Agenda item

That the report be noted. It was also agreed that the Committee would share its views with Mayor and Cabinet – as follows:

·         The Committee recommends that further consideration be given to the development of the night-time offer in Lewisham Town Centre – including food and beverage options, as well as the potential for live music. This should build on existing knowledge and experiences of success elsewhere in London.

·         The Committee believes that further work should take place with young people, people who are disabled and members of groups with other protected characteristics (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) – as well as a cross section of people from different socio-economic backgrounds to co-design the work taking place – particularly in relation to the accessibility and suitability of public spaces.

·         The Committee recommends that further work should take place to communicate, to residents and business, the alternative arrangements in place following the temporary closure of Lewisham Library.

·         The Committee believes that a system of impact measurement should be developed to ensure that the redevelopment is meeting its intended objectives. Members ask that this includes an assessment of the availability of workspaces in the refurbished library for students.

·         The Committee notes the Council’s objective to make the borough carbon neutral by 2023 – and it encourages the ambitious delivery of energy efficiency and retrofit measures as part of the renovation of Lewisham Library[1]. Members would encourage bids for external funding to enhance this work.

5.1    John Bennett (Head of Economy, Jobs and Partnerships) introduced the report. John provided an overview of the initial stages of the three projects planned for Lewisham Town Centre (the market, Lewisham Library and the improved connectivity of the high street) utilising £19m of Government funding and £5m of match funding from the Council.

5.2    John Bennett, Sidra Hill-Reid (Head of Community Education and Cultural Assets), Seamus Adams (Head of Commercial Operations and Development and (Patrick Dubeck (Director of Inclusive Regeneration) responded to questions from the Committee – the following key points were noted:

·         There were a number of risks being tracked and mitigated - timescales and funding were both key.

·          ‘Value engineering’ described the process of specifying different qualities of materials and finishes to reduce costs – or to remove some items from projects, if required. Further funding was also being sought.

·         Consideration was being given to different opportunities for new food markets and other potential options for the evening/night-time economy.

·         Work had taken place to assess the options for relocating the library (nothing suitable had been found) – a programme of pop-up events was being planned (alongside the home library service and signposting to other local libraries)

·         Engagement had been taking place with local people. Future work would take place with user groups to ensure that plans met the needs of all local people.

·         There was a strong focus on accessibility and co-production.

·         Work had been taking place with market traders to assess their needs and balance the opportunities for the market to expand its offer.

·         Work was taking place to ensure that the look and design for was consistent across the different elements of the programme.

·         Consideration was being given to the opportunities for music and performance through the Council’s cultural strategy.

·         Work was taking place to assess (and future proof) the IT offer for the library.

·         Lewisham Library would remain the borough’s largest library – with an extended and improved offer.

·         Retrofit and energy efficiency improvements were being considered as part of the refurbishment.

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

·         Members were concerned about the amount of time that the library would be closed.

·         The improvements to the market should not come at the cost of longstanding traders and the needs of the local community through gentrification.

·         The new library should include suitable provision for study and work with desks and IT provision.

·         Consideration should be given to the café/hospitality offer in the library to make sure it was a good fit for the building.

5.4    Resolved: that the report be noted. It was also agreed that the Committee would share its views with Mayor and Cabinet – as follows:

·         The Committee recommends that further consideration be given to the development of the night-time offer in Lewisham Town Centre – including food and beverage options, as well as the potential for live music. This should build on existing knowledge and experiences of success elsewhere in London.

·         The Committee believes that further work should take place with young people, people who are disabled and members of groups with other protected characteristics (as defined in the Equality Act 2010) – as well as a cross section of people from different socio-economic backgrounds to co-design the work taking place – particularly in relation to the accessibility and suitability of public spaces.

·         The Committee recommends that further work should take place to communicate, to residents and business, the alternative arrangements in place following the temporary closure of Lewisham Library.

·         The Committee believes that a system of impact measurement should be developed to ensure that the redevelopment is meeting its intended objectives. Members ask that this includes an assessment of the availability of workspaces in the refurbished library for students.

·         The Committee notes the Council’s objective to make the borough carbon neutral by 2023 – and it encourages the ambitious delivery of energy efficiency and retrofit measures as part of the renovation of Lewisham Library[1]. Members would encourage bids for external funding to enhance this work.