Agenda item

Councillors’ Brian Crowe and John Morgan attended the meeting and Councillor Crowe spoke as a Ward Councillor.  Councillor Anita MacDonald was also in attendance.

 

Petitioners concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

 

·        Mr Pat Taverner spoke on the lead petitioners behalf.  He was a resident of Hillingdon Borough and often visited Ruislip Lido.

·        The petitioners made reference to 3 specific proposals made by Hillingdon Council for the Lido: boating for adults at the Lido; paddle boats for children; and car parking, including a 200 space hard surface car park.

·        The petitioners stated that the Council believed the changes would restore Ruislip Lido to its former state.

·        That the Council had abandoned the Lido and now it was a place for the wildlife. The wildlife quantities had increased considerably over the years.

·        There was last boating at the Lido in the 1970’s and 80’s. There was not much wildlife at that time in the area, but now there was a lot more.

·        Re-introducing boating could mean that some people who used this facility would be unaware of the wildlife living in the area, by throwing rubbish/litter.

·        Security of boating was also an issue to consider.

 

·        That the children, as well as the adults, using the boating area would have a lack of respect for wildlife.

·        The petitioners felt the Lido was now very much a nature reserve so wished to know where the idea of boating had come from.

·        The types of boating being proposed needed careful consideration

·        The petitioners questioned the Council’s use of resources by bringing in consultants

·        The water quality was discussed by petitioners and that they were unsure whether it met the new standards. They also did not know anything of the chemicals in the water.

·        The petitioners discussed the parking issues regarding the Lido. They stated that the Leader had sent a memo/letter to residents which he was quoted to say the Council would proceed with a car park as soon as possible, even though the Council had received some objections to the proposals.

·        They felt the car park proposals were a short term fix to a major problem in the area.

·        That the Council should consider a new entrance to the Lido, somewhere where residents and pedestrians could only gain access. 

·        That the parking proposals had shown that the Council had taken insufficient account of the wildlife living in the Lido.

·        The petitioners requested to know how many people had died from swimming in the last 15 years. Officers would inform residents of the figure.

·        Petitioners did not know what to believe as they felt what they were told in meetings and what actually was being done, for example from the letter/memo from the Leader, was different.

·        They were told at the last petition meeting that proposals were just ideas at the time, but felt through comments made outside of the meeting that this was not true.

·        Petitioners said there were several other facilities for swimming in the Borough, including the new Uxbridge Lido, and these could be used rather than the Ruislip Lido. They said that much money had already been invested into these other swimming facilities.

·        Friends of Ruislip Lido had asked for a copy of the scoping report and wished to have this. They wanted to know why this had not been supplied.

·        A bio-diversity study of the area was requested. 

·        The petitioners suggested the Council look at options which would increase the usage of the Lido throughout the year and not in the already congested summer.

·        There was some anti-social behaviour witnessed and the park patrol did not deal with the issues effectively. At the incident discussed park patrol officers had left the site at quarter past 7.

 

Councillor Brian Crowe, Ward Councillor, commented on the petition:

 

·        Could not remember a case of anyone drowning at the Lido.

·        He had attended and spoken at half a dozen meetings on this programme and did not believe the Council was not listening or not consulting.

·        The Council was at the initial planning stage and this preliminary stage turned into a public meeting.

·        The Council wished to change Ruislip Lido for the better.

·        He understood that a lot of the existing area was for wildlife.

·        He said he had driven around the area for the last four weekends to see what the traffic was like.  There were issues with traffic that needed to be resolved.

·        There were potential issues with noise and antisocial behaviour which had not been mentioned at the meeting.

·        Parking was a very important issue, including the position of the car park. There was an overflow car park.

·        The resident parking scheme was under discussion but was proving difficult to gain agreement on.

·        The Ward Councillor did believe change would happen but exactly what change would depend on consultation and reports.

·        There was some conflict between what residents wanted. 

Councillor Sandra Jenkins listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised. 

 

·        The Cabinet Member thanked petitioners for attending and speaking about the development of the Lido.

·        The Council wishes to protect the beauty and peace of the Lido. They wished to enhance the site, not upset people or enforce things on people.

·        The Cabinet Member would look into the issue regarding park patrol as discussed by petitioners.

·        The Council was trying to address the car park space issues and options would be looked into.

·        The Council would continue to consult residents through the MAG

·        Residents would be considered when looking at changes and developments.

Officers advised that:

 

·        Two FOI requests had been received requesting sight of the scoping report.  Responses to these FOI requests are being processed accordingly.

·        Officers gave a review of the minutes of the last Environment Petition meeting that was held on the 14^th April 2010, this meeting discussed the development of Ruislip Lido.

·        The development of the Lido was considered to be a Borough wide facility.

 

 

·        The initial scoping report, commissioned by the Council to identify further works in respect of FRA and EIA requirements, has now been delivered.  This continues to be work in progress and does not identify the feasibility of proposed developments at this stage. 

·        Consultant engineers, Halcrow, who are now engaged in the further works process, estimate they will have completed their findings by the 13th August 2010, and their final report will then be ready for submission to the Environmental Agency.  Officers are advised that the subsequent Environmental Agency process takes anything up to 21 days therefore the Council will be able to publish the outcome between mid and late September 2010. 

 

·        External engineers were sourced because the Council do not have in-house expertise in this area.

·        Additional parking is clearly needed and will be progressed as soon as possible.  On site options continue to be investigated and assessed.

·        Boating and swimming was something that was still under consideration but would not happen this year. The outcome of the report in September 2010 will determine whether these proposals are feasible.

·        The toilet and changing room facilities would be completed this year. Officers advised that the facilities would be sympathetic to existing surroundings and would be of a very high standard. Completion is envisaged by July/August 2010.

·        The toilets would be new facilities built on the existing site.

·        The Council would discuss other improvements to the Lido through the MAG.

·        Officers have been advised that there has been one death in recent times at the Lido which was not related to swimming or boating, but a suicide. This issue was dealt with by the police during the spring of 2009

 

 

DECISION

 

That the Cabinet Member

 

1.                  Considered the petitioner’s concerns

2.                  Considered the adequacy of the proposed public consultation programme

3.                  Asked officers to report outcome of recommendation 1 and 2 to the HIP Steering Group

 

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

 

The proposed improvements were part of the Council’s programme of improving parks and open spaces and would increase opportunities for Hillingdon residents to enjoy the leisure and amenity provision at Ruislip Lido.

 

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

 

Discussion with the petitioners could identify alternative options

 

 

 

 

To view the reports relating to these decisions, click on the links below:

 

THESE DECISIONS WILL COME INTO FORCE AND WILL THEN BE IMPLEMENTED UNLESS CALLED-IN.  THE DEADLINE FOR CALL-IN TO BE RECEIVED BY THE HEAD OF DEMOCRATIC SERVICES IS 5PM ON FRIDAY 23 JULY 2010.

 

COUNCILLORS AND OFFICERS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF ANY CALL-IN RECEIVED.

 

This is a summary of the Cabinet Member’s decisions. If you wish for more detailed information on any of the decisions please contact Nav Johal on 01895 250692.

 

The right hand column indicates the name of the officer(s) responsible for implementing/following up the decision in each case.

 

Circulation of this decisions sheet is to Members of the Council, Corporate Directors, Group Secretariats.