Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mercy Umeh, Stala Antoniades, Ann Rosenberg, Paul Alexander, Patricia Quigley, Bora Kwon, Alex Karmel, Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, Jackie Borland, Trey Campbell-Simon, Liz Collins, and David Morton.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter.  The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2025 as an accurate record.

7.13pm – RESOLVED

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2025 were agreed as an accurate record.

Death of former Councillor Frances Stainton

The Mayor informed the Council that Frances Stainton passed away on 22 August 2025. Speeches of remembrance were made by Councillors Stephen Cowan, Jose Afonso, Adrian Pascu-Tulbure, Dominic Stanton, Amanda Lloyd-Harris, Aliya Afzal-Khan and Liam Downer-Sanderson.

Death of Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Kent

The Mayor informed the Council that Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Kent passed away on 4 September 2025. Speeches of remembrance were made by Councillors Stephen Cowan and Jose Afonso.

Death of former Councillor Iain Coleman

The Mayor informed the Council that Iain Coleman passed away on 20 September 2025. Speeches of remembrance were made by Councillors Stephen Cowan, Jose Afonso, Wesley Harcourt, Adronie Alford, and Amanda Lloyd-Harris.

The Mayor then led the Council in a minute of silence in memory of Frances Stainton, Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Kent, and Iain Coleman.

The Mayor thanked the residents who submitted questions. Questions 1, 2, 4, and 5 were taken in the meeting. The responses to all questions can be found in Appendix 1.

8.14pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by Councillor Alex Sanderson.

Speeches on the report were made by Councillors Alex Sanderson and Rebecca Harvey (for the Administration) – and Councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan (for the Opposition).

The report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The recommendations were CARRIED.

8.29pm – RESOLVED

1. That Full Council approved the H&F Youth Justice Plan 2025-26 attached as Appendix 1 of the report.

8.30pm – The report and recommendations were moved for noting by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, Councillor Rowan Ree.

Speeches on the report were made by Councillors Rowan Ree, Natalia Perez, and Rory Vaughan (for the Administration) – and Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris (for the Opposition).

8.46pm – RESOLVED

1. That Full Council noted that H&F had officially been recognised as a Disability Confident Leader – the highest level of accreditation within the UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme.

8.46pm – The report and recommendations were moved for noting by the Cabinet Member for Public Realm, Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier.

Speeches on the report were made by Councillors Florian Chevoppe-Verdier, Frances Umeh, and Ross Melton (for the Administration) – and Councillor Amanda Lloyd-Harris (for the Opposition).

9.01pm – RESOLVED

1. That Full Council noted the investment of £8.3 million into a three-year programme of improvement works to deliver an enhanced high-quality playground offer across LBHF, including developing exemplar playgrounds in our major parks of Ravenscourt Park and Bishops Park. Working with the Housing Department to make sure the play offers in both Housing and Parks is coordinated.

2. That Full Council noted the establishment of a Play Forum to advise on the proposed changes and priorities, ensuring the programme is co-produced with local communities and there is a coordinated approach with schools, housing, and other providers of play in LBHF.

9.01pm – The report and recommendations were moved for noting by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, Councillor Rowan Ree.

Speeches on the report were made by Councillors Rowan Ree, Florian Chevoppe-Verdier, and Lydia Paynter (for the Administration) – and Councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure (for the Opposition)

9.18pm – RESOLVED

1. That Full Council noted the event launch and the ongoing initiatives that arose as part of the Digital Inclusion Strategy.

9.18pm – The report and recommendations were moved for noting and were unanimously agreed.

9.18pm – RESOLVED

1. That the allocation of seats set out in Appendix 1 of the report was noted.

9.19pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

The report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

9.19pm – RESOLVED

1. That Full Council noted the changes to party appointments detailed in paragraphs 5 and 6 of the report.

2. That Full Council noted and approved the committee membership changes detailed in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the report.

3. That Full Council noted the creation of a new Lead Member for Libraries role, as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, and the appointment of Councillor Patricia Quigley to it.

