(if any)
Minutes:
Members present (indicated thus*)
NOMINATED BY LOCAL RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATIONS
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*Ms. J. Hutchinson |
: |
Alexandra Residents’ Association |
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*Mr P. Wastell |
: |
Alexandra Residents’ Association |
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*Ms. M. Myers |
: |
Muswell Hill and Fortis Green Association |
|
Ms E. Tulloch |
: |
Palace Gates Residents’ Association |
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*Mr. D. Frith |
: |
The Rookfield Association |
|
Mr. F. Hilton |
: |
The Rookfield Association |
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*Mr. D. Liebeck (Chair) |
: |
Warner Estate Residents’ Association |
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*Mr H. Aspden |
: |
Warner Estate Residents’ Association |
Appointed Members:
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*Councillor W. Hoban |
: |
Alexandra Ward (FROM 19.58) |
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*Councillor B. Millar |
: |
Bounds Green Ward |
|
Councillor S.Gilbert |
: |
Fortis Green Ward |
|
*Councillor Q. Prescott |
: |
Hornsey Ward |
|
Councillor J. Bloch |
: |
Muswell Hill Ward |
|
Vacancy |
: |
Noel Park Ward |
|
Vacancy |
: |
|
|
*Councillor E. Prescott |
: |
|
*Members present.
Also in attendance
Councillor Hare
Mr K. Holder - General Manager - Alexandra Palace
Mr D. Loudfoot - Facilities Manager Parks - Alexandra Palace
At 19:30HRS the Clerk – Mr Hart advised those present that the meeting was inquorate, and in accordance with the rules of procedures there would be a 15 minute period in order to allow those members who were not present to arrive.
At 19:45HS Mr Hart advised that the as the meeting was inquorate the business on the agenda could not be considered nor any decisions taken. Mr Hart informed those present that an informal discussion was permissible under the rules of procedures and a note of such would be reported to the next meeting of the Advisory Committee.
Mr Hart also advised that even should a Member of the Advisory Committee arrive after this time it would not constitute the informal discussions becoming a quorate meeting.
The Chair felt that it was appropriate to have an informal discussion, a summary of which is detailed below.
MINUTES (Agenda Item 3)
(i) Advisory Committee – 14 June, and 6 September 2005
The minutes of the Advisory Committee of 14 June, and 6 September 2005 were discussed.
Comments were expressed in respect of those for 14 June concerning
a. the usage of the playground facility in the park, and its popularity.
b. The future usage of the former building known as The Actual Workshop and its possible use as a café to provide refreshement to those attending the frequent Farmers Market.
At this point in the informal proceedings – 19.58HRS Councillor Hoban arrived. Mr Hart reiterated his earlier comments thatshould a Member of the Advisory Committee arrive after 19:45HRS it would not constitute the informal discussions becoming a quorate meeting, and that these proceedings would remain informal.
c. the proposed toilet facility having a baby changing facility and the general state of the existing WC at the boating lake and the poor levels of cleaning/general state.
Mr Aspden asked that in future could the draft minutes of future Advisory Committee Minutes be circulated to Members as soon as practicable after the meeting.
NOTED
(ii) Board Meeting – 28 June, 12 July, 13 September 2005
The minutes of the Board Meetings of 28 June, 12 July, 13 September 2005 were discussed.
Comments were expressed in respect of those for 28 June concerning
a. the breakdown of parts of the budget as referred to in minute entry AP 026
b. some ambiguity as regards to the wording of the draft minute, which was duly noted.
Future use of the Asset – Update (Verbal report of the General Manager Alexandra Palace) (Agenda Item 4)
The General Manager – Mr Holder advised of the latest position in respect of the process for selecting the preferred bidders for the future use of the asset. A press release had been issued on 16 November 2005 detailing the 3 short listed bidders – The Business Design Centre Group Ltd, Earls and Olympia Group Ltd, and Firoka (Heythrop Park) Ltd. Mr Holder, in response to questions advised that the overall financial outlay estimated during the building survey had been communicated to the short-listed parties as part of the overall information provided to them and none had expressed concern. In terms of proposed uses by each bidder it was the case that the vision statements provided as part of the stage 1 process would be unlikely to create planning difficulties or concerns with the Charity Commission. However a comprehensive view would need to await the submission of the final bid documents in ~January and the evaluation thereof.
Mr Holder advised that the Board on 29 November 2005 would consider In response to questions Mr Holder advised that the Board would, on 29 November 2005 consider as a set of evaluation criteria to assess the detailed submissions of the 3 short listed bidders. In respect of timescales it was then the intention to hold a special meeting of the Board likely to be held toward the end of January/beginning February 2006 to agree the preferred bidder.
In response to comments as to future uses of the Palace and the need for clear and full publicity Mr Holder commented that each of the bidders had had previous experience of the same or similar business sectors and that any future events would be subject to the licensing approvals that currently existed. It was the case that any future development may have an effect on existing bookings at the Palace and therefore any development would need to be on a planned/phased basis. Concerning publicity it was the case that the charity trustees had stated that there would be a robust and effective consultation process. To aid this each bidder would be providing a display board of their proposals for public viewing, probably in the Palm Court. The Consultants would ensure that a full PR exercise was developed.
The Chair concluded that she was very pleased and quite excited at.
Locking of gates at Redstone Road and North View Avenue - To consider and express views about requests from local residents for these gates to be locked overnight (Report of the Parks Manager)
Discussions centred on the issue of the gates being locked at Redston Road and North View Road, and the pros and cons of locking gates both at this and various other locations throughout the Park. The merits of locking gates at a number of locations, general views as to the ramifications of gates being locked and the security problems arising from a road that gave continued access to the Park areas at all times were commented upon. There was also some discussion as to the difficulties in consulting local residents as to their views as to preferences for locking gates at a number of locations throughout the Park,
Alexandra and Warner Estate residents associations explained that, having consulted their members, they preferred to keep as many gates open as possible. This included those at Redston Road, though WERA asked that steps be taken to prevent vehicular access (such as already done at the Northview Road entrance). The only exception to the general preference to keeping gates open seemed to be the gates to the children’s playground, where it was felt that these should be locked closed at dusk, since this could be achieved without hindering access to the main areas of the Park.
CAPITAL AND MAINTENANCE WORKS IN THE PALACE AND PARK
A brief introduction of the report and an outline of the works as detailed therein was given by the General Manager and questions were asked in relation to the various aspects of works.
Licensing matters
The General Manager briefly outlined the recent process for agreeing the premises licence, and questions were clarified as to the future operation of the licence.
Forthcoming Events
A list of forthcoming events was shared amongst those present and brief clarification was sought as regards a number of the events taking place in relation to operation times and crowd numbers. A number of concerns were raised by Association representatives in respect of noise levels and the levels of use during the summer period.
Time informal meeting concluded: 21.40hrs