Decisions

1.       That Cabinet endorsed the draft Place Strategy and Delivery Plan for public consultation commencing on 6^th November.

2.       That Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Growth, Planning and Housing and the Director of Place Shaping and West End Partnership to approve the final public consultation materials for approval by the Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning.

3.       That Cabinet approved expenditure of up to £2.5m for the development of the strategy and the project as outlined in section 8 of the report.  This will be funded via an Oxford Street/West End budget as per the Capital Strategy approved by Full Council in March 2018. 

4.       That Cabinet approved the re-profiling of the existing Oxford Street/West End budget of £2.5m from 2019/20 into 2018/19.

1.       The Council believes that the District would benefit from adopting a place-based approach to determine how to deal with the current and future opportunities and issues. Owing to the complexities of the District, a more responsive approach to developing a range of solutions across the area needs to be adopted. The Council supports the need for a mixed use District and one that places strong emphasis on the amenity of its local residential communities. All this is essential if the District is to continue to thrive. The Council has now developed a draft Place Strategy and Delivery Plan for the Oxford Street District.

2.       The Council’s commitment to the Oxford Street District is to create a long term and ambitious vision for the whole of the District that will strengthen its world-renowned status as a great place to live, work and visit.  Its strategy will support the ambition and respond to the big challenges that the District faces, including: a rapidly evolving retail environment; a place that can cater to a greater numbers of people; providing more attractions; and for Oxford Street to be a better neighbour to the wider district. In the wake of strong competition from retail hubs like Westfield; online shopping; increased business rates; Brexit; and interest rates, the retailers and businesses in the district are finding the trading environment very challenging. 

3.       The Council will take responsibility for delivering an ambitious set of projects that are affordable but also help to bring about a significant change that will help to counter some of the external factors that the District currently faces. The Council recognises that investment in the District is required in order to retain its status as the nation’s high street and a world-renowned destination for domestic and international visitors.  It is also essential that investment helps to improve the liveability of the district and provide a greater amenity for our residents. On 7th November 2018, Full Council will be asked to approve the Council’s Capital Strategy including allocation of £150 million towards the delivery of the final adopted Place Strategy and Delivery Plan.  Additional funding to support the delivery of the final projects listed in the draft Place Strategy will be required from other external sources. The coherent and district wide programme will ensure that Oxford Street District strengthens its reputation.

4.       The Policy context relating to this report include the Council’s City for All and City Plan policies. The draft Place Strategy reflect these policies and will contribute to delivering these over the lifetime of the project. See appendix 2 for the policies and how the Place Strategy will deliver these.

4.1     Councillor Richard Beddoe, Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning, introduced the item. He referred to the fact that upon her election as Leader, Councillor Aiken implemented a comprehensive change to the management of the planning system in Westminster. He referred to the independent review of Westminster’s Development Management service undertaken by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) and highlighted that it had concluded that the Council has a robust planning system, however, it is a reactive, development control led service. It also highlighted the fact that whilst the governance and decision making processes are robust, they are not seen as accessible by residents.  Councillor Beddoe stated that Westminster City Council needs to be more ambitious and proactive. The review further concluded that there is a need to improve engagement with residents and the wider community in the planning and decision-making process related to development in their area.

4.2     Councillor David Harvey advised that a number of applications in his ward could have been resolved much earlier if there had been more engagement with the community at a much earlier stage.

4.3     Stuart Love, Chief Executive, referred to the fact that the PAS review found no impropriety or failure to follow guidelines and protocols regarding hospitality. However, the practice of accepting hospitality from planning applicants was found to be excessive and unnecessary.  Stuart Love made it clear that it was not the case that all officers in the planning service accepted gifts and hospitality.  The Chief Executive advised that he had reviewed the guidance on gifts and hospitality together with the Director of Law and found it to be clear and robust.

4.4     The Leader commented that she had taken note of the views submitted by a number of amenity societies in the last few days on the proposed changes. She explained that the purpose of making changes to the management of the planning system in Westminster is to make the process more open and transparent. She considered that residents should have an opportunity to take a more proactive role at an earlier stage in the planning and decision-making process as well as the opportunity to make verbal representations at Planning Applications Sub-Committees.  She stated that this will require a significant culture change for staff and those externally who use the planning system. She considered that further work is required to understand how to best implement the new procedures and that views should be sought from all those with a stake in the planning system in Westminster, most notably residents. This was supported by Cabinet.

          RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

        1.         Endorsed the findings and recommendations of the report  submitted  by  the  Planning  Advisory  Service (PAS) and agreed to take the following steps to:

a)               Improve the openness and transparency of the planning system:

·         We will record Planning Sub-Committee meetings and make the coverage available post-meeting;

·         We will live stream Planning Sub-Committee meetings once an appropriate technological solution has been identified and sourced;

b)      Make it easier for residents to engage with the planning system:

·             We will introduce “public speaking rights” at Planning Sub-Committee meetings;

·             We will review all our digital content on the planning process and planning decisions, particularly that included on the council’s website to improve accessibility for the general public;

·             We will improve the way we explain planning policies and decisions to make them easier to understand.

2.        Agreed to support resident and ward Councillor participation at an earlier stage of the process, for example in the pre-application stage of major applications and to adopt a new approach to communicating and engaging their views in proposals.  Further details are to be presented to Cabinet following further engagement with stakeholders.

3.        Directed the Chief Executive, to present detailed plans to increase delegations and review the call-in procedures, in consultation with ward members as appropriate without the need for escalation to Sub-Committee, thereby speeding up the process.  The details of the revised delegation and call-in procedures to be developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders and presented to Cabinet prior to submission to the Planning and City Development Committee for approval. 

4.        Directed the Executive Director of Growth, Planning and Housing and the Executive Director of Policy, Performance and Communications to submit a joint report to Cabinet setting out the detailed proposals for the introduction of public speaking rights following stakeholder engagement for approval by the appropriate decision making body, to be determined in consultation with the Director of Law.

    5.         (a)    Directed the Chief Executive to restate to both officers and members their responsibilities in terms of the Council’s gifts and hospitality policies.  This will include emphasising the importance of exercising sound judgement in dealing with all offers of gifts and hospitality. Noted that in terms of the planning service, this will build on the guidance issued in February 2017 regarding Councillor meetings with developers on particular schemes. 

                (b)    Requested that the Chief Executive and Director of Law refine the wording in the paragraph below to reflect that this should apply to elected Members involved in the planning decision making process.  The revised text to be referred back to Cabinet at a later date

                        Council officers and elected members involved in the planning process must retain a distance from land owners, applicants, agents and community stakeholders, other than at formally arranged visits and recorded meetings linked directly and specifically to the consideration of planning applications, pre applications, or the development of the local plan.

          6.       Agreed to create a new Place-Shaping and Planning directorate which reflects the ambitious agenda set by the Leader and Cabinet to deliver a City for All, and for the new service to deliver the direction of travel which will be set out in the emerging City Plan.

          Reason for Decision 

1.     The Leader and Cabinet have set an ambitious agenda to change how the Council operates in a number of areas, including, but not limited to planning.

2.     The direction of travel is to shift away from a largely reactive and development management focused planning service towards a proactive and strategic approach, guided by the Council’s vision and priorities. This will require cultural change throughout the whole system.

3.     It will also mean that, should they wish to, residents and others will have the ability to take a clearer and more proactive role in the planning and decision making process related to development in their area. This includes Neighbourhood Forums, Amenity Societies and the general public.

4.     Work is ongoing to finalise the City Plan (the Council’s Statutory Local Plan) for public consultation in November 2018. The revised City Plan will be streamlined and place much greater emphasis on positive considerations about the type of development that is appropriate in Westminster. The service which implements this policy framework must therefore also be governed by the same principles.

5.     These recommendations are supported by the findings of the PAS report.

Cabinet approval sought concerning strategic options for CityWest Homes.

