Agenda item

The Area Committee will be asked to  consider  and agree the Area Plan for west Green and Bruce Grove.

A local area plan for the West Green and Bruce Grove had now been completed and had the aim of guiding future council activities, local budgets and planning decisions in the West Green and Bruce Grove area.   It was described as a “living” document as it would continue to be shaped in response to local conditions and residents concerns. The actions in the plan would be funded from existing resources being re-prioritised or targeted as necessary.

 The draft plan   contained a  set of  aspirations for the West  Green and Bruce Grove area which had been  informed  by examining service data  and been  developed from  discussions  at a public workshop with residents, councillors and  representatives of community groups  held in January.

The chosen aspirations for the area were set out in alphabetical order and the plan now contained actions assigned to the council/ partner organisations   that would need to take place in the 2012/13.

 Comment was made on the inclusion of activity to increase the use of the Bernie Grant Art Centre and whether this was on the correct area plan as it was situated in Tottenham Green ward. The committee noted that the reason for including this activity in the plan emanated from discussion at the consultation event where local residents had highlighted the need to increase use of the centre as it would be of benefit to the Tottenham area. It was also highlighted as important to the West Green and Bruce Grove area for the cultural services it provided to the community.

Geographical areas where anti social behaviour was to   be tackled was listed and query was made on the need to include this information in a public document as it gave away intelligence about future police activities.

The activity relating to enforcement in the area needed to be reiterated in the document as a priority. A committee member reported that the suggestion for local community groups to be trained on how to navigate planning and licensing procedures would be discussed with the responsible Cabinet Member.   This training should make local community groups more aware of which part of the process they need to be making objections and what type of information they need to include to have an impact on the   licensing and planning decisions. It was agreed that this could be added as an action to the Area Plan under a new additional heading named “community capacity building”.

The strategy behind the assignment of actions to each aspiration was questioned. It was highlighted that some activities were   specific to West Green and Bruce Grove and others were   borough wide actions such as breast feeding support.  It was suggested that  the  plan could distinguish,  under two  separate headings, those  actions which were specific  to the ward and those which  were borough wide  activities.

The committee discussed the area behind Turnpike Lane station which had over the years not had a fixed purpose for its use, consequently attracting antisocial behaviour.  In the past a plan had been developed between the council and the West Green Resident’s Association aimed at designing out crime in this area. This had been compiled at a time when TFL were investing in areas near underground stations.  It was agreed that the improvement to the land behind Turnpike Lane station be added to the Area Plan and that the Area Liaison officer locate the previous plans compiled by the resident’s in association with the Council.

Concern was raised  about the junction  between West Green Road, Lang ham Road and Westbury Avenue  where there was incidents  of  regular anti  social behaviour  reported to local councillors  There was a need to investigate  this and  take enforcement action.

 There was also a suggestion to look at improving the entrance area to Bruce Grove over ground station at Moorefield road and deterring anti social behaviour here. A member of the committee asked if this could also be investigated and whether this could be designed out with improvements to the front of the station.

RESOLVED

1. That the issues raised by members of the committee be incorporated into the final plan. 

2. That the activities which can be commenced to achieve the aspirations of the plan should proceed immediately.

3. That a revised plan be considered by the committee in June.