Agenda item
Conservation Strategy (CAB 042/101)
Decision:
Councillor D. Jonesdeclared a personal interest in Agenda item 6.1 “Conservation Strategy” (CAB 042/101). The declaration of interest was made on the basis that the report contained recommendations relating to conservation areas in Tower Hamlets and Councillor Jones lived in a conservation area in Tower Hamlets.
Councillor J. Peckdeclared a personal interest in Agenda item 6.1 “Conservation Strategy” (CAB 042/101). The declaration of interest was made on the basis that the report contained recommendations relating to conservation areas in Tower Hamlets and Councillor Peck lived in a conservation area in Tower Hamlets.
Resolved
1. That the Conservation Strategy set out in Appendix I to the report (CAB 042/101) be approved; and the Director of Development and Renewal after discussion with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Housing, Heritage and Planning be authorised to publish the Strategy making minor changes, further desktop publishing or work on the layout;
2. That the Director of Development and Renewal be authorised to produce and publish a Strategy Delivery Workplan after discussion with the Lead Member for Housing Heritage and Planning; and
3. That a post in the Third Sector Team within Chief Executive’s Directorate be made responsible for identification/ optimisation of opportunities for Heritage Lottery Fund funding for both the Authority and external organisations in the Borough.
Action by:
CORPORATE DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT AND RENEWAL (A. DALVI)
Service Head Planning and Building Control, Development and Renewal (O. Whalley)
Deputy Service Head Planning and Building Control, Development and Renewal (D. Williams)
Team Manager Development Design and Conservation, Development and Renewal (M. Hutton)
Action by:
CHIEF EXECUTIVE (K. COLLINS)
[Recommendation 3]
Service Head Strategy and Performance, Chief Executive’s (L. Russell)
[Recommendation 3]
Minutes:
Councillor D. Jonesdeclared a personal interest in Agenda item 6.1 “Conservation Strategy” (CAB 042/101). The declaration of interest was made on the basis that the report contained recommendations relating to conservation areas in Tower Hamlets and Councillor Jones lived in a conservation area in Tower Hamlets.
Councillor J. Peckdeclared a personal interest in Agenda item 6.1 “Conservation Strategy” (CAB 042/101). The declaration of interest was made on the basis that the report contained recommendations relating to conservation areas in Tower Hamlets and Councillor Peck lived in a conservation area in Tower Hamlets.
Mr Williams, Deputy Service Head Planning and Building Control, at the request of the Chair, in introducing the report:
· Briefly summarised the key points contained therein, highlighting in particular that:
o The Conservation Strategy was the first of its kind in London and complied with the very latest in Planning Policy Guidance and was well supported by English Heritage. Officers hoped it would be used as an example of National Best Practice.
o The Strategy had been extensively consulted on with the local community who have been very supportive.
o Should Cabinet be minded to approve the Strategy, Officers would next develop an Action Plan to translate the document into priorities and associated action to ensure delivery.
· Addressed the matters raised by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, held on 5th October 2010, in relation to the report; as set out in the tabled sheet of questions and comments presented by the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee earlier in the proceedings:
Mr Dalvi, Corporate Director Development and Renewal informed Cabinet that the Conservation Strategy contained cartoons by a local artist, which it had not been possible to remove prior to publication in the agenda papers, however these would be removed from the final published version of the Strategy.
A discussion followed, during which the Strategy and other proposals in the report were broadly welcomed, and which focused on the following points:-
· Considered that the Strategy was a very useful piece of work, which provided a good brief summary of the incredibly rich and varied cultural heritage of the borough. Once the action plan was in place both documents would provide a sound basis for identifying, protecting, improving and ensuring this cultural heritage was there for future generations. There would remain some contested elements of heritage, but these would be addressed as they arose.
· Welcomed, with reference to Section 10 of the report “Conservation Strategy Key Goals Summary”, Objective 6.6 - Increase enforcement to protect heritage”. Considered that the Council’s performance was poor in this regard and the service under-resourced. In the Roman Road Conservation Area enforcement had been poor with consequent detrimental effects on the conservation area and its residents. It was acknowledged that the Authority was working to address this, but a shift of resources to enforcement to protect heritage and deal with people that flouted the conservation regulations, would be welcomed.
· The Chair considered that the Council could take better advantage of opportunities for funding heritage related activities provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund; also that given significant past resourcing of the Third Sector Team it would be appropriate for a post in that team to be given responsibility for identifying and optimising such funding opportunities for both the Authority and external organisations. Accordingly he proposed the following additional recommendation, to those set out in the report, for the consideration of members of the Cabinet:
“That a post in the Third Sector Team within Chief Executive’s Directorate be made responsible for identification/ optimisation of opportunities for Heritage Lottery Fund funding for both the Authority and external organisations in the Borough.”
· Mr Williams, Deputy Service Head Planning and Building Control and Mr Hutton, Team Leader Development Design and Conservation and their Officer Team were formally thanked for their hard work in developing the Strategy, which was a very good job towards protecting heritage and retaining the character of Tower Hamlets.
· Commented that the Action Plan to be developed to ensure delivery of the Strategy would need to contain practical steps to enhance heritage. The Strategy referred to “at risk” heritage and it was vital for Officers and Members to pick such issues up and pro-actively take them forward. Some would require substantial funding to achieve and therefore could not be done easily, although incremental improvement over a period of years should be possible. Others were of a lesser scale, more readily achievable and the action plan should reflect this. It was also hoped that a voluntary sector role in identifying such issues could be developed in the future.
· Commented that it was understood that a number of residents were keen to produce a pamphlet on the social heritage of Tower Hamlets, and had indicated they would do so free of charge. Consideration that it would be a positive step to publish this in Olympic Year in an easily accessible format, and requested that Officers look into this suggestion.
· Commented that the content of the Conservation Strategy relating to the rich and varied cultural heritage/ history of the borough should be distilled into some pages on the Council’s website where they could be easily accessed for educational purposes.
The Chair Moved that the recommendations as set out in the report (taking account of the additional recommendation he had proposed during the deliberation of this item), be agreed; and it was:-
Resolved
1. That the Conservation Strategy set out in Appendix I to the report (CAB 042/101) be approved; and the Director of Development and Renewal after discussion with the Leader of the Council and the Lead Member for Housing, Heritage and Planning be authorised to publish the Strategy making minor changes, further desktop publishing or work on the layout;
2. That the Director of Development and Renewal be authorised to produce and publish a Strategy Delivery Workplan after discussion with the Lead Member for Housing Heritage and Planning; and
3. That a post in the Third Sector Team within Chief Executive’s Directorate be made responsible for identification/ optimisation of opportunities for Heritage Lottery Fund funding for both the Authority and external organisations in the Borough.
Supporting documents:
- 1.1 Conservation_Strategy_Report 2010 (legals), item 6.1 PDF 124 KB
- 23 September 2010 Tower Hamlets Conservation Strategy small size Appx 1 Rev 230910, item 6.1 PDF 13 MB
- 1.1 Appx 2 Consultation Plan Report (6), item 6.1 PDF 72 KB