1.         That it be agreed that urgent steps be taken to return the housing management function outsourced to CityWest Homes (CWH) to the Council’s direct control, as follows:   

1.1      The Council will seek a mutual agreement with CWH to terminate the management agreement with effect from 1st April 2019; and

1.2      In case that mutual agreement cannot be reached then the Council will give unilateral notice to CWH to terminate the management agreement with effect from as soon as possible after 1st April 2019.

1.3      The Council will continue to engage with its tenants and leaseholders on the future provision of housing management services and how these services can improve.

1.4      In line with 1.3 above, the Council will undertake a review of the housing service provision and consult on a potential revised structure for the service with the aim of embedding a new culture centred on high performance and excellent customer service.  This will be in consultation with all relevant parties. 

1.5      That authority be delegated to the Executive Director, Growth, Planning and Housing to take all steps and to execute all documents required to achieve the above outcomes and in order to ensure the smooth transition of the transfer of housing services back in-house. 

1.6      That authority be delegated to the Executive Director, Growth, Planning and Housing to agree in respect of any contract to which CWH is a party and which the Executive Director considers could be of assistance to the council in delivery of the housing management services and performance of its relevant function, that such contact is novated to the council or held on trust for the benefit of the council and that any such novation or trust may be executed on behalf of the council by the Director of Law.

Reasons for Decision

1.      CWH has experienced serious and ongoing service problems in a number of key areas particularly repairs and maintenance, the contact centre and responses to complaints and other queries from residents and Councillors.

2.      It is in the best interests of tenants and leaseholders and in line with feedback from tenants and residents’ groups for the Council to seek a mutual agreement with CWH to terminate the management agreement with effect from 1st April 2019 and transfer housing services back in-house.

Cabinet Member approval sought for contract award for the Revenue and Benefits Service.

1.         That the report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended) in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.        That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the award of a contract for the Revenues and Benefits Service to the preferred bidder for the total sum as detailed in the reportfor the period of 7 years from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2025, with the option to extend for up to 3 additional years at a cost detailed in the reportand noted the total cost of the 10 year contract, if extended.

Reasons for Decision 

1.         The Council’s current Revenues and Benefits Service contracts expire on 31 October 2018 and the Council therefore has to procure a new contract.

2.         The recommended contract award is based on:

a)     A high quality tender response from the recommended tenderer, which received good technical evaluation scores.

b)    Financial savings above the MTP savings linked to the procurementfor 2018/19 and 2019/20.

c)    A range of service improvements that interlink with the Council’s Digital programme.

Recommendations

Formal approval was given to commence the procurement of a Design and Build Services Contract to deliver the Oxford Street District project.

Formal approval was given to change the price/quality contract evaluation ratio depending on the outcome of the soft market testing and in consultation with the Strategic Steering Group.

Reasons for Recommendations

That the Oxford Street District was in need of significant and wide reaching public realm improvements to underpin and support the delivery of the emerging draft Oxford Street District Place Strategy. This will ensure that a service provider are appointed to deliver the District Place Strategy following public consultation.

The potential variation to the price/quality evaluation split was recommended as this was a very high profile initiative requiring a greater emphasis on the quality of works.

That Cabinet

1.       Endorsed the new approach for the Oxford Street District Project as detailed in the report;

2.       Agreed the Governance outlined in the report;

3.       Approved the revenue funding of £727,000, made up of a reallocation of council’s own revenue for the development of a place based solution and a set of feasibility/concept options for the district; and,

4.       Noted plans to bring forward necessary safety works and governance associated with the development and implementation of the specific Oxford Street safety scheme ahead of the opening of the Elizabeth Line and during 2019, which will be subject of a separate Cabinet Member Report.

Reasons for Decision

1.       The Leader of the City Council on 7^th June announced that there is a need to be hugely ambitious to ensure the district’s long-term success by future proofing Oxford Street and the surrounding area so it remains the pre-eminent, retail focused, outdoor shopping destination in the UK.

2.       In December 2017, the Leader and Deputy Leader issued eight pledges to residents, created to assure residents that the City Council would safeguard their amenity by insisting that no scheme would be approved that failed to meet their concerns. Feedback from residents in the consultation report (temporarily published March 2018), confirmed that 61% of Westminster residents did not support the partial pedestrianisation of Oxford Street (Orchard Street to Oxford Circus). Subsequent statements from the City Council, made clear that the scheme consulted upon had not achieved a local consensus.

3.       In these circumstances, the City Council considers it necessary to devise other solutions that will transform the district and meet concerns expressed.

4.       The previous project structure to devise a solution for Oxford Street was developed within a joint team with Transport for London. This produced a significant body of information about the district. Going forward, the City Council will lead the project and consequently a new governance and operational structure is needed as outlined. We will continue to liaise and work closely with residents, stakeholders and partners (Mayor/Greater London Authority, TfL and New West End Company) to develop new solutions.

5.       Resources are needed to provide staffing and commissions to facilitate work to devise a new solution(s).

6.       Work on the options to ensure a safe street and district prior to the opening of Elizabeth Line is currently being progressed and will be presented for decision to the Cabinet Member for Environment and City Management in July 2018.

Recommendations

The Cabinet Member for Environment and City Management and Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning approved:

The proposed range of measures for Phase 1 of the Oxford Street District scheme as detailed in the report and set out in Appendix 1.

The expenditure of up to £3m to develop and implement the proposed works for Phase 1 from the Planned Preventative Maintenance capital budget.  Phase 2 of the Oxford Street District programme will be funded via the Council budget allocation within the capital programme.

The re-profiling and substitution of £3m within the current capital programme (for Stone Mastic Asphalt replacement works) for the works identified in the report.

Reasons for Decision

As set out in the Cabinet report of 9^th July on the Oxford Street District – Project Approach, work on options to ensure a safe street and district prior to the opening of the Elizabeth Line have been developed. The required works are aimed at ensuring the street and district is able to support the increase forecast in passengers associated with the gradual impacts of the Elizabeth Line opening.

Cabinet Member approval sought for recommendations of the Panel held on 18 September 2018.

1.            That Appendix A to this report be exempt from public disclosure by virtue of paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 because the applications involve the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to an individual.

2.         That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the recommendations of the Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel meeting held on 18 September 2018.

Reasons for Decision 

The Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel has set out the reasons for the recommendations in each case considered by the Panel in the recommendations in Appendix A of the report, which are more fully set out in the case papers submitted to the Panel.

The losses arising from National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR), Council Tax, Housing Benefit Overpayment and Former Client Rent arrears write-offs can be met from the provisions made in the accounts in previous years for irrecoverable debts and thus there will be no impact on the current year’s budgets.

1.            That the report be declared exempt from publication as, the business to be transacted involves the disclosure of information as prescribed by paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12a of the Act relating to information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority).

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the writing off the irrecoverable debt shown as set out in sections 5.1 and 6.1 of the report.

3.            That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration noted the amounts shown in paragraphs 7.1 and 8.1 of the report as written-off under officer delegated authority.

Reasons for Decision 

The recommendation to write-off the amounts detailed in this report is proposed as all other avenues available to the Council for the recovery of these debts have been exhausted, including, where appropriate, the issue of distress proceedings.

Cabinet Member approval sought for Windows 10 procurement, provisioning and support services.

1.              That Part B of this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, Part 1, (as amended) paragraph 3, in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information.

2.          That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services approved Officers to procure a contract for provision of laptop, desktop devices, peripherals and deployment services by varying the existing London ICT Framework Lot 1 Lot 1 Call-Off contract.

Reasons for Decision

1.               As the value of the contract variation is above £500,000, this variation constitutes as a Key Decision under section 2.28 of the Code and accordingly Member Involvement is required as per section 2.28.

2.               April 2018 Cabinet and Key Decision reports approved commissioning and expenditure for a Windows 10 POC to prove a solution for upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The upgrade is required prior to June 2019 to minimise the Councils risk of entering a period of an unsupported Operating System with associated security threats, retain regulatory data compliance including the recent GDPR implementations and to deliver benefits through Windows 10 features aligned to the IT strategic principles.

