Agenda and minutes

An apology for lateness was received from Councillor Suraj Sharma.

No declarations of interest were received.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions that are not specific to reports on the agenda must have been received in writing 10 working days before the date of the meeting.

Questions specifically relating to reports on the agenda should be received within two working days of the normal publication date of the agenda.  Please ensure that questions specifically relating to reports on the agenda are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5 pm on Wednesday 30 October 2019.

No questions were received.

No questions were received.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 September 2019 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Members considered matters outstanding from previous meetings.

RESOLVED to note that all outstanding actions from previous Minutes had been completed.

Portfolio Holder decisions for pre-decision scrutiny.

Report FSD19097

The Committee considered an update on the latest budget monitoring position for 2019/20 for the Renewal, Recreation and Housing portfolio based on activity levels up to the end of September 2019.

Members were advised that the projected overspend for ‘Running expenses’ (para. 3.8), was due in part to the costs of the housing furniture scheme in the amount of £170k; this would be offset by a drawdown from the Welfare Fund.  The remaining overspend related to the Building Control Trading Account reserve which was an accounting requirement.  The overspend was offset by a drawdown from earmarked reserves.

In regard to the Housing Needs deficit of £228k, the Director of Housing, Planning and Regeneration highlighted the increased use of nightly paid accommodation outside of London.  Whilst it appeared beneficial as the charges were lower, the Housing Benefit subsidy was capped at the January 2011 Local Housing Allowance rates which made placements more costly than those in London, especially when removal and furniture costs were factored in.

It was noted that, not for the first time, the Travellers budget was overspent by £54k.  This was partly due to one particular site experiencing a high use of utilities and the cost of maintenance which included the installation of water meters and the loss of income due to rent arrears.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to endorse the latest 2019/20 budget projection for the Renewal, Recreation and Housing Portfolio.

The Committee considered the following reports on the Part 1 agenda for the meeting of the Executive on 27 November 2019:

Report DRR19/051

Members were requested to consider a proposal to move Beckenham Library from its current site into Beckenham Public Hall - a Grade II listed building with significant potential for community use and situated in a more central town location.

Members were also requested to consider the option of making the existing Beckenham Library site available for housing.

The Assistant Director, Culture and Regeneration informed Members that

as part of the Regeneration Strategy in development, opportunities were being sought to improve and enhance the borough’s libraries. In addition, Council owned sites were being assessed for housing and current results suggested there was not enough to meet the target of 1000 homes.  This report was, therefore, a good news story in that the scheme had the potential to address both those needs.

Having been assessed for housing, the existing library site could accommodate 46 homes (50% affordable) as shown in the appendix. Cushman and Wakefield had provided a professional view that the site value was £2.12m.

High level feasibility work had been undertaken by officers to assess the potential of transforming Beckenham Public Hall into a new modern library and cultural venue.

The work undertaken suggested that the site had potential, however further information was required to understand the true viability of the scheme.

Therefore this report merely sought initial approval to proceed to procurement for an architect led team to undertake surveys and develop costed concept designs.  If shown to be viable, full community consultation would take place prior to a report coming back to Members to request to proceed to the next stage of development.

Visiting Ward Member for Clock House, Councillor Ian Dunn, addressed the Committee on behalf of the local community.  The West Beckenham Residents’ Association had written to him raising concerns in regard to:-

·  the impact of the development on the vitality of the area;

·  the impact of the development on the Elm Road Conservation Area; and

·  the availability of public transport.

The existing library was one of three focal points in the area.  Relocation would inconvenience visitors to both the spa and library.  The building itself was located opposite the Grade II listed building Venue 28 and situated within a Conservation Area.  Councillor Dunn suggested that the views of the Assistant Director of Planning be sought prior to proceeding further.

The site was readily accessible from Beckenham with four bus routes along Beckenham Road and Clock House railway station nearby. 

It was clear there were a number of previous options for the proposals and Councillor Dunn urged the Committee to ask officers to evaluate these before proceeding further.

