Agenda item

Louise Stewart, Chief Executive Alexandra Palace & Park, introduced the report as set out.

The following arose during the discussion of the report:

a.    East Wing Restoration project – The Trust Board agreed to re-scope the project to keep expenditure within the budget available. In response to a request for further information around the concepts, ideas and timescales involved with the BBC studios, the Chief Executive advised that these were still being developed.

b.    Work was ongoing with the West Yard Storage project and was due for completion in autumn 2017. The Chief Executive advised that the amount of storage space had not changed from the original planning application.

c.    Event Forward Schedule - A request was put forward to ensure that drone racing was kept away from the organ.

d.    The Chief Executive advised that the event details for the 50 year anniversary event of the Summer of Love (1967) were still being determined.

e.    A request was made to include a reminder for patrons to take litter home with them on the publicity materials for the Street Food & Craft Beer Festival. The Committee was advised that the Parks Manager was looking into ways of reinforcing this message without use of excessive signage. A litter picking operation was in place for scheduled events in the park.

f.     In response to a query from Val Paley on the Red Bull event, the Chief Executive advised that she would advise outside of the meeting on whether pedestrian access to the Bedford Road entrance would be affected by the schedule road closure. (Action: Louise Stewart).

g.    Park Premises Licence – The application for a premises licence was due to be considered by the Licensing Authority on 20^th April. In response to a question as to when the first additional event would be expected to take place following the granting of a licence, the Committee was advised that given the planning and lead-in times involved in setting up an event; it would likely be sometime next year.

h.    The monitoring framework outlined in the report would include information such as; how many noise complaints were received, measuring the impact of an event on the park, how quickly the park was turned around after an event; and how long it took to remove litter and return the park to its previous condition following an event.

i.      In terms of the monitoring of parking and traffic management at large events, the Committee was advised that management would monitor the data available but that it was unlikely to have people on site to undertake traffic counts. The Chief Executive advised that there was always an opportunity during an event to call APP and highlight an issue. Similarly, residents were able to feedback issues after an event to feedback@alexandrapalace.com.

j.      Park Update – The Junior Go Ape course was up and running as of 18^th March. It was anticipated that the adult course would open in August 2017.

k.    The Committee was asked to remind members of its constituent groups, through newsletters and other communication channels, to not dump household and garden waste in the park, The Chief Executive advised that the lower road had been resurfaced and the kerb re-laid, the remainder of the main road would be resurfaced when the budget allowed.

The Chair requested that more information be provided on the Learning and Participation programme at future meetings. (Action: Louise Stewart).

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.