Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Keith Ferry.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED:  To note that the following petitions had been received

(1)          Petition – the Mayor of the London Borough of Harrow

Ms April De Alwiss presented a petition with 434 signatures with the following request:

We wish to support Councillor Kareema Marikar to stay in her position as Mayor of Harrow until the time she is due to vacate the full term of her role.

RESOLVED:  That the petition be received and referred to the Director of Legal and Governance Services for a response.

(2)          Petition – Planning Application in respect of 1 Devonshire Road, Hatch End

Councillor Graham Henson presented a petition signed by 62 residents with the following request:

We object to the planning application and request both that the Planning Officer to recommend the application for refusal and that the matter go to the Planning Committee for determination given the level of local opposition. 

RESOLVED:  That the petition be received and referred to the Corporate Director, Community for a response.

To receive any public questions received in accordance with paragraph 16 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

Questions will be asked in the order in which they were received.  There will be a time limit of 15 minutes for the asking and answering of public questions.

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm on 11 March 2019  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions had been received for this meeting.

To receive any Councillor questions received in accordance with paragraph 17 of the Executive Procedure Rules.

Questions will be asked in the order agreed with the relevant Group Leader by the deadline for submission and there be a time limit of 15 minutes.

[The deadline for receipt of Councillor questions is 3.00 pm on 11 March 2019]

The Councillor questions were responded to and the audio recording placed on the Council’s website.

RESOLVED:  To note the contents of the Key Decision Schedule for the period March to May 2019, subject to noting that the relevant Portfolio Holders for the report on the Housing Management and Asset Management Replacement Project should be Councillor Phillip O’Dell and Councillor Adam Swersky.

RESOLVED:  That the Progress on Scrutiny Projects report be noted.

Report of the Interim Chief Planning Officer

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the representations received in response to the consultation on the draft CAAMS, and the Council’s responses to these set out in the body of the report, be noted;

(2)          the amended boundary to the Pinner Road conservation area contained within the draft Pinner Road Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (CAAMS) be noted and adopted, and that the Interim Chief Planning Officer be authorised to undertake the necessary statutory notifications;

(3)          the “making” of a non-immediate Article 4 direction in relation to the firemen’s cottages (1-18) Pinner Road and 660 Pinner Road to remove the permitted development rights specified at Appendix 2 to this report, together with the giving of notice, be authorised;

(4)          the Interim Chief Planning Officer be authorised to undertake the necessary statutory notification and consultation, and, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Employment and consideration of representations received, to decide whether to “confirm” the Article 4 direction;

(5)          the draft Pinner Road CAAMS, which would form an appendix to the adopted Pinner Conservation Areas Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), be adopted;

(6)          the Interim Chief Planning Officer be authorised to undertake a public consultation on the addition of Pinner Road gardens and cemetery to the list of locally listed parks and gardens in Harrow.

Reason for Decision:  Pinner Road Conservation Area was designated on 19 March 2015 and was the only one of Harrow’s 29 conservation areas not to have an associated adopted CAAMS.  When adopted, the Pinner Road Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (CAAMS) would form an appendix to the Pinner Conservation Areas SPD.  It would form a material consideration in the determination of planning applications both at planning committees and appeal proceedings.

The proposed non-immediate Article 4 Direction will give the Council greater control over development that could harm the special architectural and historic interest of the Conservation Area. 

Consulting on the local listing of Pinner Road gardens and cemetery would help comply with the National Planning Policy Framework requirement that planning authorities ensure that they make information about the significance of the historic environment gathered as part of plan-making or development management publicly accessible.  Providing locally listed status to those heritage assets that have local merit would help protect Harrow’s local historic and architectural interest and assist the Council to meet its corporate priority that sought to build stronger communities.  To comply with the Harrow Core Strategy (adopted 12 February 2012) Strategic Objective 1 for ‘heritage assets – parks and gardens’ for an ‘up to date list of locally important historic parks and gardens’.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None. 

Report of the Corporate Director, Community

Having considered the confidential appendix, it was  

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          the Corporate Director, Community and the Director of Finance be authorised, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for  Regeneration, Planning and Employment, to enter into a funding agreement with the Football Foundation towards the cost of installing a 3G Artificial Grass Pitch at Bannister Sports Centre;

(2)          the Corporate Director, Community, be authorised, following consultation with the Head of Procurement, to undertake a procurement process under the Football Foundation’s Framework Agreement for the selection of supplier(s) to install a 3G Artificial Grass Pitch at Bannister Sports Centre once planning permission has been granted and Football Foundation external grant funding obtained;

(3)          the Corporate Director, Community be authorised, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Employment, and the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, to award and arrange the execution of contracts with the successful tenderer(s) appointed through the procurement process and to take any further actions necessary to complete the installation of the 3G Artificial Grass Pitch at Bannister Sports Centre.

Reason for Decision:  Due to the estimated value of the project being above £500,000 Cabinet authorisation was required to comply with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules. 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None. 

Cabinet agreed to consider the report as a matter of urgency for the reasons set out in the public notice issued on 11 March 2019.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          approval be granted to expand the provision of meals on wheels  services to other London boroughs;

(2)          the Corporate Director, Community be authorised, following consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Director of Finance to undertake the activities required to expand the meals on wheels services to other London boroughs and to negotiate and enter into contracts with participating boroughs.

Reason for Decision:  To support shared service objectives that enhanced sustainability of the Council’s current meals on wheels service. 

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

Report of the Corporate Director, People Services

RESOLVED:  That information provided be noted.

Reason for Decision:  To keep the Cabinet updated and informed about the performance and standards in state-funded schools in Harrow (Local Authority maintained, Academies and Free schools) and the impact of key changes to the way in which schools are now monitored and inspected.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.

[Call-in does not apply as the decision was solely to note the report.]

Report of the Director of Finance

Cabinet endorsed the suggestion by John Higgins that consideration be given to involving representatives of disabled people in the Borough in the procurement exercise.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)          a contract for a Concessionary Travel Mobility Assessment supplier be procured with a total contract value up to £3m for the assessment of non-automatic applications or a combination of non-automatic and automatic applications as well as the full concessionary travel service administration, subject to demonstration of Best Value, for a period of 5 years with an extension of 1+1 additional years at the sole discretion of the Council;

(2)          the Director of Finance be authorised, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, to award the contract for Concessionary Travel Mobility Assessments and Administration.

Reason for Decision:  Guidance no longer allowed the Council to use GP endorsement letters and also states that mobility assessments for concessionary transport services should be carried out by professional occupational or physiotherapists.

Concessionary travel applications were currently assessed in two areas. Automatic qualifying applications were administered and assessed via a desk top assessment by Harrow Council staff and non-automatic applications were assessed through either a desk top or a face to face mobility assessment, carried out by qualified external contractors via existing contracts.

When the existing contract for non automatic assessments ends in May 2020, it would be necessary to have a new contract in place.  It was also the intention to use the opportunity to test the market regarding automatic assessments and the full administration of concessionary travel to see if offering the opportunity for a contractor to deliver the whole of the concessionary travel service would bring further savings through economies of scale.  This strategy would ensure a contractor was appointed for the non-automatic assessments, as well as providing the option to externalise the automatic assessments and the administration of the service, subject to the market proving that it would provide both capacity and further savings due to the bigger potential volumes of work on offer.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  As set out in the report.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member/Dispensation Granted:  None.