Report sets out financial compensation and rehousing options for leaseholders in housing renewal areas where the council wants to acquire their properties in order to regeneration to go ahead.

1.         That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration agreed the Policy for Leaseholders in Housing Renewal Areas August2018 as set out in Appendix B of the report and noted that it replaces the Policy for Leaseholders in Housing Renewal Areas (Updated January 2017).

2.         That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration agreed that the Policy for Leaseholders in Housing Renewal Areas August 2018 as set out in Appendix B be applied to current and future designated housing renewal areas.

3.         That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration delegated authority to the Director responsible for Regeneration, in conjunction with the Cabinet Member, to decide when the Policy should be implemented. 

4.         That in order to implement the Policy, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration  delegated authority to the Director responsible for Regeneration, or any other person duly delegated by them, to enter into individual equity loan agreements with leaseholders, where it has been agreed they can buy one of the new build properties in one of the housing renewal areas with an equity loan.

5.         That in order to implement the Policy, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration delegated authority to the  Director responsible for Regeneration, or any other person duly delegated by them, to enter into shared equity or shared ownership leases or arrangements with leaseholders, where it has been agreed they can buy one of the new build properties, in one of the housing renewal areas, on a shared equity basis, or as a shared owner.

Reasons for Decision 

1.            A Policy for Leaseholders in Housing Renewal Areas is needed in order to set out the Council’s rehousing offer to leaseholders in housing renewal areas, where their homes are identified for acquisition, as a result of housing renewal. Vacant possession of these properties is needed in order to proceed with the housing renewal programme.

2.            An updated Policy is needed, in order to take into account of the changing nature of the housing renewal programme, to respond to ongoing feedback from leaseholders about the current Policy and in light of the changing external policy environment.  

1.         Decision

1.1       That formal approval was given:

·         to proceed with Initial and Detailed Design following consultation

2.         Reason for Decision

2.1       A Cabinet Member decision was required to move forward the project to the next stages.  A concept design had been developed through the Feasibility Stage of the project and, whilst validated by the technical studies undertaken to date and stakeholder involvement, the design must now be shared with a wider audience and feedback sought from the community.  This is key to informing the next design stages. 

1.            That this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended), in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.         That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services approved that costs be borne by Westminster City Council for a fire curtain to be installed in accordance with the residents’ choice to minimise disruption and increase speed of resolution.

Reasons for Decision

The works are being undertaken following a residents’ consultation on their preferred option.

1.         That this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended), in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public approved the award of a contract to the preferred bidder under the Integrated Healthy Lifestyles Services Framework Agreement (“the Framework”) set up by Westminster City Council for a term of three years commencing 1^st January 2019 to 31^st December 2022, with the option to extend for a further two years until 31^st December 2024.

3.            That the Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public approved the award of call off contract with the service provider under the Framework for a term of three years from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022, with the option to extend for a further two years until 31 December 2024 (subject to performance and financial constraints) and note the contract price and extension costs.

4.            That the Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public Health delegates the approval to exercise the option to extend to the Director of Integrated Commissioning, in consultation with the responsible Cabinet Member at that time.

REASONS FOR DECISION

1.            Reshaping the provision of adult healthy lifestyle services was a priority for the local authority in order to ensure that services meet the needs of our residents and we achieve Public Health Outcomes by:

·                Reducing health inequalities

·                Helping residents make healthy lifestyle choices in order to prevent early deaths

·                Ensure residents find health and wellbeing support easily through digital connections and community connections

·                Target specific groups to access services according to need

2.            The redesign and integration of services to create an Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service would provide the sustainability needed to achieve a targeted local service in the most cost effective way and to deliver a model that was based on local need. It was also intended to deliver improvements in quality and move the balance of support towards digital solutions whilst ensuring the face-to-face service offer would be a more accessible and responsive community based service for the residents.

3.            The Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service would include face-to-face support for those most in need. This would include one to one support work, group sessions and links to other services that would help improve residents’ health. These interventions will improve residents’ clinical outcomes. It would be an outcomes based model that would include a workforce training element. The service would link with a digital platform based on Public Health England’s ‘One You’ platform. The service would be expected to work together with Primary Care to encourage referrals from health checks and from GP registers, monitor delivery of the service that takes place in those locations, and make payments to GPs and pharmacies for the face to face services and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and for NHS health checks.

The Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning:

1.            Approved the expenditure of £0.288m from Westminster’s City Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Strategic Portion as set out in Section 5.4 of the report and includes the allocation of funding for the following projects set out in Appendix A of the report.

2.            Noted those projects put forward by Westminster Councillors that can now be brought forward using alternative funding sources as set out in Section 5.5 of this report and Appendix B.

3.            Noted progress and the recommended next steps on the remaining ‘pending projects’ previously put forward by Westminster Councillors set out in Section 5.6 of this report and Appendix C.

Reasons for Decision

To ensure the timely delivery of project proposals previously submitted to the Cabinet CIL Committee by Westminster Ward Councillors, in accordance with the decision of the Cabinet CIL Committee on 25^th July 2018.

Recommendations

That the Cabinet Member for Environment & City Management approved the detailed proposals to replace the Cathodic Protection on the Elevated Harrow Road Bridge at an estimated gross cost of £2,400,000.

Reasons for Decision

The Elevated Harrow Road Bridge underwent major repairs in 2002/03 because the steel reinforcement in the concrete beams and columns supporting the main bridge deck had corroded so severely that its capacity to carry modern highway loading was at risk. The A40 Westway above, which is supported by the EHR, was also placed at risk. Severe corrosion was noted in the structure in the late1990’s some 25 years after the bridge was opened. The 2002/03 scheme included the installation of the of the first Cathodic Protection system for the bridge.

Cathodic Protection is a controlled electrochemical process explained in more detail in Section 5 of this report. The Cathodic Protection is an essential protective measure for the bridge, the system installed in 2003 has now reached the end of its serviceable and needs replacing.

The existing system has been protecting the bridge for over 15 years, currently there is no evidence of significant corrosion in the bridge suggesting the Cathodic Protection has been fulfilling its function. An upgraded Cathodic Protection system should protect the bridge for another 15 to 20 years thus minimising the requirement of major repairs.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the Cabinet Member agreed:

A)        That the recommendations of the examiner as set out in the council’s decision statement (see appendix 1), be accepted.

B)        That the examiner’s recommendation that the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan, as modified in appendix 2, proceed to a referendum.

C)        That in accordance with the examiner’s recommendation, the referendum area be restricted the neighbourhood area designated by the council on 27^th March 2014 as the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Area.

REASONS FOR DECISION 

1)         The examiner’s recommendations would ensure the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan was clear and effective as a framework for making decisions on planning applications in the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Area. They addressed the concerns raised by the council and other stakeholders, and ensured the plan met the basic conditions prescribed by legislation.

2)         Before a neighbourhood plan can be made, it was a statutory requirement that it was first subject to a local referendum. Before this happens, the council must publish a decision statement setting out the actions it proposed to take in response to the examiner’s report.

LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE No. 5

Thursday 31^st May 2018

Membership:              Councillor Murad Gassanly (Chairman), Councillor Heather Acton and Councillor Aziz Toki

Legal Adviser:             Barry Panto

Committee Officer:     Kisi Smith-Charlemagne

Presenting Officer:     Samantha Eaton

Relevant Representations:         The Licensing Authority, Environmental Health and local residents association.

