Agenda and minutes

Councillor Muldoon declared a personal Interest in Item 8 as an elected

governor of the SLAM NHS Foundation Trust.

Councillor Hall declared a personal Interest in Item 8 as an elected

governor of the Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Councillor Fletcher declared a personal Interest in Item 8 as a Member of the

Council of Management of the Lewisham Youth Theatre.

Councillor John Paschoud declared a personal Interest in Item 8 as a Trustee

of Lewisham Disability Coalition

Councillor Mallory declared a personal Interest in Item 8 as a Board Member

of Fair Share.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on January 22 2014 be

confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Mr John Hamilton presented a petition with 1,081 online signatures and more

than 1,000 paper signatures calling calling on the Mayor to stop negotiations

on selling the land currently leased to Millwall FC.

Councillor Mark Ingleby presented a petition supported by 72 persons calling

on the Council to review the CPZ in Ballamore, Shroffold and Bedivere Roads

as a matter of urgency.

Councillor Ami Ibitson presented a petition supported by 35 persons calling on

the Council to consider road problems on Perry Hill arising from the  

construction of the Bell Green retail park.

Councillor Darren Johnson presented a petition supported by 114 online

signatures calling on the Council to consider the road layout on Wickham

Roadwork to ensure the 20mph speed restriction is enforced.

Councillor Julia Fletcher presented a petition supported by 53 persons calling

on the Council to work with Phoenix to deal with fly tipping issues in the

Downham Ward.

Councillor Chris Maines presented a petition supported by 53 persons calling

on the Council to ensure SGN replace the temporary width restrictions on Lee

Park near the junction with Lee High Road with a permanent structure to

restrict large vehicles from using Lee Park.

1.LCPCG

Councillor Jackie Addison, the third and final Chair of the LCPCG, addressed

the Council regarding that organisation which was to hold its final meeting in

the following week. She recalled the history and achievements of the LCPCG

and concluded by saying it had been a privilege to serve as Chair.

2.Councillor Bowen

The Chair congratulated Councillor John Bowen on his recent marriage.

3.Convoys Wharf

The Mayor tabled a written report on Convoys Wharf and the agenda item and

minutes from the Strategic Planning Committee in January 2014 were also

circulated. The Mayor gave an oral update on his meeting with the Deputy

Mayor for London responsible for Planning and said that while some of the

Council’s concerns had been addressed, others remained and lobbying would

continue until the decision expected to take place at the end of March.

Councillors Hall, Foxcroft, Curran, Maines, John Paschoud and Allison all

addressed the Council on the subject of Convoys Wharf. Members suggested

a formal agenda item on Convoys Wharf should have been included at this

meeting and they pointed out that the updates promised in January at the

Strategic Planning Committee had not yet been received.

4. Retiring Members

Prior to the end of the meeting, the Chair paid tribute to those Councillors who

were known to be retiring. He thanked Councillors Jackie Addison, Peggy

Fitzsimmons, Madeliene Long, Stephen Padmore, Marion Nesbit, Darren

Johnson, Helen Gibson, Vincent Davis, Vicky Foxcroft, Dan Whittle, Anne

Affiku, Mike Harris, and Olufunke Abidoye for their service. He particularly

recognised the contributions of Councillors Addison, Fitzsimmons, Long,

Padmore, Nisbet and Johnson who between them had over 148 years of

service. He also thanked his fellow Brockley Councillor Vicky Foxcroft and

wished her well in her bid to become the next MP for Lewisham Deptford in

2015. He ended by hoping for a positive election campaign which engaged

with the electorate and heralded a new administration that would best serve

their interests.

14 questions were received from the following members of the public which

were answered by the Cabinet Member indicated. A copy of the questions

and answers are displayed on the Council’s website.

26 questions were asked by Members of the Council  and answered by the

Cabinet Member indicated below. Copies of all the questions and answers

were circulated at the meeting and are displayed on the Council website with

the meeting papers.

The Chair moved that the recommendations be approved and this was

seconded by the Vice Chair and it was:

RESOLVED that the proposed amendment of the Constitution appearing at Appendix 1 be approved.

The Chair of Council had the Head of Law explain a procedure for

consideration of this item which required the suspension of Council Procedure

Rules. The Council agreed to have the Budget introduced by the Mayor and

the Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Paul Maslin.  The Council then

considered the Liberal Democrat motion appearing as Item 12 on the agenda

and held one debate on both the motion and the budget proposal. During this

general debate on the budget the 5 minute limit on speeches for the Mayor

and Councillors Hall and Maines was suspended.

The Mayor reported that he did not intend to vary the budget proposals he

had already fully set out at Mayor and Cabinet on February 12 and 19. He

stated he believed his Budget protected fundamental services despite

horrendous Government cuts and that local government remained the most

efficient of all public services. He alluded to the immensity of the task facing

the next Council administration which would have to cut £95m over its term

of office.

The Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Paul Maslin formally moved

that the Mayor’s Budget be accepted.

Councillor Alan Hall formally seconded that the Mayor’s Budget be accepted.

Item 12, the Liberal Democrat motion was next moved by Councillor Feakes

and seconded by Councillor Maines. The Council also considered a

supplementary agenda document containing officer commentary on the

Liberal Democrat proposals and the technical Budget update considered by

the Mayor on February 19.

There then followed a general debate on the Budget and Item 12 to which the

Mayor, and Councillors Maslin, Johnson, Hall, Bell, Daby, and Bonavia

contributed.

