Agenda item

Resolved: to note the report and to request that officers provide a summary of the information provided at the meeting in an accessible format.

Timothy Andrew (Scrutiny Manager) introduced the report, the key points to note were:

• The Committee had resolved to assess the impact of changes to the delivery of local emergency services, on public sector assets in Lewisham.
• The Committee had also agreed to assess the impact on the accessibility of hospital services in South East London by public transport, if the proposals to cease some services at Lewisham hospital were to go ahead.
• At the meeting in May, members had requested further information about the value of the public sector buildings that had been proposed for disposal, as well as their planning designations.
• Members had also requested information about the public transport access to the hospital sites in the region, in relation to the proposals to cut services at Lewisham Hospital.
• Officers from planning and transport were in attendance to answer questions on the information requested.

Peter Stunell (Policy Officer, Transport Division) provided an update on the public transport accessibility issues. The key points to note were:

• Transport for London’s (TfL) typical measure of public transport accessibility was the Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) metric. However, this measure only indicated the level of public transport accessibility at a single location. Therefore, he had created a measure of public transport accessibility, which analysed the level of accessibility between two locations.
• This new measure demonstrated the level of accessibility between locations by contrasting the relationship between the number of options available to travel between two places with the number of times a person would have to change mode of transport on each of those routes.
• The measure indicated a significant average worsening of public transport accessibility for local residents in relation to hospital sites outside of the borough.
• This was in spite of the fact that the measure was, by its design, weighted against Lewisham hospital so the results for other locations were better than might be expected using local knowledge.
• The issues identified with accessibility might be exacerbated by TfL’s proposal to remove cash payments from busses. This was due to happen without increasing the number of locations it would be possible to top up oyster cards. This might have an additional negative impact on Lewisham’s most vulnerable citizens.
• TfL had claimed that the Trust Special Administrator’s office was not clear about the numbers of people that might be displaced by the proposed changes at Lewisham hospital, which would slow any reaction to develop improvements to public transport in the area.

In response to questions from the Committee, Peter Stunell advised that:

• The analysis indicated that accessibility by public transport would be diminished by the proposed closure of services at Lewisham hospital.
• There are some anomalies but on the whole things would be significantly worse for Lewisham residents.
• A further explanatory note would be provided to the Committee.

Brian Regan (Planning Policy Manager) answered questions on the section of the report which detailed the planning designations of public sector sites, the key points to note were:

• It was a requirement of planning policy that facilities had to be declared surplus to requirements before they could be considered for disposal.
• There were parts of the public sector estate in Lewisham that were heritage assets, others were in conservation areas.
• The role of planning was not to make things difficult, nor to hinder development, nonetheless there may be a case for opposing development if it entailed significant changes of use.
• A key principle in planning policy was that there should be no net loss of facilities.
• Co-location of services was not a use class in itself but rather a proposal for closer working.

Resolved: to note the report and to request that officers provide a summary of the information provided at the meeting in an accessible format.