Present:   Mr James Anderson-Poppleston Allen (Solicitor, representing the Applicant), Leisure Box Limited (Applicant), David Devaney (General Manager for applicant company) Miss Daisy Gadd (Licensing Authority), Mr David Nevitt (Environmental Health), Richard Brown (CAB Licensing Project on behalf of SEBRA) and John Zamit (SEBRA)

LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE No. 5

Thursday 31^st May 2018

Membership:              Councillor Murad Gassanly (Chairman), Councillor Heather Acton and Councillor Aziz Toki

Legal Adviser:             Barry Panto

Committee Officer:     Kisi Smith-Charlemagne

Presenting Officer:     Samantha Eaton

Relevant Representations:         The Licensing Authority, Environmental Health, Metropolitan Police and two Local Residents

Present: Mr Craig Baylis (Solicitor, representing the Applicant), Giovanni Delmino (on behalf of the Applicant company), Miss Daisy Gadd (Licensing Authority), Mr Dave Nevitt (Environmental Health), PC Bryan Lewis (Metropolitan Police) and Richard Brown (CAB Licensing Project representing Liz Callingham)

That the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community approved expenditure of £10,225 in respect of the proposal detailed in the report.

Reasons for Decision

The expenditure will help address the priority of improving local amenities within the Queens Park Ward.

Cabinet Member approval sought.

That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration;

·                     Acknowledged the dilapidated condition of the building and the ongoing costs to keep the building safe and secure

·                    Recognised the potential of the site to contribute to the Council’s ambitions to deliver an increase in levels of affordable housing for the residents of Westminster

·                     Committed to engaging with the local community and ward members on the opportunities achievable on this site

·                     Acknowledged the need for more sheltered and other supportive accommodation in this area

Reasons for Decision 

Following full consideration of the petition it was considered that there are clear imperatives to consider opportunities to the site as it not feasible or desirable to maintain the site in its current state. The ongoing costs to secure the building do not represent value for money.

Approval of Cabinet Members sought for funding requirements for spot purchases used as affordable housing.

1.            That the financial appendices attached to this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3, in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and  Regeneration and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services approved a funding contribution of £5.237m be provided from the Affordable Housing Fund to Westminster Community Homes towards 34 properties purchased by Westminster Community Homes for use as affordable housing.

Reasons for Decision 

1.         The provision of funding by the City Council to Westminster Community Homes assists in the delivery of additional affordable homes in the city and also helps with land assembly in those areas of the City where regeneration is planned.

2.         It is a permitted use of the Affordable Housing Fund to finance the delivery of new affordable housing in Westminster.

Recommendations

The Cabinet Member was asked to approve:

·         The submission of a deed of variation which re-profiled spend from the Marylebone Flyover to the Somerset House Project.

·         The transfer £250k of NHB funding currently allocated to Marylebone Flyover to Somerset House in the form of a conditional grant.

Reasons for Decision 

1.            The report proposed support needed for affordable space for start-up businesses. This would:

·         Continue to address the market failure of lack of affordable and flexible space for start-up businesses.

·         Support socio-economically disadvantaged residents who had entrepreneurial aspirations

·         Retain and enhance Westminster’s creative and cultural skills base

·         Create new jobs through increased business survival rates in start-up businesses, attract new start-up businesses to locate and stay in Westminster and add to the vitality of the local economy.

2.            The proposed approach was similar to enterprise space created previously by Somerset House Studios, which had effectively supported entrepreneurs. The model had been compared with other local authority supported enterprise spaces and was found to secure significant economic impact and value for money.

3.            In 2017, a feasibility study was completed for the conversion of Marylebone Flyover into an enterprise space. The study found that the amount of space created was too small to make a viable business case. As a result, the team had explored alternative projects that delivered the outputs required by the New Homes Bonus funding agreement and which can use investment before the deadline to return any unspent funds – the end of this financial year. The final phase of Somerset House meets these objectives and delivers the project outputs within the required time frame. The reallocation of funding had been discussed with the GLA, the original funders, and they were in agreement in principle of the Deed of Variation set out in Appendix C. 

Cabinet Member approval sought for implementation of strategic housing options for the Older Persons Programme.

Recommendations

1.    That this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended), in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.        That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration and the Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public Health, and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services.

1.            Agree to proceed with the consultation strategy with residents and stakeholders over the future of Carlton Dene and Westmead Care Homes.

2.            Agree to proceed with consultation for the residents and stakeholders at Peebles House over the future of their homes, including consultation with the Carlton Vale Resident Management Organisation and residents of the Carlton Vale Estate.

3.            Cabinet Members note expenditure of £0.197m to date and approve additional expenditure of £0.901m to progress the scheme to OBC stage. This will increase the total authorisation to spend for Carlton Dene and Westmead to £1.098m.

4.            Approval to acquire by agreement the leasehold property at Peebles House where a sale is contemplated by the leaseholder before the emerging option for Carlton Dene was identified.

5.            Agree that the Council’s leaseholder and tenant decant policies for Housing Renewal Areas will represent the Council’s offer for leaseholders and tenants at Carlton Dene if redevelopment was identified for Peebles House.

Reasons for Decision

The proposed key drivers to decision making were:

1.            Provide more high quality extra care and supported living accommodation in the City.

2.            Provide more homes of all tenures in the City (for sale, market rent and subsidised rent).

3.            Provide new sub-market homes in line with the Council’s planning policy.

4.            Improve the environmental performance of Council properties, saving energy and money.

5.            Give residents of current care homes confidence that they can live with dignity in a safe, secure setting with the minimum disruption consistent with having contemporary standards of accommodation and amenity.

6.            Offer current Council tenants and residents leaseholders the chance to stay in their current neighbourhood should they wish.

7.            Improve the quality of the built environment and enhance neighbourhoods.

8.            Deliver viable options which take into account the duty of the Council to safeguard the public purse.

The City Council is obliged to submit a draft transport projects Local Implementation Plan 3 (LIP3) Delivery Plan document to TfL by 2 November 2018. This report is presented to the Cabinet Member for Environment & City Management. It will also be copied to All Members for their information and to incorporate any comments they may raise.

Recommendations

Cabinet Member approved the spend of TfL granted Capital expenditure of £3,133,000 per annum for the next three year period 2019/20 to 2021/22, which is specifically for the LIP3 ‘Corridors and Neighbourhoods’ sub Programme.

Cabinet Members considered and noted the appended draft LIP3 Delivery Plan document. This highlights the proposed Capital expenditure for the four other LIP3 sub programmes namely: The Liveable Neighbourhoods Programme, The Principle Carriageway Renewal and Bridges and Structures Programme, The Cycle Network Programme and The Bus Priority Programme. All of which will be fully determined by separate Cabinet Member Decision Reports submitted over the next three years.

Cabinet Member’s considered and noted the modest Consultation plan set out in Section 9 of this report.

Reasons for Decision 

The City Council is obliged to submit a new statutory LIP3 Delivery Plan programme to TfL for consideration and ultimate approval by February 2019 and the enclosed draft Delivery Plan programme document would fulfil this objective. Failure to do so would prevent TfL from releasing the allocated Capital funds to the City Council.

Variation of Condition 7 of planning permission dated 28 March 2017 (RN 16/07867/FULL) which varied Condition 1 of planning permission dated 2 July 2015 (RN: 14/11186/FULL) for the reconfiguration and expansion of facilities for music recording and production at No.3 Abbey Road comprising erection of a new recording studio to rear of No.5 Abbey Road; conversion of existing garage building facing Hill Road to form new recording studio and addition of pitched roof structure; new gate to Hill Road frontage of site; enlargement of single storey block adjacent to boundary with Abbey House and erection of extension to accommodate new transformer; erection of single storey extension to rear of Studio 2; use of lower ground floor of No.5 Abbey Road as a gift shop (Class A1) with associated alterations to form access and new landscaping to the front of No.5; installation of new mechanical plant equipment; new landscaping; and internal alterations, including to Studios 2 and 3; NAMELY, to extend the opening hours of the retail shop at No.5 Abbey Road from between 09.30 and 19.00 Monday to Saturday and between 10.00 and 18.00 on Sundays to between 09.00 and 20.00 Monday to Saturday and between 10.00 and 18.00 on Sundays.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That conditional permission be granted.

Application 1: Use of ground floor as a mixed retail/restaurant use (sui generis) with new ducting at the rear and retractable awnings to the front and side elevation.

