Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

A correction was made to the fourth paragraph of minutes PC25 “Making the Difference” in that reference to Hornsey Station should instead read ‘Harringay Station’.

RESOLVED

That, subject to the correction indicated above, the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2012 be approved and signed by the Chair.

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no deputations or petitions.

Cllr Canver advised the Committee that the project was in the process of procuring designers for the work and was working with Design for London and the Council. Further updates would be issued as work progressed.

NOTED

The Committee discussed the draft area plan and the following suggestions / issues were raised:

1.      Clean & Green, 3. Refuse & Recycling

·        Under agreed activity 1., Cllr Schmitz proposed replacing “Robust communication about new fortnightly refuse collections will be shared with residents before implementation” with a proposal that the introduction of fortnightly collections be deferred until after a report had been produced on the issues arising in areas where fortnightly collections had already been rolled out. Cllr Schmitz reported that it seemed that there were particular issues in respect of HMOs, and that it would be imprudent to roll out to an area with a disproportionate number of HMOs until a report on the issues and how these could be addressed had been produced. These concerns were echoed by Cllr Alexander.

·        In response, Cllr Canver, as Cabinet Member for Environment, advised that it was always anticipated that there would be challenges, particularly in respect of HMOs, in the course of the rollout. This did not mean, however, that the rollout of the 2^nd phase should be deferred. Identifying problems at an early stage addressing these issues would require ongoing negotiation before, during and after the rollout. Engagement with HMOs, residents, landlords and the Landlords Forum was now taking place in advance of implementation of the 2^nd phase of the rollout, and a range of forms of communication, including letters and home visits, were being used to engage with as many people as possible.

·        The Committee agreed that there was a need to learn from the issues identified in phase 1 of the rollout, and that Members should see the report on this when it was produced. It was further suggested that Ward Members should meet as a group and hear from officers on a more frequent basis to monitor the rollout and any issues arising, in order that they were more engaged in the process.

·        Cllr Canver confirmed that all Members would shortly receive a briefing note and FAQs; data on the first phase was in the process of being gathered, and Members would receive a report on phase 1 as soon as this was completed. Very early indications were that while the experience had been positive overall, there had been issues on roads with HMOs, and that the level of engagement with this type of property was being increased.

·        The Committee was advised that officers would be visiting key local organisations to engage with them regarding the rollout. Members were asked to suggest possible venues and groups that should be involved in this engagement process.

·        The Committee agreed, in the first instance, that the issue of implementing bi-weekly collections should be raised for discussion at the next meeting of the HMO Working Group, and that additionally a date would be set for the Green Lanes Strategy Group to discuss this issue in further detail, before the mid-June date that the rollout was timetabled to start.

·        On seeking advice from the Chief Executive, the Chair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

• The Committee discussed the format of the preceding Area Forum which had taken the form of ‘information stands’ rather than an open meeting. It was felt that having one to one discussions with residents enabled more information and suggestions to be passed on to Councillors and officers, and that it would be useful to repeat this format once or twice a year, maybe for an hour of the forum, followed by a wider discussion.
• The Mental Health Trust had expressed an interest in attending the next meeting to seek questions and feedback from residents regarding the St Ann’s Hospital development.
• When the dates for 2012/13 were confirmed, it was suggested that these be circulated to the Residents Associations and mailing lists to ensure that people had early notification of forthcoming dates throughout the year.
• Harringayonline had offered to run a surgery on social media, websites, and general IT issues before the start of the next meeting.
• In light of the offer from Harringayonline, it was suggested that the next meeting also be held at the TCCA, as this venue had wi-fi access, but that for subsequent meetings the Forums should move between the wards in recognition of residents’ preferences.
• The Committee thanked the Chair for the smooth running of the meetings throughout the current municipal year.

There were no new items of urgent business.

The meeting closed at 21:30hrs.