Waste Recycling Investigative Committee Minutes 27/02/01
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Minutes: Green Spaces Investigative Committee 21 March 2001 at 2pm http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/assembly_meetings.htm Present Roger Evans (chair) Trevor Phillips (Deputy Chair) Victor Anderson Louise Bloom Samantha Heath 1. Apologies and Announcements Apologies for absence were received from Brian Coleman. 2. Declarations of Interest Samantha Heath declared a non-pecuniary interest in discussions relating to Battersea Park as she had been married in the park. 3. Session Two – Sites of Importance for Nature and the Uses and benefits of Green Spaces 3.1 The Chair welcomed Mr Ralph Gaines, London Wildlife Trust, Ms Pat Tawn, Public Health Programme, King's Fund, Mr Drew Bennellick, Regional Landscape Architect, English Heritage London, Mr Alan Byrne, Regional Planner, English Heritage London, Mr Michael Wale JP, Honorary Secretary Acton Gardening Association, and Mr Graham Simmonds, Chief Executive, Trees for London to the meeting. 3.2 The Chair explained that the objectives of the scrutiny were to examine: • The threats faced by the green belt and other open spaces in London and how they could be protected; • The opportunities to develop new open spaces and to enhance existing open spaces; and • The means of identifying and protecting sites of nature conservation importance. Romney House, Marsham Street, London SW1P 3PY Enquiries: 020 7983 4100 minicom: 020 7983 4458 www.london.gov.uk The Committee’s findings would contribute to the Mayor’s Spatial Development and environmental strategies and he hoped that the Committee's report would be produced during July 2001. 3.3 The Committee was looking to learn from the experiences of people who had been working on smaller projects around London. The Chair asked Mr Wale to explain about his experiences with Acton Gardening Association. Mr Wale stated that three years ago the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths had owned twenty three acres of land in East Acton. They sold the lease of land which had been left to them in 1636 to aid the people of Acton. The land had been privatised and all of it had been sold to a health club, the Park Club. Next door Ealing Council had sold their leisure centre to Richard Branson. It cost about £1000 to join the leisure centre or health club. The Park Club had given three months' notice to all the plotholders on the allotments behind the Acton Sports Club. The Acton Gardening Association with the help of Ealing Council had fought to save the allotments but had lost 50 to 60 of them. The Association was now facing its last big battle and the Council Planning Department hoped to give the Association Section 106 protection with a 90 year lease. This would mean that there would be 100 allotments left. Mr Wale had set out the details in his written evidence. 3.4 In response to a question about how the Goldsmith Company had been able to legally divest itself of the land and what had been the mechanism of the legacy that allowed the Association to have the land protected, Mr Wale explained that the last Conservative Government had changed the law relating to charities. Up until that time it had been possible to change the covenant secretly many times and it had not been possible to find out if there had been changes to the covenant. It now had to be done in the public domain. The Association had met with the Goldsmith Company's estate agent. He commented that the Goldsmith Company had had a good reputation in Acton and had been part of the community and he was not sure why they had sold up. They had chosen to leave Acton at a high price and had shown no social conscience. The Chair commented that the Deputy Mayor was very interested in protecting allotments in London which were often treated as cinderella spaces. 3.5 Mr Wale stated that he thought that Section 106 agreements were a good way to protect allotments. There was a huge demand for allotments but generally there was a lack of publicity about them. Birmingham had campaigned to publicise allotments, for example, to increase the uptake amongst women. East Acton Gardening Association had at least 17 nationalities represented on its allotments. There was a wonderful community feeling with women and children involved with the allotments. 3.6 Trevor Phillips commented that East Acton Gardening Association's story was very powerful and he thought that there was a great deal of sympathy for the preservation of allotments and he asked about creating new spaces for allotments. Mr Wale thought that it might be possible to create more allotments. He stated that Acton Gardening Association had approached Ealing Council to take part of a poorly used park land for allotments. He mentioned that allotments next to a park which led to an estate in Trinity Way was hardly used at all and the Council had stated that it wanted the residents in the flats to make greater use of the allotments. He would also welcome an all weather surface that could be used by young people on the estate. Ealing Council were due to receive £50,000 from the Park Club hopefully to provide new allotments. - 2 - 3.7 In response to a question about whether brownfield sites could be used for allotments and what would have to be done to make them usable, Mr Wale stated that he thought it could be done but that top soil would have to be brought in to cover any hard core. The Committee also asked if it would be possible to create temporary allotment sites. Mr Wale explained that allotments needed continuity because people became very attached to them and it became a part of their lives. It was especially important for people who did not have a garden. He therefore was concerned about what would happen to the allotment users at the end of the temporary period. 3.8 Samantha Heath questioned how people could engage with biodiversity. Many sites were land banked, that is not being used, and the question was whether the owners would release those sites for allotments. She asked if the Gardening Association engaged with other allotment users. Mr Wale advised that within the Ealing area the Gardening Association was a member of the Allotments Association and attended Agenda 21 meetings, which had had a tremendous effect. The Gardening Association did not really work with other boroughs but did try to involve people from elsewhere in the borough. 3.9 In response to a question about how a Greater London Allotment Authority would work, Mr Wale stated that he would like to see one body that to which all London Allotments Associations could belong to provide mutual support. Heritage Issues 3.10 Victor Anderson asked about the tensions between heritage spaces and green spaces. Mr Bennellick referred to one site that was on the register of parks and gardens which was registered as grade 2*. English Heritage had identified how the historic landscape was at risk and in danger of disappearing, for example, because trees were in a poor condition. They were working with the London Wildlife Trust to see how the site could be managed. It had looked at solutions as to how the site could be managed and it was about to offer a grant to the London Borough of Richmond to develop a comprehensive management plan. There were seventeenth century avenues into which a badger population had moved. The purpose was to ensure that the landscapes remained. The Abney Park Cemetery at Stoke Newington was a historic site with much biodiversity but there was a conflict between protecting tombs and disturbing habitats, for example, ivy on tombs. 3.11 The Committee asked if English Heritage would like to see the measures for protecting heritage sites strengthened. Mr Byrne advised that English Heritage's broad view was that in most policy planning frameworks there was a general imbalance in favour of the natural environment, with a very positive and proactive encouragement given to it, where as there was often a blindness to the importance of heritage issues. He accepted that it was often not easy to achieve but greater support needed to be given to heritage aspects and there should be an equal respect to the needs of both. 3.12 The London Squares Campaign aimed to encourage investment in the Squares and the Committee asked with £200,000 divided between 600 squares whether the campaign had been frustrated by a lack of funding. Mr Bennellick advised that that was a simplistic calculation. There was estimated to be 600 squares in London as compared to 20 in Newcastle or 30 in Bath and they formed a significant green network for the city. The main objective of the campaign was to raise awareness of spaces and it had been successful. The £200,000 was a relatively low grant but English Heritage aimed to pump prime projects, with - 3 - the objective of drawing in partnership funding. For example, there was a project in Lambeth with a local landowner and others which might be in receipt of Heritage Lottery Funding. English Heritage was also able to offer technical advice and could bring in others as necessary. 3.13 Members asked if the funding could be used for private squares which were not open to the public. Mr Bennellick explained that there was set criteria for grants related to regeneration and public access. Gordon Square was open but Woburn Square was locked. If a square like Woburn Square were to receive funding it would need to be open to the public.