Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no Reserve Members in attendance at this meeting.

To consider the appointment of a Vice-Chairman to the Panel for the Municipal Year 2011/12.

RESOLVED:  To appoint Councillor Keith Ferry as Vice-Chairman of the Major Developments Panel for the 2011/2012 Municipal Year.

To receive declarations of personal or prejudicial interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Panel;

(b)               all other Members present in any part of the room or chamber.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following interests were declared:

Agenda Item 8 – Strategic Development in the Heart of Harrow

Councillor Susan Hall declared a personal interest in the above item in that she had a business in Headstone Drive, Wealdstone.  She would remain in the room whilst the matter was considered and voted upon.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 2011 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 2011 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents or organisations under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 51 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions were received at this meeting under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 51 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 49 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

Councillor Phillip O’Dell submitted a petition containing 76 signatures of residents of Carmelite Road, Harrow Weald, objecting to an application for planning permission to convert the house at 113 Carmelite Road into two flats on a number of grounds, including lack of car parking, increased noise pollution, and increased pressure on the drains and sewerage system.

RESOLVED:  That the petition be referred to the Planning Department and the Planning Committee for consideration.

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 50 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no deputations were received at this meeting under the provisions of Executive Procedure Rule 50 (Part 4D of the Constitution).

Report of the Corporate Director of Place Shaping

The Panel considered a report of the Corporate Director of Place Shaping which provided an update on progress with the Area Action Plan for the Heart of Harrow Intensification Area and set the context for a series of presentations on the implementation of a development and improvement strategy for the area.  The Corporate Director introduced Trenton Williams of Alan Baxter Associates, Tony Wood of Harrow Public Transport Users’ Association, Stephen Neal of Land Securities and Richard Rees of Business Design Partnership who would be contributing to the presentations.

Strategy

Officers gave a presentation on the overall strategy which reminded Members that stage 1 of the masterplanning study had been completed, and consultation on the Area Action Plan Issues and Options was under way.  East Architects had been recommissioned for stage 2 of the masterplanning to develop the Preferred Option.  The resulting masterplan would be much more detailed and specific, and would include a narrative on how the space would change, public realm proposals and urban design guidance, such as guidelines on tall buildings, and the strategy for phasing and delivery.  It would be developed in consultation with engagement forums representing the community, business and developers, and with Members.  It was anticipated that it would be submitted to the September Panel meeting.

Members considered that the public would be very interested in details such as the proposed height of buildings, and expressed concern about the consultation process for the stage 2 masterplan, specifically that the public would not have the opportunity to comment on it prior to September or be presented with various options on the details.  The Divisional Director of Planning explained that the draft seen by the Panel in September would be an early version, and that the final document would not be agreed for consultation until November, at which point there would be a similar level of consultation as was currently under way on the stage 1 masterplan.  A Member suggested that the timeline for the development of the stage 2 masterplan and the consultation thereon be placed on the Council’s website.

Transport

The Panel then received a presentation on transport issues from Trenton Williams of Alan Baxter Associates, who had been retained as part of the stage 2 masterplanning process in light of the level of concern about transport issues expressed in stage 1. 

Mr Williams stated that the Intensification Area had a number of strengths in relation to transport, namely its accessibility, its connectivity to other parts of the borough, and the fact that it was within walking distance to various transport hubs and centres.  However, it also presented a number of key challenges, including a high level of car ownership, busy roads which were barriers to pedestrian movement, poor accessibility at Harrow on the Hill Station, selected bus routes already being at capacity during peak hours, and congestion at localised spots.  There were opportunities to tackle these issues by means of:

·                     new development opportunities, which would provide funding for transport improvements;

·                     structuring new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

In accordance with the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 14 (Part 4B of the Constitution), during the discussion of the above item it was

RESOLVED:  At 9.50 pm to continue until 10.15 pm.

Oral report of the Divisional Director of Planning Services

This item had already been dealt with under agenda item 8, Strategic Development in the Heart of Harrow (Appendix 3 to the officer report).

It was reported that the item on Progress on the Discussions with Dandara in relation to a Specific Proposal, which had been scheduled to be received at this meeting, would be on the agenda for a future meeting of the Panel, possibly in July, as the Dandara proposals were not yet ready to be presented to the Panel.

The item on Work with Open City – a Presentation from Young People, which had also been due to be received at this meeting, would now be received at the September Panel meeting, as the young people were currently busy with exams.

RESOLVED:  That the above be noted.

Reason for Decision: To keep Members informed of future items for discussion.