Agenda and minutes

Venue: Woodside Room - George Meehan House, 294 High Road, N22 8JZ. View directions

Contact: Philip Slawther, Principal Committee Co-ordinator 

Items
No. Item

181.

FILMING AT MEETINGS

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.

Minutes:

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’.

182.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Jogee, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Jobs and Community Cohesion.

183.

Items of Urgent Business

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).   

Minutes:

None.

184.

Declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

 

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

 

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

 

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct

Minutes:

None.

185.

Deputations/Petitions/Presentations/Questions

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

Minutes:

The Panel received a deputation on major events in Finsbury Park, from the Friends of Finsbury Park Group (FOFPG). The deputation was introduced by Gina Harkell and Lawrence Singh. The key points of the deputation are summarised as:

  • 2022 saw the biggest Wireless Festival so far with half the useable park fenced off from 22nd June - 24th July. 250k people attended over the six days, most of whom were not from Haringey. FOFPG would like to see the Council move away from large scale events and to adopt a more collaborative approach with the local community, to use the space as a unique area promoting biodiversity and offering families a natural outdoor green space to enjoy, play sports and to use the children’s playgrounds. 
  • The Council is consulting on its Parks and Green Spaces Strategy. FOFPG believes a more consultative approach is more in-line with the stated aims of the strategy.
  • Only 8% of tickets went to Haringey residents. Most came from outside London. Tickets were £130 – it was suggested that this may have contributed to people trying to surge the entrances to get in for free. 
  • FOFPG advised that they would like to see the events stopped for three reasons:
    • Public Safety: There was poor crowd control at the park entrance to the festivals on Seven Sisters Road as thousands of festival goers blocked the road outside.  It had to be cordoned off by police blocking traffic and the tube station.  Using videos, we have shown how close the event came to a tragedy as the crowd surged forward and people were crushed at the front trying to enter the festival.  The event resulted in a lot of bad publicity for both Haringey Council and Live Nation in both national and local newspapers and BBC TV. Live Nation has had similar events happen at other festivals it organises and 8 people dies in a Live Nation event in Houston.
    • Environmental damage to the park: Grass was pounded into oblivion, tree branches broken and there was structural damage to drains and kerbs.  Wildlife suffered.
    • The negative impact on the community, which has resulting in increasing opposition to these events. The petition being collected by FOFPG has over 2400 signatures.
  • Combating the impact of climate change is incompatible with providing large scale festivals. These are more safely provided in purpose built stadiums like the 02 or Wembley.

 

The following arose during the discussion of the deputation:

a.    The Panel enquired whether the Friends group had an alternative funding proposals to cover the shortfall in income from events, if they were to be stopped. This was felt to be of particular concern given the pressures on existing budgets. In response, the Friends group advised that they felt that Finsbury Park should be funded from the Parks budget, just like every other park. It was felt that parks were a core service offer and key community resource which should be funded just like any other key service. The Friends group set  ...  view the full minutes text for item 185.

186.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 281 KB

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting on 14th November.

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes of the previous meeting on 14th November be approved as a correct record.

 

187.

Parks Update pdf icon PDF 353 KB

To follow

Minutes:

*Clerk’s note- the Chair agreed to take the presentations for agenda items 7, 8 and 9 together. Questions on these items would then be taken as part of Agenda Item 10 – Cabinet Member Questions.*

 

The Panel received a report which provided the Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel with an update on the current performance and work programme within the Parks Team. The report was introduced by Simon Farrow, Head of Parks and Leisure as set out in the addendum reports pack at pages 1-6.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the update was noted

188.

Leisure Update pdf icon PDF 536 KB

To follow

 

Minutes:

The Panel received a presentation which provided the Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel with an update on Haringey physical activity and sport in the borough. The presentation was introduced by Simon Farrow, Head of Parks and Leisure as set out in the addendum reports pack at pages 7-18.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the presentation was noted

 

189.

Update on the Summer Major Events Programme pdf icon PDF 186 KB

To follow

Additional documents:

190.

Cabinet Member Questions with the Cabinet Member Communities and Civic Life

Verbal update.

To undertake a Q&A session with the Cabinet Member on the parts of her portfolio relevant to the scrutiny panel:

Parks & Leisure.

