Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Berryman, Bob Kidby and Colin Marr.

The Chair paid tribute to Councillor Pat Egan, who passed away on 19^th July 2014, following a short illness. 

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with at items 12 & 16 below)

There was no such business.

None.

None.

i.              To confirm the unrestricted minutes of the Alexandra Palace and Park Board held on 10 June 2014 as an accurate record of the proceedings.

ii.                    To confirm the unrestricted minutes of the Alexandra Palace and Park Board held on 10 June 2014 as an accurate record of the proceedings.

iii.                   To receive the draft minutes of the Alexandra Park and  Palace Advisory  Committee meetings held on 8 July 2014 and to consider any recommendations from that Committee.

iv.                   To receive and consider the draft minutes of the joint Alexandra Park and Palace Statutory Advisory Committee and the Alexandra Palace and Park Consultative Committee, held on 8 July 2014.

v.                     To receive and note the draft minutes of the Alexandra Palace and Park Consultative Committee held on 8 July 2014.

Items 5 ii to 5v are to follow or will be tabled if available

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2014 were approved as a correct record.

To receive the report of the Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace.

Duncan Wilson – Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace - introduced the report as set out.

NOTED:

·                The contents had been approved by the auditors.

·                The Chair’s report had been amended to include a paragraph about the late Councillor Egan.

·                The £950k Gift Aid contribution from the Trading Company was better than had been expected, and the accounts themselves showed a relatively healthy profit and loss.  There was still a large deficit on the balance sheet due to the loan from the Council, but work was being carried out to change the way that the loan was classified in the future.

RESOLVED that

i)          The Annual Report and Review covering the year 2013/14 be adopted and published.

ii)         That the Chair be given authority to sign the financial statements on behalf of the Board.

To receive a power-point presentation from the of the Design Team.

Duncan Wilson – Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace - introduced Andy Theobald of Feilden Clegg Bradley, who provided an overview of the RIBA Stage 2 design proposals.  HLF had seen and cleared the proposals, and work would now move to the final stage of the design process.

Following the presentation, Andy Theobald responded to questions from the Board:

·                The entrance for pedestrians through the car park would be clearly defined.  The issue of cycle routes would be addressed in parallel to the scheme.

·                The walls in Studios A and B would have a new structure and lining to encapsulate the asbestos which had been found.

·                The theatre floor would be flattened to allow for flexible use and different seating arrangements.  The balcony would be re-raked to improve sight-lines into the auditorium.  There was also only room for one row of seats above the corridors at the side of the theatre – any extra rows would require extending out into the theatre – the one row would utilise the existing space.

·                There would be a new roof in the theatre, which may help in terms of sound-proofing between the Great Hall and the theatre.  This could lead to occasions where events could be held in each area, but it would depend on the type of event taking place.

RESOLVED to note the update.

To receive the report of the Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace.

Duncan Wilson – Chief Executive, Alexandra Palace - introduced the report as set out. 

NOTED:

·                The overall budget of the scheme had increased due to inflationary rises, however HLF have experienced this on a number of other projects, and so were prepared for this eventuality.

·                The increased budget meant that there would be pressures, and the trade off between quality and cost had been discussed with the HLF.

·                Initial fundraising and sponsorship approaches had been made.  There were five realistic prospects for sponsorship.  Further information would be available at the next meeting.

RESOLVED that

i)          The overview of the regeneration report be noted.

ii)         The progress with fundraising and sponsorship be noted.

To receive the report of the Director of Property and Regeneration.

Kerri Farnsworth – Director of Property and Regeneration, Alexandra Palace - introduced the report as set out.

NOTED:

·                Initial consultation had begun on the next stage of the regeneration plans, and officers from Alexandra Palace had visited local Area Forums and Neighbourhood Committees.  The Statutory Consultation stage would be during the last week in September and the first week in October.

·                HLF had said that the change in the budget was below the level of uplift seen in other projects, and that they were pleased with the way Alexandra Palace had managed to contain costs.

·                The 10 year fabric maintenance plan had been completed, and since the last meeting, the costs had been refined downwards.  It was noted that much of the work relied on large projects – the HLF would not provide money to restore the fabric alone, there would also have to be a large element of community benefit.

Go Ape

·                Ben Davies, Go Ape, was in attendance to provide an overview of the plans.  The company was looking to expand the Go Ape offer into city parks, which would mean smaller courses with multi-levels.  There would also be a new pricing structure, which would make it more affordable.

·                The Statutory Advisory Committee had raised concerns in regards to the plane trees.  Ben Davies had met with the Chair of the Friends of Alexandra Park (Gordon Hutchinson) to understand the concerns, which would be addressed as the plans were worked through. 

·                The siting of the course would be to the east of the Lakeside café.

·                If the Board were agreeable to the plans, the next stages would be for Go Ape to develop a detailed proposal for the planning application, present this to the Statutory Advisory Committee, Consultative Committee and the Board, before submitting the planning application to the local authority.

RESOLVED that

i)          Progress with the regeneration programme and in particular the HLF RIBA Stage 2 presentation as the basis for developing the design be noted.

ii)         The position regarding Dinosaurs Playgroup at the Campsbourne Centre and the intention to commission a section 36 Charities Act report and prepare a tenancy for approval of the Board be noted.

iii)       Landlord’s consent for the location of the climbing frame outside Little Dinosaurs playgroup in the Grove following planning consent (now obtained by the tenant) be granted.

iv)       The further development of the Go Ape proposal be approved.

To receive the report of the Commercial Director, Alexandra Palace.

Emma Dagnes – Commercial & Development Director, Alexandra Palace – introduced the report as set out. 

NOTED:

·                There had been a good start to the year in terms of commercial activity.

·                A major transformation had taken place on the ‘beach’ at the bar and kitchen.  Work would be carried out in the bar, and would show the Palace and Park’s ‘past, present and future’.  The seating would also be changed to increase the number of covers by 40.

Fireworks

·                The Safety Advisory Group had met on 23 June 2014.  There were two items highlighted – an independent review involving the blue light services in regards to utilising Alexandra Palace Way as a viewing area; and splitting the funfair into two, one for children’s rides and one for older rides.

·                A licensing application would be made to the local authority in August, which would look to increase the maximum number on site to 35,000.

·                There had been 300 complaints made following the fireworks in 2013, with the two main areas of concern being the beer festival and customer services.

RESOLVED that

i)          The contents of the report be noted.

ii)         The approach to the fireworks event for 2014 be approved.

To receive the report of the Head of Learning and Community Programmes.

Melissa Tettey – Head of Learning and Community Programmes, Alexandra Palace – introduced the report as set out.  Contact had been made with one third of primary schools in the borough, and the team had requested to attend the Headteachers forum.  The main focus over the next six months would be the 2014 WW1 anniversary.

RESOLVED to note the report.

There was no such business.

NOTED the dates of future meetings:

28 October 2014

10 February 2015

28 April 2015

Items 15 & 16 are likely to be subject of a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting as they contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972; Para 1 – information relating to any individual, Para 2 – Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual,  Para 3 - information relating to the business or financial affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information), and Para 5 – Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

RESOLVED that the public and press be excluded as items 15 & 16 contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972; Para 1 – information relating to any individual, Para 2 – Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual,  Para 3 - information relating to the business or financial affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information), and Para 5 – Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

To confirm the exempt minutes of the Alexandra Palace and Park Board held on 10 June 2014 as an accurate record of the proceedings.

The exempt minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2014 were approved as a correct record.

There was no such business.