Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Liz Collins, Andrew Jones (Cabinet Member for the Economy) and Zarar Qayyum (Cabinet member for Enterprise and Skills).

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 3 February 2025 were agreed.

This report provides an update on the work of the Where Culture Connects cultural compact and its future plans.  The compact is the Borough’s stakeholder partnership for cultural planning and delivery.

Harris Bokhari, Chair of the Cultural Compact introduced the item and provided an overview on the development of the Cultural Compact. He began by congratulating the work done so far by the Council, in particular Councillor Holder and over 80 local partners who were giving their time and energy on a voluntary basis to ensure culture was at the heart of everything that was done in the borough. He explained that as Chair, his key focus from day one was ensuring the council was maximising the return for taxpayers and ensuring the Compact was focused on delivering maximum impact for residents.

In the short term, the Compact had focused on 3 deliverable strands: 1. Cultural education / young people, 2. Destination management and 3. Infrastructure mapping. In the medium and long term, the Compact aspired for Hammersmith and Fulham to be known for something nationally, in a particular cultural field, similar to other boroughs. Harris Bokhari concluded his initial remarks by saying it was an extremely exciting time for anyone who cared about culture and cultural impact and the Compact sought to make a lasting legacy for all residents.

Val Birchall, Assistant Director, Culture Tourism & Sport, provided a presentation on ‘Where Culture Connects’ Cultural Compact Update. This included the following information:

• A definition of a Compact
• A chronology detailing how the Compact had developed.
• Details of the Compacts’ membership.
• Connecting Culture and Innovation - Information on how the Compact connected with Upstream.
• Details on the role and function of the Cultural Forum.
• Information of the Destination Management Partnership – including

new campaigns, current and future priorities.

• The role of the Heritage Partnership. Noting potential partners included:

• Details on Future Plans including:

1.     Capacity building programme

2.     Destination campaigns

3.     Youth culture festival

4.     Civic Innovation Unit

5.     Pay it Forward project

6.     Wayfinding and welcome

Councillor Ashok Patel commented that culture was a difficult concept to describe as it was a subjective issue. In relation to the launch of the Cultural Compact at a meeting of the Cultural Forum, he asked if there was a written definition of culture? In response, Val Birchall, Assistant Director, Culture Tourism & Sport explained that the Council had taken the definition used in the Borough’s Cultural Strategy which primarily focused on arts and culture and not food or sport. However, officers had also included heritage and softer forms of culture including community culture, as well as professional culture.

In relation to paragraph 14 of the report, Councillor Ashok Patel noted that the Destination Management Partnership had a campaign to promote Christmas in Hammersmith and Fulham, and asked what this entailed. In response, Val Birchall explained that it was called Countdown to Christmas, and was essentially a campaign for those organisations that had activity or hospitality businesses that wanted to get  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report provides an update on the development of an Active Wellbeing Strategy for the Borough, which supersedes the Sport & Physical Activity Strategy, reflecting up-to-date policy at national level in this sector. 

Nigel Court, Interim Lead for Sport and Active Wellbeing, introduced the report which provided an update on the development of an Active Wellbeing Strategy for the Borough. This superseded the Sport & Physical Activity Strategy and included a national policy update.

The following points were noted:

• Details on the development of the Active Wellbeing Strategy.
• The strategic themes of getting people who were inactive or minimally active to become more active through:

1.     Active People (and it’s aims)

2.     Active Communities (and it’s aims)

3.     and Active Environment ( and it’s aims)

• Local Public Health data and the specific challenges for Hammersmith and Fulham.
• Information on a life course to public health.
• The importance of physical activity and national recommendations.
• Key considerations: Barriers to participation (to physical activity) and the benefits of participation.
• Details on the Next Steps including:

1.     Establish Governance (April 25)

2.     Develop key actions with Partners (May 25)

3.     Strategy draft and Action Plan ready for approval (July 25)

4.     Final Strategy (Dec 25 latest)

Councillor Ashok Patel commented there were a significant number of positive points to take from the report, including the uptake of physical activity and 73% of residents achieving the recommended minimum of 150 minutes per week of physical activity. However, he remained concerned about the time spent by young people on smart phones / online gaming and asked what action could be taken to reduce this. He asked if there was a campaign whereby the Council went into secondary schools to explain the benefits of being active in sports and physical activity. In response, Nigel Court confirmed that part of the action plan was ensuring the best people delivered that message to pupils in schools. From the Council’s point of view, it had the challenge of making the opportunity to be physically active something that young people wanted to do.

