Agenda item

The first motion was moved by Councillor Bonavia and seconded

by Councillor Latouche . Following contributions from Councillor Slater and

Speaker Anwar the motion was then put to the vote and declared to be clearly

carried. Councillor Gibbons asked that his vote in abstention be recorded.

 

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

 

1. Adopting the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims

working definition of Islamophobia

 

This council notes:

 

•           The huge contribution that Muslim residents make to the borough

whether that is through the participation of civic life, contributions to voluntary

work or cultural events.

 

•           This council is a borough of sanctuary, which is proud of its diversity

and standing against all forms of racism

 

•           In 2019/20 over 50% of religious hate crimes recorded by the police

was targeted towards Muslims (Home Office, 2020)

 

This council resolves to:

 

1.         Adopt the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims working

definition of Islamophobia:

 

 “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets

expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

 

Contemporary examples of Islamophobia in public life, the media, schools, the

workplace, and in encounters between religions and non-religions in the

public sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are

not limited to:

 

•           Calling for, aiding, instigating or justifying the killing or harming of

Muslims in the name of a racist/ fascist ideology, or an extremist view of

religion.

 

•           Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical

allegations about Muslims as such, or of Muslims as a collective group, such

as, especially but not exclusively, conspiracies about Muslim entryism in

politics, government or other societal institutions; the myth of Muslim identity

having a unique propensity for terrorism, and claims of a demographic ‘threat’

posed by Muslims or of a ‘Muslim takeover’.

 

•           Accusing Muslims as a group of being responsible for real or imagined

wrongdoing committed by a single Muslim person or group of Muslim

individuals, or even for acts committed by non-Muslims.

•           Accusing Muslims as a group, or Muslim majority states, of inventing or

exaggerating Islamophobia, ethnic cleansing or genocide perpetrated against

Muslims.

 

•           Accusing Muslim citizens of being more loyal to the ‘Ummah’

(transnational Muslim community) or to their countries of origin, or to the

alleged priorities of Muslims worldwide, than to the interests of their own

nations.

 

•           Denying Muslim populations the right to self-determination e.g., by

claiming that the existence of an independent Palestine or Kashmir is a

terrorist endeavour.

 

•           Applying double standards by requiring of Muslims behaviours that are

not expected or demanded of any other groups in society, e.g. loyalty tests.

 

•           Using the symbols and images associated with classic Islamophobia

 

•           Holding Muslims collectively responsible for the actions of any Muslim

majority state, whether secular or constitutionally Islamic.

 

The second motion was moved by Councillor Walsh and seconded

by Councillor Kalu. Following a contribution from Councillor Smith the motion

was then put to the vote and declared to be unanimously carried.

 

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

 

Unlocking the potential of local high streets

 

This Council believes that healthy high streets are essential for community

cohesion, civic pride, employment, shopping, services and leisure. But many

shops and businesses were struggling even before the Covid pandemic: high

street retail employment fell in more than three-quarters of local authorities

between 2015 and 2018 according to the Office of National Statistics (1) and

more than half of all UK consumers were shopping online before the

pandemic (2).

 

This Council notes that retail is among the sectors most affected by the

coronavirus pandemic, and retail workers have been on the frontline of the

crisis throughout. The almost complete shutdown of non-essential shops

between March and June 2020 has hit businesses hard, and the need for

social distancing has changed the way many businesses operate, reducing

footfall. The pandemic has accelerated what, in many cases, has been a

longer trend of lower footfall and changing shopping habits. As the Portas

Review a decade ago acknowledged, the form and function of many high

streets needs to radically change if they are to adapt and survive.

 

This Council welcomes the willingness of Government to acknowledge the

problems, however it must not be more empty rhetoric — Towns across the

country need action now and this must be fairly resourced centrally, but led

locally by those of us who know and understand our communities;

 

The Treasury Select Committee stated in 2019, the current system of

Business Rates places an unfair burden on “bricks and mortar” businesses

compared to online ones, and the Business Rate system needs radical

overhaul (3).

 

This Council resolves to:

 

• Write to the Government to urge them to undertake an urgent review of

business rates in order to support high street businesses recovery from the

pandemic ,and level the playing field between online and high street

businesses, to make it fair and sustainable for all.

 

• Sign up to the Co-operative Party’s Unlock the High Street Campaign and

explore what local action can be taken to revive our high streets now whilst

business rates are reviewed.

 

• Sign LB of Lewisham up to the Co-operative Party’s campaign to devolve

the Towns Fund, Levelling Up Fund, UK Shared Prosperity Fund and other

national funding pots, to give local communities, councils and regions the

ultimate say on how funding is spent in their area.

