May 2018 Annual Report Vol 49 No 2 New trees in the High Street Annual Report for Contents the year 2017–2018 by Marc Hutchinson Page I am pleased to report that the Society has had another successful year, our individual successes Annual Report for the year 2017–2018 . 1 greatly outnumbering our setbacks. Marc Hutchinson Not the least of our successes has been the Notice of Annual General Meeting . 4 launch of our new website. If you wish to Invitation to Annual General Meeting . 6 obtain access to the “members-only” material on the website, you need initially to log in, using Notes on Candidates for Election . 7 your email address and membership number, Treasurer’s Report for 2017 . 8 and create a password; your membership Maureen Clark-Darby number is the number printed on the address Heath Report . 10 label on the envelope containing this newsletter. John Beyer Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum Town Report . 12 Anousheh Barbezieux On 21 June 2018, a referendum will be held to ask residents in the Forum area (see the map on Planning Report . 14 page 26) to vote on the question of whether or David Castle not to adopt the Hampstead Neighbourhood Why NW3 CLT? . 18 Plan. The importance of this event for Sanya Polescuk Hampstead cannot be overstated. The referendum will be conducted in the same Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan . 26 manner as the current local elections; that is to Alexander Nicoll and Janine Griffis say, you may vote in person at a polling station, Organs in Hampstead IV . 30 or by proxy, or by post. The Plan is the result of Martin Renshaw and Vicki Harding nearly five years’ work by the Forum committee (and its expert advisers) led by its Chair, Janine Bulletin Board . 35 Griffis. Many of her committee have current or Heath Walks 2018 past connections with the Society: Janine is a former secretary and trustee; Stephen Taylor, Front cover: Bill Oddie OBE, patron of the who led development of the traffic policy, is a Society, plants the first of the new London Planes in former trustee; Dr Vicki Harding, who led the High Street. From left to right: Tony Ghilchik, development of the tree policy, is our Tree Evelyn Ellis, Jonathan Bergman, Vicki Harding, Maureen Clark-Darby, Andrew Haslam-Jones, Pete Officer; David Castle, who advised on planning Mantle, Bill Oddie, Robert Linger, Martin Thompson, policy, is a trustee and Chair of our Planning Tulip Siddiq MP, John Weston, Marc Hutchinson, Sub-Committee; and Andrew Haslam-Jones is a Stephen Taylor (HNF), Councillor Oliver Cooper, member of our Town Sub-Committee. Councillor Stephen Stark, Caroline Goldsack (CEO The Plan is a monumental achievement and of the Hampstead Village BID), Councillor Richard Cotton (Mayor of Camden) and Andrew Lavery introduces a significant additional layer of (Chair of the BID). Photo courtesy: Helen Chapman planning protection (in the broadest sense) for of the Camden New Journal. ∫ Hampstead. On page 26 of this newsletter and 1 Annual Report (cont) in a separate note that accompanies it, you will Membership find a detailed explanation of the Plan and its At the 2017 AGM, members gave a limited underlying policies. The full text and materials authority to trustees to offer, as part of a are viewable on the Forum’s website: membership recruitment scheme, free or www.hampsteadforum.org discounted first-year memberships to In my view, one of the Forum’s singular prospective new members, and in the last achievements has been to persuade Camden newsletter I said I would update members on Council and the Plan’s examiner (a government the results of our two intended schemes. planning inspector) not to take a narrow view The estate agents’ scheme – under which the of the Plan’s permissible “planning” remit. Thus, clients of eight selected local agents who the Plan includes welcome policies covering, bought in Hampstead are offered one year’s free among other things, traffic, transport, pollution, membership – has not produced any material trees and the local economy. result for us yet because the introduction of the The Plan will be adopted by a simple majority scheme, in the autumn of 2017, coincided with vote in the referendum, but the greater the the collapse of activity in the Hampstead numerical majority of the vote, the greater will property market. However, the scheme remains be the Plan’s influence with the planning on foot and the agents have confirmed their authorities at Camden and any relevant willingness to keep promoting it. inspector. It is therefore imperative that as many As regards the photographic competition as are eligible to vote do so, and may I urge – #myhampsteadheath, whilst the four winners to indeed plead – with you to vote on 21 June. date