The Council Procedure Rules provide for a maximum of four petitions to be discussed at an Ordinary Meeting of the Council.

 

The attached report presents the received petitions to be discussed. Should any additional petitions be received they will be listed to be noted but not discussed.

 

5.1 Petition regarding CCTV on Gill Street

 

Lucilia Branco, Denise Otto and Shabul Zaman addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities responded to the matters raised in the petition. He stated that the Council was committed to its investment plan to upgrade and replace all old cameras with a new high tech cameras. Whist deployable CCTV had recently been deployed in Gill Street. There were good reasons why CCTV installation there was not ideal and an alternative method of addressing ASB in that location would be explored. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Health, Adults and Communities for a written response within 28 days.

 

5.2 Petition regarding Barleymow Estate

 

Derrick Cutler and Aftab Uddin addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding responded to the matters raised in the petition. He acknowledged the difficulties faced by residents and the inadequate response of the previous administration. He explained that the delays related to a number of factors, but work should be completed by February 2024. The Council would be monitoring the situation to ensure this.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Place for a written response within 28 days.

 

5.3 Petition regarding Antisocial Behaviour in and around Cambridge Heath Station

 

Ana Monzon, Anna Bosley and Chris Aria Tree addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Ohid Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities responded to the matters raised in the petition. He stated that the current situation was a result of a lack of police presence in the street and a lack of investment from the previous administration. The petition had been raised with the local police. The Council under his administration had committed to significant investment in drug treatment, rehabilitation and recovery programs, and would work with police and partner organisations to tackle drug related crimes.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That the petition be referred to the Corporate Director, Health, Adults and Communities for a written response within 28 days.

 

5.4 Petition regarding Save our Safer Streets

 

Simon Ramsay, Jane Harris and Shaheena Parvin, addressed the meeting on behalf of the petitioners and responded to questions from Members. Councillor Kabir Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Emergency responded to the matters raised in the petition. He stated that the Council was putting a robust consultation process in place to listen to all views on this matter and forge a solution that would unify the community and not pit one group against another. He urged Members to support his motion in response to the petition. 

 

Following presentation of the petition Members held a debate on the issue. Two motions were tabled for consideration.

 

The First motion was Proposed by Councillor Asma Islam and seconded by  Councillor Sirajul Islam

 

This Council notes that:

-               Tower Hamlets has one of the highest levels of motor vehicle traffic in the country so there is a need to reduce vehicle use, as the Mayor said in his 28 September 2022 announcement. This is largely due to vehicles travelling through the borough, because Tower Hamlets has the lowest levels of car ownership in London with approximately only one third of households having access to a car. With the average lung capacity of a child in Tower Hamlets five per cent less than the national average, the Council’s aim to tackle low air quality in the borough is important. With transport making up a significant portion of the borough’s pollution, the trend towards an increase in vehicle miles in Tower Hamlets must be reversed.

 

-          The implementation of the Liveable Streets was started by the previous Labour administration to reduce traffic and pollution in residential areas in Tower Hamlets, to create safer and more people-friendly and connected neighbourhoods. The target outcome was forall of our residents to enjoy a better environment with cleaner air and less noise and to find it easier and safer to walk and cycle locally.

 

-          While the Liveable Streets schemes that were adopted were targeted at some of the more deprived residential areas in the borough, where there was the most need for capital improvements and had been developed following a thorough consultation with local residents, all areas across the borough should not have been treated the same and should have been directed by community support.

 

-          School Streets, which was developed alongside the Liveable Streets programme, had the

aim of identifying improvements such as removing areas where idling cars congregate and

reducing traffic levels near schools significantly, making local children both healthier and

safer. This policy was a big success and led to a 30% reduction in pollution near schools.

 

This Council further notes that:

-          3,094 local people signed the “Save Our Safer Streets in Tower Hamlets” petition, which is the second-highest number of people to complete a petition on the council’s website ever, and the most with regard to any road scheme. There is clearly a significant number of local people who feel strongly that the Liveable Streets schemes are working enough that they are campaigning extensively for their retention.

 

-          A climate emergency has been declared by the council in 2019. The Mayor has an ambition for Tower Hamlets to be the greenest borough in London, including being a “net zero borough as soon as possible”. Actions to support a transition away from private car use and towards sustainable travel options including public transport, walking and cycling have to be part of that process.

-          Transport for London has written to the Mayor of Tower Hamlets expressing concern about the complete closure of Liveable Streets, which could be detrimental to the local environment.

 

-          Healthcare professionals, including the Leaders of Bart’s NHS Trust, have also written to the Mayor in response to his proposals, to express their concerns about the lack of evidence for his proposals, set against the established public health evidence that schemes which promote walking and cycling are “necessary measures in our response to both climate change and health inequalities."

 

-          Schools across the borough have also opposed the Mayor’s complete opening of the roads amid concerns that it will increase air pollution in the area.

 

This Council resolves:

-          To remove Liveable Streets from the October cabinet agenda, to allow the council and the Mayor sufficient time to explore each scheme against consultation results, evidence and consultation views, including local health services and TfL.

