Agenda and draft minutes

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Contact: Richard Burbidge X2923 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence (if any)

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillors Butcher and Wilson.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

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.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Strang in respect of Item 8 – Hornsey Town Hall.

3.

Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 40 KB

An explanation of the role and powers of the Committee from the Area Liaison Officer.

Minutes:

Our Chair asked Diana Edmonds (Assistant Director Culture, Libraries and Learning) to introduce the new Area Committee and explain the terms of reference.

 

We noted that the Committee was established under the Council’s constitution and was therefore a formal committee of the Council which meant that it would need to adhere to the relevant legal and procedural rules that applied. Meetings would be supported by a committee clerk who would be able to assist with such matters.

 

We also noted that the terms of reference, copies of which had been laid round, included –

 

·         Developing an area plan which would set out our priorities for the year

·         Working with others as necessary – and in particular local groups, police and transport to benefit our local communities

·         Influencing the operation of the new Veolia contract by making recommendations to the Village Manager

·         Putting forward ideas for transport and road improvements to the Council

·         Making by-laws – which would need specialist advice if any were proposed and which could be provided at the time

·         Putting forward our views on planning and licensing applications at an early stage. This would be at the pre-planning stage with planning and licensing decisions taken by the Council’s Regulatory Committee.

·         Recommending priorities for spending to the Council’s Cabinet as a part of the budget making process.

·         As a part of the wider review of Council decision making, that was referred to at the earlier Area Forum the Chair of our Committee would also be a Member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee through which the Council’s Cabinet was held to account on a range of issues.

 

The Committee was scheduled to meet 4 times this year and Committee papers would be published in advance including on the Council’s web site. Minutes of meetings would also be produced which would also be available on the Council website.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the terms of reference be noted.

 

4.

The New Environment Contract with Veolia

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.

Minutes:

We noted that Veolia Environmental Services had taken over responsibility for the Council’s Refuse, Recycling and Street Cleansing Services in April 2011. We noted also that the intention was to provide a waste management service that exhibits top quartile performance, fulfilled Haringey’s ambition of increasing recycling and reducing carbon emissions and provided environmentally friendly services. A locally based service for street cleansing had been introduced with the Borough has been divided up into 8 “Villages” which for the most part mapped onto the Area Committees.  Each Village had its own, locally based resources and a Village Manager. The Veolia Village Manager for Crouch End, Hornsey and Stroud Green was Debbie Hajbok and the Haringey Contract Manager was Jean-Francois Moreau.

 

At the invitation of our Chair Councillor Reece summarised the main points of the new service outlined earlier at the Area Forum and the matters arising

 

The New Service

·        On average 2x/week manual sweep for all residential streets

·        6 day sweeping service – Monday to Saturday

·        Recycling  – Service designed to increase the rate to 40% by 2015

·        Introduction of 240 litre bins for recycling

·        Trade waste recycling

·        A Free Bulky Recycling and Reuse Collection Service

·        A phased introduction of fortnightly collections on residential streets (excluding estates, main roads and flats above shops) for non recyclable, general  waste – starting from the west where recycling rates were highest

·        75% of waste would continue to be picked up weekly as recycling – including plastics, paper, garden and food waste

·        Significant CO2 reductions – 12,000 tonnes equivalent per annum

·        Improving Resident Satisfaction  - Key performance Indicator

 

Local Priorities

 

While the contract term was still in its early stages Veolia’s short term aims, between the present time and the September’s meeting of the Area Committee/Forum would be to:

 

·        Stabilise the service

·        Get to understand the local issues

·        Start the local engagement process – Area Forums, resident groups, traders and dedicated communications staff who will meet with the public directly to discuss recycling and future service changes

·        Develop Local Action Plans e.g. Fly tipping

 

Medium Term goals over the next 12 months, will be to

 

·        Continue to work with residents to address their concerns

·        Develop local targets for performance

·        Develop local reporting on performance, responsiveness and cost

·        Implement Local Action Plans

 

In the longer term – 12 months +, once local performance reporting was in place, and there had been an opportunity to review the effectiveness of Local Action Plans, consideration could be given to re-adjusting services where required to reflect local priorities. However, there were some constraints in that any proposed changes would still need to be compliant with Council policy, and be affordable within the service’s budget. In the meantime, the reporting of all problems including dumped rubbish, missed collections and overflowing bins the fastest and most efficient contact point was the Veolia call centre.

 

Clarification was sought of whether or not it would be possible to reduce the twice weekly street cleaning to once a week in streets where it was found  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Area Committee Plan

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

 

Minutes:

We noted that Area Plans were a key feature of public engagement across the country and that in Haringey the following were seen as the principal reasons for their use:

 

  • To offer informed choices to a range of local residents and traders
  • To target resources at evidenced need
  • To initiative two-way information sharing and joint local priority setting
  • To strengthen collective responsibility (Ward Members, Liaison, Cabinet)
  • For transparency of expenditure
  • To improve attendance through stronger public stakes
  • To improve the resolution of local problems
  • To improve the delivery of priority local services

 

The first stage of the process was for the Area Committee to agree the priorities for the Areas and the indicators. A rolling programme of the Area Committee’s priorities would be drawn up and refreshed every year based on local intelligence including the knowledge of local Ward Councillors and that of the professional officers. Data was being collected around the five main themes outlined in the Re-thinking Haringey Paper which had been agreed by the Council in February 2011 and following consultation with the professionals and Ward Councillors a paper would be brought back to the Area Committee in September recommending that between 3 and five priorities be set for the year which would be monitored with responsibility for achievement resting with the respective Directorates. There would be an opportunity for discussion and for the public to highlight any important gaps.

