Issue - meetings

[Report of the Director for Customers, Transformation and Resources. To be introduced by  the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration]

This report updates Cabinet on the work underway to develop a long-term strategy to make the best use of Council owned sites in Wood Green and describe the impact of the current Covid 19 pandemic on the programme.

This report will set out a timetable for decisions to be made about Council owned sites in the medium term.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration introduced the report which set out the work underway to develop a long-term strategy to make the best use of Council owned sites in Wood Green and described the impact of the current Covid 19 pandemic on the programme.

It was noted that , prior to Covid 19, work was underway to prepare a business case for redeveloping the Library site to include a new library and customer services, office accommodation, and potentially additional services including democratic space and a Leisure Centre. The Council had also been considering longer term options for the Civic Centre, keeping in mind its listing, as part of the accommodation strategy.

The Cabinet Member outlined that the Covid 19 crisis has meant that the Council has had to take a step back and pause while the longer-term effect and requirements were reviewed. This was possible now with the recent acquisition of Alex House which met the Council’s short- and medium-term accommodation needs.

It was noted that from consultation with residents, businesses and stakeholders, there was interest in changing Wood Green. The Council was a major landowner and needed to play a key role. The report set out pending decisions about Council accommodation property in the town centre which could lead to better use of Council land to support existing and new communities. The report further set out a timetable for decisions to be made about Council owned sites in the medium term.

In response to questions from Cllr Ogiehor and Cllr Mitchell, the following information was provided:

• In relation to the timelines for hoardings remaining on the Civic Centre site, these could in place until 2024 to allow the required internal and external works to be undertaken on the building.

• With regards to considering the future use of the Civic Centre site and allowing community groups to hire use of the rooms, this would be considered as part of the accommodation strategy and the specific work on locality with partners. This included considering opportunities for partner organisations and businesses to co-locate. It was hoped that the Civic Centre could be used to facilitate community groups, council use, civic duties, and meetings.

• The Cabinet Member was not aware of any specific issue concerning the wider surrounds of George Meehan House as indicated in appendix 2 of the report. There had been longstanding concern about the physical state of an adjourning building and a further building at back of the site which backed onto the car park of the premises. Additional information about the assessment of this issue could be provided by the Director for Customers, Transformation and Resources.

• With regards to Blue House Yard, there were a number of works that needed to be completed and the Council were engaging with users of the site. The Council were taking forward several ‘meanwhile’ use projects to ensure that businesses thrived. It was hoped that the work on Blue House Yard provided the businesses with as much support as required.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 291