-          To ask the Mayor to seriously take into consideration the use of ANPR cameras to enable selective closure, allowing vulnerable residents and emergency service access, while discouraging through-traffic..

-          To publish the results from the public consultations which finished on 7 August 2022 for transparency, as there has already been more than enough time to analyse the results fully. And to publish any evidence to support the council’s claims about the impacts of the Liveable Streets schemes to date.

-          To create a working task force for each of the Liveable Streets schemes, with residents, ward councillors, local businesses, key stakeholders and officers, in order to find out what is working in the scheme and to develop bespoke solutions to issues in each area, where these are needed. The list of areas should include areas where implementations have already been removed and where the original plans were never implemented fully.

-          To engage in a meaningful dialogue with TfL and GLA to discuss wider issues such as traffic calming, public transport and pedestrian and cyclist safety, which will support the council’s 2019 Transport Strategy commitment to achieve 90% of journeys in the borough to be made by walking, cycling and public transport by 2041.

-          To ask the Mayor to consider carefully the financial implications attached to removing the Liveable Streets schemes and what other urgent priorities could be funded instead.

-          To implement any changes to Liveable Streets schemes on a case-by-case basis and ensure each scheme is guided by each area’s diverse communities and stakeholders, along with thorough research and engagement mentioned above.

 

The second motion was proposed by Cllr Kabir Ahmed and seconded by Abu Choudhury:

 

Council notes:

-       That In May, the people of Tower Hamlets demonstrated their desire for change, by voting overwhelmingly for Lutfur Rahman as Mayor and the Aspire Party as the largest Party on the Council.

 

-       That the people of Tower Hamlets put their trust in a transformative Manifesto that offered real hope and a real vision for how we could rebuild our Borough.

 

-       That this Manifesto listened to the people of Tower Hamlets, and put their needs and wishes first.

 

-       That one of the central pledges of this Manifesto was to get Tower Hamlets moving by removing the road closures implemented across the Borough by the previous administration.

 

-       That these closures have impacted thousands of working people in Tower Hamlets – from delivery drivers, to taxis and small businesses, carers – registered or otherwise – and people with commitments across the Borough, during a cost of living crisis.

 

-       That the Mayor is committed to ensuring that Tower Hamlets becomes a net-zero Borough as soon as possible, and has already initiated work on delivering the central pledges of his and his Administration’s climate and energy offer.

 

Council believes:

-       That it is right to consult residents and stakeholders – including the emergency services and businesses – on any decision to remove these road closures.

 

-       That such a public opinion survey has recently come to a conclusion, receiving thousands of responses from across the Borough.

 

-       That any decision to remove or retain these closures, before considering the results of these public opinion surveys, would pre-empt the right of such residents and stakeholders to have their voices fairly heard.

 

-       That need to understand why people use their cars, what the barriers to public transport are for some, and how we can support them to move away from car usage. 

 

-       That this Mayor wants to represent all residents of this Borough and engage with them on this issue in an inclusive way.

 

Council resolves:

-       To wait for all evidence gathered during these public opinion surveys to be analysed and considered with due diligence and process before any decision on the removal of these closures takes place.

 

 

Following debate the Motion moved by Councillor Asma Islam was put to a vote and was defeated.

 

The Motion moved Councillor Kabir Ahmed was put to a vote and was agreed.

 

RESOLVED:

 

Council notes:

-       That In May, the people of Tower Hamlets demonstrated their desire for change, by voting overwhelmingly for Lutfur Rahman as Mayor and the Aspire Party as the largest Party on the Council.

 

-       That the people of Tower Hamlets put their trust in a transformative Manifesto that offered real hope and a real vision for how we could rebuild our Borough.

 

-       That this Manifesto listened to the people of Tower Hamlets, and put their needs and wishes first.

 

-       That one of the central pledges of this Manifesto was to get Tower Hamlets moving by removing the road closures implemented across the Borough by the previous administration.

 

-       That these closures have impacted thousands of working people in Tower Hamlets – from delivery drivers, to taxis and small businesses, carers – registered or otherwise – and people with commitments across the Borough, during a cost of living crisis.

 

-       That the Mayor is committed to ensuring that Tower Hamlets becomes a net-zero Borough as soon as possible, and has already initiated work on delivering the central pledges of his and his Administration’s climate and energy offer.

 

Council believes:

-       That it is right to consult residents and stakeholders – including the emergency services and businesses – on any decision to remove these road closures.

 

-       That such a public opinion survey has recently come to a conclusion, receiving thousands of responses from across the Borough.

 

-       That any decision to remove or retain these closures, before considering the results of these public opinion surveys, would pre-empt the right of such residents and stakeholders to have their voices fairly heard.

 

-       That need to understand why people use their cars, what the barriers to public transport are for some, and how we can support them to move away from car usage. 

 

-       That this Mayor wants to represent all residents of this Borough and engage with them on this issue in an inclusive way.

 

Council resolves:

-       To wait for all evidence gathered during these public opinion surveys to be analysed and considered with due diligence and process before any decision on the removal of these closures takes place.