Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Belinda Donovan.

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

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15^th December 2022.

Stephen Waley-Cohen (Co-opted Member) asked for an update to be provided on the  action relating  to the rental income to the Pony Centre and single-story parks depot. Steve Hollingworth noted that colleagues from Finance would be backdating all the income from 2016 and crediting the Trust. An update regarding the single-story depot would be brought to a future meeting.

Miriam Shea (Co-opted Member) asked for further clarification to be provided on the status of the lease for the hospital carpark. In response Steve Hollingworth explained that the arrangement with the hospital for the lease was on an ongoing basis, with a 3-month notice period clause by either party. The agreement also included an inflation escalator.

Stephen Waley-Cohen (Co-opted Member) asked requested a progress update on the Thames Valley Harriers (TVH) Clubhouse. In response Steve Hollingworth noted that TVH were continuing to review their plans and would like to invite Trustees to the Clubhouse to discuss the proposals in further detail.

Action: Steve Hollingworth

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15^th December 2021 were approved.

HS2 Bill Alternative Mitigation – Master Plan

Steve Hollingworth, Advisor to the Trust, presented the report. A contract had been awarded to the London Development Trust (LDT) to carry out an in-depth public consultation and engagement on the Biodiversity Masterplan. LDT had considerable experience in community engagement, including projects concerned with the natural environment.

LDT gave a presentation on the consultation strategy and provided a summary of the following key points:

-        The community consultation and engagement strategy for Wormwood Scrubs, was built on a previous consultation, which would form the framework for this work.

-        An overview of the role of the Commission and LDT was provided.

-        Four key areas of focus were identified. These were proactive biodiversity management, removing physical barriers, understanding excluded groups, and including institutions.

-        Biodiversity was key to building resilient ecosystems and green spaces. This played a key role in urban areas.

-        David Mooney, Director of Development at London Wildlife Trust, had expertise in developing strong public and community partnerships to transform London open spaces for people and wildlife.

-        A summary of the methodology for the consultation process and target groups was provided. This outlined LDT’s approach to the community engagement strategy around Wormwood Scrubs.

-        LDT would continue to involve the community in informing decisions that influenced lives ensuring that different demographics in the area were represented.

-        A summary of the next steps, key dates and the monitoring plan was provided.

-        LDT would continue with research at the Scrubs and other sites across London.

-        LDT would contact key stakeholder and survey users of the Scrubs. Followed by a consultation with David Mooney.

Members thanked LDT for their comprehensive presentation.

Miriam Shea (Co-opted Member) requested a copy of the presentation slides to publicise on the Friends of the Scrubs website and other social media platforms.

Action: Steve Hollingworth

Miriam Shea (Co-opted Member) asked for further clarification to be provided on the scope of the consultation questions. In response Miriam Burke (LDT) noted that the consultation would reference the previous work that had already been carried out.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom enquired what methods were successful in reaching out to different groups of people. In response Shingai Chirimuuta (LDT) provided an overview of the various engagement methods used by LDT to target a range of different groups. For example, it was more challenging to encourage young people to participate in standard questionnaires, therefore LDT found that Vox Pops was a very useful tool in obtaining useful and meaningful information from these types of groups, allowing them to express themselves better.

In response to a question asked by Councillor Helen Rowbottom, Simon Donovan (LDT) explained that advice would be sought from Members regarding which groups to reach in relation to community feedback. It was noted that enhanced effort would be made during the consultation process to reach the more difficult groups if this was necessary.

Stephen Waley-Cohen (Co-opted Member) highlighted that a significant proportion of the users of the Scrubs lived  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.