Cllr Charles Adje, Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic
Regeneration, responded to questions from the Panel on regeneration
issues:
- Cllr Yvonne
Say asked about the take up on priority-option purchasing for local
residents at major residential developments at Tottenham Hale. Cllr
Adje said that he did not have that
information to hand and that this matter fell under the Housing
portfolio rather than his Regeneration portfolio. He said that he
would discuss this with officers and arrange for this information
to be provided to the Panel. (ACTION) Cllr Diakides added that these kind of measures were
important factors when the Planning Committee makes its
determinations on planning applications so this information would
be useful to see in order to monitor how effective the measures
have been. Rob Krzyszowski, Head of
Planning Policy, Transport and Infrastructure, informed the Panel
that all the Section 106 (S106) agreements were monitored including
the clauses on priority housing for local residents. The more
detailed monitoring was carried out by the Housing Enabling team.
Asked by Cllr Diakides which Cabinet
Member and senior officer was responsible for S106 agreements, Cllr
Adje said that these were Cllr Matt
White (Cabinet Member for Planning and Corporate Services) and Rob
Krzyszowski.
- Cllr
Brabazon asked whether any data was
available on the progression of sales at Tottenham Hale. Cllr
Adje said that he would need to engage
with the Housing Enabling team to obtain that information, which he
would then provide to the Panel. (ACTION)
- Cllr
Brabazon asked for an update on
negotiations with the GLA on funding for the redevelopment at Love
Lane/High Road West. Cllr Adje said
that more information was currently being awaited on this from GLA
on next steps. He indicated that he would be happy to provide a
further written update to the Panel if more information on this
became available. (ACTION). Asked by Cllr Diakides which Cabinet Member and senior officer
was responsible for GLA negotiations, Cllr Adje said that the Regeneration team would usually
lead in this area where he was the responsible Cabinet Member,
supported by Peter O’Brien (Assistant Director for
Regeneration and Economic Development). The Housing department may
also be required to contribute in this area, led by Robbie
Erbmann (Assistant Director for
Housing).
- Cllr Say
asked for an update on the Wood Green Area Action Plan (AAP). Cllr
Adje said that the Plan had been
revised following the last consultation, but the Planning Policy
team were still awaiting a decision to be made on the
Council’s Accommodation Strategy. A number of sites within
the AAP area were currently owned by the Council so the outcome of
the Accommodation Strategy would have a significant bearing on the
allocations and guidance and it would be premature to progress the
AAP before this point. Asked by Cllr Gordon for a possible
timescale on this work, Cllr Adje said
that he could not provide a timescale but an engagement process
with Members on the Accommodation Strategy would be taking place
shortly and after this the next steps should become clearer. Asked
by Cllr Hare whether there was anything to report on the possible
Crossrail links relevant to the AAP and
whether Panel Members could be provided with some written
information explaining the current position, Cllr Adje said that he had nothing new to report on
this. He added that the proposals were primarily the responsibility
of TfL but he would find out what information could be provided to
the Panel. (ACTION)
- Cllr Gordon
asked for details on the Council’s commercial portfolio,
including on vacancy levels, the impact of Covid on the budget and what strategy was in place
to maximise revenue. Cllr Adje said
that in Q1 an offer was made for anyone experiencing difficulties
given the Covid situation to contact
the Commercial Portfolio Unit to discuss their requirements. The
number of contacts received from this offer was low but there was
engagement with those that did, dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
The process was repeated in June, again with a low number of new
contacts received. As a result, a total of 83 rent deferrals were
agreed in total. This has since reduced to 59 as some tenants have
been able to pay in full or in part. There had been very few voids
as a result of Covid, but with further
adverse effects of Covid and the second
lockdown on tenants, some increase in voids was expected in future
with a consequent negative impact on commercial income. The
Strategic Property Team has continued their work to conclude new
leases and lease renewals which had resulted in some increases
being achieved in rental income. The upgrading of commercial units
was currently being looked at and an update would be available when
work had progressed. Cllr Gordon asked if a written update could be
provided detailing how many voids there were and what impact the
reduction in income amounted to in actual figures.
(ACTION)
- Cllr Gordon
asked how many staff within Regeneration were directly employed by
the Council and how many were retained on consultancies or as
interims. Cllr Adje said that most
Regeneration staff were permanent employees and less than 1% of
staff were interims, either covering short-term pressures or
utilising specific technical skills. The Regeneration team was
constantly reviewing the need for interims and always looked to
utilise the most efficient way of securing the resources required.
Cllr Brabazon said that the 1% figure
did not provide enough detail and asked for a more detailed
breakdown explaining how many consultants and temporary staff were
in use. (ACTION) Cllr Diakides
observed that an audit seen by the Corporate Committee had raised
concerns about the use of interim consultants in the property
section. Cllr Adje said that the
property team was not in his Regeneration portfolio but noted that
the issues had been discussed at Corporate Committee and steps were
being taken to deal with those matters.