Nigel Court explained that young women at secondary school were a key a target group and the Council needed to listen to feedback, stakeholders and to select key role models from community groups to encourage the uptake in physical activity.

Councillor Jackie Borland commented on the life expectancy statistics and asked about the Playing Pitch Strategy which she urged was completed as quickly as possible. Speaking about the three parks in her ward, Councillor Jackie Borland commented that the all-weather pitch and some of the rugby pitches were in need of renewal (at Hurlingham Park). Although it was admirable to be reaching out to everyone to become more active, the Council needed to have sight of its current users and facilities that required attention. Councillor Jackie Borland highlighted that green spaces were limited and these had to contend with often conflicting uses, and it was a case of striking the right balance.

In response, Nigel Court explained that Hurlingham Park did have a Master Plan which had been developed to deliver improvements. Referring to other resources in the borough, he highlighted that the Linford Christie Stadium was being refurbished, and schools were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

This report builds on the paper presented to this committee in April 2024 which covered the council’s housing development programme and its role in place-shaping across the borough. Using that item as a background paper, this report will recap the history to and core principles of the programme and note significant updates within the last year.

Labab Lubab, Head of Partnerships, Investment and Assurance provided a presentation on place shaping through affordable housing development and community infrastructure. The Committee noted that effective place-shaping was a foundational pillar of the Council’s approach to inclusive economic growth. Upstream London, the second phase of the council’s Industrial Strategy, articulates this vision; it focuses on the conditions for innovation-led growth and shared prosperity.

Labab Lubab explained that Prosperous places are built on diverse communities and comprehensive social infrastructure. And it was for this reason that the provision of a range of affordable housing options and modern community facilities was crucial to successful place-shaping and the continued growth of the local economy in line with the principles of Upstream London.

It was noted that affordable housing and community infrastructure was currently in its construction phase. It was hoped that when a further update was provided in a year’s time, this would include details on a number of completed schemes.

The presentation covered the following points:

• The Building Homes and Community Strategy was the genesis of the Development Programme.
• The Development Programme aimed to deliver:

1.     1,800 new homes within the next 5 years.

2.     Modern fit for purpose infra-structure

3.     A commitment to co-design and co-production.

• The 7 elements of good place shaping:

1.     Affordable homes.

2.     Engaged Communities

3.     Social Infra structure - Community.

4.     Social Infrastructure – Education

5.     Economic Inclusion.

6.     Public Realm, open space and connectivity

7.     Sustainable Liveable Places

• The Development Programme had delivered the following so far: 78 homes, 315 homes on site under construction and 344 homes approved by the Planning Committee.
• Improved public realm, open space and connectivity arising from the Development Programme.

At the conclusion of the presentation, the Chair welcomed Councillor Frances Umeh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness to the meeting.

Councillor Ashok Patel noted the housing development to date as part of the overall Development Programme and asked if these were all affordable homes. In response, Labab Lubab confirmed they were all affordable.

Councillor Ashok Patel commented if the construction was for affordable homes, he anticipated there would less interaction with the constructor than with market homes. Referring to paragraph 5 of the report: “To this end, the programme has been recently supplemented by a number of opportunities to purchase, rather than build, new affordable homes”, Councillor Ashok Patel asked for further details to be provided.

In response, Labab Lubab confirmed the expectations for interaction were quite similar. With social housing there might be a percentage of people who did not necessarily have the same expectations as private owners acquiring a property, but the expectation to live with dignity, have respect and be treaty fairly were universal. Labab Lubab explained that there were a number of intermediate housing owners, so these people were also high earners, as a household could be earning up to £90,0000 and accessing these products, so their expectations were broadly aligned with market owners.

In relation to the acquisition of affordable homes, Labab Lubab  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.