 

• Explore the creation of Community Improvement Districts to reconnect

communities with the levers that drive economic development in town centres

and create an equal partnership of business and community organisations to

galvanise action at a local level.

 

• Make any data held by the council on ownership of high street properties

public and in an accessible format, so that community groups seeking to buy

empty shops through a community share offer have the information they need

to do so.

 

• Hold corporate landowners to account for not maintaining properties.

Consider the use of s215 planning enforcement powers where the condition of

vacant shop units is harming amenity.

 

• Proactively contact landlords of vacant premises (and work with Chambers

of Commerce, Landlord Associations and other stakeholders) to explore

meanwhile use options and/or encourage alternative rental models (e.g.

turnover rather than market rent) to enable new co-operatives, SMEs, social

enterprises and community businesses to open their doors on the high street.

 

References

 

1 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/population-estimates/articles/highstreetsingreatbritain/march2020

 

#:~:text=High%20street%20retail%20 employment%20fell,29%25%20in%20Great%20Britain%20overall

 

2 https://www.retail-insight-network.com/features/uk-online-shopping-growth/

 

3 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201919/cmselect/cmtreasy/222/22203.htm#_idTextAnchor000

 

 

The third motion was moved by Councillor John Paschoud and seconded

by Councillor Hall . Following a contribution from Councillor Smith, the motion

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

Gibbons asked that his vote in abstention be recorded.

 

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

 

Planning Reforms

 

This Council believes planning works best when developers and the local

community work together to shape local areas and deliver necessary new

homes; and therefore calls on the Government to protect the right of

communities to object to individual planning applications.

 

 

The fourth motion was moved by Councillor Bell and seconded

by Councillor Ingleby. Following contributions from Councillors Clarke, Curran

and Moore the motion was then put to the vote and declared to be

unanimously carried.

 

RESOLVED that the following motion be agreed:

 

Grove Park District Park

 

Lewisham Council notes that:

 

·         The stretch of Metropolitan Open Land in Grove Park, running from the

South Circular at Lee to Grove Park town centre, offers a unique linear

expanse of natural parkland;

 

·         The railway embankment that borders this land represents an

important cultural heritage asset in Grove Park, as the place that

inspired Edith Nesbit to write her famous book The Railway Children;

 

·         The Grove Park Neighbourhood Forum and other community groups

have developed proposals to link up these green spaces in order to

create a District Park, responding directly to the Government’s

commitment to ‘Build Back Greener’;

 

·         Support for these proposals is reflected in the draft Grove Park

Neighbourhood Plan and in the Council’s Parks and Open Spaces

Strategy;

 

·         The proposed District Park is supported by CPRE London (Campaign

to Protect Rural England) as part of their Ten New Parks for London

campaign;

 

·         The Council has put a number of designations in place to protect the

land that makes up the proposed District Park. The land is designated

as Metropolitan Open Land and as a Site of Importance for Nature

Conservation. Tree Protection Orders are in place on all sites not in

Council ownership and part of the land owned by the Council has been

designated as a nature reserve;

 

·         The Council has worked closely with the local community to improve

access to these green spaces, helping to deliver improvements to the

Railway Children Walk and supporting the management of the Grove

Park Nature Reserve;

 

·         Several parts of this land are in private ownership, including a site

owned by Network Rail, and concerns have been raised about

breaches of planning law at some of these sites.

 

Lewisham Council believes that:

 

·         Open and accessible green spaces are vital for the wellbeing of local

·         residents, the conservation of our natural environment and the

·         protection of wildlife and biodiversity in Lewisham;

 

·         The Council has an important role to play in facilitating and supporting local community groups to realise their ambitions for their neighbourhood;

 

·         The creation of an integrated District Park in Grove Park could offer significant opportunities for walking, cycling, recreation, leisure, learning and play, enabling residents to enjoy this natural parkland and celebrate its cultural heritage, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the renewed importance of open and accessible green spaces;

 

·         All landowners have a responsibility to follow planning law and ensure they comply with designations in place to protect green spaces, wildlife and biodiversity.

 

Lewisham Council resolves to:

 

·         Work with the local community and support community-led projects

which seek to enhance and improve this land;

 

·         Engage key partners, landowners and stakeholders in the area, such

as Network Rail, Thames Water, the Environment Agency, the GLA

and Transport for London, and seek to secure their support for the

creation of an integrated District Park, as well as working together to

ensure responsible land management and the protection of this

important green corridor;

 

·         Maintain the current protections in this area and seek to prevent

inappropriate development;

 

·         Hold private landowners accountable for breaches of planning law,

taking enforcement action where appropriate;

 

·         Explore all feasible options for acquisition when land in private

ownership in this area becomes available.