At a Meeting of the Holland Park Consultative Committee Held at The

1 At a meeting of the Holland Park Advisory Group held at the Ecology Centre, Holland Park, London, W8 on Tuesday 18 th June 2002 at 7.30 p.m. PRESENT: Councillor Jeremy Edge (Chairman) Councillor Tim Ahern Councillor Christopher Buckmaster Councillor Robert J. Freeman Councillor Rima Horton Councillor Victoria Borwick (Kensington Residents’ Group) Mrs Judy de Haas J.P. (for Holland Park Residents’ Association) Mr N Hopkins (Friends of Holland Park) Mrs Mary Spain (Campden Hill Residents’ Association) Mrs Rhoddy Wood (Friends of Holland Park) Officers Present: Mr Paul Dimmock (Head of Leisure) Mr David Levy (Governance Administrator) Mr David Owen (Projects and Development Manager, Leisure Services) Inspector Adrian Paterson (RBKC Parks Police) Mr Thomas Peel-Yates (Ecology Services Manager) AGENDA - PART A PROCEEDINGS DURING WHICH THE PRESS AND PUBLIC WERE ABLE TO BE PRESENT MEMBERSHIP The membership of the Advisory Group agreed at the Annual General Meeting on 22 nd May 2002 was noted. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN It was proposed by Councillor Freeman and seconded by Councillor Ahern that Councillor Edge be elected as Chairman for the municipal year 2002/2003. This was agreed by the Advisory Group. It was then proposed by Councillor Edge and seconded by Councillor Buckmaster that Councillor Mrs Frazer be elected as Vice- Chairman for the municipal year 2002/2003. This was agreed by the Group. MEMBERS’ DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were none. 2 18 th June 2001 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs Frazer, Lady Hanham, Levitt, Lightfoot and Mrs. Hamilton and Quentin Marshall. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING Accuracy A2 Miscellaneous Matters – Millennium Sculpture Exhibition The Advisory Group agreed that the final sentence of the paragraph be amended to read, “Mr Cook said that the annunciation sculpture had been partly removed and that it would be resited on the Kensington High Street entrance.” Subject to the above amendment, the minutes were confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman. Matters Arising Green Flag Award Members were informed that the flag had been collected and was flying in Kensington High Street. Mr Owen said that the decision regarding installing a roundabout at the Park’s entrance to the High Street had been deferred and it was agreed that it would be considered at the next meeting. Action by: Mr Owen Lighting in Holland Park Walk Mrs de Haas said that residents approved of Phase 1 of the lighting scheme along the Walk. Councillor Ahern asked if it was possible for Close Circuit Television (CCTV) to be installed in the Walk. Inspector Paterson replied that the matter had been considered and that the initial cost would be £50,000 with annual running costs at £6,000. He added that if the scheme was adopted there would be one camera at the Duchess of Bedford Walk entrance and another at the Holland School entrance. The Group was informed that further investigation into sources of funding was needed. Ecology Service Mr Owen was pleased to inform the Group that Mr Peel-Yates had been appointed Ecology Services Manager. Members were updated that Mr Peel-Yates had continued the good work of Dr Hyde. Date of Next Meeting The Chairman suggested that the third meeting for 2002/2003 be held either on 18 th February or 26 th February 2003. It was agreed that Members’ would be consulted 3 18 th June 2001 over the date. In addition, the Group recommended that the meeting dates for October 2002 and October 2003 be changed to avoid clashing with Cabinet meetings. Action by: DLA A1 INFORMATION PACK The report was noted. A2 TOUR OF HOLLAND PARK Site 1 North Sun Terrace Mr Owen said that the planting outside of the perimeter fence would be developed to make it more consistent with the Royal Borough’s other parks. Site 2 Lord Holland Pond The Group was informed that the planting of bushes around the pond was progressing well. Mr Owen said that the statue of Lord Holland was due to be cleaned in the foreseeable future. He added that the water was not treated and was typical of a woodland pond and Members noted that there was a fresh water source for the pond. Site 3 Wildlife Pond and Enclosure Mr Owen reported that the site was kept locked to prevent vandalism. He added that this pond was not drained, unlike the Lord Holland Pond. Site 4 Lime Tree Avenue The Group commented that the daffodils planted last autumn had flowered very well. Site 5 Kyoto Garden Members were informed that there were a number of trees in the Garden that had been there since it was opened. Mr Owen said that some trees would turn rust coloured in the autumn. Inspector Paterson said the guard should be on duty 12.00 pm to 7.30 pm every day and he would check to ensure that this was occurring. Action by: Inspector Paterson The Group was told that the ‘Walking Man’ statue had been temporarily removed while the concrete base was reset. 