Agenda item

The Committee is asked to approve the budget for 2018/19, and delegate the Chair of the Committee, in consultation with Committee members, the power to apporve any DfE contingency arrangements of proposals about the future of Kensington Aldridge Academy on the Wormwood Scrubs site.

Managers report

HS2 Bill – Proposed Wetland Mitigation Legal Agreement

The Committee welcomed Richard Gill who started in his role as the Wormwood Scrubs Development Manager on 15 January 2018. He provided an overview and noted that he had met with HS2 and projects had been agreed in principle as; removal of Japanese knotweed to create new habitat, woodland management, scrapes and wet woodland, hedge planting, heathland planting and grassland enriched with wildflowers. The next stage would be to appoint a consultant to design these works in more detail. This would include a conservation management plan, to understand the value and use of the Scrubs and a management and maintenance plan to maximise habitat improvement for wildlife. The proposals for the northern boundary were likely to be the most complex and would be influenced by the successes of knotweed removal.

Councillor Elaine Chumnery asked for clarification around the timeline for the removal of Japanese knotweed. Richard Gill explained that the removal of all the knotweed would take at least 3 years and include the removal of some bramble.

Councillor Elaine Chumnery suggested once timelines were confirmed to organise some community engagement work. The Chair welcomed this idea and was keen to get residents and schools on board to improve their understanding of the Scrubs. He also noted that this would be a great opportunity for pupils to gain valuable learning experience.

HS2 Bill – Re-Routing Stamford Brook Sewer Legal Agreement

Richard Gill provided an update and noted that HS2 were exploring the final route proposals for the sewer. Once confirmed, method statements to protect habitats during construction would be provided. He added that the Council had also requested an engagement strategy. Dates for ground investigation works would be fixed after the HS2 contractor had met with the Borough ecologist to confirm locations.

OPDC Local Plan Consultation Responses

The Chair noted that the old oak park royal development corporation was in the process of designating the local heritage listings. These comprise the local list and buildings of local heritage interest and were designated based on their heritage significance. Additionally, details of the local heritage listings were available online. The Council’s design and conservation officers had reviewed the documents and were satisfied with the direction of the document. The Council would issue its formal response to the OPDC by the close of the consultation which would be on 22 March 2018.

Kensington Aldridge Academy (KAA)

Mark Jones provided an update and noted that the department for education (DfE) had contacted the Council to raise the possibility of KAA needing to remain at the Scrubs for a further year. This was not certain and depended on the state of readiness of their permanent site. Currently KAA only had planning permission for 12 months occupation to July 2018. It currently had classrooms for 960 pupils but would need to expand to have enough space for 1150 pupils from September 2018. This meant that the DfE needed to submit a planning application soon to cover these two matters. Steve Miley explained that he had met with RBKC and would feedback on their reasons for requesting an extension if required.

Miriam Shea asked if there would be any changes to the rent charges. Mark Jones explained that this had not yet been discussed, however would update the Committee once this had been finalised with RBKC.

The Chair explained that two incidents had taken place one of which involved a young person getting stabbed and taken to hospital. He asked if these incidents took place at one school or involved pupils from the two different schools due to the close proximately of Ark Burlington Danes and KAA.

Steve Miley explained that there was a general challenge around managing out of borough young people attending schools in the borough and this was one of the many risks that the Council needed to handle carefully. He noted that the incidents related solely to Ark Burlington Danes, based on the information currently available. Going forward this process would need to be closely reviewed, by identifying problematic areas in advance and ensuring that risks were managed effectively. Councillor Joe Carlebach suggested that it would prove effective and beneficial to invite ex-offenders to talk about knife crime and their experiences with young people at schools.

The Committee agreed to delegate the power to approve any DfE contingency arrangements or proposals about the future of KAA on the Wormwood Scrubs site to the Chair of the Committee.

Community Safety Update

Mark Jones provided an overview and noted that between 1 October 2017 and the end of February 2018 parks police carried out patrols of Wormwood Scrubs and dealt with 28 incidents. The majority involved dogs and the use or misuse of the sports facilities. Offences reported to the police between October and December 2017 included 3 offences involving violence and 1 robbery near the Linford Christie Stadium. A number of youths were subsequently arrested for robbery at that location. Furthermore, Councillor Elaine Chumnery asked for officers to also monitor any activities that took place at the scrubs which involved pupils from Ark Burlington Danes and KAA.