4. That Full Council approved the updates to the Departmental Registers of Authorities, as detailed in Appendix 2 of the report.

5. That Full Council approved the revised Functions and Procedure Rules for the West London Economic Prosperity Board, as detailed in Appendix 3 of the report.

9.19pm – The report and recommendations were formally moved for adoption by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Cowan.

The report and recommendations were put to the vote:

FOR                        29

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         7

The recommendations were declared CARRIED.

9.20pm – RESOLVED

1. That the Members’ Allowances Scheme 2025/26 as set out in the report and attached as Appendix 1 of the report, was approved.

2. To note from 1st April the Members’ basic allowance rate was increased in line with the average basic allowance paid across London for the previous year and the special responsibility allowance uplifted in line with the national local government pay settlement for employees.

3. To note the review and implementation of some of the recommendations of the 2023 Report of the Independent Panel on “The Renumeration of Councillors in London.

4. To note the Government’s announcement that Councillors will be able to join the LGPS soon.

9.20pm – Councillor Alex Sanderson moved, seconded by Councillor Callum Nimmo, the special motion in their names.

“This Council notes recent data from the Department for Education showing that Hammersmith & Fulham’s primary schools achieved the best Key Stage 2 results in the country across maths, reading, and writing. This represents another example of the exemplary performance of the borough’s primary schools, all of which are rated either Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.

This Council congratulates the borough’s teachers, support staff, officers, parents, governors, and students for their collective efforts in achieving these outstanding results.

This Council resolves to continue supporting better primary school facilities across the borough, such as the fantastic new Ark White City facility, to provide students and teachers with the modern, high-quality learning environments they deserve.”

Speeches on the motion were made by Councillors Alex Sanderson, Callum Nimmo, and Adam Peter Lang (for the Administration) – and Councillor Aliya Afzal-Khan (for the Opposition).

Councillor Sanderson made a speech winding up the debate before the motion was put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The motion was declared CARRIED.

9.38pm – RESOLVED

This Council notes recent data from the Department for Education showing that Hammersmith & Fulham’s primary schools achieved the best Key Stage 2 results in the country across maths, reading, and writing. This represents another example of the exemplary performance of the borough’s primary schools, all of which are rated either Outstanding or Good by Ofsted.

This Council congratulates the borough’s teachers, support staff, officers, parents, governors, and students for their collective efforts in achieving these outstanding results.

This Council resolves to continue supporting better primary school facilities across the borough, such as the fantastic new Ark White City facility, to provide students and teachers with the modern, high-quality learning environments they deserve.

9.38pm – Councillor Rebecca Harvey moved, seconded by Councillor Nikos Souslous, the special motion in their names.

“This Council notes:

1.    That H&F has one of the densest CCTV systems in the country, with over 2,000 cameras in operation.

2.    That Hammersmith & Fulham Council is investing £3.2 million in upgraded CCTV and surveillance technology to support the Met Police in fighting crime and protecting residents.

3.    That this investment builds on a prior £5.4 million CCTV programme and is part of a multi-year plan running through to 2027/28.

4.    That the new enhancements include artificial intelligence – enabling features such as more efficient video playback, automatic vehicle tracking, and retrospective facial recognition across the CCTV network.

5.    That “live recognition” cameras will be placed at 10 high-traffic sites, matching faces against a defined police database in real time, contingent on police support.

6.    That 500 existing cameras will be upgraded to allow better retrospective searching of footage to solve crimes.

7.    That 50 cameras will get speakers so officers can step in as and when anti-social behaviour is taking place.

8.    That the CCTV network complements the work of both the Metropolitan Police and the Council’s Law Enforcement Team, established in the face of opposition from the Conservative opposition.

This Council believes that all residents have the right to feel safe in public spaces and that technology, when used responsibly, can enhance community safety.

The Council affirms that the adoption of advanced tools will go hand in hand with robust policies, transparency and oversight.”

Speeches on the motion were made by Councillors Rebecca Harvey, Nikos Souslous, Lisa Homan, Stephen Cowan, Max Schmid, Rowan Ree, and Andrew Jones (for the Administration) – and Councillors Jose Afonso, Liam Downer-Sanderson, and Adrian Pascu-Tulbure (for the Opposition).

