At a Meeting of the Isleworth and Brentford Area Committee
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At a meeting of the Isleworth and Brentford Area Forum held on Thursday, 15 January 2015 at 7:30 pm at the Brentford Free Church, Boston Manor Road, Brentford. Present: Councillor Ed Mayne (Chair) Councillor Mel Collins (Vice-Chair) Councillors Ruth Cadbury, Peter Carey, Theo Dennison, Katherine Dunne, Tony Louki, Sheila O'Reilly, Sue Sampson and Myra Savin 51. Apologies for Absence, Declarations of Interest and any other Communications from Members Apologies received from councillors Curran and Green. Apologies for lateness were received on behalf of councillors Cadbury and O’Reilly (who arrived shortly after this announcement). Declarations of Interest: Agenda Item 6 – Brentford North CPZ Proposed Extension: Councillor Dennison declared a non-pecuniary interest in this item and confirmed that he would not be taking part in the discussion on the matter. Communications from members: Councillor Collins expressed members’ deep sadness at the death of a resident at Lambert Lodge, Brentford following the recent fire at the property. Members wished to send their sympathies to the family of the deceased. 52. Municipal appointments update The Area Forum noted Councillor Sampson’s appointment to the Planning Enforcement Sub- Committee. 53. Local Policing Update - Insp. Steve Edwards See submitted police update report, Agenda Item 13. Inspector Steve Edwards and Sergeant Alan Boyle attended the meeting to update members on local policing matters, drawing attention to the Metropolitan Police Service London wide consultation on raising confidence in policing. Hounslow’s officers were focussing on improved communication using letter drops to residents with updates on police initiatives, an increased presence on social media and in local media editorials. The decision to target specific areas depended on a number of factors including crime trends in a particular area and seasonal changes such as longer winter evenings or festivals such as Christmas/ Diwali/ Eid. The police was also raising the visibility of officers on the borough’s high streets, using not only local police teams but detectives and special teams. Sgt. Boyle assured members that no specific crime hotspots had been identified on Osterley & Spring Grove ward and that burglary reports were very low. He confirmed that the mention of burglaries of unoccupied premises for the ward in the submitted report referred to burglaries of vacant or derelict properties. When a burglary was reported police made every effort to follow it up within 24 hours. Reports of Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) were sporadic across the ward, although positive feedback had been received from residents, which helped focus police efforts to tackle this behaviour. Sgt. Boyle noted that Sgt. Ron Neil would be best placed to update members on the cannabis farms identified on the ward. He made specific reference to a report of trafficking from an address off Hounslow High Street where police colleagues had forced entry and discovered six rooms full of cannabis plants. Arrests had followed and the ‘farm’ had been shut down. Police colleagues on Isleworth ward were being supported by staff in neighbouring Hounslow South ward to ensure visibility of police patrols. Ward officers had detained four individuals in relation to possession with intent to supply cannabis, as a result of a resident’s submission of CCTV footage. Officers had visited shops in the vicinity of Isleworth mainline station to ensure they met the conditions of their licenses and were also working with colleagues at South West Trains on reducing ASB. Albany Parade and Brentford High Street were the focus of ongoing targeted efforts by local police in response to concerns raised by residents. Insp. Edwards assured members that officers were aware of residents’ concerns in relation to the misuse of mopeds on the Clayponds Estate and along Lionel Road and were working to tackle this issue. Members were assured that the issue of prostitution was dealt with very seriously by police, both in terms of the victims and trafficking of individuals. Officers noted that targeting identified brothels required time and resources, ensuring that support networks were in place to help the victims and working with the Local Authority to close down the brothel. When asked whether there were plans to extend the Pubwatch scheme, and whether this could incorporate off licenses in an effort to tackle street drinking, Insp. Edwards stated that this was unlikely, as the scheme focused on the night time economy. Hounslow Central and Feltham were the areas identified with the highest incidents of alcohol related violence and the police licensing officer liaised with colleagues at the Council on isolated cases to achieve a positive outcome. As the Pubwatch scheme had not yet been fully developed, officers suggested that a more detailed update could be provided in a few months’ time. Officers confirmed that the bike marking initiative scheduled for 22 January at Brentford Market would be extended, as it had proved a very effective crime prevention tool. In response to concerns about speeding along Boston Manor Road Insp. Edwards indicated that, although he had not been aware of the issue, there were enforcement options available to the police. He confirmed that he would report concerns back to his colleagues in the roads and traffic enforcement unit. Resolved: That the update provided by Insp. Steve Edwards and Sgt. Alan Boyle be noted. 