The Assistant Director Culture and Regeneration assured Councillor Dunn that the proposals for the scheme did take the Conservation Area into account and discussions with the Planning Department had been undertaken.  Public transport had also been addressed in the Equality Impact Assessment.

Visiting Ward Member for Copers Cope, Councillor Michael Tickner, acknowledged that a feasibility study for the proposals would be undertaken.  In regard to inconvenience/convenience  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45a

Report DRR19/059/A

As outlined in the Local Plan, the Council intended to utilise the site of Bromley Valley Gymnastics Centre and adjacent land at Chipperfield Road (St Paul’s Cray), to build approximately 200 residential units.

Part of the development would include a new community facility to bring together St Paul’s Cray Library and Cotmandene Community Resource Centre.  There was also potential to provide a new facility for Bromley Valley Gymnastics Centre.

In this regard, Members considered the current lease arrangement for Bromley Valley Gymnastics Centre and reviewed the proposed options for the use of the site.

Members also considered the confidential financial information set out in the accompanying Part 2 (Exempt) report (DRR19/059(b)).

The Head of Regeneration outlined the report to Members.

As the current facility was not fit for purpose, Councillor Stevens welcomed the proposals and supported Option 1 as recommended although he sought and obtained assurance that the Gymnastics Centre could continue to provide a continuity of service whilst work was being undertaken. 

Details of the timeframe for work to be carried out was yet to be arranged and consideration was currently being given to submission of applications for funding.

In response to a query from Councillor Bear, Members were informed that the Gymnastics Club operated within a niche market and there were some elements of concern in regard to finding alternative operators in the unlikely event that it became necessary to do so.  However, officers were confident that requirements would be met.

Councillor Botting fully supported the recommendations and welcomed the development of a new gymnastics centre together with the proposed additional café and crèche facilities, which would benefit the local community.

It was agreed that the recommendations to the Executive include an additional proviso to ensure that costs/rent paid by Bromley Valley Gymnastic Centre remain fair and viable.

RESOLVED that:-

1  the report be noted and the Committee’s comments be provided to Members of the Executive; and

2  a further recommendation be added as set out at 3.3 below.

3  Members of the Executive be recommended to:-

  3.1  agree to re-provide a gymnastics centre for Bromley Valley Gymnastics Club as set out in paragraphs 3.12 to 3.18 of the Part 1 report;

  3.2  agree the recommendation set out in the accompanying confidential Part 2 (Exempt) report (DRR19/059(b)); and

  3.3  ensure that costs/rent paid by Bromley Valley Gymnastic Centre remain fair and viable.

Report DRR19/053

Members considered a summary of the initial feasibility work undertaken in relation to the current site of West Wickham Library and Station Road car park in West Wickham to provide approximately 34 residential units and 500sqm of commercial unit.

The report recommended that further feasibility work be undertaken in order to fully assess the viability of the scheme and a procurement exercise be run concurrently to appoint a multi-disciplinary design team.  The results of this further work would be reported to a meeting of the Executive in spring 2020.

Members also considered additional confidential information set out in the accompanying Part 2 (Exempt) report (DRR19/054).

The Head of Town Centre Renewal drew Members’ attention to the immense pressures on the borough in relation to housing supply and specifically in relation to affordable homes and housing for temporary accommodation.  As a result, the Executive agreed that Council-owned land would be reviewed in light of its potential for residential development which included Council owned car parks.

The report identified development potential at the site of Station Road car park, West Wickham.  This potential could be maximised if it was expanded to include the current site of West Wickham Library, two rear land parcels and a private road.  The report summarised the initial feasibility work undertaken to date that suggested the site was financially viable with the provision of up to 34 units but only if no car parking was retained.

Additional feasibility work was needed to build a full business case for the scheme.  The report sought a political mandate to continue to look at the site together with the allocation of resources to undertake the additional feasibility work set out in paragraph 3.24.

Members’ attention was specifically drawn to recommendations for the following work:-

·  That a more detailed assessment of the traffic and economic impact of the loss of car parking would be completed.

