Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

As an external speaker was present, the Chair proposed that the running order of the agenda was amended so that the Visitor Economy item was considered first. This was agreed by the Committee.

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 Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

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

The minutes of the Economy, Arts, Sports and Public Realm Policy and Accountability Committee meeting held on 24 July 2023 were approved.

This report presents an emerging approach to developing a plan for promoting Hammersmith and Fulham as a culturally diverse and visitor friendly destination, increasing the numbers of visitors to our borough, improving their experience, and growing the local economic impact.

Jon Pickstone, Strategic Director of the Economy made some introductory remarks. He explained the visitor economy provided services to tourists and visitors, as well as to businesses either locally or from abroad; which were an essential element of Hammersmith and Fulham’s wider economy. It was noted that the borough had many attractions. It had a diverse cultural scene, rich heritage and was home to sports events. It also had a strong retail scene, as well as its prime riverside location. It was noted that visitor numbers had recovered to near pre-Covid levels and details were provided on how this benefitted the local economy. Many Councils were considering how to develop their visitor economies and strengthen that sense of individual place.

Jon Pickstone confirmed that the Council was developing its visitor economy from a strong position, as it was well placed geographically, but also through ongoing workstreams such as the Industrial strategy, the Arts Commission and the Cultural Strategy. A key question focused on the value and role of the Council in helping institutions make the most of their offer, helping residents to engage and value the visitor economy to help promote it more widely.

David Pack (Strategic Head – Industrial Strategy) provided a presentation which covered the following aspects:

·       The rationale behind developing the Visitor Economy.

·       The current position and the Council’s strong and established offer covering:

1.    culture and heritage.

2.    sport and leisure.

3.    retail and dining.

4.    green spaces and parks.

·       The challenges faced by the Borough in both attracting and managing visitors.

·       Exploring new initiatives and quick wins such as:

1.   establishing a new tourism network.

2.   engaging with London level agencies.

3.   focusing on key places, such as the Civic Campus/King Street and

  North End Road.

·       Reviving the Shepherd’s Bush Comedy Festival.

·       Leveraging large events such as London Tech Week (held at Olympia in June 2024).

·       Proposals setting out what more could be done to develop the Visitor Economy.

·       The next steps: committee feedback and producing a 3-year strategy.

The Chair invited Elaine Ranahan - Director of Sales and Marketing at the Novotel London West to make comments on what had been said. She explained that Hammersmith as a destination was extremely important to the Novotel as a business, as well as everything that it offered as ancillary services to their guests. It was noted that the hotel was a conference and events venue, dealing with the US and Canada, as well as pan European businesses. The hotel had a strong leisure and tourism market and events such as those held at Olympia, The Apollo and Lyric Theatres were important (hotel) client destinations. She explained that the hotel was affiliated with London and Partners and worked with them. It was noted that hotel guests valued the strong transport links and used local services such as the large retail centres (Westfield) and so the hotel supported those initiatives that backed Hammersmith as a destination.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang welcomed the work which was being done.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report sets out the expectations of the new waste, recycling, and street cleansing contract. It then discusses contract performance and details upcoming service changes taking place.

WASTE COLLECTION

Annie Baker (Assistant Director – street environmental services) provided a presentation which covered the new household waste collection contract, as well as the implementation of  wheeled bin and food waste collection.

The presentation covered the following aspects:

·       The background to the new waste contact and the procurement process.

·       The benefits of the new contract which included:

1.    Increased recycling rates.

2.    Improved street cleansing (in particular fly tipping and weeding).

3.    Enhanced performance management (including a new digital management information system).

4.    Supporting climate objectives (aiming to achieve net zero and the flexibility to procure the right types of vehicles as technology developed within the lifetime of the contract).

5.    Providing improved social value outcomes.

·       Performance to date (including missed collections data, noting that the contract began 9 months ago).

·       Performance – Street Cleaning, including:

1.    Weeding – increase in activity and significant reduction in reports of issues.

2.    Litter and detritus –above expected standards.

3.    Fly-tip clearance –over two-thirds cleared within 24 hours and further improvement expected.

·       Delivering New Services.

·       New Service : Implementation.

·       The roll – out so far and the next steps.

Councillor Jackie Borland asked if waste collection vehicles were able to collect various sizes of waste bin. In response, Annie Baker confirmed that several sizes of bins had been tested on vehicle hoists and these were safe to collect. Councillor Jackie Borland welcomed the improvements to recycling and asked if some statistics could be cited to underline the improved performance. In response, Annie Baker confirmed that in general terms, food waste was a significant contributor to increased recycling rates, there was increased recycling and the smaller recycling bins meant it was now easier to recycle. Annie Baker confirmed that detailed performance figures could be provided to the Committee.

Action – That Annie Baker provide the Committee with performance statistic in relation to improved recycling rates

Councillor Jackie Borland commented that the suitability of bins had been mentioned by residents, and asked what happened if a resident felt the bin was not suitable for their needs. Could the bin be refused? In response, Annie Baker confirmed that everyone’s front garden was different and the use of it varied. During the prototype trials, it was found that when officers worked with residents and used either smaller bins or residents shared a bin, usually a solution was found. However, if bins caused access issues to bike storage or obscured floral displays then bins would not be delivered to those residents which opted out. Mark Raisbeck(Director of Public Realm) added that having delivered about a thousand bins per week, there were only two or three instances where the Council was having challenging conversations to reach a compromise. It was noted that the Council was working through a period of encouragement and engagement rather than dictat and was also providing an assisted collection service.

Councillor Liz Collins commented that overall, her constituents were happy about the bin roll-out. However, there had been a number of mis-collections which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

This report provides the Committee with an update on the development of the borough’s bid for the Mayor of London’s Borough of Culture (LBoC) scheme 2025 / 2027.

This item includes an 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 been circulated

to the Committee members only.

Any discussion on the contents of an exempt appendix will require

the Committee to pass the proposed resolution at the end of the

agenda to exclude members of the public and press from the

proceedings for that discussion

The Chair, Councillor Rory Vaughan, noted that a confidential appendix containing the draft bid had been circulated separately. Mark Raisbeck (Director of Public Realm) advised that if the Committee wished to discuss aspects of the bid, then the Committee would need to pass a resolution at the appropriate time to move the meeting into an exempt session for the remainder of the item. He provided apologies from Mimi Findlay, Executive Director the Bush Theatre who was expected to attend and also summarised some supporting statements made by her about the bid.

Daniel Waller (Assistant Director Cultural Services) provided a brief presentation which provided the Committee with an update on the development of the borough’s bid for the Mayor of London’s Borough of Culture (LBoC) scheme 2025 / 2027.

The public presentation covered the following points:

·       What the LBoC was and what it offered.

·       Where Culture Connects and the 4 sub-themes of Hammersmith’s Bid.

Mark Raisbeck explained the bid stemmed from the Cultural Strategy and provided details of the significant amount of work that had gone into this. The Committee chose to explore further aspects of the bid, but before doing so, the Committee unanimously agreed to pass the following 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, as it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

The remainder of the item was exempt.