have received free membership, we have The trustees wish formally to record their decided, on reflection, that the time has not yet congratulation and gratitude to Janine Griffis and arrived to offer discounted memberships to all the Forum committee for bringing the Plan this far. the competitors in the competition, which continues on a quarterly basis. The competition Trees in Hampstead High Street has now attracted over 2000 entries and we One of our trustees, Robert Linger, leads a intend now to approach past competitors project to plant more trees in the High Street. individually to invite them to join on a The first round of planting of London Plane full-subscription basis. In the light of the level trees took place on 19 March when Society of the response, we will then reconsider a patron, Bill Oddie OBE, ceremonially dug in proposal to offer discounted memberships. one of the trees. I am most grateful to Robert The result of all this is, as you will see from for more than a year’s work on his part on this item 7 of the Notice of Annual General Meeting project, to Caroline Goldsack (CEO of the on page 2, that we are not asking members to Hampstead Village Business Improvement alter the scope of the authority they gave to District) who assisted with many logistical trustees last year. aspects of the day, and to Dinny Hall (jewellers) who provided refreshments and are a new For the record, our overall membership remains participant in the Hampstead Card scheme. stable at over 2,000. 2 Legacies and donations in memory Assent on 15 March 2018 and is now in force. We are currently working with the City to During 2017–2018, we received legacies from the devise and finalise the detailed policies for the estates of the late Alison Mary Bolton (£2,000) Heath governing “events” and other commercial and Jean Papworth (£5,000), and a donation of usage such as commercial dog-walking. £100 in memory of the late Hilda Rutland. Hampstead Card New Village photographic competition Unless you are a life member, you will find with 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the this newsletter your new Hampstead Card and a creation of the first “conservation areas” in revised and expanded list of local outlets who England and 2018 marks the 50th anniversary accept it. We have been able to add materially of the Hampstead Conservation Area (February to this list through the assistance of the 1968). Having regard to the success of our Hampstead Village Business Improvement #myhampsteadheath competition and the fact District. Incidentally, life members who have that some competitors have already submitted mislaid their “life” card should feel free to photographs of the Village, we have decided to contact the Society for a replacement. run a parallel competition for the Village to mark the anniversary. I will announce further General Data Protection Regulation details at the AGM. With this newsletter you will find a note from Fairground sites at the Vale of Health me about this new Regulation which comes into force on 25 May 2018 and concerns how we The position at the time of writing is as retain and use your personal details. If we have follows. The owner of the South Fairground an active e-mail contact for you, you will also site is appealing against Camden’s receive a separate e-mail on this subject. enforcement notice requiring her to demolish the house she has built on it, and with the Lectures Vale of Health Society we expect to attend, and possibly participate in, the hearing of her Matt Maran gave our 2017 Springett lecture appeal. The intending developer of the North (précised in the last newsletter) on the subject Fairground site (12+ bungalows in place of the of wildlife photography with special reference present caravans) will not receive the to the Heath. Our 2018 Springett lecturer will permitted use certificate which he requested be Lindy Guinness (Marchioness of Dufferin from Camden and which we and the Vale of and Ava) who will be talking about Constable’s Health Society opposed. paintings of the Heath: Burgh House on 25 October 2018 at 8pm (see page 9). Please Open Spaces Act 2018 note the date of our next Glass-in-Hand lecture on 19 September 2018 (see page 17). The Open Spaces Bill, which reforms and consolidates the legal powers of the City of David Kitchen London Corporation to manage its open spaces, including Hampstead Heath, received the Royal We were sorry to note the passing of this long-serving Chair of the South End Green 3 Annual Report (cont) Association. He was well-known to many Society Conclusion members and a good friend of the Society. We continue to enjoy good relations with the Trustees City and Camden Council, and the active support of our local MP Tulip Siddiq.