Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Andrew Jones (Cabinet Member for the Economy) and Councillor Zarar Qayyum (Cabinet Member for Enterprise and Skills).

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillors Liz Collins and Ashok Patel.

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 22^nd July 2024 were agreed.

This report sets out the progress made on the implementation of the Cultural Strategy adopted by Cabinet in October 2023. 

Val Birchall, Assistant Director, Cultural Services gave a presentation on Cultural Strategy. This update set out the progress made on the implementation of the Cultural Strategy which was adopted by Cabinet in October 2023.

The presentation drew attention to the following:

• The role of the Arts Commission in the development and delivery of the Cultural Strategy.
• A foundation of the Cultural Strategy was to establish a delivery board called a Cultural Compact.  A Cultural Compact is a model promoted by Arts Council England, for a multi-stakeholder anchor network.
• The H&F Compact is called Where Culture Connects and comprises representatives from cultural venues, production companies, community, private sector, public health, education and the creative industries.
• In order to deliver the strategy, a series of related specialist groups were being established by the Compact, as set out below:

1.    Cultural Forum

2.    Destination Management Partnership

3.    Heritage Partnership

4.    Cultural & Creative Education & Skills Partnership

• The next steps:

1.    Three quick-win projects are in development for the next six months - mapping of soft and hard infrastructure for culture; a programme for primary school children, and a scheme to open up access to culture for residents through free admission.

2.    In addition, work towards a Black history museum will continue.

3.    These link directly to the strategy objectives and pick up the priorities of the Forum.

4.    The Compact, including the destination partnership, are working together to develop a public facing programme, including free events and to research feasibility of a collective funding model.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang stated he was pleased with the development of the Cultural Strategy and noted that there were numerous ongoing workstreams. He said it was important to stress the need for employment opportunities and the links these had to the Industrial Strategy.

In relation to the Cultural Forum, Councillor Adam Peter Lang noted this had been launched in October 2024 and asked when the key events were? He commented it was important the Council listened to less prominent groups and also took on board their views (especially young people). In response, Val Birchall agreed it was important to include the views of young people / hidden voices to develop the Strategy and explained that the views of the Youth Council and Youth Voice had been included in the recent BID (for the London Borough of Culture).

Councillor Jackie Borland commented she was encouraged by how ambitious the Cultural Strategy was and asked what the time frame for its implementation was. In response, Val Birchall confirmed that the Strategy was based on a 10-year framework. Some of the actions would be delivered in the short and medium term, but its overall implementation was dependant on funding and the number of partners the Council required.

Councillor Ashok Patel congratulated officers on the work of the Cultural Compact. Commenting on the Heritage Partnerships and Black History Museum, he asked if the aims of the Museum could be extended to cover Asians from 1960’s, as he felt it should also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report outlines the strategic approach being developed for a Public Realm Maintenance & Project Works Contract for all Council Public Realm works from April 2026.

In the absence of Ian Hawthorn, Assistant Director Highways, Mark Raisbeck, Director of Public Realm, provided a presentation. This outlined the strategic approach being developed for a Public Realm Maintenance & Project Works Contract for all Council Public Realm works from April 2026. The presentation covered the following points:

• The scope of the Public Realm Contract -noting that it covered Highways, Parks & Consultancy Services
• The objectives of the new contract, noting it will:

1.    Align with LBHF’s Low Carbon Procurement Policy.

2.    Be accessible by Highways, Parks and Housing teams for efficient procurement and delivery of works.

3.    Incorporate Social Value.

4.    Focus on Apprenticeships.

5.    Incorporate Innovation – electrification of vehicles, recycling, sustainability, decarbonisation.

6.    Deliver quality public space – in line with the Council's StreetSmart guide.

7.    Deliver against a suite of KPI's to maximise efficient delivery of the contracts.

• An overview of the Lot Structure.
• Details of the developmental timescales for the new contract.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang noted that there were two potential contract options, and he supported officer’s views. Mark Raisbeck confirmed that a Transport for London framework contract could be used as a fallback position for highways works, but this was not the preferred option. In relation to drainage, Councillor Adam Peter Lang suggested that this was an area that needed to be looked at differently (within the new contract) in future, as residents had expressed their concerns on this to him. He also highlighted future employment opportunities and suggested that each contract winner should be asked to commit to a specific number of apprenticeships.

Acknowledging that the Policy and Accountability Committee meeting was not the right forum, Councillor Adam Peter Lang highlighted he had received a number of complaints about Lime and Forrest e-bikes and he asked if it was possible that a pan-London approach could be taken to regulation.

Turning to public realm issues, and specifically street lighting, Councillor Adam Peter Lang explained how this impacted on residents. He highlighted how improved street lighting could have a positive impact on the night-time economy and also improve public safety.

In relation to drainage, Mark Raisbeck commented that the work officers were doing on Suds and flood alleviation was very important and the Council required a contractor that could deliver and communicate with the residents effectively, which was one of the softer sides officers were looking for in the procurement process.

With regards to street lighting, Mark Raisbeck commented that the borough had

some excellent levels of street lighting and, generally speaking, the Council exceeded the minimum standards. However, there were always some locations where this could be improved. He highlighted that officers were currently doing extensive surveys across parks and open spaces to ensure lighting was of an appropriate standard and again, ensuring the right contractor, with the right skills could deliver the contract was very important to the Council.