Application 2: Display of 3no. externally illuminated fascia signs measuring 0.3m x 2.5m, 0.4m x 2.8m and 0.3 x 2.5m.

Additional representations were received from 3 local residents (30 June 2018, 7 July 2018 and 9 July 2018).

Late representations were received from the applicant (13.07.2018) and a local resident (16.07.2018).

Councillor Harvey, who had earlier declared an interest in this item, withdrew from the Committee and addressed the Committee in her capacity as a Ward Member to represent residents objecting to the application. She then left the room during consideration of this application.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.            That Application 1 be refused on the grounds of loss of retail, impact on local residents and their local amenity in respect of noise, vibrations and odours in respect of the proposed kitchen extract duct and the proposed awnings would harm the appearance of the building and fail to maintain or improve (preserve or enhance) the character and appearance of the Pimlico Conservation Area.

2.            That conditional advertisement consent be granted.

Demolition of 4 Bingham Place behind retained front facade and roof; erection of replacement three storey dwelling (Class C3) with one new basement level. Additional basement excavation and rear extensions on ground to second floors at 19 Nottingham Place in connection with the existing hotel use (Class C1). (Site includes 19 Nottingham Place).

Councillor Bott, who had earlier declared an interest in this item, withdrew from the Committee and addressed the Committee in his capacity as a Ward Member to raise concerns about the impact on local residents during construction. He then left the room during consideration of this application.

Councillor Harvey then assumed the role of Chairman for this item.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That conditional permission be granted, subject to an informative requiring the applicant to adhere to the Code of Construction Practice.

Use of the basement, ground to fourth floor of the building as a hotel (Class C1) with ancillary cafe at ground floor level. External alterations to include 5 no. new windows on the west elevation and installation of acoustic louvres and photovoltaics at roof level. Alterations to windows on the rear elevation and provision of a louvred screen (ground to fifth floor level) fronting rear courtyard area and alterations to rear courtyard area.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That conditional permission be granted, subject to an additional condition to prevent guest access to the rear courtyard, except to use the bicycle parking facilities

Demolition of the existing building and erection of a three storey building with basement, terraces at rear first and second floor level roof for use as a single family dwelling house (Class C3); new canopy on the west elevation, and green roof.

An additional representation was received from a local resident (3 July 2018).

RESOLVED (Councillors Bott, Harvey and Short in favour and Councillor Barraclough against):

That the application be deferred for the applicant to consider a re-design of all three frontages.

Use of the building as a day nursery (Class D1).

Additional representations were received from Howard de Walden Estate Ltd (11.07.2018), the Marylebone Mums and Dads Community Group (undated), an interested party (06.07.2018) and the Marylebone Village Nursery School (undated).

Late representations were received from Legal Services (17.07.2018), the manager of Henley Village Nursery School (16.07.2018), a local resident (undated) and Lancaster Hall Hotel (13.07.2018).

Councillor Bott, who had earlier declared an interest in this item, withdrew from the Committee and addressed the Committee in his capacity as a Ward Member in support of the application. He then left the room during consideration of this application.

Councillor Harvey then assumed the role of Chairman for this item.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.            That it was agreed that the benefits of providing a replacement day nursery outweigh the policy presumption to protect the existing residential use.

2.            That conditional permission be granted, subject to the deletion of condition 4.

2.1      Councillor Iain Bott explained that a week before the meeting, all four Members of the Committee were provided with a full set of papers including a detailed officer’s report on each application; together with bundles of every single letter or e-mail received in respect of every application, including all letters and e-mails containing objections or giving support. Members of the Committee read through everything in detail prior to the meeting.  Accordingly, if an issue or comment made by a correspondent was not specifically mentioned at this meeting in the officers’ presentation or by Members of the Committee, it did not mean that the issue had been ignored.  Members will have read about the issue and comments made by correspondents in the papers read prior to the meeting.

2.2      Councillor Bott then made the following further declarations as they related to the specific applications on the agenda:

            Item 1: That the application site is in his Ward, that he knows the applicant who is a next door neighbour and a friend, and that he will withdraw from the Committee for this item and address the Committee in his capacity as a Ward Councillor.

            Item 2: That Councillor Geoff Barraclough, Councillor Selina Short and himself had undertaken a site visit on 17 July 2018.

            Item 4: That the application site in his Ward and that he will withdraw from the Committee for this item and address the Committee in his capacity as a Ward Councillor.

2.3      Councillor Geoff Barraclough declared that in respect of item 8, that he knew the previous landlord and was Chairman of the ACV Committee of which is no longer involved, although his wife is. Councillor Barraclough stated that he does not know the current landlord, however he does still use the premises. Councillor Barraclough stated that he would be withdrawing from the Committee during consideration of this item as he felt that it would be appropriate to do so.

2.4       Councillor Angela Harvey declared that in respect of item 5, the application site is in her Ward and that she will withdraw from the Committee for this item to address the Committee in her capacity as a Ward Councillor.

Use of the public highway measuring 9.1m x 1.9m outside public house for the placing of 4 tables and 14 chairs.

Additional representation was received from Councillor Melvyn Caplan (10.07.2018), the Highways Planning Officer (09.07.2018) and a local resident (undated).

Councillor Barraclough, who had earlier declared an interest in respect of this application, withdrew from the Committee and took no part in discussion during consideration of this item.

The presenting officer tabled the following additional condition:

7.         Whenever the tables and chairs are placed on the highway, you must comply with the Front Area Management Statement.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

That conditional permission be granted, subject to an additional condition 7 as set out above.

Cabinet Member approval sought for revision of the Council’s National Non-Domestic Rates Discretionary Relief Guidelines.

That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the revised National Non-Domestic Rates Discretionary Relief guidelines as shown in Appendix A of the report.

Reason for Decision 

The proposed guidelines at Appendix A of the report will, by providing criteria to be considered when making decisions, assist with robust and consistent decision-making.

Cabinet Member approval sought.

1.         That this report and appendices be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraph 3, as amended, in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of an individual.

2.        That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the recommendations of the Rating Advisory Panel held on 17 July 2018 and determined the applications for National Non-Domestic Rates Discretionary and Hardship relief as set out in Appendix A of the report.

Reasons for Decision

The Rating Advisory Panel has set out the reasons for the recommendations in each case considered by the Panel in the recommendations in Appendix A of the report.

Cabinet Member approval sought for recommendations of the Panel held on 10 July 2018.

1.         That Appendix A to this report be exempt from public disclosure by virtue of paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 because the applications involve the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to an individual.

2.         That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the recommendations of the Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel meeting of 12 July 2018.

Reasons for Decision 

The Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel has set out the reasons for the recommendations in each case considered by the Panel in the recommendations in Appendix A of the report, which are more fully set out in the case papers submitted to the Panel.

Cabinet Member approval sought for recommendations of the Panel held on 5 June 2018.

1.         That Appendix A to this report be exempt from public disclosure by virtue of paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 because the applications involve the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to an individual.

2.         That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the recommendations of the Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel meeting of 5 June 2018.

Reasons for Decision 

The Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel has set out the reasons for the recommendations in each case considered by the Panel in the recommendations in Appendix A of the report, which are more fully set out in the case papers submitted to the Panel.

Cabinet Member approval sought.

1.         That this report and appendices be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraph 3, as amended, in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of an individual.

2.        That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the recommendations of the Rating Advisory Panel held on 12 June 2018 and determined the applications for National Non-Domestic Rates Discretionary and Hardship relief as set out in Appendix A of the report.

Reasons for Decision

The Rating Advisory Panel has set out the reasons for the recommendations in each case considered by the Panel in the recommendations in Appendix A of the report.

1.         That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services granted project approval for the Real Lettings initiative as set out in this report to enable the Council to enter into agreements with Resonance and St Mungo’s.

2.        That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services approved the investment of £15m into a Property Fund to support Homelessness.

