Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sue Fennimore and Fiona Smith.

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 note the minutes of the previous meeting and any outstanding actions.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 19^th July 2021 were noted. As this was an informal meeting, minutes will be formally agreed at the next meeting.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler requested that the action under item 5 (Law Enforcement Team Update) from the previous meeting be followed up with Officers.

Action: Amrita White

This meeting is being held remotely on Zoom and will be live streamed to YouTube https://youtu.be/lCX35_4R3rI

If you would like to ask a question at the meeting about any of the items on the agenda please complete the following form by 12pm on Thursday 4^th November 2021: https://tinyurl.com/cse-questions

The Chair noted that the Committee had received public questions on two of the items on the agenda. The questions and answers can be found under Item 5 (Safer Cycle Pathway Update) and Item 6 (3-year Highways Planned Maintenance Programme 2021-2024).

The report aims to give a brief update on progress to deliver the Safer Cycle Pathway by sharing information with regards to the different stages of implementation and programme delivery times.

Abi Oluwande (Senior Service Manager) provided an update on the progress made to date to deliver the Safer Cycle Pathway, noting that the interim scheme was 70% underway and was scheduled for completion in December 2021.

The Chair explained that the Committee had received a written question from a member of the public in advance of the meeting and Officers would be invited to answer the question or make a comment to address the main areas of concerns raised as follows:

1: A resident commented that it was great to see that action was being taken to create cycle lanes along King Street. However, other key routes such as Wood Lane, Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush Green had either no cycle lanes or poorly painted "temporary" cycle lanes that created more risk to both cyclists and cars. They asked what the schedule was to fully implement a network of safe cycle routes across the borough that allowed North-South/East -West and fully networked cycle travel?

In response Masum Choudhury (Head of Transport) noted that in addition to the upgrading of the cycle lane on King Street to an interim scheme, the Council was also working on developing the permanent cycle lane once the interim scheme had been installed. A similar approach would also be used for the cycle lanes on Wood Lane, Uxbridge Road and Shepherd’s Bush Green where the Council first looked at upgrading from temporary barriers to an interim scheme followed by the longer-term development of a permanent route.  Officers were aware of the key North-South routes such as North End Road and Fulham Palace Road as well as Scrubs Lane.  Together these would formulate a ‘strategic cycle network’ on our main roads. To supplement this further the approach would be to look at other main roads and consider the available road space and look to change advisory lanes to dedicated lanes.  This approach would also be considered on residential areas where the Council was looking to calm and reduce through traffic to create a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

Unfortunately, due to the funding uncertainty that had emerged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic the Council was unable to provide a defined programme and was working with sponsors and partners to continue to bring a programme forward.  However, the Council had committed to achieving net-zero carbon by 2030 and the cycling infrastructure as part of the borough was a key component of realising this goal.

Councillor Iain Cassidy asked for further clarification to be provided on the timescales for the completion of works for the full route, including King Street Hammersmith Gyratory and Hammersmith Road. Abi Oluwande (Senior Service Manager) commented that the timescale to complete King Street was mid-December 2021. Hammersmith Gyratory was being implemented by Transport for London (TfL) and this work would commence in November 2021. The interim scheme for Hammersmith Road had been completed. However, the timetable for the permanent Safer Cycle Pathway scheme was not yet available.

Abi Oluwande (Senior Service Manager)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The report aims to give an insight on the planned maintenance programme currently being delivered and how we chose the roads and footways to go on the schemes.

Donna Kelly (Service Manager – Highway Operations and Protection) gave a presentation on the planned maintenance programme currently being delivered in the Council and provided a summary of the following key points:

-        The highway planned maintenance programme identified the carriageways and footways in most need of planned repair.

-        This was formulated based on annual condition surveys undertaken by the highway engineers and the routine inspection condition ratings.

-        The roads were prioritised based on their scores.

-        Requests made by the Highway Inspector and/or a Councillor or Resident for planned maintenance were also taken into consideration.

-        The budget of £1.88m would be split between footway and carriageway schemes, with footways taking 60% of the budget.

-        The 3-year programme gave the planned maintenance engineers flexibility to move schemes between the three-year period if something happened on site

-        Once the 3-year programme was in place, Officers continued to carry out annual condition surveys as some roads, currently in fair condition, could worsen following a bad winter.

-        A summary was provided of the completed footway and carriageway schemes for 2021/22.

