Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Councillors Keith Burrows and Peter Money. Councillor Tony Burles was present as a substitute for Councillor Money.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting dated 08 June 2022 be approved as a correct record.

It was confirmed that all items were marked Part 1 and would therefore be considered in public.

Michael Naughton, Head of Capital Programme Works Service, was in attendance for this item and presented the report to the Committee. Officers provided an overview of the broad remit of works delivered by the Council’s Capital Programme Works Service. Members were informed that there were a number of key ongoing and proposed projects in various stages covering the Council’s Education Estate, Corporate Buildings, Housing  and Community Buildings. These were outlined for the Committee; key projects included:

·       Grassy Meadow Court Supported Housing Scheme, Hayes

·       Park View Court Supported Housing Scheme, Yiewsley

·       A £3 million investment in an extensive refurbishment programme to renovate many of the Borough’s libraries

·       The Battle of Britain Bunker Exhibition and Visitors Centre

·       A housing development in Ditchfield Road, Yeading providing 10 new homes

·       A housing development on Acol Crescent, South Ruislip providing 33 new units

·       A large regeneration project in Hayes Town Centre providing more than 500 new homes on the Hayes Town Centre Estate and 220 on the Avondale Drive site

·       An extension and remodelling at the Uxbridge Mortuary; which posed a challenge in that the mortuary would remain operational throughout the refurbishment

·       A new Leisure Centre serving Yiewsley and West Drayton on Harmondsworth Road

·       The Cranford Park Heritage Project

·       Two smaller housing development programmes on Moorfield Road, Cowley and Nelson Road, Hillingdon

·       The refurbishment of the Asha Day Centre

·       School expansions and refurbishment projects at Grange Park Infant and Junior Schools, Hillside Infant School, Frithwood Primary School and Coteford Infant School

Officers went on to outline the future programme of works which included projects currently at the feasibility stage of development. The Committee commended officers for their work which formed a great asset to the Borough.

Officers noted that one of the biggest problems faced by the Capital Programme Works Service was the current volatility of the market, it was hard to obtain the appropriate labour and materials, the price of which had risen significantly in recent months. Further to this, where works from contractors had been agreed to take place at a certain price point, contractors were reporting back informing officers that, due to price increases, they were struggling to meet the parameters of the works under the previously agreed prices. Officers also noted that, in the past, they mostly sought to obtain single stage tenders with a fixed price, however the tenders coming back in recent months had been significantly higher than usual. To try and reduce the risk for suppliers, and to obtain a better price from tenderers, officers were looking at two stage tendering, which did come with a risk of the 2^nd stage tender coming back at a higher price.

Expanding on the libraries refurbishment works, the Committee were informed that much of the works included putting in additional desk space with better technological capacity as many library visitors, particularly younger people, visited the libraries with their own laptops looking to utilise library resources. Other works included refurbishment of flooring, the children’s areas, café facilities and the orientation of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

This item was taken following item 7.

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the item noting that the Committee’s major review would be one of the core pieces of work carried out by the Committee through the municipal year. The Committee were encouraged to suggest potential topics for the review and to develop a shortlist of topics that could be scoped further by officers to assess feasibility.

Although the Chairman of the Committee could not be present at the meeting, they had proposed a suggested topic within the Highways remit by which the Committee would review the Council’s footways and pavements resurfacing programme, how the Council obtains best value, scheduling possibilities, and new technologies that could be utilised.

One suggested review topic pertained to renewals and repairs within the Council’s Social Housing Estate. Members noted how the Council administered over 13,000 Social Housing units and sought to emphasise the importance of ensuring that the number of empty and voided properties within this stock was kept to a minimum by keeping repairs and renewals as swift as reasonably possible.

The Committee proposed a potential review looking at road and pavement safety, particularly in response to the increased use of e-scooters, e-bikes, e-skateboards and other such small vehicles used on roads and pavements. It was noted that these vehicles were dangerous when used inappropriately and they were often used inconsiderately. It was also noted that the matter of e-scooters specifically fell under the responsibility of the Greater London Authority and the Police.

It was noted that at the Committee’s next meeting, a scoping report would be produced on the chosen review topic. Further to this, it was confirmed that any items that were shortlisted, but the Committee did not pursue as a major review, would be added to the Committee’s work programme as a one-off service monitoring items.

RESOLVED: That the Property, Highways & Transport Select Committee:

1)    Noted the guidance on undertaking policy reviews in Appendix 1 to the report;

2)    Developed a shortlist of potential topic ideas for officers to scope further on matters of feasibility;

This item was taken ahead of item 6.

Tony Zaman, Interim Chief Executive, and Dan Kennedy, Corporate Director of Central Services, were in attendance for this item and presented the draft Council Strategy for 2022 to 2026 to the Committee. By way of introduction, it was emphasised that the approach taken by the Council was to develop a forward-looking strategy rather than a plan; this was to highlight the transformative nature of the strategy over an extended period of time and to enable the Council to keep up with the changes taking place over the coming years. It was also highlighted that the core thinking behind the proposed strategy was efficiency; ensuring that the Council provided the high-quality services that residents expected in the most efficient manner.

Underneath the overarching Strategy would be four annual plans which would delve into the more tangible elements of the Strategy and mark the implementation of the framework outlined in the strategy. It was expected that by the time of the fourth annual plan, the outcomes set out in the strategy would start to become realised and evident to residents.

Officers sought to emphasise the importance of the Council as a leader of place and a fundamental facet of the Borough in working with a range of partners, stakeholders and community organisations; this element was embedded in the structure of the proposed Strategy. There were five key commitments outlined within the Strategy:

• Safe and Strong Communities
• Thriving, Healthy Households
• A Green and Sustainable Borough
• A Thriving Economy
• A Digital-Enabled, Modern, Well-Run Council

It was highlighted that these commitments were an overarching ambition for the Council and not to be aligned with specific services areas.

Officers explained that the Draft Strategy was subject to a nine-week consultation period which had started on 07 July 2022. Each of the Council’s five select committees would form part of the consultation in addition to over 350 external partner organisations.

The Committee supported the move to adopt a Council Strategy as an encompassing vision statement for the Council, specifically regarding the recent emergence from a global pandemic and the current national, and international, financial context. Members particularly welcomed commitments to digital development, which would ensure efficiencies were achieved across the Council; in addition to an emphasis being placed on the importance of sustainability.

RESOLVED: That the Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee noted the draft Council Strategy 2022-26 and commented upon it as necessary.

RESOLVED: That the Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee noted the Cabinet Forward Plan.

The Committee noted the work programme and officers reiterated that any of the shortlisted review topics that were not be pursued by the Committee as a major review would be added to the work programme as one-off information items.

The Committee sought to add a new information item on any expected and experienced car parking pressures around the West Drayton and Hayes & Harlington train stations as a result of the new Elizabeth Line stops at those stations. Additionally, Members raised concerns around individuals using public roads for racing, particularly at night time, to that end the Committee sought an information report on the Council’s use of traffic calming measures.

RESOLVED: That the Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee agreed to amend the Committee’s Work Programme as discussed.