3.         That Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services delegated authority to the Executive Director, Growth Planning and Housing and the City Treasurer to enter into contractual agreements for this investment.

Reasons for Decision

1.            This initiative is required to deliver additional affordable, suitable private sector accommodation to allow the council to meet its homelessness duties at a cost it can sustain against the background of:

·         An increasingly difficult market, marked by rapid increases in rent costs

·         The likelihood of increased numbers of households accepted as being homelessness

·         Changes to national policy and legislation likely - in the short term at least – to constrain the supply of social rented housing, and

·         A shift in emphasis in homelessness policy towards use of resources to prevention.

2.         This decision is necessary in order to fulfil the Council’s statutory duties to house persons who are defined as homeless under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 and reduce the costs of fulfilling that duty.

3.         This investment provides a cost effective alternative to Temporary Accommodation and provides an additional source of good quality accommodation within London for families in housing need.

4.         This represents a positive investment for the Council compared with purchasing properties and providing support itself, continuing to provide long-term Temporary Accommodation.

To seek approval to appoint a number of suppliers onto a Framework for the provision of Passenger Transport Taxi services for eligible children, young people and vulnerable adults in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and Westminster City Council (WCC).

1.1.       It was recommended that the Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public Health and the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community, approve the following decisions:

1.2.       The establishment of a Passenger Transport Taxi Framework, to be used by both WCC and RBKC via an Inter-Authority agreement.

1.3.       The appointment of the following suppliers, to Lot 1 - Regular and Scheduled Taxi Provision of the Passenger Transport Taxi Framework for the duration of the four-year Framework:

·         Chequers Transport Ltd

·         Green Tomato Cars Limited

·         HATS Group Ltd

·         Jimac Radio Cars Ltd

·         London Hire Community Services Ltd

·         London VIP Cars

·         Olimpicars Limited

·         One Transport Ltd

·         Westway CT Trading Ltd

1.4.       The appointment of the following suppliers, to Lot 2 - Ad-hoc Taxi Provision of the Passenger Transport Taxi Framework for the duration of the four-year Framework:

·         Chequers Transport Ltd

·         Dial-a-Cab Limited

·         Green Tomato Cars Ltd

·         HATS Group Ltd

·         Jimac Radio Cars Ltd

·         London VIP Cars

·         Olimpicars Ltd

·         One Transport Ltd

·         Q-Despatch (West) Ltd

·         Westway CT Trading Ltd

1.5.       Approval for the following selection methods for the award of call-off contracts for both Lot 1 - Regular and Scheduled Taxi Provision and Lot 2 - Ad-hoc Taxi Provision:

i.              That the ranking of taxi suppliers (as detailed in the exempt section of this report) be used to award all taxi contracts for both Lot 1 - Regular and Scheduled Taxi Provision and Lot 2 - Ad-hoc Taxi Provision according to their ranked positions, unless a mini-competition is required as outlined in the recommendation ii below.

ii.             That for out-of-Borough, longer distance, and TUPE-related contracts, and when in the Council’s interests to do so, suppliers on the relevant Lot of the Framework will be invited to participate in a mini-competition. 

iii.            That the decision to award and enter into call-off contract, valued at £100,000 and under, be delegated from the Corporate Leadership Team to the Head of Travel Care or in his/her absence the Assistant Director of Integrated Commissioning, to ensure transport is delivered to service users in a timely and efficient manner.  Should any taxi contract be valued at £100,000 or more, that this contract will be awarded by the Executive Management Team in accordance with the WCC Procurement Code.

1.6.       That approval was given for WCC to enter into an Inter-Authority agreement with RBKC to enable both Councils to call contracts off the WCC Framework, and to share taxi routes where appropriate.

1.7.       In order to aid efficient future decision-making, given the possibility of fluctuating demand, to approve the delegation to the Assistant Director for the Integrated Commissioning Directorate to review and approve all minor contract variations (up to 10% of the contract value) to ensure they are a compliant modification, whilst also ensuring that there is no disruption of service to vulnerable service users. 

Reasons for Decision

Reasons for re-procurement and establishment of Framework

1.8.       The Local Authority has a statutory duty to provide home to school transport provisions as per the Education Act 1996. Both Councils have a Travel Assistance Policy which clearly sets out these duties, together with further information via the Local Offer. The Travel Assistance policies can be found in the background papers appended to this report.

1.9.       For Adults, the Care Act 2014 stipulates a duty to Local Authorities to meet assessed needs, and while transport is not prescribed provision, it may be one way of meeting people’s assessed needs and preferences relating to their personal outcomes towards independence and engagement with the community.

1.10.    The West London Alliance (WLA) framework which service the existing taxi contracts expired in July 2016. RBKC and WCC extended current Taxi contracts under the WLA framework to July 2018, the maximum contract length possible.

1.11.   The re-procurement provides RBKC and WCC with an opportunity, through more detailed service specifications, to formalise current quality standards and to incorporate the feedback from consultation and engagement with stakeholders.

Reasons for delegated authority to call-off contracts from the Framework

1.12.   The approval of delegations to award call-off contracts under the Passenger Transport Taxi Framework, outlined in section 2 of this report, will enable the service to:

·         Align statutory passenger transport provision with the current practice of delegating authority to award care placements to the Director of Family Services based on the needs of children and young people;

·         Offer a quality passenger transport taxi service that is responsive, flexible and offers real-time provision to meet the needs of the child, young person or vulnerable adult;

·         Ensure that the volume of call-off contracts required at the beginning of the new academic year in September is provided without delay or disruption to children and young people’s needs;

·         Meet the changing demands of passenger transport on an ongoing basis in a timely and efficient manner;

·         Achieve best value for the Councils by ensuring that out of borough, longer distance and TUPE related contracts are subject to mini-competition, and;

·         Ensure that taxi contracts can be modified to support the Councils’ fluctuating demands and achieve best value for money through route optimisation whilst also ensuring consistency of service.

Reasons for Inter Authority Agreement

1.13.    The shared service re-procurement on a Bi-Borough basis between RBKC and WCC requires the development of a new Inter Authority Agreement between the two Boroughs to enable them both to operate effectively under the Framework.

1.14.    It is proposed that WCC will call-off from the Framework on behalf of itself and RBKC. The Inter-Authority Agreement will therefore sets out the contractual relationship between the two Councils including how contracts are called off the Framework; how the Councils co-operate to manage the services through the Travel Care and Support Team; WCC’s responsibilities to operate the contract on behalf of RBKC; how any defaults or performance issues by a supplier are  managed; RBKC’s obligations to co-operate and comply with the terms of the call-off; the liability between the two Councils; and how any disputes between the Councils are resolved.

Cabinet Member approval sought for operating lease appointment.

1.            That this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended), in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regenerationauthorised the City Council to enter into an Operating Lease with the preferred bidder for 6 years, 364 days for a total net rent as detailed in the report.

3.            That he Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration agreed to delegate authority to the Director of Property, Investment and Estates, working collaboratively with the Director of Development, to negotiate and enter into the Agreement for Lease and Operating Lease with the preferred bidder with the final figure not to vary from the total net rent detailed in the report by no more than 5%. 

Reasons for Decision

Westminster City Council (WCC) require a quality building operating to manage the Dudley House scheme and relationships with the school, church and retail operators. WCC will be transferring all risk associated with the management of the building to the operator, however will retain insurance obligations over the structure. The full operating lease will cover these obligations.

Cabinet approval sought for Ebury Bridge Estate Regeneration.

2.1           Cabinet agreed to:

1.1     Take forward Scenario 7 as the preferred development scenario. 

1.2     Concluded the Outline Business Case (Part 1).

1.3     Agreed to extend the re-development boundary to the area needed by the preferred scenario. Please note this land is held freehold by the Council.

1.4     Authorised Officers to enter into voluntary negotiations with residents and retailers to acquire all interests in scenario 7 by agreement at open market value together with compensation commensurate with that payable under compulsory purchase provisions.

