Agenda, decisions and minutes

That subject to the clarification raised by members – the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021 be agreed as an accurate record.

1.1    Members requested that a reference to the ‘cleaner Lewisham application’ be amended to refer to ‘Love Clean Streets’.

1.2    Resolved: that subject to the clarification raised by members – the minutes of the meeting held on 30 June 2021 be agreed as an accurate record.

2.1    Councillor Mark Ingleby declared an interest in relation to item three as Chair of the Grove Park Nature Reserve.

2.2    Councillor James-J Walsh declared an interest in relation to item four as a resident in close vicinity to the A21.

Railway children urban national park - environmental protection and neighbourhood plans

That the Committee would refer its views to Mayor and Cabinet as follows –

·                     The Committee recommends that Mayor and Cabinet should give consideration to the additional evidence provided by the Friends of Railway Children Walk – as well as the comments and suggestions made by Councillor Ingleby - in determining the potential for the collection of sites of importance for nature conservation within the complex of open spaces situated either side of the Hither Green railway corridor to constitute a broader site of metropolitan importance for nature conservation (MSINC).

3.1    Councillor Ingleby addressed the Committee, noting the provision of new information by a local group and asking for further consideration of a metropolitan open land designation in Grove Park.

3.2    Resolved: the Committee would refer its views to Mayor and Cabinet as follows –

·                     The Committee recommends that Mayor and Cabinet should give consideration to the additional evidence provided by the Friends of Railway Children Walk – as well as the comments and suggestions made by Councillor Ingleby - in determining the potential for the collection of sites of importance for nature conservation within the complex of open spaces situated either side of the Hither Green railway corridor to constitute a broader site of metropolitan importance for nature conservation (MSINC).

That the Committee would refer its views to Mayor and Cabinet as follows –

•   The Committee commends the work carried out by officers. The Committee recognises the calibre and high quality of the work carried out and it recommends that the development framework is adopted.

•   The Committee recommends that consideration be given to the future options for the framework to be strengthened through its adoption as a supplementary planning document.

•   The Committee believes that officers should continue to work with Transport for London in order to ensure that collaboration, coordination and funding are made available to support the development of cycling and walking infrastructure along the A21.

4.1    David Syme introduced the report and responded to questions from the Committee – the following key points were noted:

·        There had been changes to the funding arrangements for the delivery of the project, which represented a small risk for the Council.

·        Some helpful input had been received from Transport for London (TfL) – particularly at the beginning of the project, however TfL staff working on these issues were furloughed during the development of the framework and were now assigned only to work on schemes that had been granted funding (which the A21 development framework had not).

·        Lewisham Hospital had been working on options for consolidating their services – however this work was interrupted by the pandemic. Without clarity from the hospital about its future plans it was omitted from the framework. It could be added in the future.

·        The development of the A21 framework was due to run alongside a pre-feasibility project with TfL led by the Council’s transport team. However, the status of this project was currently unclear.

·        A number of sites were omitted from the development framework due to advanced pre-application discussions taking place.

·        The guidance in the framework was in line with the requirements in the London Plan to redevelop underutilised retail spaces (such as large ‘box store’ type developments with large car parks) into mixed use and residential developments.

·        Consideration could be given to site uses which might cause problems with access or traffic and officers would welcome further suggestions from members.

·        A supplementary planning document (SPD) had a formalised and robust status in planning terms – whereas a framework (whilst a material planning consideration) did not.

·        The framework could be upgraded (to an SPD) in the future. This would require additional policy work and resourcing.

·        The framework document would help in future conversations about decision making and funding with TfL.

·        Consideration would be given to including guidance on electric vehicle charging points in the framework.

·        One of the principals in the strategy was to widen spaces for pedestrians where possible, whilst also accommodating space for cyclists, busses and cars.

·        Consideration would be given to the impact of lighting on perceptions of public safety.

·        Further thought would be given to the east west links in the framework.

·        Densities on development sites were increasing – in line with policies for the effective utilisation of space. This would have an impact on the design of streetscapes – as taller buildings were incorporated.

4.3    Resolved: that the Committee would refer its views to Mayor and Cabinet as follows –

·        The Committee commends the work carried out by officers. The Committee recognises the calibre and high quality of the work carried out and it recommends that the development framework is adopted.

·        The Committee recommends that consideration be given to the future options for the framework to be strengthened through its adoption as a supplementary planning document.

·        The Committee believes that officers should continue to work with Transport for London in order to ensure that collaboration, coordination and funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

That the report be noted. The Committee also agreed to take part in policy development workshops for the service.

5.1    Nathan Vear introduced the report – and gave a presentation providing an update on the performance, finances and current objectives of the environment service.

5.2    Nathan Vear responded to questions from the Committee – the following key points were noted:

·         The Head of Commercial Operations (Seamus Adams) was responsible for markets, car boot sales and commercial waste. He would be asked to provide updates for members on the proportion of the borough’s commercial waste collected by the Council and progress on setting up reuse and recycling events.

·         The Head of Commercial Operations was also delivering the fly-tipping enforcement programme.

·         He would give further consideration to the issues raised by the Committee in its referral at the 30 June meeting.

·         A written response had been provided to the executive member on the Council’s motion on ‘community skip days’.

·         Many authorities had trialled community skip days and had decided against them. This was because they were difficult to control and may promote fly-tipping. Additionally, waste that was collected could not be recycled.

·         Local authorities had been providing waste education for many years – but it was an ongoing process.

·         Once the waste strategy was agreed a waste communications plan would be developed.

·         Consideration was being given to additional options for focused engagement and education.

·         There were opportunities to reset and restate service standard in future – in order to provide clarity to residents.

·         Consideration could be given to expanding the provision of bulky waste services.

·         A waste composition analysis had been carried out – which indicated that 27 percent of recycling was contaminated. This issue required consistent communication because it was expensive to dispose of contaminated recycling loads.

·         About a third of the contamination was made up of non-recyclable plastic. This was a nationwide issue.

·         Consideration had been given to different approaches to composting and disposal of bio-degradable waste. A trial was currently taking place with Lewisham Homes on food waste collection on estates.

·         One of the things that needed consideration was the variety of different ways that residents engaged with services.

·         Options for the management and control of weeds were being explored.

5.3       In Committee discussions the following key points were also noted:

·         Members had produced their own materials for educating residents about fly-tipping.

·         It was important to engage with the community to improve the delivery of waste services.

·         It was important to ensure that work was taking place to improve streets and environment services in advance of Lewisham’s year as borough of culture.

·         Members welcomed the work that had taken place to control overspending and financial pressures.

·         Lewisham should aim to be ‘best in class’ in terms of the cleanliness of its streets.

·         Further information was required about how the waste strategy would be implemented and the types of investment it would require.

·         Members were supportive of the idea of working on the development of policy for the service.

·         There should be close alignment between the environment service and planning – to ensure that new developments supported the implementation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

That the work programme report be noted.

6.1 The Committee discussed the programmes of its upcoming meetings – the following key points were noted:

·         Lewisham cyclists should be invited to the meeting regarding the transport strategy.

·         The Public Transport Liaison Committee was due to meet to discuss transport related issues in the borough. A number of transport services had been changed or lost during the pandemic.

·         The Strategic Planning Committee was going to hold a session on the development of the Local Plan – to which members would be invited.

·         Members were willing to take part in policy development workshops relating to the implementation of the waste strategy.

6.2  Resolved: that the work programme report be noted.