 

The view was expressed that the process outlined gave rise to a number of general points about communication with local residents and groups including what media would be used and whether the local press had been contacted and if they could help communicate the Plan. Also, of how would it be ensured that data related to people’s experiences. With regard to Hornsey Ward, there appeared to be no reference to large scale developments which would be taking place there shortly and which would have considerable impact including on traffic and parking. These included the Hornsey Train Depot and the Sainsbury’s developments. In Crouch End ward there was also the Town Hall Development and although outside the Committee’s geographical area there was the Heartlands development which would also have an impact. Although they were not currently included it was important that Area residents should be able to influence these developments.     

 

Reference was also made to the impact of the Government’s policy of ‘Free Schools’ as it unfolded which might make planning more difficult and as it would entail cross Area and possibly cross Borough issues there would be a need for both local and strategic policies to be developed in relation to it.

 

We were informed that the outline briefing on Area Committee Plans had been to present a proposed approach, timescale and consultation for the development of Area Committee Plans and that officers would now prepare an Area Profile guided by the discussion held at the meeting and that a presentation would be made to the next meeting of the Area Forum of the headline data/profile for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Pot Hole Repair Funding pdf icon PDF 90 KB

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

Minutes:

We noted that a number of potholes are dealt with within the Frontline Services Department either through routine inspections or reports from the public or Members. All potholes were investigated and assessed against the Council’s intervention level policy. Defects above the intervention level were forwarded to the contractors for repair within 24 hours and most of the remainder to be repaired within 28 days. Some defects were referred to third parties and utility companies.

 

The Council had dedicated revenue funding for pothole of £200,000. In addition to which a substantial amount of the remaining highways maintenance budget of £500,000 was used on pothole and pavement repairs. However, earlier this year the Department for Transport announced an additional one-off funding of £214,000 for pothole repairs.

 

It had been agreed that the additional funding should be split between the split between Area Committees based on road length adjusted to take account of the 16 roads to be resurfaced and also those needing resurfacing for which there was no funding in 2011/12 which resulted in an allocation of £28,150. 

 

We were concerned that there was a clear differentiation between those pot holes filled out of the general budget provision and those funded out of the additional allocation. We were also concerned that details of feedback and of all potholes reported were recorded and published on the Council’s web site.

 

Officers confirmed that all potholes reported would be inspected and if they met the intervention level then they would be fixed. All potholes reported would be checked and categorized. A list would be collated which would be reported back to the Area Committee. Potholes to be fixed form the additional funding now reported would be shown separately from those to be fixed out of the general budget provision.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the report be noted.

 

7.

Dates of Future Meetings and Discussion on Venues and Agenda Items

  • Monday 26 September 2011
  • Tuesday 17 January 2012
  • Tuesday 10 April 2012

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the following dates of Area Forum/Committee meetings for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year be noted –

 

·        Monday 26 September 2011;

·        Tuesday 17 January 2012;

·        Tuesday 10 April 2012.

 

8.

Any Other Business of an Urgent Nature

Minutes:

Hornsey Town Hall

 

Councillor Strang declared a personal interest in this item by virtue of being one of the Council’s representatives on the Hornsey Town Hall Creative Trust.

 

At the invitation of our Chair Councillor Strang responded to the points raised earlier at the Area Forum in relation to plans for Hornsey Town Hall and the interim Hornsey Town Hall users committee. 

 

The Council had been working in partnership with the Hornsey Town Hall Community Trust to find a solution for the Town Hall which met the objectives of restoring this historically important building and using it in a financially viable way that also had strong community benefits. The Council and the Trust believed that leasing the building to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts was the option that most fulfilled these aims and objectives.

 

Under the proposals, Mountview would occupy the Town Hall; surrounding land would be sold by the Council and developed for housing to cover some of the costs of restoring the historic features of the building while Mountview would take responsibility for repairs and maintenance throughout the lease. A number of conditions would be attached to the lease to ensure the ongoing maintenance of the Town Hall and a range of community benefits.

 

Having noted the position we were of the view that a number of issues required further clarification, including –

 

·        Role of the Hornsey Town Hall Community Trust vis a vis Mountview both in the future and in the interim

·        Extension of the education and community programme

·        Community access to the asset

·        What role if any there was for the Area Committee

 

RESOLVED:

 

That a presentation be made to the next meeting of the Area Committee providing an update on the Hornsey Town Hall including on those specific issues identified above.