1.5     Agreed to extend rehousing commitments to both tenants and leaseholders contained in new development boundary.

1.6     Authorised determination/future agreement of commercial leases in line with retail strategy.

1.7     Agreed to voids no longer being let on residential secure tenancies.

1.8     Authorised tender and commencement of enabling and demolition works including initial demolition notices on void properties to de-risk unknowns and accelerate a start on site in dialogue with Community Future Group (CFG).

1.9     Authorised the implementation of a Meanwhile Use strategy in partnership with the CFG for temporary uses on cleared areas.

1.10    Agreed for a Cabinet Member decision in October 2018 to select a preferred delivery route that will be supported by the Outline Business Case (Part 2).

1.11    Agreed to the need for external procurement, property and legal advice associated with the delivery of the overall project.

1.       The Ebury Bridge Estate is one of the five priority estates identified in the Council’s Housing Renewal Strategy (2010) as needing significant improvement and investment. In line with the Council’s City for All objectives, the overarching objective of regenerating Ebury Bridge Estate is to create a comprehensive renewal that brings about physical, economic and sustainable change that creates additional homes and improves the lives of residents, businesses and visitors alike.

2.       Scenario 7 is viewed as the preferred approach following the extensive resident consultation.  It brings about the most beneficial changes when judged against the developed scenario assessment (see summary matrix at Appendix C).  This assessment incorporates an evaluation of Viability, Desirability and Deliverability across the eight scenarios and is supported by:

·       The wide-ranging consultation process with residents and businesses;

·       Soft Market testing within the development market,;

·       The feasibility work completed by the Council led design team and the review;of the five cases within the Outline Business Case (Part 1).

3.       Scenario 7 provides a compelling case in the public interest for regenerationafter a period of resident consultation including a 6 week consultation on the preferred scenario. This scenario will involve comprehensive estate renewal through the creation of 750 homes, including 342 affordable homes, community facilities, retail accommodation and improved public realm, subject to planning.  Further design work will involve further consultation with residents and the wider community.

Notice is hereby given that Richard Beddoe, Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning,has made the following executive decision on the above mentioned subject for the reasons set out below.

Summary of Decision

That the nomination for a Westminster Green Plaque to commemorate the site of Paddington’s demolished Town Hall at the Enterprise Space, Paddington Exchange, Hermitage Street, W2, be approved in full.

Reasons for Decision

There is an opportunity to commemorate the establishment of this local government building and its place in the history of the City of Westminster, close to its original location, by the installation of a Westminster Green Plaque on the northern elevation of Westminster’s latest Enterprise Space facility in the Paddington Exchange development in Hermitage Street, W2.

Stuart Love, Chief Executive,

Westminster City Hall,

64 Victoria Street

LONDON SW1E 6QP

Notice is hereby given that Richard Beddoe, Cabinet Member for Place Shaping and Planning,has made the following executive decision on the above mentioned subject for the reasons set out below.

Summary of Decision

That the nomination for a Westminster Green Plaque to commemorate the two architects, who designed the Lillington Gardens estate, SW1, be approved.

Reasons for Decision

This is an opportunity to commemorate the two architects whose design skills set new standards in social housing and made Lillington Gardens estate one of the most outstanding public housing schemes of its time.Their innovative designs are widely credited with pioneering the move from tower and slab block designs, which dominated the 1960s.  

Stuart Love, Chief Executive,

Westminster City Hall,

64 Victoria Street

LONDON SW1E 6QP

Notice is hereby given that David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community,has made the following executive decision on the above mentioned subject for the reasons set out below.

Summary of Decision

That the expenditure of £31,639.50 in order to commission 237 550mm diameter Summer and Winter hanging baskets, including full maintenance from June 2018 till May 2019 be agreed.

Reasons for Decision

The expenditure will help address the priority of improving local amenities within the Marylebone High Street Ward.

Stuart Love, Chief Executive,

Westminster City Hall,

64 Victoria Street

LONDON SW1E 6QP

Notice is hereby given that David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community,has made the following executive decision on the above mentioned subject for the reasons set out below.

Summary of Decision

That the expenditure of £15,382 in order to commission the rental of 108 Summer and Winter hanging baskets in Little Venice ward. As well as the installation and rental of two additional hanging baskets for Summer and Winter along Randolph Avenue until May 2019 be agreed.

Reasons for Decision

The expenditure will help address the priority of improving local amenities within the Little Venice Ward.

Stuart Love, Chief Executive,

Westminster City Hall,

64 Victoria Street

LONDON SW1E 6QP

Notice is hereby given that David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community,has made the following executive decision on the above mentioned subject for the reasons set out below.

Summary of Decision

That the expenditure of £10,225 in order to commission Floating Classrooms, which provides ten learning trips for pupils of Christ Church Bentinck CE Primary School, Gateway Academy and King Solomon Academy during 2018-19 autumn and spring terms be agreed.

Reasons for Decision

The expenditure will help address the priority of improving local amenities within the Church Street Ward.

Stuart Love, Chief Executive,

Westminster City Hall,

64 Victoria Street

LONDON SW1E 6QP

Notice is hereby given that David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Education and Community,has made the following executive decision on the above mentioned subject for the reasons set out below.

Summary of Decision

That the expenditure of £13,884 to commission the rental of 104 Summer and Winter hanging baskets in Abbey Road ward until May 2019 be agreed.

Reasons for Decision

The expenditure will help address the priority of improving local amenities within the Abbey Road Ward.

Stuart Love, Chief Executive,

Westminster City Hall,

64 Victoria Street

LONDON SW1E 6QP

1.            That this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended), in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services approved a waiver of the Procurement Code to permit the direct award of interim contracts for the contracts listed in Appendix 1 of the report, to the total sum as detailed in the reportfor the period 1st April 2018 to 31^st March 2020 and noted that this will allow for a programme to be developed and implemented for the re-procurement of these services over the next 2 years.

Reasons for Decision

1.            Regulation 72 (1) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 require that for any variation clauses to be lawful they must be couched in ‘clear, precise and unequivocal’ terms, that state the scope and nature of possible modifications. The ‘review clauses’ in many of the existing contracts that enable the contracts to be rolled on without limit would therefore not be considered lawful. The contracts must be put onto a compliant contractual footing with clear start/expiry dates and provisions to extend that do not continue indefinitely.

2.            The current ‘expiry date’ for these services is 31^st March 2018 and further extensions to the contracts are therefore sought to maintain continuity of service whilst a re-procurement programme is developed in order to achieve full compliance.

3.            At present, all the contracts are closely monitored and, as recorded in capitalesourcing, are considered to meet the Contract Managers’ expectations.

Background is the strategy for provision of aids and adaptations for disabled tenants in properties owned and managed by CityWest Homes on behalf of Westminster City Council. The existing suppler (Effectable) carries out reviews of Occupational Health recommendations and installs property improvements for disabled/ “at risk” persons and families. A contract needs to be procured to replace the existing contract which expires on 17/6/18. The existing contract needs to be extended until 17/07/19 to allow time for a restricted competitive procedure as there is a dense supplier market.

1.            That this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended), in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services approved the extension of the current contract for Aids and Adaptation between City West Homes and the supplier as detailed in the report from 18^th June 2018 to 17^th June 2019. 

Reasons for Decision

1.            A single supplier contract needs to be procured to replace the existing Aids and Adaptations contract, which expires on 17^th June 2018. The existing contract needs to be extended until 17^th June 2019 to allow time for a restricted competitive procedure, as there is a dense supplier market.

2.            Quality, Health and Safety, and safe transfer of services and confidential data to the new supplier are key factors in the re procurement.

12.1    Ian Heggs, Director of Schools, introduced the statutory annual report and advised that the Board had appointed a new Chair from 2017. He advised that there had been a positive trend in the reduction of number of children subject to a protection plan from last year.

12.2    The Leader welcomed the report and thanked the Chairman and the Board and officers for the work undertaken.

12.3    RESOLVED:

            That the report be noted.

