Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

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 Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

Apologies for absence were noted from Cllr Ogiehor.

Cllrs Amin and Bull were present at the meeting virtually so their attendance cannot be formally recorded.

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 as noted below).  

There were no items of urgent business.

None

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s Constitution.

The Committee received a deputation on behalf of the Haringey Tree Protectors, around their concerns with the felling of trees on Parkland Walk and the need to maintain and enhance the existing tree coverage in the borough. The deputation was given by Giovanna Lozzi and Hannah Pescod. The key points of the deputation are summarised below:

·         Parkland Walk was described as a 2.5 miles long former railway, which was home to rare species of flower and fauna, birds, owls, bats.  A recent series of tree works was undertaken at this site, which had been deeply unpopular with some local residents, and had resulted in a petition and some local press coverage. It was commented that the works were the biggest intervention at this site since it became a wildlife corridor.

·         The deputation party suggested that that the planning, commissioning and site-management procedures of those works were beset by serious failings and were fundamentally flawed.  It was contended that the Council appeared to take a ‘chop down first, ask questions later’,approach.  A particular point of contention was the process of felling all trees within 5m of a bridge without ascertaining whether the trees were causing structural damage. Given that the world was facing a climate emergency, it was felt that trees needed to be maintained and protected.

·         The Deputation party set out that they did not believe that the Parks service adhered adequately to the existing management plan for the site and should have adopted a more localised, nuanced and sensitive approach on a tree-by-tree basis.  

·         Concerns were raised as to why officers did not seem to be involved in the specification of works, or in carrying out a thorough survey and ecology report, which assessed both the ecological value and potential impact of the work on trees and other vegetation beforehand. Instead, the felling works were carried out by contractors without, it was suggested, any effective monitoring and site-management by the Council.

·         A failure to manage the work effectively resulted in: The mistaken felling of a number of 100-year-old oak trees at St James’ Bridge; trees being cut down beyond the 5 metre remit; the loss or an array of other local flora, such as bluebells and daffodils; and path widening taking place which exceeded the 5m limit. 

·         The deputation party requested that OSC look into the works further in order to learn from mistakes.  It was also suggested that:

o   There should be enhanced tree protections for trees, with TPOs that are properly enforced.

o   Trees should form a central part of the new Biodiversity Action Plan and Haringey urgently needed a properly implemented and scrutinised trees strategy.

o   There should be well-financed, robust and valued trees department.

o   Trees should be considered as local heritage assets and be treated with equal respect as buildings.

o   Haringey should consult meaningfully with communities on large ecological projects. It was suggested that some residents, whose houses back onto the walk, had not been consulted with or informed the work was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting on 4^th March were agreed as a correct record.

Verbal Update

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Climate Emergency, and the Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Hakata, attended OSC to give a verbal update on his portfolio, followed by a question and answer session. Rob Krzyszowski, Assistant Director, Planning, Building Standards & Sustainability was also present for this item, along with Maurice Richards, Transport Planning Team Leader and Simon Farrow. Cllr Hakata’s portfolio update is summarised as follows:

• A key element of the portfolio was around strategic transport, which included the TfL Street Space programme which had replaced the traditional LIP funding during Covid for the maintenance and upkeep of the borough’s roads.
• One of the key drivers behind the Street Space programme was dealing with the issue of a car-led recovery from Covid. TfL modelling suggested that a 3% increase in traffic could lead to a grid lock on London’s roads.
• Haringey was committed to being zero carbon by 2041
• Respiratory illnesses were increasing and the primary cause of this was pollution.
• In light of wider health concerns, the Cabinet Member set out that he was committed to pushing people to walk and cycle more and that Haringey would be looking to disincentivise car usage, whilst incentivising cycling and walking. 
• The Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) programme was continuing and the Cabinet Member advised that he was committed to engaging with local residents on LTNs and ensuring they were part of the process. The first consultation would begin on 8^th July, with the others to follow shortly afterwards. This consultation exercise would feed into the decision making process for implementation in the autumn and there would also be a rolling process of consultation to ensure that LTNs achieved their stated purpose.
• LTN’s were identified as being just one part of a wider toolkit of interventions, with the examples of School Streets and the Walking and Cycling Action Plan (WCAP) noted. The Council had originally committed to undertake 15 school streets programmes over the 5 period of the WCAP. The Committee was advised that this would in fact be 26.
• The Cabinet Member committed to ensuring a depth of engagement with residents across all the schemes and that he would also be looking to roll out other traffic interventions across the borough as-and-when possible.