With regards to apprenticeships, Councillors noted that officers wished to explore opportunities with not just young people, but for a whole range of people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

This report provides an update to the Committee on the results of the annual Parks Satisfaction Survey via the council’s ‘Have you Say’ platform. The report outlines the key results and the next steps towards bringing forward a Parks Improvement Plan to a future cycle of the Committee.

Simon Ingyon, Assistant Director, Parks, and Leisure, gave a presentation on the results of the annual Parks Satisfaction Survey via the council’s ‘Have Your Say’ platform. The presentation outlined the key results and the next steps towards bringing forward a Parks Improvement Plan to a future cycle of the Committee.

The presentation drew attention to the following:

• An overview of the Parks survey, when it was conducted, its duration, the number of responses received, and the parks included.
• The key findings:

1.    Overall Satisfaction: 86.3% (up from 69% in 2023)

2.    Maintenance Satisfaction: 83% (up from 61% in 2023)

3.    Safety: 65.7% (down from 73% in 2023)

4.    Cleanliness: 80% (up from 67% in 2023)

5.    Quality: 81% satisfaction

• The frequency of visits: travel mode and reasons for visiting parks.
• Themes including: desired improvements, park features and facilities, accessibility / signage and infrastructure.
• Details of future actions.

The Chair thanked Simon Ingyon for his presentation and congratulated officers on the increased satisfaction levels with parks.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang commented on the variety of green and open spaces within the borough and highlighted how important it was that the Council maintained and continued to improve the facilities in parks. He then raised a number of issues including toilet facilities, the importance and value of litter-picking and the need for good and appropriate lighting (in parks). Further points included the need to ensure parks were as accessible as possible, (as many residents did not have an outdoor space or garden of their own) and also the topic of anti-social behaviour. While Councillor Adam Peter Lang commended the work of the Law Enforcement Team (LET); he suggested there was more that the Council could do on this front. He also mentioned the actions of some volunteer groups in Ravenscourt Park working in the boundaries of the park and highlighted this should be encouraged to bring about improvements in other parks.

In response, Simon Ingyon confirmed that as part of the social value of the IdVerde contract, they were meant to utilise a considerable number of volunteering hours in the borough’s parks and open spaces to supplement and support the core contract they were employed to deliver. He explained that, as part of this process, IdVerde did use corporate volunteers and other community groups who conducted weekly or monthly litter-picks. Simon Ingyon also confirmed that the Community Payback Team were also deployed to ensure they were carrying out some manual work in parks and open spaces with activities such as painting railings and scrubbing them down, litter picking or clearing areas to ensure that people could enjoy them more.

With regards to anti-social behaviour, Simon Ingyon agreed that much of this was

perception, as the visitor data showed that of all those persons who visited or went through Parks day in day out, only a small percentage experienced anti-social behaviour. However, if you were to witness an incident this could colour someone’s judgement about parks overall. Simon Ingyon confirmed more could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

This report provides further detail on the process to be followed in preparing the new Local Plan and the likely key issues a new Local Plan for the borough will need to address.

Matt Paterson, Assistant Director for Spatial Planning, gave a verbal update on the New Local Plan for Hammersmith and Fulham. It was noted that this will need to provide for the development needs of the borough, including housing and employment needs, for the 15-year period from 2025/26 to 2040/41. The update provided details on the process to be followed in preparing the new Local Plan and the likely key issues a new Local Plan for the borough will need to address.

Key aspects of the update included:

• The key stages in preparing a New Local Plan:

1.    Evidence gathering, Draft Plan Stage, Pre-Submission Draft Plan Stage, Conformity with London Plan, Submission to the Secretary of State, Independent Examination in Public.

2.    The Inspector’s Report and Adoption of Local Plan.

3.    And following the implementation of the Local Plan, the Council must monitor the performance of the policies and prepare an Annual Monitoring Report.

• Key matters for the Local Plan including:

1.    Housing need and land supply.

2.    Taking action on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

3.    Supporting town and local centres as they adapt to change.

4.    Increasing employment and jobs.

5.    Protecting heritage and designing high-quality safe, accessible, and inclusive communities.

6.    Increasing biodiversity and the quality of open spaces.

7.    Reducing the need to travel and promoting sustainable travel and

8.    Securing new social and community infrastructure.

The Chair, Councillor Rory Vaughan, thanked Matt Paterson for setting out the framework and timeline for the development of the new Local Plan.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang commented that the Local Plan was a complex overarching framework which integrated the Council’s other plans and policies, such as the innovative Industrial Strategy. As such, he said it was important that residents understood how their feedback would be used in consultation phases as the New Plan developed.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang asked about Hammersmith and Fulham’s housing targets, as set by the London Plan, in comparison with other London boroughs. In response, Matt Paterson confirmed that every London borough had a very different housing figure to each other. Hammersmith and Fulham’s strategic housing requirement was very high, as a local Authority in Hammersmith it was much higher than elsewhere, and this was primarily based around housing affordability. Historically, Hammersmith and Fulham had been penalised as its housing was not affordable and therefore the borough needed to provide more. In Matt Paterson’s view, the borough had reached a crossroads in that it relied heavily on the turnover of land on brownfield sites coming forward to meet its housing targets and the borough only had a finite number of brownfield sites.

Matt Paterson explained there were a number of strategies such as the Industrial Strategy, Cultural Strategy and Open Space Strategy, and the Local Plan did take account of all of these. It also looked at how the Council could implement them through the Local Plan to deliver growth and change over the next 15 years.

As a long-term resident, Councillor Liz Collins asked how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.