Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 2^nd September 2010 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

There were no apologies for absence received.

If a Councillor has any prejudicial or personal interest in a particular report he/she should declare the existence and nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of the 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 prejudicial 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, unless a dispensation has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

Where members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance, then the Councillor with a prejudicial interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration, unless the disability has been removed by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Council received two petitions against the proposed closure of Baron’s Court Library.  One with 2350 signatures and the other signed by 28 residents of North End House and West Kensington Court, W14.  In addition, 8 students of Normand Croft Primary School also submitted letters asking for the library to remain open.  The Petition prayer was:-

“H&F Council plan to close Barons Court Library, as part of its library strategy. We, the undersigned local residents and/or users of the library, wish to register our objection to this proposal, and the lack of a meaningful and transparent consultation process.  We call upon H&F Council to:

(i)         Find a strategy to keep our library open.

(ii)               Consult in a meaningful and transparent manner with the local residents on any future proposals affecting the library”.

Patsy Heavey and Chris Johnson addressed Cabinet in support of the petition requesting for the library to stay open at its current purpose built location providing improved and value for money services.  She also asked the Council to properly engage residents and services users in any future consultation.

In response, Councillor Smith agreed with the need to streamline backroom support and cut staffing costs while improving investment in library stock.  Officers will look at the Hillingdon and Westminster models before a decision was made.  The Leader stated that books had to be at the heart of the library.  The Council was interested to note that Avonmore Primary School used it as its school library.  He reiterated that the current high labour cost and low level of material investment model was not sustainable.  A new operating model had to be found in order for the library to stay open.

Cabinet thanked Ms Heavey and Mr Johnson for taking their time to attend the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That Officers undertake further research into the matter and report back to Cabinet as part of the Library Strategy review later in the year.

1.            That the changes to the capital programme, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report be approved.

2.            That revenue virement totalling £1,478,000, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report be approved.

1.            That the WCFM programme to deliver the objectives outlined in section 2 of the report be approved.

2.            That the reorganisation of LBHF finance staff, as set out in section 6 of the report, be approved.

3.            That one-off funding of £385,000 be allocated to the WCFM programme, from the Invest to Save fund.

1.            That the emerging proposals for the comprehensive regeneration approach for Shepherds Bush Market area, as set out in section 2 of the report, be endorsed.

2.            That the preferred development route of disposal of the Pennard Road former Laundry Site as part of a land assembly strategy, as set out in section 3.3 of the report, be approved.

3.            That the Cabinet resolves to seek compulsory purchase powers for the acquisition of all relevant property interests within the regeneration site which are not already owned by the Council and which it is necessary to acquire for the purposes of implementing a comprehensive scheme approved by the Council, subject to the conditions set out in section 3.1 of the report.

Cabinet noted a paper circulated earlier to Members outlining issues impacting alternative service options.

1.            That the transfer of the Out of Hours Service to the Bridge Partnership and the Rochdale contact centre be approved.

2.            That the Director of Residents Services to enter into such agreements (and such terms) as she considers appropriate to enable the above transfer be authorised.

That approval be given to:

1.     The increase for the standard first six month and annual resident permits to £71 and £119 respectively during the 2010/11 financial year;

2.     The freezing of the cost of the standard first six month and annual resident permits at £71 and £119 respectively until 2014/15;

3.     The increase in the standard pay & display parking tariff to £2.80 per hour for Shepherd’s Bush, Fulham and Hammersmith Town Centre areas (Zones A, CC, G, F and S) during the 2010/11 financial year;

4.     The increase in the standard pay & display parking tariff for all other zones to £2.20 per hour during the 2010/11 financial year;

5.     The 2^nd stage increase in the pay and display tariffs as detailed in para. 3.1 of the report;

6.     The increase in the hourly rate for the SMART Visitor Permit to £1.80 per hour during the 2010/11 financial year;

7.     The increase in parking charges in Council operated car parks in line with the Controlled Parking Zones in which they are located. 

8.     The increase in charges related to the suspension of parking bays as indicated in the body of the report;

9.     Increasing the ‘green’ vehicle parking permit rate to £60 per year.

1.                  That the contracts for Lots 1, 3 and 4 (as set out in the report) be awarded to Bikeworks Limited for a period of three years, with an option to extend for up to two further years on an annual basis.

2.                  That authority be delegated to the Director of Environment to award the contract for Lot 2, the contract to run for a period of three years, with an option to extend for up to two further years on an annual basis.

1.            That approval be given to award the contract for the works in the report to Philiam Construction & Development Limited in the sum of £274,000 (plus fees) as set out in para. 5.4 of the report, the works to be awarded under the Measured Term Contract for Non-Housing Projects 2007/2010.

2.            To note that the contract is expected to start on 25 October 2010 for a period of 17 weeks.

1.            That approval be given to undertake improvements to William Parnell Park at a total cost of £445,000 as set out in paras. 3.1 and 3.2 of the report.

2.            That authority to award the works contracts be delegated to the Director of Residents Services, and the Director of Finance and Corporate Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Residents Services.

That, subject to tender, £1.517m be committed to the refurbishment and improvement of 90 units of hostel stock and £150,000 for the provision of 3 disability units at 456 Uxbridge Road.

1.            To note the appointment of Philiams Construction & Development Limited to carry out the proposed refurbishment works to enable the decanting of the Primary Care Trust (PCT) from 1 Hammersmith Broadway to the 4th floor Hammersmith Town Hall Extension.

2.            To note that PCT will wholly fund the cost of the project in the sum of £150,000 plus contingencies in the sum of £25,000 making a total estimated cost of £175,000. Consequently there will be no cost to the Council and the subsequent utilisation of the accommodation by the PCT will generate an annual income of approximately £360,000 for reinvestment or debt reduction.

3.            To authorise the granting of a lease to the Primary Care Trust for the 4th floor, Town Hall Extension on the terms outlined in the report subject to such detailed terms and conditions, or modifications, as the Assistant Director Building and Property Management and Assistant Director (Legal and Democratic Services) consider appropriate.

The Forward Plan was noted.

The summary was noted.

The summary was noted.

The Cabinet is invited to resolve, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, that the public and press be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business, on the grounds that they contain the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 3of Schedule 12A of the said Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED:

That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the remaining items of business on the grounds that they contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of a person (including the authority)] as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

[The following is a public summary of the exempt information under S.100C (2) of the Local Government Act 1972.  Exempt minutes exist as a separate document.]

That the report be noted.

That the report be noted.

That the report be noted.

That the report be noted.

The summary was noted.

The Summary was noted.