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 the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:

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

(a)               all Members of the Committee, Sub Committee, Panel or Forum;

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

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members in relation to the business transacted at this meeting.

To consider whether any of the items listed on the agenda should be considered with the press and public excluded on the grounds that it is thought likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that there would be disclosure of confidential information in breach of an obligation of confidence or of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1972 (as amended).

RESOLVED:  That all items be considered with the press and public present.

That the minutes of the meetings held on 18 July 2006 and 12 September 2006 be deferred to the next ordinary meeting of the Panel.

[NB: At the meeting held on 12 September 2006, it had been resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2006 would be deferred to the next meeting of the Panel].

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meetings held on 18 July 2006 and 12 September 2006 be deferred to the next ordinary meeting of the Panel.

To receive deputations (if any) under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 14 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no deputations were received at this meeting under the provisions of Advisory Panel and Consultative Forum Procedure Rule 15 (Part 4E of the Constitution).

Report of the Director of Planning Services.

The Director of Planning Services introduced the report, which provided a broad summary of the changes to the London Plan proposed by the Mayor of London.  Appended to the report was the West London Alliance (WLA) Review Paper, which highlighted emerging key issues for West London. 

The Director of Planning Services explained that the content of the London Plan was fundamental to the Borough’s future, as Harrow’s Local Development Framework would need to comply with the Plan.  The Plan predicted a significant population increase and addressed how this might be accommodated in areas such as employment, education, housing, health and infrastructure.  Harrow’s response to the proposed alterations would be submitted to the Mayor of London in December 2006, and a public enquiry was likely to be held in June 2007.  The enquiry panel would determine the issues to be discussed, and who would be invited to attend.  In addition to producing the Harrow response, Harrow would be contributing to a West London response in collaboration with other members of the WLA.

The Director of Planning Services invited the Panel to comment on the proposed changes to the London Plan, particularly in relation to the impact they would have on West London, and Harrow.  During the discussion on the report, the following issues were raised:

·                     Concern was expressed at the proposal to extend the ‘life’ of the Plan by a further ten years, to 2026.  The Panel felt that this was looking too far ahead, and could cause significant problems in predicting what the Borough’s needs would be at that time.  The Panel recommended that the original timeframe to 2016 should remain, with a programme put in place to review the Plan every two years.

·                     It was the Panel’s view that, in places, the Plan concentrated on local policy instead of focusing on issues at a strategic level.

·                     The Panel felt that West London should be given more attention in the Plan.  The focus on East London was understandable due to the development required for the 2012 Olympics, but this should not be to the detriment of other areas.  Similarly, outer London boroughs should not be ignored at the expense of inner London boroughs.

·                     Concern was expressed that the Plan seemed to predict that outer London would become ‘dormitories’ for people commuting to inner London. The Panel agreed that Harrow aspired to a vibrant economy with sustainable employment and growth of small businesses.  It was recommended that the Plan recognise this and include a section on how to support and encourage such growth at a strategic level.

·                     A more integrated approach to how the transport infrastructure would deal with growth was needed in the Plan.  This should include orbital transport improvements and give greater prominence to Heathrow Airport.

·                     The Panel questioned the source of the prediction that public transport would need to increase by up to fifty per cent over the plan period.  The Panel also requested further information on how the “40,000 additional homes by 2016” for West London predicted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.