Agenda item

Resolved: that the Committee refer its views to Mayor and Cabinet.

3.1       Kplom Lotsu (SGM Capital Programme Delivery) and Emma Talbot (Head of Planning) introduced the report, the following key points were noted:

·         The Committee had been carrying out quarterly monitoring of the scheme. This was the third update report.

·         Work (set out in section 4.2 of the report) was being carried out on options for the relocation of the road. Officers were in dialogue with TfL, which had assembled a project team to work on Catford.

·         Officers were keen to highlight to TfL that the Council did not want Catford merely to be a confluence of roads.

·         TfL understood that the theatre was a central part of the regeneration of Catford and had started amending their plans to ensure access and prominence.

·         Officers had met with senior people in TfL to discuss the importance of regeneration in Catford and to emphasise the importance of long term solutions for the town centre.

·         Officers at City Hall were interested and receptive to the efforts being made by council officers.

3.2      In the discussion that followed, Kplom Lotsu, Emma Talbot, Jessie Lea and the Mayor responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         TfL was a large organisation with parts that were unconnected to each other. One part did not always know what the others were working on.

·         Members gave examples of instances in which small issues (such as the relocation of a bus stop) had generated problems between partners and expressed the hope that by starting early and working with officers across TfL, issues in Catford could be avoided.

·         One of the key issues in Catford was the high volume of busses travelling though it on a daily basis.

·         Officers and Members were in agreement that there were many positive things about Catford, yet it was easy to focus on the negative.

·         Housing zone negotiations were still in there early stages. Key documents had been drawn up and accepted in broad terms. A paper requesting  decision from the Mayor on the next stage of the development of the housing zone would be presented to Mayor and Cabinet at the end of September.

·         Changes to the London plan would likely require more affordable homes, which would likely have implications for the density and scale of future developments.

·         The new Mayor of London would be revising elements of the London Plan. At the end of this year or the beginning of next, he would be giving his opinion about the implementation of existing policies.

·         The Committee was concerned about the timetable, vision and strategy for the development of Catford as well as the level of engagement with members of the public. The Committee was frustrated by the seemingly piecemeal nature of the approach being taken.

·         Before March 2018 most of the key decisions would have been made by the Mayor.

·         People were enthused and excited by the future of Catford. Dates were being agreed for future consultation events and a series of sessions to meet with local people for ‘Catford Conversations’.

·         Members were concerned about the possibility of decisions being made whilst the consultation was ongoing.

·         A programme of minor works had been agreed for the theatre. Work was also taking place to let the café space to a commercial operator.

·         The issue of density of development was complicated. Increasing the density of developments had to be balanced with attention to the quality of design.

·         The regeneration was not yet at a stage to provide detail. Decisions might need to be made in the future about the balance between different tenures of housing and other benefits from the scheme as well as the availability of funding.

·         It was too early to discuss the possibility of compulsorily purchasing land to enable the development.

·         The limits of Catford were defined in planning terms – but there were different views about what was and what was not part of Catford.

·         Some Members were also concerned about the politics of bringing forward a large scheme. It was felt that the process of compulsory purchase could be complicated so it was important to build strong partnerships and to consider the implications of the disposal of land early on in the programme.

3.3       The Committee resolved to advise Mayor and Cabinet of the following:

·         The Committee recognises the energy and enthusiasm that is shown for the development of Catford and it hopes that this will result in decisive action to move the Catford programme forward.

·         The Committee remains concerned that the programme is piecemeal and lacks a genuine central vision of how the town centre will look, a cohesive approach or a single person driving the project on a daily basis. Added to the concern is the sense of rush to drive the project through.

·         The Committee requests a timetable for the programme with all dates of key decisions and deadlines for delivery.

·         The Committee requests a copy of the decision-making structure of the programme including all the elements of planning, regeneration and the allotted Housing Action Zone/GLA membership of the Catford programme board.

·         The Committee asks that it be provided with an update on the delivery of the new ‘vision’ document for Catford.

·         The Committee wants to understand how members of the public will have meaningful involvement in the decision-making about the design and look of Catford. The Committee asks for specific examples of how local residents’ views will genuinely affect the development of plans for the town centre.

·         The Committee notes a hiatus on the lottery bid and renovation work on the Broadway Theatre and requests an update on the programme of work being carried out at the Broadway Theatre, which includes full details of the resources being allocated to carry out proposed works.

Resolved: that the Committee refer its views to Mayor and Cabinet.