An opportunity to question the Cabinet Member for Strategic Regeneration, Cllr Charles Adje, on developments within his portfolio.
Minutes:
Cllr Charles Adje, Cabinet Member for Strategic Regeneration, responded to questions from the Panel as follows:
· Asked what he knew about the pre-application from Tottenham Hotspur to build a tower block, he said that the site is part of the High Road West development. He was aware that an application was going to be submitted but this would be a matter for the Planning Committee to determine. In terms of the number of proposed new homes that would also be a matter for the Planning Committee. Cllr Williams commented that this was not an accurate description of how the planning process works. She said that there is a lot of work that goes on in conjunction with the regeneration department, which is within the Cabinet Member’s remit, in determining the content of an application relating to the regeneration of an area before it is considered by the Planning Committee. The Planning Committee then has to follow a clearly defined set of criteria in reaching its decision. Cllr Adje said that this was a matter of opinion, that planning applications submitted must comply with the Council’s current policy as determined by the Area Action Plan (AAP) and that the decision on the application is then for the Planning Committee to determine. Cllr Adje also said that he had not had any discussions about the application with the landowners at this stage.
· Asked about the future jobs and businesses that should be part of new developments, Cllr Adje said that, in relation to the Peacock industrial estate, the Council has said that it has and will continue to engage with businesses to help them relocate where necessary. The Council has not said that businesses are going to be closed. In relation to the delay, this has been enforced on the Council by the Mayor of London because of the requirement to hold a ballot. Dan Hawthorn, Director of Housing, Regeneration & Planning, added that the Council has an Economic Development Strategy which helps to determine what type of businesses to promote and support and that work is currently ongoing to update the strategy. The current aim is to bring the consultation draft of the updated strategy to Cabinet in February 2020.
· Dan Hawthorn said that he recognised the disruption and uncertainty caused to businesses affected by the High Road West redevelopment and that any decision to proceed with a scheme like this has to be made on balance. There is a complex issue with the relocation of businesses and there are lots of different land interests and businesses with different requirements contained within the Peacock industrial estate. There are various options where it may be viable for a business to remain within the redeveloped High Road West site as leaseholders. However, not all business types are compatible with high-density residential spaces. The Council want to be active agents in helping to relocate businesses in cases where this is the most appropriate option. While the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) is always an option, the Council would aim to ensure that as many pieces of the land as possible is acquired through negotiation and to exhaust all other options before it would be considered necessary to use a CPO. He said that he did not recognise the 90% figure quoted by Mr Tepeyurt in the deputation heard earlier in the meeting, the precise square footage available for businesses in the scheme is not yet known as the planning application has not yet been made. Asked about the potential benefits of the High Road West scheme to the Council, Dan Hawthorn said that the Borough would benefit from 2,000 new homes, replacement Council housing, new community facilities, new employment and a £10m socio-economic investment programme. Cllr Adje said that, given the Panel’s undertaking to carry out a full scrutiny review, it now has an opportunity to look into all of these issues in more depth.
· With regards to a previous request from the Panel to invite ward Councillors to the Wood Green landowner forum, Cllr Adje confirmed that Councillors from the relevant wards, namely Noel Park and Woodside wards, would be invited to future meetings of the forums along with the relevant lead Members. Asked if there were any other similar forums in operation, he confirmed that there were not.
· Asked about the current expected schedule for the redevelopment by Argent in Tottenham Hale, Cllr Adje said that officers would provide these details to the Panel in writing. (ACTION)