4 18 th June 2001 Site 6 Adventure Play Area Mr Dimmock was pleased to say that the Play Area was progressing well and scheduled to open on 29 th June with the official opening on 8 th July 2002. He added that the units were in place and the surfacing had been ordered and would be laid soon. Members were updated that the Area would be designed to challenge the users and the Parks Police would patrol the area as part of their beat. Mr Dimmock continued that maintenance of the area would be done by the same firm as the rest of the park. Site 7 Bird Lawn Borehole Mr Owen said that currently the Park did not have sufficient water supply which provided the rationale for possibly having a borehole at the Bird Lawn. He added that Thames Water had expressed interest in drilling a bore hole to be shared between the them and the Royal Borough. He added that a test hole would be dug in July for approximately three months. Members noted that if successful there could be a saving of £12,500 with the added facility of more irrigation in the park. Site 8 Cafeteria The Advisory Group was informed that it was hoped that the cafeteria would be rebuilt and that the application for planning permission had been submitted and English Heritage had granted approval. A3 REPORT OF THE ECOLOGY SERVICE The Chairman said that 841 children and 389 adults had visited the Ecology Centre during May and £2,405 was received in income during May. He added that the service was going from strength to strength and congratulated Mr Peel-Yates for these successes. Mr Peel-Yates stated that work would soon be started with the under fives at the service. He added that the Royal Horticultural Service would soon be organising a course at the Ecology Service to train people to become professional gardeners. In reply to a question, Mr Peel-Yates said he would provide a breakdown of visits by school. Action by: Mr Peel-Yates A4 REPORT BY THE INSPECTOR, PARKS POLICE Inspector Paterson said that the preceding six months had been difficult with an emphasis on two high profile crimes in Holland Walk. He added that an option was to close Holland Walk from Duchess of Bedford’s Walk to Holland Park Avenue although this presented a number of practical problems. Mrs de Haas suggested that three options could be: CCTV, closing the area or having a longer patrol. Inspector Paterson replied that that the first two issues had been discussed already while the third would cost £120,000 per annum. He added that 5 18 th June 2001 his professional opinion was that better lighting and more policing would provide a viable option for crime reduction. Inspector Paterson continued that there had been an across the board rise in crime such as anti-social behaviour. In reply to a question, Inspector Paterson said that a bicycle route in the Holland Park area was not feasible owing to practical problems. OTHER PART A OR PART B MATTERS Adventure Play Area and One O’clock Club Mr Hopkins said that the Friends of Holland Park would like to see more a co- operative approach taken between the adventure Play Area and One O’clock Club. Councillor Buckmaster replied that although the May attendance figures were disappointing, greater co-ordination could lead to the eviction of the Pre-School Alliance. He suggested that the situation be reviewed after the summer in order to gauge the level of support for the club. Jubilee Celebrations The Chairman said that the celebrations held on 7 th June 2002 in Holland Park had been successful. Inspector Paterson added that there had been 2,000 – 3,000 people present and Members noted that it had been incident free. In reply to a query, Mr Owen said that progress was being made in replacing the sports’ field fencing which had been removed for the celebrations. There were no part B items The meeting ended at 8.50 p.m. Chairman .

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