Grounds Maintenance and Site Management Update

Ian Ross noted that Richard Gill had spent his first 6 weeks in the post getting up to speed with the project and meeting HS2. Richard Gill was now starting to develop a series of project initiation documents that would form the basis of his work going forward.

Officers had been working with colleagues in highways to facilitate the continuation of the cycle/quiet way through the site, which was funded by TFL. This would hopefully address some of the flooding issues on the footpath from the pony centre up to Linford Christie Stadium.

Stephen Waley-Cohen asked how frequently was the cycle/quiet way used by the public. Ian Ross said that officers would monitor this and feedback to the Committee. The Chair said that it would be a good idea to organise an event in the Borough that encouraged residents to use their bicycles more often.

Action: Ian Ross

Litter continued to be a challenge. Officers would be reviewing the current schedules with ideverde management to see whether this could be dealt with better. Furthermore, a letter had been sent to sports bookings on site, explaining in its message that those bookings were also responsible for the opposition’s conduct. Staff from the stadium and parks police would be monitoring the situation and that those caught offending would have their booking cancelled and would be charged for the clear up. Councillor Joe Carlebach suggested to add a levy on the booking fee if the present arrangements failed to succeed.

Stephen Waley-Cohen asked how the money for the sports bookings was accounted for and how much this was in total. Ian Ross agreed to circulate an update outside of the meeting.

Action: Ian Ross

Events

Mark Jones said that the Council was waiting for the cinema company to confirm whether they would like to use the Scrubs this summer. Additionally, the Council had been approached by an organisation that was interested in organising a music event on the Scrubs to raise funds for victims of the Grenfell fire. The aim of the event was to support the local community and showcase the community with local artists and performers along with high profile guest artists. All profits would go to Grenfell United. It was not anticipated that the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust would make any money from the event, although costs would be covered.

The Committee agreed and welcomed the opportunity and asked for the location details to be confirmed prior to the event taking place.

Lease with UK Power Networks

Mark Jones noted that the revised draft lease and a corrected lease site plan were sent to UKPN’s solicitors on 13 February. The Council anticipated that legal completion should occur before the end of March 2018. An update would be provided once this had been finalised.

Financial Forecast 2017/18

Mark Jones provided an overview and reported that the Trust’s opening cash balance for 2017/18 was £235,431. The latest forecast anticipated adding £259,892 to the current cash balance (110% of the current cash balance), which gave a cash balance of £495,249 to carry forward to 2018/19. This was £317,081 better than assumed in the budget.

Due to the temporary relocation of the KAA on the Scrubs the number of events that had been able to take place since July 2017 had been limited. The total income received this year was £67,595 with no further booking expected. However, the temporary relocation of the KAA on the Scrubs site had generated income of £177,909 for renting the site and £12,481 for the temporary building compound.

If the agreement with UKPN was not signed by the end of March then instead the Council would account for the £169,400 backdated in the next financial year 2018/19. The forecast for income from filming and events, KAA and UKPN was £429,195 which was £339,083 better than budget for activities for generating funds. The Council would likely see some costs and potentially a boost in income following the introduction of cashless parking, but we do not know how much this would be.

Financial Budget 2018/19

Mark Jones summarised the proposed budget for Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust along with details of movements and assumptions. The budget included £93,333 income for rent payable by KAA for the period April to July 2018. If the school stayed for an extra year then the budget for 18/19 would improve by £186,000 as a result of additional rent.

The budget included rental income payable by UKPN for occupation of the land which had been agreed for the next 7 years. It also included rental income payable for the new electrical vehicle charging points on the Scrubs. The Council had made quite cautious assumptions about the likely income from events in 2018/19. Securing a large event was not assumed, but Council officers were working on possibilities.

Overall cash reserves were expected to be significantly increased by the end of 2017/18 and the budget anticipated a modest net income of £19,353 in 2018/19.

Legal Comments

There were no legal implications to be noted.

RESOLVED

That the Committee approved the budget for 2018/19, and delegated to the Chair of the Committee, in consultation with Committee members, the power to approve any DfE contingency arrangements or proposals about the future of KAA on Wormwood Scrubs site.