The following arose during the discussion of this agenda item:

1. The Panel welcomed the Cabinet Member’s goal of trying to win the hearts and minds of local residents around LTNs. The Committee queried when the WCAP would be in place, in response it was noted that the original implementation of summer 2021 would now likely be delayed slightly to Autumn 2021.
2. The Panel queried whether in addition to the three proposed LTNs, there was also scope for rolling out smaller self-contained schemes. In response, the Cabinet Member acknowledged that a whole raft of traffic and transport interventions were needed and that a number of bids had been submitted. The Cabinet Member advised that the priority for bids submitted would be pedestrians first, cyclists second and public  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

RESOLVED

That the Panel:

1. Noted the terms of reference as set out Appendix A of the report and the Scrutiny Protocol set out at Appendix B of the report for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and its Panels.
2. Noted the policy areas/remits and membership for each Scrutiny Panel for

2020/21, as set out at Appendix C of the report.

The Panel received a report which sought approval of the re-appointment of a non-voting co-opted Member to the Panel.

RESOLVED

That a representative from Haringey Association of Neighbourhood Watches be

appointed as a non-voting co-opted Member of the Panel for the 2021/22

Municipal Year.

The Panel received report  which provided an update on the Council’s

Transport Planning programmes, including the draft Walking and Cycling Action Plan (WCAP), the Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) Programme, Transport for London  funding update (post-Covid) and actions being taken to reduce congestion and improve east to west transport links. The report was introduced by Rob Krzyszowski, Assistant Director, Planning, Building Standards & Sustainability and Maurice Richards, Transport Planning Team Leader, as set out in the agenda pack at page 69.

The following arose from the discussion of this item:

a.    The Panel welcomed the Peddle My Wheels scheme, which the Council contributed funding to, that allowed people to try out bikes before deciding to purchase them at a discounted rate. A Panel Member commented that cycleways in neighbouring boroughs seemed to be much better and sought assurances over how recent TfL infrastructure funding had been spent. In response, officers advised that the funding received for last year included £100k of funding from the DfT for bollards and segregation of cyclists on side roads. These works were originally due to be temporary and so some further work would be undertaken to improve these. The Panel was advised that the Street Space Plan was set out on the Haringey website, and this included details of all of the successful funding bids.

b.    As part of a follow up question, the Panel sought assurances around the latest round of TfL bids given the fact they were on a first come first served basis. In response, officers clarified that they had submitted a bid under the most recent bidding process and that this was not a new competitive bidding process. Instead, it was oriented towards schemes that had been submitted previously where boroughs were already in discussions with TfL. Bids were either through the Street Space Plan or the LIP. Officers advised the Panel that they would provide updates on this round of funding bids, along with future rounds at a future meeting. (Clerk – to note).

c.    The Panel also sought clarification from the Cabinet Member about comments he had made previously on social media that other borough’s LTN’s were better than Haringey’s. The Cabinet Member clarified that the point of his remarks was that Haringey did not have any LTNs at present and to emphasise the fact that Haringey could implement schemes that were as good as other boroughs

d.    The Panel sought clarification from the Cabinet Member about whether there was any data available about who was using the different cycling schemes and whether this was concentrated in particular areas. In response, the Cabinet Member highlighted the role of the Peddle my Wheels scheme in providing an opportunity for residents to try cycling and commented that he would like to see this scheme rolled-out further. The Panel was advised that only 3% of residents cycled and the point of building cycle lanes was to provide safe cycling routes for people who felt excluded from cycling because it was considered dangerous.  The Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

The Panel received a work programme update report for noting and further discussion around the Panel’s work plan for 2021/22. The report was introduced by the clerk as set out in the agenda pack at page 137.

The Panel agreed to postpone indefinitely the proposed Scrutiny Review on Single Use Plastics and instead to undertake a review around the implementation of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, the scope and boundaries of which would be agreed going forwards.  The Chair also set out that in light of the deputation, she would like trees and the trees strategy to be included on the work plan. (Action: Clerk).

In response, some members of the Panel emphasised the importance of the Council’s single use plastics policy and the need to scrutinise it. It was agreed that a report would come to a future meeting on this subject.

The Chair requested that panel members email the clerk with suggestions and priorities for the work plan. (Action: All).

The noted that she would like to see some rolling reports come to the Panel on particular topics.

In response to specific concerns around a piece of land near the Network Rail footbridge in Stroud Green, the Panel suggested that they would like to see a piece of work undertaken that looked at how well the Council worked with partners, such as Network Rail, on adopting a joined up approach to managing land and keeping it clear of litter. Cllr Bull agreed to email the Clerk with some further consideration of this topic, with a view to it being a future agenda item. (Action: Cllr Bull).

The Panel also noted that it would like an update from the new administration about a previous agreement to bring in vegetarian school meals once a week. 

RESOLVED

1. That the Panel noted its work programme, attached at Appendix A of the report, and considered whether any amendments are required.

2. That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be asked to endorse any

amendments at its next meeting.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

N/A

20^th September 2021

11^th November 2021

14^th December 2021

3^rd March 2022

Noted as:

20^th September 2021, 11^th November 2021, 14^th December 2021 and 3^rd March 2022.