Agenda item

[ Report of the Chief Operating Officer.To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Environment] Members  will be asked to consider ceasing the current service provision at WLHC in April 2017 in line with the findings of the service review detailed in the attached  report.

Cabinet will also be asked to agree  for  expressions of interest for the future use of WLHC to be  sought from suitably qualified organisations  and that the outcomes of this exercise are reported back to Cabinet before the end of 2016.

The Cabinet Member for Environment introduced the report, which was seeking to cease the current service provision at the Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre, and would be asking for expressions of interest to come forward from suitable organisations for management of the site and, as indicated in the deputation, there had been consultation with local groups.

Councillor Wright spoke, in his ward Member capacity, in support of the Friends of Wolves Lane Group, and welcomed the opportunity offered for the Centre to continue provision for a further year.

Cllr Wright highlighted the Horticultural Centre as a positive resource for the community and spoke about the current lack of volunteering opportunities for Adults and young people with learning difficulties and the valuable opportunities for volunteering and work experience available at the Centre.

Councillor Wright hoped that the positive strengths of the Friends group were a good basis for the Centre to move forward from. He further supported the recommendations of the report and hoped the Council would continue working with the group.

In response to Councillor Engert’s questions, it was noted that:

·         The proposed relocation of depots in Keston Road and Woodside House to Wolves Lane would follow a due process in which the impact of increased heavy vehicles on Wolves Lane would be assessed.

·         The designation of part of this site as Metropolitan open land indicated that there was a set remit for how this area can be taken forward and the Council would not exceed this remit.

·         The visitor hub for Finsbury Park was an option discussed in the report, but having investigated this option, it was not being pursued

RESOLVED

1.    To cease the current service provision at WLHC [Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre] in April 2017 in line with the findings of the service review detailed in the attached report.

2.    That expressions of interest for the future use of WLHC be sought from suitably qualified organisations and that the outcomes of this exercise be reported back to Cabinet before the end of 2016.

Reasons for Decision

The Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) sets out a reduction of £70,000 in the budget of WLHC. Three further internal funding sources were also being removed as a result of actions within the MTFS. As set out in paragraph 11 this would lead to a total funding reduction of £205,000 over the next two years.

Adults and Volunteering Services - All funding for this service was being withdrawn over the next two financial years. The Council was moving away from direct provision of Adult Care and therefore, although personal independence payments may be available for some or all of the service users, this was not an area where the Parks service should continue to operate.

Education Services - This service area was subsidised by the Parks service and only recovers around 50% of its cost through fees and charges. The service was well supported by the schools attending but they have indicated that a 100% rise in the cost of visiting would make visits to the site unaffordable. This was not a core area of operation for the Parks service and others may well be better placed to provide such a service.

Retailing - The Council has been retailing plants and other garden sundries since it took over the management of the Centre from the previous failing social enterprise in 2009. However, recent legal advice had highlighted that the Council does not have in place the right corporate structure. The surplus produced by the retailing is not significant and therefore does not warrant the overhead of setting up the necessary corporate structure to continue.

Growing - The Council currently grows a significant amount of seasonal bedding, shrubs for parks and housing areas and also plants to retail. The Parks service need for these plants is changing as it moves to more sustainable forms of planting rather than the high maintenance seasonal bedding. In addition it will no longer be retailing and therefore will not need to produce plants to sell. Therefore, in the future the service would require less glass house provision.

Horticultural Centre Site - By recommending that most of the current services should cease this would release around 60-70% of the current site. The site is designated Metropolitan Open Land and therefore its future use must be consistent with the constraints currently placed upon it.

Alternative options considered

During 2015 a full review of the current services and the funding for those services was completed.  The review considered three options for each element of the service: remain as is; improve; and stop. A summary of the review can be found at Appendix 1.