Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Stephen Wells chaired the start of the meeting as Councillor Michael Tickner had been delayed.

Apologies were received from Sylvia Ramos, Stephen Oliver, Lorraine McQuillan, Zoe Brown, Alan Old, Chloe-Jane Ross and Helen McConnell.

Harriet Pyne attended as the substitute for Helen McConnell.

Subject to the checking of amendments that had been submitted by Mr Nick Goy, the minutes were agreed and signed as a correct record.

CSD 19069

Mr Warner updated the Group regarding the installation of bus shelters that had been ordered from TfL. One bus shelter was left to be installed and TfL had been asked to re-quote. LBB had been in regular contact with TfL in an effort to move things forward. It was anticipated that ‘countdown units’ would be installed on bus stops which previously had units within the next two weeks.

The Group was pleased to note that the requested ‘parking enforcement blitz’ had taken place and had been successful. There had been no confrontations and the police had not been required.

Mr Warner advised that progress had been made regarding the issue of whether or not a credit was due because the wrong granite had been laid in the vicinity of Beckenham Junction Station. What had been agreed was that a special clean would be undertaken and a sealant applied. The sealant was guaranteed for five years. There would be no direct financial compensation. Councillor Wells asked what would happen if the process did not work. He, (along with Cllr Josh King) expressed reservations concerning the proposal. There was a concern expressed that the cleaning could be messy and disruptive. It was suggested that an ‘acoustic barrier’ barrier be used to limit noise disruption.  Ms Pyne said that the process would probably take somewhere in the region of 7 to 10 days. Two machines may be required to undertake the work, and that there would be a need to keep the whole area clean (about 900 square metres) before the sealing work took place subsequent to cleaning.

Ms Groundsell asked why the granite was not being replaced. Mr Warner responded that if this was done it would cause significant disturbance and it was likely that the work would take a month to complete.

A discussion took place concerning the merits and demerits around cleaning/sealing, as opposed to replacing the granite. It was suggested that the original granite that had been laid was not the quality of granite that had been specified originally. Mr Warner responded that the granite was within the remit of the original specification in terms of its quality, and also regarding the way it was laid—the only issue was the matter of colour.

Mr Goy asked if the Council was getting a good deal, and suggested the use of terracotta bricks.

Councillor Allen enquired if the guarantee relating to the sealant was subject to any cleaning regieme that had to be undertaken by LBB. Mr Warner responded that this was not the case, and that in fact, excess cleaning would cause the sealant to wear away. A similar sealant had been used by Westminster Council. It was agreed that the details of the sealant should be provided to officers.

The group noted the updates concerning the Canopy and the Burnhill Road Car Parking Zone. It was mentioned that the yellow lines in Kelsey Square were of poor quality and were already broken.

The Group noted the update  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

An update will be provided at the meeting by the Assistant Director for Highways.

The meeting up to this point had been chaired by Councillor Wells as Councillor Tickner had been delayed. Councillor Tickner now resumed his role as Chairman.

The Group was appraised that no progress had been made with respect to the canopy since the previous meeting. This was because the matter of the funding for the maintenance/cleaning of the canopy had not been resolved. The Chairman asked if the designer had been paid, but this was not known. The Chairman asked if the design had been tested and the answer to this was no.

The Chairman was disappointed to learn that planning consent had not been applied for, despite being resolved at the previous meeting that this would be actioned.

The Chairman relayed a message that he had received from Councillor Peter Morgan concerning the canopy. Councillor Morgan had suggested that the BID Company should take over management of the stage and canopy, including meeting the cost of the cleaning and maintenance, and in return the BID could keep the income from its use and lettings. Jackie Groundsell indicated that she would take the matter forward with the BID. Councillor Wells suggested that some clarification may be required concerning what Councillor Morgan was specifically saying. 

It was asked why the cleaning of the canopy had not been included in the new contract with Idverde. 

RESOLVED that the update on the Beckenham Canopy is noted. 

Councillor Wells asked how the footfall figures were ascertained, and a discussion took place about the various ways that this could be done. Some counts were done by picking up mobile phone signals. 

Attention was drawn to the fact that some shops were still vacant after a long time, and that this degraded the High Street. It was asked if there was such a thing as an empty property tax. It was suggested that in some cases, a retail unit could be vacant because it could be part of a block that was going for re-development.

It was mentioned that pressure was being applied via Gareth Bacon at the GLA for TfL to install the outstanding bus countdown units. The Chairman expressed the view that it would be preferable if the remaining bus stop shelter to be installed opposite Fairfield Road could be a Conservation Area style bus shelter. 

RESOLVED that a Conservation Area style bus shelter should be considered at Fairfield Road.  This would be comprised of a  black metal frame with glass and minimal plastic cladding.  

The Group noted the update report that had been provided by Stephen Oliver.

Reference was made to the weeds in the planters in the High Street and cars speeding in Village Way. Mr Warner stated that all crossings would receive anti-skid treatments. FM Conway would be doing this around all zebra crossings and the timeframe for this was to be confirmed. Councillor Harris wondered why the traffic island in Village Way had been removed. It was explained that this was no longer required as the road had been narrowed and people could get across the road quickly enough using the zebra crossing. 

It was noted that a ‘no entry’ sign for Church Avenue was still required. LBB were still chasing TfL to fix no entry signs on the traffic lights. It appeared that TfL were not engaging. It was suggested that if this continued then the matter may need to be referred to the Executive Director for Environmental and Community Services. Councillor Harris stated that this was a serious matter as a pedestrian crossing Church Avenue had nearly been run over by a black taxi driving in the wrong way. The Chairman requested that emails that had been sent to TfL but had remained unanswered, should be forwarded to him for his information and attention.

Mr Laidlaw asked if there had been any update concerning the disused toilets. It was noted that this was a Council property disposal matter. In a recent   planning application for Kelsey House, no reference had been made in the proposed redevelopment to the said toilet block. The Chairman said that this was a piecemeal proposal and a cause for concern; he requested that the  concerns were recorded in the minutes. 

The Group noted that the road surface had failed by the roundabout and a decision had to be made as to how to make this good. A discussion took place regarding planters, trees and tree pits. It was confirmed that the trees were guaranteed and further trees would be planted within the next 10 days.

Mr Warner provided a breakdown of the scheme’s finances. The budget for the scheme had been £4.41m and Mr Warner explained how the budget had been allocated.

RESOLVED that:

1) Emails that had been sent to TfL but had remained unanswered,  should be forwarded to the Chairman for his information and attention.

2) It be noted that the Chairman and the BTCWG were concerned that no reference had been made in the planning application for Kelsey House to the re-development of the dis-used toilets.

There was an update regarding the Purple Flag.

Work on the report for the next renewal of the Purple Flag status was ongoing. Renewal and inspection was annual, supposedly alternating between a ‘light touch’ Interim and a Full Renewal. However, there had been no difference between the two. This had been raised with the Purple Flag  inspectorate, and they had agreed to review the processes and to reduce the work load of the Interim inspection report this year.

A huge amount of cooperative work was involved initially in raising the standards of safety, cleanliness and diversity of Beckenham and developing a supportive understanding between residents and NTE businesses to achieve Purple Flag status in 2016.

The Group noted that all matters pertaining to the Purple Flag would now be handed over to the Beckenham Together BID company.

The meeting ended with Councillor Wells leading a tribute to all of the hard work and dedication that had been demonstrated by the Chairman—Councillor Michael Tickner.