12.4    Reasons for Decision

            No decision to be made.

11.1    Councillor Heather Acton, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Services and Public Health, introduced the report that was a statutory annual requirement for Cabinet to note and endorse. She thanked the Independent Chair and Members of the Board for their work.

11.2    Bernie Flaherty, Bi-borough Executive Director of Adults Social Care added that the City Council worked with a range of partners and lessons were being learnt from the experiences.

11.3    RESOLVED:

That the report is noted and strategy and the emerging themes informing its current work endorsed.

     11.4    Reasons for Decision

                 No decision to be made.

1.       The Cabinet Members approve the implementation of the proposed structures for the services in scope, including the deletion of the current Public Protection and Licensing structure as shown in Appendix 1a to be replaced with the proposed new structure as shown in Appendix 2a; and the deletion of the current City Highways structure in Appendix 1b and to be replaced with the proposed structure as shown in Appendix 2b with effect from 1 August 2018.

1.         The following key factors have influenced the changes proposed in this report and shaped proposals for the proposed re-structures:

Duplication of interactions and opportunities for efficiency

·          For this phase of the programme the focus was on reviewing and validating process maps and system data (i.e. from visits and service requests), identifying commonalities between processes and opportunities for a more efficient and effective delivery of services.

·          Analysis of interactions for the services in scope confirmed that there is clustering of both demand and staff resources. Analysis highlights ‘hotspot’ areas and showed that within 1 day, 80% of visits have overlaps with other visits and within 7 days this increases to 97%. The highest level of overlap between teams is between City Inspectors and Noise EHOs.

·          A more detailed review of the processes showed that whilst there are clear specialisms in each team, the Noise, Highways and Planning Officers process maps show broad similarities with City Inspectors processes and confirmed that a number of opportunities exist for integrating roles, such as sharing compliance activities.

·          Analysis of the activities performed by the Highways Inspectors identified opportunities to increase capacity on the street to report on non-specialist activities such as street lighting, gullies and “Priority One” issues through City Inspectors. This opportunity would be enabled through appropriate tasking and new reporting tools delivered through the digital programme.

·          Increase multi-tasking and collaborative working across highways licensing and Schemes Management creates ownership of an area, with highways inspectors able to acquire local knowledge of historical issues and street features.

·          This provides the opportunity to adopt a blended approach, which enables elements of multi-tasking to run alongside specific expertise.

·          There is also the opportunity to extend the collaboration to closer working with Schemes Management to enable more consistent application of standards between road works and planned and preventative maintenance.

Maximising capacity to meet increasing demand

·          The significant increase in demand for services, for example short-term lets and the associated ASB issues, requires a new collaborative approach and the use of collective powers in order to better manage the rising demand within existing resources.

·              Analysis of a number of services also revealed opportunities to ‘buddy up’ roles in order to increase capacity to manage the issues and avoid lone working.

·              The analysis and consultation also identified opportunities to enhance relationships with partners and stakeholders to ensure more collaborative, multi –agency working to meet the needs of the community.

·              A review for the demand for the deployed services within City Highways was undertaken and the analysis showed that the introduction of a blended highways inspector role in conjunction with a deployment rota would allow the service to meet the increasing demand for services.

·              A more collaborative approach and centralising of support functions and other coordinating activities would also assist in meeting increasing demand for services across the network.

Community Focus and Civic Leadership

·            The changes centre around a proposed neighbourhood model to deliver front line services seeking to better appreciate and understand the different characteristics and demands of the city and focus resources accordingly. This model, based on ward boundaries, provides clear links for Ward Members, stakeholders and service providers to work together and deal with issues in a more coordinated and collaborative way.

·            It is also anticipated that the neighbourhood model could help to support the Council’s Community Cohesion Commission agenda, particularly by contributing to the recommendation to ‘work with businesses, voluntary and community groups to develop an approach that enables businesses and other groups to easily connect with the community and jointly deliver activities to strengthen community cohesion.’

       Staff Engagement Feedback

·            An extensive programme of staff engagement has taken place and the feedback received from staff has helped to inform the proposals and refine the requirements for the transition into the new model.

Cabinet Member approval sought for renewal of Microsoft licensing.

1.            That this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, paragraph 3 (as amended), in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services approved to undertake a procurement for the Enterprise Agreement, running a further competition with the suppliers on the Crown Commercial Service Framework, allowing 2 weeks for the suppliers to respond, a week to evaluate and moderate responses and award to the winning bidder and that the award would be for a period of three with the contract expiring 31st May 2021.

3.            That the Cabinet Member for Housing and Customer Services noted the total value of Microsoft licences as set in the report, including the annual value and that this includes significant volumes of licences that are consumed directly by Council Service departments.

Reasons for Decision

1.            The licences are required for day-to-day operation in the three councils.

2.            Renewal of the Enterprise Agreement aligns with the strategic vision of collaborative working, while using cloud-based tools for current and future collaboration solutions, and is in-line with the Digital Transformation Programme and the Governments “Cloud First” policy.

1.     That this report be confidential pursuant to paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 because it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of tenderers for the contract which is the subject of this report.

2.     That the Cabinet Member for Environment and City Management approved the recommendation to award the Contract for the Provision of Fixed Point Car Sharing Services (Lot 1) to the preferred bidder and the Contract for the Provision of Flexible Car Sharing Services (Lot 2) to the recommended providers, as the first and second placed bidders respectively, for a period of two years from 1^st June 2018, with the option to extend by up to a further two years for both lots.

1.     The tender submitted by the preferred bidder for the fixed point service offers the most economically advantageous proposal to the Council in comparison to the other bidders because they offered the highest price for each of the bays they will be operating from and because of the qualifying bids, their bid achieved the highest quality score.

2.     Two bidders submitted tenders for the flexible service, where two concessionaires for the service were sought from the procurement.  One offered the most economically advantageous bid to the City Council, and are the first placed concessionaire, with the other, second placed.

1.       That the Cabinet Member for Environment and City Management approved the contract to be extended for up to two years, with a break clause at six-monthly intervals and/or termination for convenience (60 days’ notice required). To ensure compliance is managed at all times with no loss of service, the extension will commence, subject to Cabinet Member approval, on the cessation of the existing contract from 1^st July 2018.

2.       That the report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of paragraph 3 of the Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular persons (including the authority holding that information).

1.       Since July 2014 the contractor has managed the provision of the on-street marshalling service via the P&R contract. At the time the contractor’s tender offered the most economically advantageous proposal when compared to the other tenders received in relation to:

·         Contract cost

·         Kerbside management solution

·         End-to-end business processing solution

·         Technology platform and integrated solution

·         Customer solution

·         Transition and mobilisation

·         Management Systems

2.       This initial term of the contract is due to expire on the 30^th June 2018 and parking services wish to invoke the two-year contract extension catered for in the contract, whilst incorporating a number of enhancements such as: a reduction in the number of paid for Marshalling hours; and Marshal deployment directly from home rather than via a base.

3.       The alternative to extending the contract would be a full procurement which would be time and cost prohibitive.

Cabinet Member approval sought for recommendations of the Panel held on 23 April 2018.

1.            That Appendix A to this report be exempt from public disclosure by virtue of paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 because the applications involve the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to an individual.

2.            That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the recommendations of the Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel meeting held on 23 April 2018.

Reasons for Decision 

The Discretionary Housing Payment Review Advisory Panel has set out the reasons for the recommendations in each case considered by the Panel in the recommendations in Appendix A, which are more fully set out in the case papers submitted to the Panel.

1.            That this report and appendices be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraph 3, as amended, in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of an individual.

2.        That the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Regeneration approved the recommendations of the Rating Advisory Panel held on 10 April 2018 and determined the applications for National Non-Domestic Rates Discretionary and Hardship relief as set out in Appendix A of the report.

Reasons for Decision

The Rating Advisory Panel has set out the reasons for the recommendations in each case considered by the Panel in the recommendations in Appendix A of the report.