Minutes:

The Panel undertook a questions and answer session with Cllr Julie Davies, the Cabinet Member for Communities and Civic Life regarding the parks and leisure elements of her portfolio. Questions from Panel members on agenda items 7,8 & 9 were also incorporated into this part of the meeting. The following arose as part of this Q&A session:

a.    The Panel sought clarification around new sporting equipment and also what was happening with the tennis courts at Priory Park. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that resurfacing work was due to take place on a number of tennis courts in the borough and that overall, the Cabinet Member was pleased with the amount of investment that they had been able to put into New River and in terms of new equipment. Officers advised that they were working with the FA on a national scheme about improving local football pitches. It was hoped that they would lead to some additional investment in Haringey. More cover had also been put in place for tractor drivers to support sports pitch maintenance. In relation to the tennis courts at Priority Park, officers advised that there was a contract in place with Georgians who provided private coaching lessons on the courts, but that they also give free lessons to local residents. The Council was working with the LTA to improve the tennis court facilities and it was hoped that there would be two new courts and two mini-courts along with floodlighting, Planning Permission dependent. In general, the Cabinet Member advised that Haringey was down on swimming lanes and pitch space, but that the administration was seeking to improve this.

b.    The Panel sought clarification about what was happening with the Haringey Walks campaign. The Panel also enquired what the Cabinet was doing to tackle health inequalities across the borough. In response, the Cabinet Member acknowdged the need to tackle health inequalities, especially post pandemic, and advised that this was taking place over several different portfolios. It was acknowledged that there was some work needed to improve the facilities at leisure centres and to increase participation levels, particularly in the east of the borough. Officers advised that Haringey Walks was still very much active and that 243 walks were delivered in the current year, with 2000 people taking part. Officers advised that they welcomed the Panel’s input as they developed the new physical activity & sport strategy next year. Part of this discussion, it was suggested, could be around where to target financial  resources to get the best results i.e. Haringey walks or by funding leisure centre concessions.

c.    The Panel raised concerns about the Finsbury Park boundary review and the stated aim of making the park more permeable. It was questioned why Sustrans were involved in this review and why the Council was starting from a point of view that the park should be more permeable. A previous EVA conducted by the police concluded that the park should be made less permeable and that gates should be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 190.

191.

Scrutiny of the 2023/24 Draft Budget and 5 Year Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/2028 pdf icon PDF 395 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel received a covering report with a number of appendices, that set out the Council’s draft budget and 5 Year Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2023/2028 proposals relating to the Panel’s remit. The report was introduced by John O’Keefe, Head of Finance (Capital, Place & Economy) a set out in the agenda pack at pages 17 to 94. Cllr Davies, Cabinet Member for Communities & Civic Life was present, along with Cllr Chandwani, Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services, and Cllr Hakata, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Environment and Transport, and Deputy Leader of the Council. A number of officers from the Environment and Neighbourhoods Directorate were also present.

 

By way of introduction, the Panel was advised that the report contained a summary of the draft budget proposals that were submitted to Cabinet the previous week. The proposals related to the revenue and capital General Fund budget as well as the HRA revenue and capital budgets, and the Dedicated Schools Grant. The report noted that at present there was a £3.1m budget gap and that this was after circa £5.5m of additional one off funding (reserves) had been utilised. A final MTFS report would be presented to Cabinet In February, which would reflect an updated financial position, having taken in to account the final levies and funding precepts from the Mayor, as well as the outcome of the local government funding settlement. The Panel noted that the Council continued to maintain a wide ranging capital programme. There was around £2.5m in growth budget provision; £490k of non-delivery of savings; and £6.6m of new savings, within the Environment and Neighbourhoods budget,  

 

The following arose during the discussion of this agenda item:

  1. The Panel sought clarification around the increased investment in the boroughs parks and streets identified in the report, and whether this was linked to a reduction in funding from TfL. In response, the Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Residents Services advised that TfL’s finances had been hit hard by the pandemic and that its funding settlement from the government was in a state of flux. It was noted that TfL funded transport related things, such as crossings and road safety schemes, rather than Parks. In Haringey, TfL were also supposed to fund maintenance of TfL managed roads and pavements (TfL Red Routes), but this had not happened due their ongoing funding problems. In summary, the Panel was advised that the authority was clear on the funding it would receive from TfL for this year but did not know about what would be received in future years.
  2. The Panel sought clarification about the reducing trend of expenditure for particular schemes within the capital budget. In response, the Cabinet Member advised that this reflected the fact that earlier tranches of investment would reduce the need for ongoing spend. The example given was replacing the borough’s street lighting and the fact that this should last for 30 years, the investment was front-loaded and so less investment was required in subsequent years  ...  view the full minutes text for item 191.

192.

Work Programme Update pdf icon PDF 423 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

The work programme was noted.

 

193.

New items of urgent business

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

 

Minutes:

N/A

194.

Dates of Future Meetings

16th March 2023

Minutes:

16th March 2023