The Chair explained that the Committee had received a written question from a member of the public in advance of the meeting and Officers would be invited to answer the question or make a comment to address the main areas of concerns raised as follows:

1: A resident commented that it was disappointing that Sterne Street and the area known as " Caxton Village" had not been identified in the planned maintenance works. It was felt that the area and the streets were rapidly being used for excessive HGV delivery vehicles to the shops and food outlets along Uxbridge Road creating pollution, congestion and safety issues as there were no turning points for these vehicles. They asked why this conservation area had not been included in the planned maintenance schedule to try and protect the conservation area for both residents and the community and requested that this conservation area along with several listed buildings was included in these plans. They also recommended that this area was in need of stricter loading and parking/access rules to ensure long term protection of the historic buildings and setting.

Donna Kelly (Service Manager – Highway Operations and Protection) noted that in relation to the roads in Caxton Village not being on the planned maintenance programme, it was confirmed that the Council had undertaken a number of schemes in the area over the last 12-years with two footways due to be repaved within the next 3-years as follows:

Bulwer Street

Carriageway resurfaced in 2009

Footway repaved in 2016

Sterne Street

Carriageway resurfaced in 2010

Footway repaved in 2019 - from Shepherd’s Bush Place to Caxton Road

Aldine Street

Carriageway resurfaced in 2010

Footway due to be repaved in 2023/24 subject to funding and further surveys

Caxton Road

Carriageway resurfaced in 2010

Footway repaved 2019

Masum Choudhury (Head of Transport) commented that in addition to the planned maintenance programme the Council also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

This is a covering report accompanying the final report and recommendations of Hammersmith & Fulham’s (H&F) resident-led Parks Commission (Appendix A). The commission launched in January 2020, and their recommendations follow a year of extensive research and engagement with council officers, residents, and other park users and stakeholders. Interim recommendations were made in June 2020 to support the re-procurement of the grounds’ maintenance contract.

Steve Hollingworth (Assistant Director Leisure, Sport and Culture) introduced the report and noted that the Commission launched in January 2020. Their recommendations followed a year of extensive research and engagement with Council Officers, residents, other park users and stakeholders.

In June 2020, the Commission produced interim recommendations to support the development of the Council’s procurement strategy for the ground’s maintenance of parks, public open spaces and housing estates. The commission’s report made twenty-two practical headline recommendations concerning democracy and decision-making; how parks were maintained and used; how they were financed; and how green space and biodiversity were enhanced and protected.

Timothy Prager (Chair of the Parks Commission) noted that a group of residents with mixed perspectives and a wide range of skillsets were appointed by the Council. It was also felt that geographic representation within the Commission would be necessary in help developing its recommendations. He thanked Sharon Lea (Strategic Director of Environment), Steve Hollingworth (Assistant Director Leisure, Sport and Culture) and Jim Cunningham (Climate Policy and Strategy Lead) for the extraordinary support provided by the Council. It was noted that the Commission made a call for evidence from residents during spring 2020. They engaged widely with residents, park users and local communities, despite limitations presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Commission spoke to a wide range of stakeholders and was extremely grateful for the wealth of input received.

Timothy Prager (Chair of the Parks Commission) highlighted that two key areas from the Commission’s findings needed to be improved and monitored by the Council, these included park affordability and democracy.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler thanked the Commission for their hard work in developing their findings. She enquired of the twenty-two recommendations that were made by the parks Commission, which of these were being considered by the Council. In response Councillor Sharon Holder (Cabinet Member for Strategy) noted that as part of this process tonight’s Community Safety and Environment PAC was given the opportunity to provide feedback and comment on the Commission’s recommendations, prior to the report being presented at the next Cabinet meeting for final approval.

Councillor Sharon Holder (Cabinet Member for Strategy) welcomed the close working between the Council and Commission. She felt that any issues with the recommendations would aim to be resolved and highlighted that should any of the recommendations require amendment, these would need to be referred back to Cabinet for approval.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler felt that maintenance in parks, including the overgrown grass and wildflowers was a key area of concern. Timothy Prager (Chair of the Parks Commission) explained that a greater sense of oversight and an improved engagement plan would be developed amongst Officers and contractors to monitor and tackle maintenance concerns going forward.

Councillor Sharon Holder (Cabinet Member for Strategy) thanked Timothy Prager (Chair of the Parks Commission) and the commissioners for their hard work, time and expertise in developing the report.

The Chair asked if there were any positive experiences that could be shared with the Committee around the inclusivity work that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.