An opportunity to question the Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor
Pete Mitchell, on developments within his portfolio.
Minutes:
Councillor Peter Mitchell, the Cabinet Member for Environment, reported on key developments within his portfolio as follows:
· He reported that safety measures were being looked at for Finsbury Park including CCTV, lighting, closing the gates at night and the use of park guards. The Police were also undertaking a full assessment of safety issues in the park. Action would be taken when this had been received, which was envisaged as being mid February. The Police currently had an increased presence in the park and were focussing on drug dealing and anti-social behaviour. The Council was providing additional support to rough sleepers in the park and repairing the perimeter fence. A meeting had taken place in the park with a range of local stakeholders, including local MPs and the Friends group. An access audit was also being undertaken by Councillor Hearn. In addition, the park celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2019 and plans were being developed for this;
· Income from events in Finsbury Park in 2017/18 had been £800,000. £50,000 had been spent on fences and similar amounts on tennis, netball and volleyball courts. Smart bins had also been purchased, which sent a message to operatives when they needed emptying. In addition, £35,000 had been obtained from the Environmental Impact Levy. Some of this had been distributed to a range of user groups through small grants of between £600 and £1100. Signage, new disability bikes and distance markers for runners and walkers were amongst the other items that the money had been invested in;
· As part of the Active Communities Programme, Brunswick Park had been given a grant of £174,000 to develop facilities. It was anticipated that the work would be completed by April. A grant had also been made for Stationers Park to develop the play area and there was the potential for grant funding to be obtained for a large project at Bull Lane Playing Fields;
· As part of the Smarter Travel programme, active travel plans were being developed with schools. In addition, secondary schools were now taking up cycle training. The Sustainable Transport works plan for 2018-19 was also be finalised;
· A new delivery model was being considered for highways and street lighting. In addition, consideration was being given to changes to how allotments were managed, in consultation with the Allotments Forum;
· There was currently a programme of tree planting, funded by a grant from the Mayor of London;
· A litter reduction plan for parks was being developed;
· An event on Air Quality was planned to take place towards the end of February to launch an Air Quality Strategy. It was hoped to set up a steering group to take forward action following this;
· Consultation on the proposed landlord licensing scheme was taking place. In answer to a question, he stated that he was keen to promote a wide range of responses to it, particularly from tenants.
A Panel Member stated that repairs of an inferior quality had been undertaken to a path in Finsbury Park that had been previously been upgraded using Heritage Lottery funding. As a result of this, the path was now deteriorating. The Panel felt that it was the responsibility of those who rented facilities at the park to make good any damage that occurred. The Cabinet Member agreed to raise this issue with officers. In addition, the Chair stated that he had previously raised the condition of the grass which had not been repaired adequately following events and was deteriorating. He felt that this should also be raised with officers.
In answer to a question, the Cabinet Members stated that the capital works that were taking place to the Parkland Walk were to bridges over roads. He agreed to provide further information regarding the tree planting programme, including numbers, area and criteria.
Mr Sygrave reported that the Harringay ward Police Panel had had concerns about Finsbury Park for some time. One option to address some of the issues would be to redeploy officers from Ducketts Common where the need for them had diminished. He felt that it was important that the response was joined up and that all three boroughs that the park covered were involved. However, there were no easy answers to the issues and he welcomed the measured response. He requested a breakdown of where money from the events programme at Finsbury Park had been spent.
Ms Robertson stated that she was happy to provide further information on the issues that had been raised and the discussions with the other two boroughs. In respect of improved lighting, there was a colony of bats within the park that needed to be considered. The needs of those using the running track and the basketball, netball and tennis courts also needed to be taken into account. The Cabinet Member reported extra Police resources had been deployed within the park but it was not clear if this was sustainable. He was happy to meet with ward Councillors to update them on progress.
In answer to a question, the Cabinet Member stated that residents liked the idea of parks being locked at night and they felt that it deterred anti-social behaviour. However, Finsbury Park was large and this could present challenges in ensuring that it was completely empty when the gates were closed. Locking parks was also expensive.
Ms Robertson reported that £800,000 had been raised from events in 2017/18. £545,000 had been used for the running of parks. The remainder had been re-invested in parks. She was happy to provide further details.
The Panel welcomed the proposed landlord licensing scheme, which it was felt had the potential to reduced fly tipping and anti social behaviour, especially in areas with a large number of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
AGREED:
1. That the Head of Commissioning and Client be requested to provide the Panel Members with;
· An update on action to address community safety issues in Finsbury Park;
· A breakdown of income and expenditure from the events programme in Finsbury Park for 2017/18; and
· Further information on the Council’s tree planting programme.
2. That the Cabinet Member be requested to raise the issue of the quality of repairs to the path within Finsbury Park that had been upgraded with the use of Heritage Lottery funding and to the grass areas that had been damaged following events,