Agenda item

Resolved: that the report be noted. It was also agreed that updates on Catford would be considered at every meeting.

6.1  Kplom Lotsu (SGM, Capital Programmes), Deborah Efemini (Project Manager, Capital Programmes) and Jessie Lea (Senior Programme Manager) introduced the report, the following key points were noted:

·         The decision had been taken by Mayor and Cabinet to appoint a master planner for Catford.

·         The masterplan would set out a framework to articulate the Council’s vision for Catford – establishing the principles about the types of development that would be suitable in different parts of the town centre.

·         Development of the plan would take a year, ending in May 2019. It was hoped that the Committee would be involved throughout the process.

·         ‘Team Catford’ was still using the Commonplace platform to engage with local people. The ‘Commonplace’ for Catford had reached 1600 comments.

·         In the past three months, work had taken place to organise the comments on Commonplace to assist the masterplanners.

·         The team had held a number of recent events and roadshows to increase the scope of the engagement.

·         Team Catford had taken on a vacant unit on the Broadway to support the engagement and promote Catford.

·         Activities and events were planned over the summer – including film showings and activities for children, which would incorporate interventions on ‘holiday hunger’ - distributing food as part of the events for children who might otherwise go hungry.

·         Engagement would continue throughout the masterplanning process.

·         Transport for London (TfL) were progressing with designs for the relocation of the south circular. A number of surveys had been carried out to inform the designs.

·         TfL would also work with the masterplanners.

·         The team had coordinated a group of professional stakeholders to inform the work on the realignment of the road.

·         Supersets had taken on the Thomas Lane depot and had a number of community development activities planned.

·         A planning application had been submitted for 17-18 Catford Broadway.

·         A number of other developments and planning applications were pending for the town centre, which would be decided on over the course of the next few months.

6.2  Liz Dart (Head of Culture and Community Development) introduced the update on the Broadway theatre, the following key points were noted:

·         A great deal of information was included in the report (and appendices).

·         There were some ambitious ideas in the options appraisal of the theatre, including some ideas that would be ‘nice to have’ rather than essential.

·         Total cost of the proposed works was £20m.

·         Some of the ideas tied in with plans for the regeneration of the town centre – including potential options for the development of a ‘west wing’ to the theatre when the civic suite was redeveloped. This proposal was designed to solve the long term issues of access to the theatre.

·         Further work would take place with the masterplanners for Catford to help determine the feasibility of future plans.

·         Officers had also been working with the Theatre Trust – to provide advice on preservation of the historic features of the theatre. The Trust had reviewed the options appraisal, conservation management plan and heritage assessment.

·         The Trust had advised that further consideration should be given to the plans for the technical operation of the theatre.

·         There had also been discussions about the future use of the Town Hall Chambers – which would require further consideration.

6.3  Liz Dart and Kplom Lotsu responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         The Council was working with TfL to progress designs for the relocation of the south circular.

·         The Council had been successful in accessing infrastructure funding from government to progress plans. TfL were also applying for growth funding to support the scheme.

·         Initial assessments of the plans for the road had indicated that it would cost about £42m to deliver. However, it was estimated that the true cost of the road would be approximately £20-£25m.

·         The combination of infrastructure and growth funding should enable the road to be built. However, it was not proposed to start construction until 2021 – so there was remaining time to develop funding options.

·         The existing development work was being jointly funded by the Council and TfL. A commitment had been made to fund £150k of the current work, which had been matched by TfL through all of the design stages of the scheme.

·         The newly appointed masterplanners for Catford had a reputation for improving and calming major roads.

·         The proposal for the alignment of the road would verge on metropolitan open land.

·         Work would need to take place to ensure that this land could be de-designated.

·         The original alignment of the road would have utilised the space currently occupied by the Council’s offices. However, the current phasing of the regeneration of Catford meant that this space would not be available in time – resulting in the road alignment moving south and taking a slightly larger portion of metropolitan open land.

·         The masterplan would set out the options for developing the relationship between Catford and surrounding areas.

·         The options appraisal did not consider the future operations model for the theatre.

·         Business cases would need to be developed for future theatre operating options.

·         The ideas set out in the options appraisal for future uses of the theatre were primarily provided as examples, rather than thought out suggestions.

·         The theatre was currently subsidised in two ways: through Resources and Regeneration for maintenance and cleaning of the building and also through the Community Services budget for its operation. The combined subsidy was £270k a year. The Community Services aspect of the budget had been significantly reduced by a reorganisation of the staff team that managed the theatre.

·         It was anticipated that there might be additional pressure on the budget this year because of the decision to bring back the pantomime. It was expected that in following years the pantomime would generate income, but in the first year it was expected that there would be a smaller audience than there had been previously.

·         A balance would need to be struck for the operation of the theatre to ensure it generated income and also provided a sustainable space for use by local groups.

6.4  In Committee discussions, the following key points were also noted:

·         The centre of Catford needed a ‘civic strategy’ for the development of the town centre as a hub for municipal activity in order to include education uses, local government functions and space for business as well as arts and community use.

·         In future, the theatre should be a viable commercial space that did not rely on subsidy from the Council.

·         The Committee wished to place on record its thanks to Jessie Lea for her hard work and dedication to the Catford Programme. Members wished her well in her future endeavours.

6.5  Resolved: that the report be noted. It was also agreed that updates on Catford would be considered at every meeting.