Agenda and draft minutes

To receive an apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Claire Kober.

The Chair will consider the admission of any items of Urgent Business. Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be considered under Item 7 below.

There were no items of urgent business.

There was a query about the absence of the terms of reference from the committee agenda. It was usual practice for committees to consider their terms of reference at their first meeting of the municipal year. In response it was noted that the terms of reference for the Area Committees were unchanged since the previous municipal year and they had been approved at full Council in May 2012. The protocols for the Area Committee had changed and were available for view. In keeping with good practice, it was agreed that the Area Committee terms of reference be put forward for ratification at the next meeting in September.

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, license, permission or registration in relation to them or any person or body described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest put forward.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2012 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 25 April 2012 were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.

To discuss issues arising at the Area Forum.

The Chair asked members of the committee to feedback on the issues raised at the previous forum meeting. 

Tottenham one way system (Gyratory Scheme)

Consultation and communication had been the main theme around the discussion on the imminent changes to the Gyratory system.  There was a feeling that not all local people had been communicated with about the planned works which would begin in September/October. It would be important to identify the lead council officer linking up with TFL and reporting to the Cabinet Member. They would need to gain a speedy understanding of the publicity and information material distributed about the imminent works and ascertain whether there were any gaps to fill. TFL had previously committed to liaising with a consultancy group made up of local community stakeholders and it was important to convene this group as soon as possible. Cllr Watson agreed to compile a list of community groups that could be involved in these meetings.

At the earlier forum meeting, TFL had committed to providing web pages dedicated to information about the forthcoming works to the Tottenham Gyratory system. Monitoring this website was essential to ensure that updates were being added and that the FAQ (Frequently asked Questions) pages reflected the issues being put forward by residents.

There was a strong feeling that the website would need to be updated and respond to concerns on a daily basis and therefore an interactive website was felt to be the best way to facilitate this. The issues which the website would need to anticipate and provide a response to were:

• Expected complaints about the traffic increase in Broad Lane, noise levels, air pollution.
• How cycle lanes are expected to be used and if any are to be shared with pedestrians?
• If Broad Lane would continue to be a red route?
• Changes to bus routes and advice on  expected fare changes
• Technical advice on how traffic is expected to operate around Broad Lane.
• How drainage issues will be tackled.
• Where employment and apprenticeship opportunities will be available to Adults and Young people in the area following their working programme in the area

 More details from the group discussions, that would be useful to TFL to consider when compiling the web pages,   would be compiled for the Chair to view and provide to them.

There was expected to be traffic jams in the Broad Lane area which would have an impact on surrounding roads such as West Green Road, and it was recalled that, in the consultation stage, there had been some modelling on how the traffic would flow and the possible problem areas. It was agreed to check with TFL if there had been a recent modelling exercise completed which could provide an early insight into the expected  traffic problem areas as this would be key information  for councillors to have to  before the start of the works.

TFL would need to anticipate the likely routes and roads that motorists will use to move in and around the Gyratory works.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

To approve the Tottenham and Seven Sisters Area Plan.

The   updated Area Plan was considered by the committee. The Chair had asked that   fortnightly collections, state of the roads in the ward areas, and relevant public realm projects be included as additional priorities.  There was also a change to the format with additional columns added to record   outcomes and timescales for completing the required actions connected with achieving the listed priorities.

The committee were asked to keep in mind that the Area Plan would be a live document and as actions were achieved or new actions added the document would be updated accordingly.  The Area Committee would review the plan at each of their quarterly meetings and feedback on the actions being completed.  These would be noted and directed at the responsible officer leads listed in the document.

RESOLVED

That the Area Plan for Tottenham and Seven Sisters be adopted.

To consider any new  items of Urgent Business accepted under Item 2 above.

 There were no items of urgent business.

To discuss any items of AOB.

None

To discuss and propose future agenda items.

The committee discussed the planned new format for the Tottenham and Seven Sisters Area Forum meetings, put into practice at this evening’s earlier meeting. The new format aimed to enable   active participation in the topics being discussed by residents, traders, councillors and officers attending the meeting.  People attending the forum meeting had been sat on tables with officers and councillors instead of sitting in rows. The tables contained visuals such as maps showing the areas being discussed and there were also briefing notes about the topics of discussion. 

Following brief introductions to the topics, group discussions ensued with a further short opportunity given to tables to raise any outstanding concerns. At this meeting representative from Balfour Beatty and TFL had also sat   on the tables with residents and had been involved, first hand, in discussions about the Gyratory.  

The overall view was that the evening’s forum meeting had been a success as it had allowed residents greater participation in the meeting, with ward councillors facilitating their discussion. There was agreement that the Chair should continue with this format and also keep to specific themes of discussion at forum meetings. The Cabinet Member for Communities would advocate this approach at other Area Forum meetings when meeting with the other Area Forum Chairs.

 The next meeting would focus on the environment with topics of discussion around this.  Following the success of having visual maps at the forum meeting, it was suggested that there were maps available listing the roll out areas for fortnightly collections.

It was also agreed that a feedback sheet should be distributed at meetings to allow residents to comment of the format and their experience of the meeting. It was noted that a similar evaluation sheet had been used at the recent West Green and Bruce Grove Area Forum and this example could be sent to the Chair to consider for use at the next meeting in September.

The Chair asked for suggestions on venues for future meetings. The local college (CHENEL, Tottenham High Road Campus) was suggested as a venue that could be checked for availability.

To note the dates of future meetings as set out below:

Ø      4 September 2012, 6.30pm, Tottenham Green Leisure Centre

Ø      15 January 2013 6.30pm, Tottenham Green Leisure Centre

Ø      25 April 2013 6.30pm, Tottenham Green Leisure Centre

The date of the next meeting was 04 September 2012.