Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Pat Carvalho, Vice Principal, Harrow College.

Harrow Town Centre Forum meeting 8 June 2011

AGREED: That the minutes of the Harrow Town Centre Forum Ordinary

Meeting held on 8 June 2011 be agreed.

There were no matters arising.

Round One Update (Andy Stubbs)

Round Two Proposals (Michael Owens)

Officers provided updates in relation to round one of the Outer London Fund.  They advised that:

·               Just under £500,000 had been awarded to Harrow, the second largest award from the Fund;

·               The award would be used to fund projects such as a ‘Light Garden’, an animation project for Harrow College students and a new website for businesses within Harrow Town Centre.

In response to questions, officers advised that:

·               School children would be asked to design the ‘Banners of Faith’, a project due to be launched to coincide with One World Week in October 2011;

·               The animation project would be projected on a wall within the Town Centre in early 2012 to help boost trade;

·               A closed, non-profit, internet based radio station was envisaged for the Christmas period.  An application for a license would be made to Ofcom.  A possible link to Northwick Park Hospital’s radio station would be considered;

·               Suggestions for ‘Pop-Up Shops’ would be considered.

In relation to round two, officers advised that:

·               Up to £2 million was available for round two of the Fund with a focus being on Energy and Growth;

·               Approximately 80% of the award would need to be directed at Capital developments;

·               A key requirement was to demonstrate that the proposals could be achieved.  Delivery was expected over a two year period;

·               To ensure successful delivery, a strategic proposal was to build on the success of round one; emphasising Harrow’s cultural attributes and supporting the delivery of the round one projects;

·               Additional proposals included developing a connection with Lowlands Road Recreation Ground and Harrow-on-the-Hill, such as a ‘way finding project’, and including a permanent stage or bandstand in the Recreation Ground to create an urban area;

·               Addressing void properties in St. Ann’s Road had also been considered;

·               Bid submissions were required by 14 October 2011.

In response to questions, officers advised that:

·               The money available from the Fund would be insufficient to address the infrastructure of Harrow bus and tube stations;

·               A quote of £26 million had been given to build a bridge linking Harrow tube station to St. Ann’s Shopping Centre.  This exceeded the amount of funds available.

AGREED:  That the updates be noted.

An officer provided an update on the progress made with the Harrow and Wealdstone Area Action Plan.  He advised that:

·               A range of techniques had been used when consulting on the Plan.  These included road shows, a stall at Harrow’s Under One Sky festival and direct letter and email correspondence to over 1,200 recipients within the borough.  In total, over 200 officer hours had been spent on the initial consultation process;

·               Fifty-seven representations and in excess of two hundred and ninety individual comments had been received, which highlighted issues such as maintaining the character and heritage of Harrow and potential transport issues;

·               Of the four options created by East Architects, High Roads and Centres, which would maintain the identity of Harrow and Wealdstone as separate localised centres, received the most support;

·               East Architects had been re-commissioned and were creating drawings to establish a preferred option.  Community and business forums had been held to discuss the proposals;

·               Planning policy, development guidelines, and the process of delivering the infrastructure were being identified;

·               The second consultation stage would commence in November 2011 for six weeks;

·               Harrow bus and tube stations featured within the Plan.  A programme seeking ways of resolving access issues at the stations would be drawn up.

In response to questions, the officer advised that:

·               The initial consultation stage was broad and canvassed general opinion.  Further consultation opportunities would enable greater detail on the specifics of the Plan;

·               Additional consultation would be conducted in Spring 2012;

·               Much of the development would be funded through the private sector. Implementation and delivery would be carried out over the next fifteen years.

AGREED:  That the update be noted.

Police

An officer from the Metropolitan Police Harrow Town Centre Team provided an update on the operations in the town centre during the London riots.  He advised that:

·               On 8 August 2011, a dispersal zone was in operation for twenty-four hours;

·               In total, sixty-four people had been dispersed.  Three individuals ignored the dispersal order and were subsequently arrested and charged with breaching the terms of a dispersal order.

In response to questions, the officer advised that:

·               No officers had been injured during the operation;

·               Those gathered on the evening travelled from places such as High Wycombe, with BlackBerry Messenger being largely used to communicate information;

·               CCTV proved useful in apprehending those that had breached the dispersal order;

·               Theft of lead from the town centre had drastically reduced following an arrest earlier this year;

·               The Wealdstone Anti-Social Behaviour Partnership (WASP) were due to merge with the Town Centre Team on 15 October 2011.

AGREED:  That the update be noted.

Which the Chairman has decided is urgent and cannot otherwise be dealt with.

Christmas Festivities

Reverend Gardiner advised that a Christmas procession was scheduled for Saturday 17 December 2011 between 3 pm and 4 pm.

AGREED:  That the item be noted.

AGREED:  That the Forum’s Annual General Meeting would be held on Monday 21 November 2011.