Agenda item

The Committee is asked to note all matters in this report.

Officers presented the report and discussed the following key areas.

Alternative Ecological Mitigation (AEM) proposals

Tenders for Design Consultants had been received and evaluated. An appointment would be made in due course.

Forest School

Several volunteer projects had either taken place or are were planned to support Forest School activities in the woodland areas adjacent to Braybrook Street.

OPDC Local Plan

A planning inspector would examine the OPDC Local Plan with Wormwood Scrubs on the agenda for 8th April. The Trust submitted comments on the plan during the consultation phase. Since then the OPDC responded to these comments including making some changes and clarifications. Although the Trust had been invited to make a further submission there were no new comments to be made. The Friends also made comments on the plan in July 2018 and had made a further submission to the inspector.

Lease with London Power Networks

A new lease with London Power Networks (LPN) was to be signed imminently. This provided access off Scrubs Lane to a service tunnel just south of the Substation near Mitre Bridge. LPN carried out some clearance works on this site last year - damaging habitat had been identified as valuable for invertebrates by local wildlife enthusiasts. An ecological management plan has been added to the lease conditions to restore and improve the biodiversity value of this area.

Development of the former Cyclotron Building

Comments from the Trust on the development of the former cyclotron building, relating to Hammersmith Hospital had been forwarded to the planning department.

Kensington Dragons Football Club

Discussions with Kensington Dragons Football Club (KDFC) had been held. Further to the presentation of the KDFC proposals to the Committee in December, KDFC had met with Leisure Officers on 24/01/19 and Regeneration Officers on 04/03/19. There were several issues concerning the proposal which still needed to be addressed.

The Committee gave strong support to the proposal and suggested that the Council should continue to work closely and positively with KDFC to overcome the issues and deliver the proposals. The Council should take a lead role in the partnership, making it clear that the proposals were only interim until the long-term future for Linford Christie Stadium was agreed.

It was agreed that these proposals should not divide the site to make the other pitches unusable for other games or compromise access to the yard currently used by Idverde.

Parks manager and general site update

The site team continued to work on the litter issue and officers were looking to implement re-sitting of some of the existing bins and retrofitting lids onto all. This included the removal of several bags of litter by volunteers, encouraging local schools to use the site for Forest School activities. Officers had been working with Idverde management to look at how the staffing resource at Wormwood Scrubs could be increased and as a result the site now had a dedicated supervisor.

The issue of Professional dog walkers was raised with concerns that dog walkers were arriving with up to 10 dogs each and then letting them run out of control. Additional patrols would be arranged with mornings and weekends targeted. The issue of Japanese Knotweed was also raised with some present at the rear of the pony centre. This will be added to the spraying programme.

Grounds maintenance

Options for Wormwood Scrubs Grounds maintenance were still being considered. Once the Council had decided on its preferred option for Grounds maintenance in all other open space’s officers would be in a better position to advise the Committee.

Community Safety

A Community Safety update was provided, including the parks police statistics for the last three months.

Financial forecast and budget for 2019/20

Members discussed the financial forecast and budget for 2019/20 and agreed the budget. It was noted that the KAA lease, which generated a significant income might be extended for a further three years.

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted all matters in the report and agreed the budget for 2019/20.