54. Open Forum The following questions had been submitted in writing prior to the meeting: 1. Question submitted by St John’s Residents Association: “How much S106 money is currently available to spend on Air Quality Monitoring in the IBAF Area and Boroughwide? How much has been spent in the past 12 months and how much is proposed to be spent in the next 12 months?” 2. Question submitted by the Friends of Isleworth Public Hall: “Members of this Forum will be aware that Isleworth Public Hall is owned by a charitable trust (Vestry Hall, Reading and Lecture Rooms, charity registration number 1075734) of which the sole trustee is Hounslow Council. As such responsibility for decision making and oversight rests with the whole Council. This legal structure has a number of consequences; one is that decisions relating to Isleworth Public Hall cannot be delegated to officers or made by committees of the Council (including Cabinet) as responsibility rests with all Councillors. Secondly when Councillors take decisions they should be advised they are acting as the Trustee. They must therefore put the interests of the Charity before any other, possibly conflicting, interests the Council may have. It is noted that letters signed by Council officers dated 24th November 2014 indicated, inter alia, “The Council has decided to offer the management of Isleworth Public Hall to a new charity formed by interested parties from the local community in Isleworth”. In view of this, please confirm what procedures were observed to arrive at this decision and are in place to ensure that all decisions about the future of Isleworth Public Hall are properly taken to accord with the Council’s role as Trustee.” These questions had been passed to the relevant Council officers for response. Whilst a response was not available for the meeting itself, members acknowledged that those responses would be sent to the applicants and copied to members as soon as they were available. A copy of the responses would also be included with the minutes of this meeting. Whilst acknowledging the submission that the Council was the sole trustee of the Vestry Hall, Reading and Lecture Rooms charitable trust, the Chair reminded members that advice from the Council’s Legal Services had been that the Cabinet, as the executive decision making body of the Council, had been correct in making its decision. Friends of Isleworth Public Hall representatives were encouraged to raise any concerns they had with the Charities Commission. [Following the meeting the following response was circulated to members and sent to the Friends of Isleworth Public Hall]: The decision to offer the management of Isleworth Public Hall to a new charity formed by interested parties from the local community in Isleworth was taken by Cabinet in the Council's role as corporate Trustee on 14th January 2014. Cabinet agreed to: 1. Work with the Isleworth Public Hall Consortium as the preferred bidder with a view to appointing them to manage Isleworth Public Hall on a 5-year lease, subject to satisfactorily demonstrating the ability to realise their proposal, and appropriate due diligence. 2. Give notice to Fusion Lifestyle Ltd of the prospects of removing the management of Isleworth Public Hall from the current contract with the Council, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of recommendation 1 above, with effect of April 2014. 3. Delegate to the Director, Regeneration, Economic Development and Environment responsibility for finalising terms and conditions, and entering into contract with the Isleworth Consortium, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of recommendation 1 above. Subsequently, the decision to offer the Isleworth Public Hall Consortium (Activebase) a 5 year full repairing and insuring lease for the community management of Isleworth Public Hall has been made by the Director for Regeneration, Economic Development and Environment. The basis for using this procedure to make decisions about Isleworth Public Hall is that all decisions concerning the Vestry Hall, Reading and Lecture Rooms charitable trust must be taken by Hounslow Council as sole corporate Trustee. By a scheme made by Order of the Board of the Charity Commission dated 14 October 1938, the Isleworth Public Hall and land to its rear was originally vested in the Council of the Borough of Heston and Isleworth, the London Borough of Hounslow’s predecessor. Accordingly, the property is held on trust by the Council for the purposes of section 125 of the Local Government Act 1933 which reads as follows: “A principle council may acquire or provide and furnish halls, offices and other buildings, whether within or without the area of the authority, for use for public meetings and assemblies”.