategy and Employment. Further initial scoping  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

RESOLVED: To refer the following views to Council:

The Committee recommends that the following changes/clarifications are made before the document is consulted upon:

·         The definition of key worker used should be extended beyond the Government definition, to ensure that it covers other key local workers that the Council might wish the definition to include, such as refuse workers, social care workers etc.

·         Section 3.3.6 should be reworded to better explain what is meant by “intensifying communities”.

·         The definition of “public realm” should be explicitly included within the draft document to provide clarity and to avoid confusion with the Council’s own definition of public realm in relation to a cabinet member portfolio.

·         In relation to the required financial obligations for the loss of employment floor space and the cost of a trainee; the figure should not be set at £10,000 but should be index linked to ensure that the contribution rises (or falls) as appropriate over the lifetime of the policy.

The Committee further recommends that future work should be carried out by officers to explore the various ways in which the required “play space per child” can be effectively delivered using section 106 funds. Specifically, the requirements of “maintenance in perpetuity” of any play space should be clarified, as well as any definitions of what constitutes “play space”. Options for innovative delivery methods of useful play space should be explored – including the potential development and support of indoor play centres provided either by the Council or in partnership with other local organisations.

Matthew Pullen introduced the report. The key points to note were:

·         The Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document 2014 (SPD) is currently draft, and approval is being sought from Council to consult on the draft document.

·         The SPD outlines measures to mitigate the impact of development, not to create profits

·         The SPD is guidance, not policy. It sets out guidance for developers as to how policy is implemented

·         An updated SPD is needed as there have been legislative changes since the last one was agreed in 2011, inclusive of the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and the London Plan has also been introduced, as has the Core Strategy and all the documents need to be in compliance.

·         It is intended to adopt CIL in October – it takes away the ability to charge for some infrastructure items, including Education, Health and Community centre facilities through S106 and introduces a flat rate tax for new developments (CIL), which had previously been agreed on a site by site basis

In response to questions Matthew Pullen advised:

·         The definition of key workers is a standard government definition with flexibility for other local shortages to also be included

·         The reference at 3.3.6 to “intensifying communities”  is in relation to an increasing number of people living in a densely populated area

·         Annual reporting of Section 106 agreements, including the total value of financial contributions received and spent will take place – Public Accounts Select Committee will be receiving this information

·         The Mayor of London’s Supplementary Planning Guidance – Providing for Children and Young People’s Play and Informal Recreation requires that every new development provides 10m2 of play and recreation space for every child. This is in line with national standards, which is very challenging to deliver in densely populated cities like London (currently there is 1.51m2 of play space per child in Lewisham). This target is very challenging and officers will continue to work with developers to explore how this can be delivered through section 106 contributions. Discussions will include how maintenance “in perpetuity” will be realistically set up and enforced.

·         The SPD is not the policy document regarding affordable housing, it articulates and provides some structure and guidance as to the means with which the council would like to secure some of its policy aims in relation to planning and development

·         The amount of affordable housing sought is set out in the Core Strategy – a strategic boroughwide target of 50% of new housing.  Some developments will provide 100% affordable units and some will provide less – financial viability is key and all developments are considered on a case by case basis with the aim of boroughwide development balancing out at 50%

·         Denise Atkinson in Kevin Turner’s team is responsible for the local labour scheme and monitors the use of local labour on sites and promotes local businesses and local employment opportunities

·         In some ways the CIL is positive because it gives developers certainty in some areas, however there are a number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

There were none, although a referral was made to Council under item 5.

The meeting ended at 9.10pm