Once the debate was concluded, there was a vote on Item 10 in accordance

with new legal provisions which had taken effect the day before. The result of

the vote was as follows:

9 votes in favour of Motion 2 – Item 12

Councillor Christine Allison

Councillor John Bowen

Councillor Duwayne Brooks

Councillor Alexander Feakes

Councillor Julia Fletcher

Councillor Patsy Foreman

Councillor Sven Griesenbeck

Councillor Chris Maines

Councillor Philip Peake

36 votes Against Motion 2 – Item Twelve

Councillor Olufunke Abidoye

Councillor Obajimi Adefiranye

Councillor Anne Affiku

Councillor Abdeslam Amrani

Councillor Paul Bell

Councillor Chris Best

Councillor Kevin Bonavia

Councillor David Britton

Councillor Suzannah Clarke

Councillor Liam Curran

Councillor Janet Daby

Councillor Vincent Davis

Councillor Amanda De Ryk

Councillor Damien Egan

Councillor Vicky Foxcroft

Councillor Helen Gibson

Councillor Alan Hall

Councillor Michael Harris

Councillor Ami Ibitson

Councillor Mark Ingleby

Councillor Stella Jeffrey

Councillor Darren Johnson

Councillor Helen Klier

Councillor Jim Mallory

Councillor Paul Maslin

Councillor Joan Millbank

Councillor Pauline Morrison

Councillor John Muldoon

Councillor Marion Nisbet

Councillor Stephen Padmore

Councillor Jacq Paschoud

Councillor John Paschoud

Councillor Alan Smith

Councillor Eva Stamirowski

Councillor Alan Till

Councillor Susan Wise

Abstentions - nil

Once the result of this vote was known the Mayor was asked if he wished to

amend his proposals, being aware of the earlier debate and the results of the

vote. He confirmed he did not wish to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 200.

The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Alan Smith, moved that the recommendations

be approved and this was seconded by the Chair of the Sustainable

Development Select Committee, Councillor Liam Curran, and it was:

RESOLVED that the Lewisham Town Centre Local Plan be adopted.

The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Alan Smith, moved that the recommendations

be approved and this was seconded by the Chair of the Sustainable

Development Select Committee, Councillor Liam Curran. Councillor Alex

Feakes observed that the full balance sheet was not available and he

proposed, and Councillor Chris Maines seconded, a proposal that the

recommendation be not accepted.

Following a reply from Councillor Smith, the proposal not to accept the

recommendation was put to the vote and declared to be lost. The

recommendation was then put to the vote and declared to be clearly carried.

RESOLVED that the Catford Regeneration Partnership Limited (CRPL)

business plan for 2014/15 be approved.

The Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Paul Maslin moved that the

recommendations be approved and this was seconded by the Chair of the

Audit Panel, Councillor Mike Harris. Following a contribution from Councillor

Feakes it was:

RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement be approved.

The motion was moved by Councillor Wise and seconded by Councillor Hall.

The motion was then put to the vote and declared to be carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“This Council recognises that London is in the middle of a severe housing

crisis. Home ownership is falling. Rents are rising by ten percent a year.

Standards in the private rented sector are declining. Overcrowding is getting

worse and homelessness is rocketing.

This Council regrets that the crisis has dramatically deteriorated under the

Coalition Government and Tory Mayor of London. Under David Cameron

house building has fallen to the lowest level since the 1920’s. Boris Johnson

has missed every one of his own targets for building new affordable homes.

On average, Conservative Councils in London have built half as many

affordable homes as Labour Councils and a fifth as many Council homes.

This Council believes that tackling the housing crisis must be our highest

priority. Accordingly, this Council will:

1.         Build more genuinely affordable homes

2.         Tackle rogue landlords and rip-off letting agencies

3.         Build more homes for London’s growing population

4.         Bring empty homes back into use

5.         Create jobs and apprenticeships in the building industry”

This item was considered as part of Item 8 on the agenda and was voted

upon and declared to be lost.

The motion was moved by Councillor Brooks and seconded by Councillor Feakes. The motion was then put to the vote and declared to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“As a London borough that is privileged to have a professional football club

within our boundaries, this Council recognizes the positive impact that team

sports such as football can have on young people's lives. In addition, this

Council recognizes that all sports and organised activities can play a vital role

in local communities, and notes the benefits of sports and leisure

opportunities for local people, including vulnerable people.

This Council wishes to ensure that London retains an Olympic legacy and that

young people are encouraged to play sport, and therefore commits to support

the development and uptake of sport and other organised activities by young

people across the borough of Lewisham, through organised clubs or

otherwise.

To demonstrate this support, this Council calls upon the relevant Cabinet

Member to make an annual report to Council detailing the efforts that Member

has made to encourage the development of sports and other organised

activities within the borough.”

The motion was moved by Councillor Brooks and seconded by Councillor

Foreman. An amendment appearing in the names of Councillors Britton and

De Ryk was accepted by the movers of the motion.The motion was then put

to the vote and declared to be unanimously carried.

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

“This Council recognizes the historical problem of rogue landlords across the

borough of Lewisham, and welcomes the Council’s successful bid for

£125,000 funding which has been boosted by a further £30,000 from Public

Health in recognition of the link between poor housing and poor health

outcomes. This funding will enable the Council to develop a programme which

will include a dedicated enforcement co-ordinator and paralegal which will

increase prosecutions. 

This Council welcomes the findings of the recent Housing Select Committee

report which highlighted there are currently some 50 rogue landlords and

letting agencies in the borough, and some of these own large portfolios of

properties, blighting the lives of residents and communities. Problems such as

overcrowding, harassment, illegal eviction and illegal fees present a real

problem for Lewisham's residents, and can have a devastating effect on the

vulnerable. The Council’s strategic approach to tackling the problem of rogue

landlords along with the launching of the Private Sector Housing Agency will

raise standards and improve the lives of many Lewisham residents.”

The meeting closed at 10.02pm.