Issue - meetings

Part-retrospective provision of one portacabin with paint-finished timber cladding to provide a ticket office and community space.

Recommendation: Approval

RESOLVED: That the application be approved.

Part-retrospective provision of one portacabin with paint-finished timber cladding to provide a ticket office and community space.

Officers introduced the application, highlighted the information in the addendum and made a recommendation for approval.

The lead petitioner was not in attendance but the agent for the application had submitted a presentation and addressed the Committee Members. Key points highlighted included:

• Members of the Harrow and Wembley Society Model Engineers had been members for about five years.
• The railway consisted of about half a mile of track and had provided steam and electric rides for local people since 1978.
• The area was rented from Harrow Council and operated by volunteers from the Harrow and Wembley Society Model Engineers, a not-for-profit organisation.
• The railway operated every Sunday afternoon during the summer and held special events over Easter, Halloween, and Christmas.
• In 2024, the railway had carried around 4,000 passengers and attracted about 1,000 visitors on public holidays.
• The site provided a destination for families, offering tables and benches for picnics.
• The society ran various clubs for local people, including a club for teenagers to learn technical skills.
• They facilitated parties for scouts, Cubs, children with special needs and school visits, and hosted birthday parties.
• The society had about 75 members and had been featured in two BBC documentaries and a local podcast.
• The clubhouse contained 11 carriages, 10 locomotives, workshop machinery, and a signal box.
• Due to increasing demand and the aging members, they needed additional space and proposed using a portacabin.

In response to their requests for clarification, Members were informed that there had previously been a Clubhouse on site. Harrow and Wembley Society Model Engineers had needed additional space and had been given permission by Harrow to install two portacabins on site. However, it had transpired that they needed planning permission for these hence the decision to remove one.

In respect of antisocial behaviour, the Committee was informed that the portacabins had been on site for 16 months and, during that time, there had only been one tag on the back of the building. There was a presence on site at least two days a week and, though not lit, the site was completely fenced for added security. Officers confirmed that a consultation with the Metropolitan Police had not been deemed necessary.

Councillors raised no further concerns or objections. The officer’s recommendation was moved, seconded and, when put to a vote, unanimously agreed.

RESOLVED: That the application be approved subject to the amendments to Conditions 3, 4 and 5 as detailed in the Addendum Report and no materially significant representations received at the end of the public re-consultation (ends 17-01-25) as detailed in the Committee Report.