Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 10 July and 19 September 2017.

RESOLVED

The minutes of the meetings held on 10 July and 19 September 2017 were approved and signed by the Chair.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Elaine Chumnery.

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 Audit, Pensions and Standards Committee

There were no declarations of interest.

Morag Carmichael Chair of the Biodiversity Commission presented the report and outlined the Commission’s work and the key findings and recommendations of their report. The H&F Biodiversity Commission was launched in January 2017 and completed work in October 2017. The Commissioners were all local residents and the work had included a literature review, an evidence gathering exercise and a survey of borough residents. Specialist council officers and external experts in the field were called to give evidence to the Commission on planning policy and practice, flood risk management, parks and open spaces and other environmental matters affecting biodiversity.

A discussion was held around the key recommendations and the Chair asked whether the Commission had a vision for the ecology centre that had been proposed. Referring to page 19 of the agenda Morag Carmichael recommended that the Council appointed a permanent Ecology Officer and established an Ecology Centre which provided a base for environmental education in or near one of the parks in the borough to encourage wildlife studies.

The Chair thanked the work of the Commissioners and said that he was very impressed by the work of the Biodiversity Commission. The Co-opted members also praised the work of the Commissioners and noted that they were equally impressed and welcomed the recommendations in relation to Wormwood Scrubs.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee supported the recommendations of the report of the Hammersmith & Fulham Biodiversity Commission.

This report updates members on issues related to the mangement of the Scrubs and makes recommendations for awarding a contract for the supply, installation, operation, and maintenance of three electric vehicle rapid charge points in the Scrubs Lane car park.

HS2 Bill – Proposed Wetland Mitigation Legal Agreement

Farrah Rossi provided an overview and noted that officers secured £3.9m in a legal agreement with HS2 for ecological/ environmental works to mitigate the loss of the ecological land along the HS2 route. A development manager with ecology experience would start on 15 January to oversee the project. The Chair requested that the development manager be invited to a future Wormwood Scrubs Committee meeting and introductions also be arranged with Friends of Wormwood Scrubs.

Councillor Joe Carlebach asked how the post would be funded. Farrah Rossi said that the post was funded by HS2, however the development manager was accountable to the Council.

HS2 Bill – Re-Routing Stamford Brook Sewer Legal Agreement

Farrah Rossi provided an update and noted that as part of the water monitoring works a compound would be set up around each borehole temporarily for 1-3 days. The investigatory work would take 2-3 weeks in total and was programmed to take place between March-June. Officers would be working closely with HS2 and their contractors to ensure that Scrubs users were informed through erecting information notices around the site, leaflet drops to nearby properties and providing information on the HS2.

Councillor Joe Carlebach asked for an update on the HS2 Bill and details of how it was progressing. Farrah Rossi said that the Bill had been approved and discussions were held around the business case and operational planning. Councillor Joe Carlebach said that this would have a significant impact on the Scrubs depending on how works were carried out. Farrah Rossi said that officers would continue to update the Committee members on any further progress.

OPDC Local Plan Consultation Responses

The Chair noted that he was in touch with OPDC who had accepted the Trust’s late submission of the consultation response. The OPDC were reviewing all the consultation responses and would address the key issues in redrafting the local plan document. The results would be published when the OPDC submit the Local Plan for examination in public in Spring 2018.

Farrah Rossi noted that the OPDC officers presented a report to OPDC Board earlier in November summarising the key consultation issues which would be circulated to the Councillors.

Action: Farrah Rossi

Kensington Aldridge Academy

Ian Ross provided an overview and noted that the school was now fully open and operational. Eight parking permits had been issued, to run until July 2018. Officers had a walkabout on the 22 November to primarily discuss the reinstatement arrangements. A draft list was tabled at the meeting outlining the key issues.

The Chair agreed that that a separate meeting would be arranged with Mark Jones and himself to discuss how these issues would be addressed in further detail.

Councillor Joe Carlebach asked if there was an opportunity to contact the school and ascertain whether they would be interested to undertake a biodiversity related project at the Scrubs. The Committee agreed that this was a good suggestion. Ian Ross said that he would contact the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

That 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.

RESOLVED

That 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.

To approve the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2017.

RESOLVED

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 December 2017 were approved and signed by the Chair.