Councillor Harvey then made a speech winding up the debate before it was put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The motion was declared CARRIED.

10.14pm – RESOLVED

This Council notes:

1. That H&F has one of the densest CCTV systems in the country, with over 2,000 cameras in operation.

2.    That Hammersmith & Fulham Council is investing £3.2 million in upgraded CCTV and surveillance technology to support the Met Police in fighting crime and protecting residents.

3.    That this investment builds on a prior £5.4 million CCTV programme and is part of a multi-year plan running through to 2027/28.

4.    That the new enhancements include artificial intelligence – enabling features such as more efficient video playback, automatic vehicle tracking, and retrospective facial recognition across the CCTV network.

5.    That “live recognition” cameras will be placed at 10 high-traffic sites, matching faces against a defined police database in real time, contingent on police support.

6.    That 500 existing cameras will be upgraded to allow better retrospective searching of footage to solve crimes.

7.    That 50 cameras will get speakers so officers can step in as and when anti-social behaviour is taking place.

8.    That the CCTV network complements the work of both  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.2

10.14pm – Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier moved, seconded by Councillor Nicole Trehy, the special motion in their names.

“This Council notes that the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has been awarded four new Green Flag Awards by Keep Britain Tidy, recognising excellence in the management, safety, and community value of local parks and open spaces. The newly awarded sites are:

• Eel Brook Common
• Marcus Garvey Park
• St Paul’s Church and Open Space
• Vicarage Gardens

The Green Flag Award is an independently assessed, nationally recognised standard that celebrates parks which are safe, welcoming, well-maintained, environmentally responsible, and inclusive.

The Council believes this achievement is a testament to the hard work of our parks staff, gardeners, volunteers, the Law Enforcement Team and Friends groups, who deserve public recognition for their contributions. Recognising this, the Council has launched a new H&F Parks Forum to further strengthen community involvement, offering residents and local groups the opportunity to help shape the future of our borough’s open spaces.

The Council notes that new investment has also played an important role in park improvements, with over £3.5 million spent in recent years and a further £1.1 million planned between 2025 and 2027, supporting new planting, improved lighting, pathways, signage, and community facilities.

The Council notes that the new awards bring the total number of Green Flag-accredited parks in H&F to 25. In 2014, under the last Conservative administration, the borough had only 11 Green Flag-accredited parks. At that time, parks were threatened with privatisation, such as through plans for a longer-term 35 lease of much of Hammersmith Park to a private company.”

Councillor Chevoppe-Verdier made a speech on the motion (for the Administration). The guillotine fell at 10.17pm and the motion was put to the vote:

FOR                        UNANIMOUS

AGAINST                0

NOT VOTING         0

The motion was declared CARRIED.

10.18pm – RESOLVED

This Council notes that the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has been awarded four new Green Flag Awards by Keep Britain Tidy, recognising excellence in the management, safety, and community value of local parks and open spaces. The newly awarded sites are:

• Eel Brook Common
• Marcus Garvey Park
• St Paul’s Church and Open Space
• Vicarage Gardens

The Green Flag Award is an independently assessed, nationally recognised standard that celebrates parks which are safe, welcoming, well-maintained, environmentally responsible, and inclusive.

The Council believes this achievement is a testament to the hard work of our parks staff, gardeners, volunteers, the Law Enforcement Team and Friends groups, who deserve public recognition for their contributions. Recognising this, the Council has launched a new H&F Parks Forum to further strengthen community involvement, offering residents and local groups the opportunity to help shape the future of our borough’s open spaces.

The Council notes that new investment has also played an important role in park improvements, with over £3.5 million spent in recent years and a further £1.1 million planned between 2025 and 2027, supporting new planting, improved lighting, pathways, signage, and community facilities.

The Council notes that the new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.3

The special motion was withdrawn.

The special motion was withdrawn.

The special motion was withdrawn.

The special motion was withdrawn.