Agenda and minutes

The Leader welcomed all present to the last Cabinet meeting of 2019 and gave a brief overview of the Council’s achievement during the year. He stated that the Council had signed the contract on the previous Friday to terminate the CLSA and buy back West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates and the Gibbs Green School Site. This would support the residents wishes who worked with the Council to save their homes and their community from the threat of redevelopment.

The Council also had worked with schools in the borough to introduce free breakfast to all children in local schools. Finally, the Leader thanked the residents who supported the Council to save Charing Cross Hospital from closure.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 4 November 2019 be confirmed and signed as an accurate record of the proceedings, and that the outstanding actions be noted.

Apologies for Absence were received from Councillor Larry Culhane.

1.    That Directors and Cabinet members urgently identify and deliver actions that offset the forecast General Fund overspend of £9.2m.

2.    To note the HRA forecast overspend.

3.    To approve the virement set out in Appendix 9.

With the permission of the Leader, five speakers addressed the Cabinet for 5 minutes each, having submitted valid deputation requests.

The first deputation speaker, David Tarsh, stated that, according to the Cabinet report, the design of the Safer Cycle Pathway route would be delegated to the Chief Officer for Public Realm. He  strongly disagreed with approving this scheme without having a final design. It was premature as he believed that residents would have no saying on the final scheme, and it was even possible that residents would prefer the scheme not to be built at all.

Edmond Sixsmith, the second speaker, expressed his concerns in relation to the two-way cycle path, as it could potentially cause serious accidents between bikes coming from opposite directions. He recommended that the design of the final scheme should create separate cycle lanes on both sides of the road for cyclists to ride on he left. He was also concerned that the cycle path might be passing in front of Latymer court bus stop, forcing passengers to cross it to get to the stop, which would become difficult and hazardous to access. In addition, the bi-directional cycle route would increase congestion on the busy junction between Wolverton Gardens and Hammersmith Road junction.

The third deputation speaker, John Griffiths, stated that the cycle pathway would pass the busy North End Road junction. There was already limited space and time for pedestrian and cyclist to cross at this junction and it also appeared that there was no time for a further phase in the signals. Therefore, he could not envisage how a high-speed cycle route through there would work. There was also the potential increase in collisions between pedestrian and cyclist at the main crossing at Hammersmith Gyratory. He also believed that with the Olympia Development going ahead the cycle pathway would impose severe traffic congestion on the area, which would also affect emergency and bus services.

Leo Murray, the fourth speaker representing W6 Safe Cycling Families, stated that currently their children were not safe cycling on the borough streets. If the Safer Cycle Pathway went ahead, his family and the other thirty plus families in the W6 safe cycling family group would use this route every day to travel between home, school, clubs and work. This would support the borough’s

Climate Emergency programme. He also noted that pedestrians should always be given priority over cyclists. He stressed that for this new protected cycleway to serve the mobility needs of local families it was vital that the route should incorporate the gates of every school in the borough.

George Abaraunye, the 14-year-old speaker representing H&F Cyclists, stated that in June 2019 on his way cycling home from football training he was struck and almost killed by a person driving a car, while cycling in a bus, taxi and cycle lane. He requested that the Council committed to deliver this safer segregated cycling infrastructure in 2020, as part of a network of safety improvements and segregated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

This report has one appendix which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and is not for publication. The appendix has therefore been circulated to Cabinet Members only.

Any discussions on the contents of an exempt appendix will require Cabinet to pass the proposed resolution identified at the end of the agenda to exclude members of the public and the press from the proceedings for that discussion.

Is it recommended that the Cabinet:

1.    Approves the procurement strategy found at Appendix 1 of this report which recommends the development of a Dynamic Purchasing Vehicle for semi-independent living arrangements for Looked After Children and Care Leavers for a period of eight (8) years on a 5+1+1+1 structure with a six (6) month break clause at any point during this term;

2.    Approves Hammersmith & Fulham Council becoming the lead borough, on behalf of the West London Alliance (“WLA”) and its core partner boroughs, for the development of the Dynamic Purchasing Vehicle, as detailed within this report.

This report has one appendix which contains information exempt within the meaning of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and is not for publication. The appendix has therefore been circulated to Cabinet Members only.

Any discussions on the contents of an exempt appendix will require Cabinet to pass the proposed resolution identified at the end of the agenda to exclude members of the public and the press from the proceedings for that discussion.

That Cabinet approves

1.1.        Subject to receiving a satisfactory external valuation advice, that the Council enter into a conditional sale agreement, and any other legal agreements which are required, with the King Street Joint Venture for the purchase of:

·           6,011sqm NIA of B1 office space.

·           523sqm NIA for office start-up units.

·           649sqm NIA commercial uses in A1–A3 use class.

·           A new four-screen cinema totalling 1,283sqm NIA and 335sqm NIA restaurant.

1.2.       Delegated authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy, to finalise and complete negotiations with the Joint Venture company and enter into all necessary legal agreement/s in order to give effect to the decision in 1.1 above.

1.3.        Delegated authority to the Strategic Director for the Economy, in consultation with the Borough Solicitor and the Cabinet Member for the Economy, to agree onward pre-sales and lettings to appropriate occupiers for each of the buildings following external property advice on commercial terms and values.

That Cabinet recommends to Full Council

1.4.        To approve a capital budget of £64m for the purchase of the office space, start up units, commercial units, restaurant and cinema as set out in this report and the associated professional fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). The total budget will be funded by general fund borrowing, represented by an increase in the Council’s capital financing requirement, supplemented by capital receipts, or developer contributions when available, with final confirmation of funding delegated to the Strategic Director, Finance and Governance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Commercial Services.

1.5.        To approve an additional capital budget of £25m to purchase a 50% stake in the joint venture limited liability partnership with A2 Dominion at the point at which the new town hall extension is handed over to the Council, funded by general fund borrowing, represented by an increase in the Council’s capital financing requirement.

The Key Decision List was noted.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Proposed resolution:

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 3 of Schedule 12A of the said Act, and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.       

None.