Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Cooke, Demirci, Meehan and Waters.

A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.

A member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member's judgment of the public interest and if this interest affects their financial position or the financial position of a person or body as described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct and/or if it relates to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration in relation to them or any person or body described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest.

The terms of reference for Area Committees are attached.

The Committee considered the terms of reference for Area Committee meetings. It was noted that the Committees were properly constituted decision making bodies of the Council and as such would need to adhere to the relevant legal and procedural rules that applied setting out how they operate and their functions. Key functions included development of an area plan setting out priorities for the area, developing partnership working, making proposals for improvements to the physical environment and variation to standard service delivery.  

The chair provided clarity on the role of the Committee in relation to licensing and planning applications. Although formal Planning and Licensing Committees were in place as the designated decision making bodies, the Area Committees would be consulted informally and able to make representations.

Concerns were raised on the potential for the Committee part of the evening to serve as a repeat of the earlier public Area Forum meeting with local residents. The Chair stated that the distinction between the two different meeting formats would become clearer over time, particularly as work in relation to the Area Plans was progressed thereby requiring formal decisions to be made by the Committee. It was emphasised that the Area Committee was classified as a formal meeting which although held in public wouldn’t involve active participation from local residents as the Area Forum earlier in the evening provided the opportunity for local people to get involved and give their views to their ward Councillors. This would then allow informed decisions to be made by the Committee.

The Chair to summarise the issues raised during discussion of the Veolia contract and the Committee will comment on the next steps of working with the new contract.

Feedback was provided from the presentation during the Area Forum session on the Council’s new environment contract with Veolia including the targets for recycling and carbon emissions reductions, plans to reduce fly-tipping, improving trade recycling and a forthcoming introduction of fortnightly collections in the Muswell Hill area for non-recyclable waste, which would be rolled out across the borough if proved successful. Local action plans were being devised and it was advised that an update would be provided to the September meeting as part of providing the flexibility to respond to each areas priorities.

Concerns had been raised about the level of promotion and communication that had accompanied introduction of the new contract, for example a general lack of awareness about the new Village Manager roles. It was recognised that the contract was still fairly new and that the contract should be a standing item on the agenda for the Area Forum to allow ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The importance of local people having a say in monitoring targets and negotiating variation for the local area was emphasised.

With regards to the satisfaction survey to be used to provide an overview of the contract, it was agreed that the questions to be asked and the people surveyed was of fundamental importance to ensure an appropriate two way dialogue was in place. As such, it was agreed that the satisfaction survey should be considered at the next meeting.

A discussion about priorities for the area over the year to enable a plan to be drafted.

An outline was given of the intention to create Area Plans covering each Area Committee identifying a number of key priorities for the year to be reviewed annually. A timetable had been set for developing the plans, with raw data being collated at present to generate area profiles which would form the basis for area plans. This would include gathering local community intelligence and working with Area Committee chairs against five headings from the Council’s Rethinking Haringey Strategy.  A draft profile would then be considered at the September meeting. Concerns were raised about the potential for the area profile exercise to replicate information gathered for other work streams. It was advised that the intention would be to pull together information from existing sources including the annual needs assessment, from voluntary sector etc. It was emphasised that the main focus would however be on local people and officers deciding and agreeing the plan through collective agreement.

The importance of gaining the confidence of local people was agreed to ensure the Plan would be successful.

The action plan would be drafted from September to December including identifying monitoring arrangements with the intention for adoption from January. Members requested that the Action Plan be written in Plain English to ensure it was clear and easy to understand.

To summarise the issues raised during discussion on how funding for pothole repairs has been allocated and what it can be used for.

A summary was given of the discussions during the area Forum part of the meeting in relation to pothole funding which were a particular challenge at the moment due to the level of deterioration from the bad weather over the winter. As a result of this, additional one-off funding had been allocated to the Council which would be split between the Area Committees to allow local input into how the money would be spent. It was requested that the report on this funding be circulated to the Ward Councillors.

A number of residents had raised issues during the Area Forum with pothole issues on pavements, in a local park and also in relation to drains. It had been clarified that the additional funding could only be used for potholes on highways and that any other issues with potholes on other surfaces needed to be reported to the relevant Council department.

8 September 2011

2 February 2012

17 April 2012

The Committee noted the dates of the future meetings and agreed that the venues should be moved around each ward in the area.

The Chair advised that Making the Difference funding allocation for 2011/12 had been set at £25K per area to be spent by the end of this financial year. Although bids were being sought for local projects, it was emphasised that applications would only be accepted from properly constituted groups. Guidance and criteria to support the application process would be put up on the Council’s website in the near future. Ideally funding bids would then be discussed and approved at the next meeting. 

Agenda items proposed for future meetings included soapbox item, Haringey Heartlands and Coronation Sidings, blocked drains and the width restriction bollards on Courcy and Coleraine Roads.