Agenda and minutes

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting on 25 January be agreed as an accurate record.

Councillor John Muldoon declared a personal interest in relation to item four as a member of the Labour transport group.

Councillor James Walsh declared a personal interest in relation to item four as the founder of the Bakerloo line extension.com.

3.1      Robyn Fairman (Head of Strategy) responded to questions about the Committee’s referral on Devolution. The following key points were noted:

·         There had been a long history of partnership working between London boroughs. What was being offered at present was Devolution to the Greater London Authority as part of the discussion about the London Proposition.

·         Members were concerned about the seeming lack of public engagement in the proposals for devolution.

·         Members were also concerned that there was a ‘democratic deficit’ in the discussions.

·         From a scrutiny perspective, the Committee was interested to understand further how the proposals might be reviewed and decision makers held to account.

4.            The Future of South London's Suburban Railways

4.1      Brell Wilson (Researcher, Centre for London) and Jonathan Roberts (Jonathan Roberts Consulting) gave a presentation to the Committee (attached to the minutes) setting out the key elements of the paper on ‘turning South London Orange’. The presentation highlighted the key challenges and potential opportunities for transport capacity, future planning and development of capacity in Lewisham and South East London.

4.2      Brell Wilson (Researcher, Centre for London) and Jonathan Roberts (Jonathan Roberts Consulting) responded to questions from the Committee. In the discussion that followed, the following key points were noted:

·         The Committee agreed that the Bakerloo Line is a good scheme but acknowledged identifying funds was a difficult task.

·         It would be difficult to replicate the formula for developer contributions that had been used to fund the extension of the Northern Line to Battersea. As part of the Nine Elms enterprise zone agreement, the Treasury had agreed to give up business rates in the area for 25 years.

·         The developments at Nine Elms also had very high residential and commercial values that were different from those in Lewisham.

·         There were concerns about the operation of the Thameslink and Southern franchise. The Mayor of London’s office would be looking at which franchises might be taken over by Transport for London (TfL).

·         Members felt that all improvements by TfL should be subject to public consultation.

·         There were ongoing issues with the service at the stations on the so-called ‘Catford/Bellingham loop’ line. It was likely that figures for ridership were being undercounted by around 20-50% in official figures. Having reliable numbers on which to base discussions would be an important starting point for any change in services on the loop.

·         Improvements to stations tended to generate further pressure on services.

·         One of the difficulties of making major improvements on busy lines was the disruption caused by having to close stations during the work.

·         There were not particularly strong arguments to develop a second Brighton Mainline. Capacity through Gatwick was not likely to be an issue because demand for services from the airport was more evenly spread outside of peak times.

·         Lewisham might want to positon itself to make the best use of any possible future link between Croydon and Canary Wharf.

·         Further engagement with the public might help the Council to develop its corporate response to the issues raised and act as the start of a broader public campaign.

4.3      The Committee agreed to share its views with Mayor and Cabinet, as follows:

4.4      The Committee welcomes the detailed work carried out to develop the proposals in Turning South London Orange. The Committee also notes the publication that same day of two significant reports from the National Infrastructure Commission on the strategic case for additional large-scale transport in London and the south east[1].

4.5      Most significantly, the Committee recognises the specific opportunities for Lewisham including the potential for:

·         additional services on the Hayes Line creating a 10 minute Overground service

·         additional services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Resolved: that the Committee’s views under item four be referred to Mayor and Cabinet.