Agenda item
Report Called In - Communities, Localities & Cultural Services Directorate Capital Programme 2009/2010
(Time allocated – 30 minutes)
Minutes:
Further to his declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest, Councillor Abdal Ullah left the room during the Committee’s decision making and voting on this item.
The Chair outlined the call-in procedure to the Committee.
Councillor Ahmed Hussain for the Call-in Members referred to the reasons in their requisition and highlighted the main issues that they held with the provisionally agreed decision to agree a number of schemes which would form the Communities Localities and Cultural Services Directorate’s 2009/2010 Capital Programme.
Councillor Hussain stated that none of the improvement schemes included areas in his ward and he had identified a number of key areas which required improvement. These were:
- Wellington Way – improved lighting
- Bow Road – Traffic calming measures to Central Foundation
- Upgrade of pedestrian crossing on Burdett Road and St Paul’s Way
- Archibald Park – more adequate lighting due to the anti-social behaviour after dark on and around the park
Councillor Hussain advised the Committee that the improvement agenda had been established from a 2005 Cabinet meeting and was therefore out of date, and there were now a number of areas in the Borough that were in desperate need of an upgrade in terms of parks, roads and streets.
Councillor Hussain then responded to questions from the Committee and stated that his objection was not just due to the fact that there were no improvements planned for his ward, but because the agenda was out of date and it was likely that there were also other areas that the schemes would not cover.
He stated that people with pushchairs and wheelchairs experienced problems trying to cross Burdett Road and St Paul’s Way and that the pedestrian crossing needed upgrading. The contribution from TfL meant that there was no reason why the Council couldn’t improve the mentioned areas, especially the traffic calming on Bow Road.
Councillor Abdul Ullah, Lead Member for Cleaner, Safer, Greener, and Margaret Cooper, Head of Transportation and Highways, then addressed the Committee on behalf of the Cabinet in response to the Call-in and made the following points:
The improvement document was a five year plan required by the Mayor for London setting out how the Council intended to deliver his transport strategy at the local level, and it followed specific guidance issued by the Mayor and set out core themes and priorities. The Mayor was currently reviewing his Transport Strategy and would only issue instruction to the local authority to review their LIP when his own strategy was published.
In the meantime, a bid to TfL for funding was made annually and was last agreed by Cabinet in May 2008. The bid was consistent with the themes set out in the 5 year plan but the specific projects included took account of local priorities and issues identified through on-going liaison with Members, LAPs and other stakeholder groups.
ADJOURNMENT
The Chair announced that there would be a five minute adjournment following a discussion with Councillor Ahmed Hussain regarding his conduct during the meeting.
Councillor Hussain advised that he would be withdrawing from the meeting.
RESUMPTION
Councillors Hussain and Eaton had left the meeting.
The Chair invited Councillor Ullah to continue his response to the Call-in.
Councillor David Snowden expressed a protest at the Chair’s conduct and left the meeting.
Councillor Ullah noted that prior to the adjournment Councillor Hussain had interrupted his presentation by making comments.
Councillor Ullah advised that in response to the alternative course of action proposed in the call-in requisition, the following was achievable:-
Wellington Way request for improved lighting
Officers were currently reviewing options for improving lighting in Wellington Way with a view to implementing these works with funding from the Streetlighting capital budget referred to in the Cabinet report.
Bow Road - traffic calming for Central Foundation
Bow Road was in fact the responsibility of Transport for London and the Council was not able to spend the TfL LIP funding on this road. However the Council could lobby TfL for these improvements and the high profile of the High Street 2012 project along the A11 (which included Bow Road) would provide an excellent opportunity to pursue these proposals. A request for a PUFFIN crossing would be made as a matter of urgency as well as a risk assessment of the need for a school crossing patrol officer.
Upgrade of pedestrian crossings on Burdett Road
Burdett Road was also the responsibility of TfL which again could be lobbied for these improvements.
Upgrade of pedestrian crossings on St Pauls Way
The whole area was currently being reviewed including the design of a masterplan for the corridor which integrated with all the surrounding new developments.
Archibald Park
Whilst the streets around this park were all well lit, the tree cover could obstruct lighting and the need for further pruning would be considered. This work could be accommodated from the capital budget for streetlighting.
Committee members then put detailed questions to Councillor Ullah and Margaret Cooper concerning the alleged anti-social behaviour in Archibald Park, complaints received in respect of Bow Road, and road safety outside schools.
There was a discussion concerning the call-in.
Councillor Waiseul Islam stated that although he considered that all the concerns raised by the Call-in had been met within the scope of the Cabinet decision, he was keen that they be addressed as soon as possible particularly in relation to the ‘zebra’ crossing on the New Road, Whitechapel, near Kobi Nazrul Primary School, and the speed humps in Walden/Vanden Streets.
Following the discussion the Committee voted on whether to refer the item back to the Cabinet for further consideration and it was
RESOLVED:
That the alternative course of action proposed in the Call-in not be pursued and the decision of the Cabinet be confirmed.
Supporting documents:
- Call-in report CLC Capital Programme, item 7.1 PDF 45 KB
- CLC Capital Programme report, item 7.1 PDF 55 KB
- CLC Capital Programme Appendices, item 7.1 HTM 82 KB