·  That options would be considered for the re-provision of the library on an interim basis.  It may be that the outcome of this work recommended a phased approach to the residential scheme for example, to avoid relocating the library twice.  It was not anticipated that the library would close except to facilitate the transition between venues.  The Head of Town Centre Renewal clarified that there were no plans to relocate the library to a porta cabin in the car park of the leisure centre.

·  That the massing examples provided with the report were indicative; in response to the informal feedback from planning colleagues, the massing would be reconfigured to address concerns about height and loss of privacy for residents whose properties were adjacent to the land parcels.

The outcome of this and the other items of additional work outlined in paragraph 3.24 would inform the final business case to be reported back to Members, at which point officers would recommend whether or not the site should go forward for development.  It was emphasised that it was not a forgone conclusion that the scheme would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45c

Report HPR19001

Members considered a summary of the work undertaken by the Housing Needs Service together with an update of key performance statistics.

The Assistant Director Housing outlined the report and referring to paragraph 3.3 advised that the number of homeless approaches to the Council had increased by four and Housing Register applications had increased by 26 but remained stable.  There had been a decrease in the number of nightly paid accommodation households due to the More Homes Bromley scheme which was in the process of concluding.  The number of properties available from housing associations had decreased by an average of 16 per month and moves into the private sector had decreased by one-third.

The Chairman commented on the usefulness of the report and requested that comparison column(s) be added to the headline statistics.  More graphs like the Temporary Accommodation Data set out in paragraph 4.7 would be useful.

It would also be helpful to incorporate key performance targets i.e. how many people the Council aimed for in each service including how long people remained in temporary accommodation and on the Housing Register.

Members were informed that the waiting times for accommodation for accepted homes households were:-

·  two bedroom accommodation – in excess of 4½ years;

·  three bedroom accommodation - 3+ years; and

·  one bedroom accommodation - approximately 12 months to 2 years.

The Assistant Director Housing stated that some control was needed in regard to the housing market.  Having looked on the property website Zoopla, only 6% of properties advertised in July were affordable for people reliant on benefits who were seeking to rent privately.

In regard to the approaches to service on page 114, para. 4.4 of the report, Members were advised that the 56 days referred to in the table was the statutory turnaround time.

The ‘lack of action’ referred to on page 117, para. 6.2 of the report, related to following up progress on cases.  However, officers were now more reactive and dealt with cases quickly and efficiently.  Changes had also been made to IT systems, processes and procedures.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Report DRR19/057

The Committee considered an extract from the Contracts Register which provided key information concerning contracts within the Renewal, Recreation and Housing Portfolio with a total contract value greater than £50k as at 24 September 2019.

Members also considered additional confidential information set out in the accompanying Part 2 (Exempt) report.

The Chairman was satisfied with the information contained in the report.

RESOLVED that:-

1  the report be noted; and

2  the additional confidential information set out in the accompanying Part 2 (Exempt) report be noted.

Report CSD19139

Members considered the Renewal, Recreation and Housing PDS Committee Work Programme for the period January to March 2020.

It was agreed that a report setting out the further work undertaken in regard to the abolition of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 be scheduled.

Officers would discuss and schedule the reports listed under the heading ‘To be arranged’.

RESOLVED that, subject to the addition of the above report, the Renewal, Recreation and Housing PDS Committee Work Programme for the period January-March 2020 be noted.

The Chairman moved that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

The Committee considered the following reports on the Part 2 agenda for the meeting of the Executive on 27 November 2019:

Report DRR19/059(b)

Members considered the Part 2 (Exempt) report containing confidential financial information in relation to the accompanying Part 1 report DRR19/059a.

RESOLVED that:-

1  the report be noted and the Committee’s comments be provided to Members of the Executive;

2  Members of the Executive be recommended to agree the recommendations in the report.

Report DRR19/054

Members considered the Part 2 (Exempt) report containing commercially sensitive information in relation to the accompanying Part 1 report DRR19/053.

RESOLVED that:-

1  the report be noted and the Committee’s comments be provided to Members of the Executive;

2  Members of the Executive be recommended to agree the recommendations in the report.

Members considered the Part 2 (Exempt) report containing commercially sensitive information in relation to the accompanying Part 1 report DRR19/057.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.