Agenda and minutes

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The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred those present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting and asked that those present reviewed and noted the information contained therein

No apologies for absence were received.

It being a special meeting of the Sub Committee, under Part Four, Section B, Paragraph 17, of the Council’s Constitution, no other business shall be considered at the meeting.

It being a special meeting under Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 17 of the Council’s Constitution, no other business was considered at the meeting.

None.

There were no deputations, petitions, presentations or questions.

a.         Report of the Monitoring Officer

b.         Report of the Strategic Director of Regeneration, Planning and Development (to follow)

c.         Appendices:

-       Copy of call-in

-       Excerpt from the draft minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 20 June 2017

-       20 June 2017 Cabinet report – Proposed relocation of Highgate Library Service

Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, Deputy Monitoring Officer, introduced the Monitoring Officer’s Report, which advised that this decision fell within the policy and budget framework.

Following an outline of the process for the call-in meeting, and the possible outcomes available, the Chair invited Councillor Carter to present the arguments for why the signatories had called in the Cabinet decision and the alternative action proposed.

Setting out his reasons, Cllr Carter stated that he did not claim that the decision was outside the policy or budget framework. He sought reconsideration by Cabinet of the in-principle decision to relocate Highgate library to Jacksons Lane Arts Centre (JLAC) and dispose of the existing site, as the proposal was predicated on a feasibility study that had not yet been undertaken and was premature. The decision was therefore premature and had not followed due process. He believed that a full public consultation should be undertaken, especially given that a similar proposal around Muswell Hill Library had been subject to a full public consultation.  By failing to follow that precedent, the Council would be vulnerable to a legal challenge on the issue. Furthermore, the local community was strongly opposed to the proposal.

Cllr Carter asserted that, rather than relocating the Library, the £1m of match funding for Jackson Lane Arts Centre’s bid to the Arts Council could be found elsewhere in Council’s capital budget, such as the £8m unspent allocation for the Marsh Lane site. He asked whether Cabinet would rescind the in-principle decision to relocate Highgate library and dispose of the existing site, if the completed feasibility study considered that the proposal was not viable.

In response to the Committee’s questioning, Cllr Carter was unsure what Jackson Lane’s motivation for the proposed relocation was, but felt that the drivers were likely to be financial and also commented that the process was being driven by the Council. The Chair enquired what Cllr Carter’s comments were on the legal comments contained in the report which stated that there was no legal duty to consult on the matter. Cllr Carter reiterated that he was concerned by the risk of legal challenge and that he believed that the decision on Muswell Hill Library had set a precedent.

The Leader of the Council set out some of the background information in relation to the decision. The decision was taken within the context of continued pressure on the Council’s revenue budget and its commitment to retain all nine libraries within the borough. The Committee was advised that the visitor numbers to Highgate Library had fallen from 68k in 2012/13 to 56k in 2016/17, which were the lowest for any of Haringey’s libraries.

The Leader advised the Committee that the proposals for relocation came from Jacksons Lane. The Leader also advised that co-location was deemed beneficial because of; the prominence of the JLAC site, the fact that JLAC attracted around 200k visitors a year, the synergies that existed between the activities undertaken at JLAC and at Highgate Library, and the proximity of JLAC to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

Item 8 is likely to be the subject of a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting as it contains exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972; Para 3 – information relating to the business or financial affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

RESOLVED

That the Press and Public be excluded from the rest of the meeting by virtue of Paragraph 3, Part 1 of Schedule 12 A of the Local Government Act 1972.

To consider exempt information pertaining to item 6 of the agenda.

RESOLVED

The Committee noted the information contained in the exempt part of the report.