Agenda and minutes

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting any relevant financial or other interest in the items on the agenda.

Councillor Lorber declared an interest as a member of Friends of Barham Library, however he did not consider the interest to be prejudicial and remained in attendance to discuss and vote at the meeting.

The minutes are attached.

RESOLVED:-

that the minutes of the last meeting held on 3 August 2011 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

Additional street cleansing savings

Councillor Gladbaum commented that she was still awaiting information concerning leaf fall collection arrangements for parks.

Decisions made by the Executive on   in respect of the following reports were called-in for consideration by the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee in accordance with Standing Orders 6 (b) and 18.

Willesden Green Redevelopment Project

The reasons for the call in are:-

1.     Delegation of authorisation of detailed design (recommendation 2.4 in the report): it is appropriate that a decision of this significance is signed off by members, especially if the consultation process or other pressures result in a need to reconsider elements of the scheme or choose between options.

2.     Interim service delivery strategy (recommendation 2.5)

(a)    Lack of clarity over important aspects of the alternative provision including the size of the premises at Grange Road and details of other premises in the Willesden Green area being explored.

(b)    Lack of serious consideration of the use of available closed libraries to aid the delivery of services as evidenced by the perfunctory nature of paragraph 6.29 in the report.

(c)    It is incorrect to state that the provision of transport services to aid access to alternative study space is outside the council’s powers (para. 9.23). The council has a number of potentially relevant powers including the power of well-being.

3.     Lack of clarity in the papers provided to members at the Executive meeting about the design and functions of the proposed new building including:

(a)    No information (even in broad terms) about how the available floorspace will be split between the different uses and the projected income from the proposed commercial uses.

(b)    No information about the architectural and design approach to the development or the planning considerations and risks (other the risk of local objections set out on page 54) that the design has to take into account.

(c)    Lack of clear explanation about how the zero net capital cost will be achieved.

(d)    Inadequate consideration of the risk of construction costs being greater than anticipated and the extent to which the additional costs might fall on the council if they are not the responsibility of the contractor; and inadequate assurance about financial control of the project subsequent to detailed design development and prior to practical completion.

4.     Defects in the decision making process including lack of information provided to members about the revenue consequences of the recommended decision (section 7 asserts that all future revenue costs will be contained with existing budget allocations for the management of the WGLC but there are no figures to support this. Additionally there is no mention of the revenue implications of the non-cultural centre functions such as office space and contact centre).

5.     Lack of access to Background Papers despite requests in good time

6.     Consultation strategy (recommendation 2.7)

(a)    The agreed consultation strategy does not include any objectives nor does it specify what scope there is for the current design to be altered in response to the consultation. It is therefore unclear to what extent this is a genuine consultation strategy and to what extent it is simply a  ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Decisions made by the Executive on 16 January 2012 in respect of the report referred to below were called in by councillors for these to be considered by the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee in accordance with Standing Orders 6 (b) and 18.

Willesden Green Redevelopment Project

The reasons for the call in were:-

1.     Delegation of authorisation of detailed design (recommendation 2.4 in the report): it is appropriate that a decision of this significance is signed off by members, especially if the consultation process or other pressures result in a need to reconsider elements of the scheme or choose between options.

2.     Interim service delivery strategy (recommendation 2.5)

(a)    Lack of clarity over important aspects of the alternative provision including the size of the premises at Grange Road and details of other premises in the Willesden Green area being explored.

(b)    Lack of serious consideration of the use of available closed libraries to aid the delivery of services as evidenced by the perfunctory nature of paragraph 6.29 in the report.

(c)    It is incorrect to state that the provision of transport services to aid access to alternative study space is outside the council’s powers (para. 9.23). The council has a number of potentially relevant powers including the power of well-being.

3.     Lack of clarity in the papers provided to members at the Executive meeting about the design and functions of the proposed new building including:

(a)    No information (even in broad terms) about how the available floorspace will be split between the different uses and the projected income from the proposed commercial uses.

(b)    No information about the architectural and design approach to the development or the planning considerations and risks (other the risk of local objections set out on page 54) that the design has to take into account.

(c)    Lack of clear explanation about how the zero net capital cost will be achieved.

(d)    Inadequate consideration of the risk of construction costs being greater than anticipated and the extent to which the additional costs might fall on the council if they are not the responsibility of the contractor; and inadequate assurance about financial control of the project subsequent to detailed design development and prior to practical completion.

4.     Defects in the decision making process including lack of information provided to members about the revenue consequences of the recommended decision (section 7 asserts that all future revenue costs will be contained with existing budget allocations for the management of the WGLC but there are no figures to support this. Additionally there is no mention of the revenue implications of the non-cultural centre functions such as office space and contact centre).

5.     Lack of access to Background Papers despite requests in good time

6.     Consultation strategy (recommendation 2.7)

(a)    The agreed consultation strategy does not include any objectives nor does it specify what scope there is for the current design to be altered in response to the consultation. It is therefore unclear to what extent this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The list of decisions that took place on 16 January 2012 is attached.

RESOLVED:-

that the Executive list of decisions for the meeting that took place on 16 January 2012 be noted.

The next meeting of the Call-In Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, 29 February 2012 at 7.30 pm and will take place in the event of there being any call-ins of decisions made by the Executive on

13 February 2012.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled for Wednesday, 29 February 2012 at 7.30 pm, however it would only take place in the event of there being any call ins of decisions made by the Executive on 13 February 2012.

Notice of items raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Democratic Services Manager or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 64.

None.

The following item is not for publication as it relates to the following category of exempt information as specified in the Local Government Act 1972 namely:

“Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).”

Appendices 8, 14 and 16 in relation to item 5 on the agenda, Willesden Green Redevelopment Project.

Members noted the information contained in an appendices 8, 14 and 16 to the report on the Willesden Green Redevelopment Project in relation to item four in the minutes were not for publication as they contained exempt information as specified in the Local Government Act 1972, namely:-

“Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).”