Agenda item
Update on the West Hendon Development
A brief update provided by Thomas Wyld (Senior Planning Officer, Barnet Council) is attached for members’ information. A representative of Barratt Metropolitan LLP (developer at West Hendon) has also been requested to attend the meeting to report on progress to date and the on-going programme.
It is anticipated that further information will follow with regard to the outcome of noise monitoring activity on site and the draft roles and responsibilities of the SSSI Warden.
Minutes:
Nathan Smith (Project Manager, Barratt Homes West London) provided an update on the development of the West Hendon Estate, noting that construction had started in mid-January 2014. There were two different construction sites at present along Marriot’s Close and Perryfield Way. Work had begun on the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and it was anticipated that an application for the CPO would be submitted to the Secretary of State in four to eight weeks. Similar work was being undertaken for those properties held under leasehold or secure tenancy, both of which also required an application to be submitted to the Secretary of State. It was considered likely that these applications would be submitted in the late Spring. Metropolitan housing had conducted a household needs survey to identify requirements for future accommodation and would shortly be writing to tenants to allocate properties.
Thomas Wyld (Planning Officer, Barnet Council) circulated an informal report regarding the noise monitoring that had been conducted on site and the draft minutes of a meeting of stakeholders at which the post of the SSSI Warden had been discussed. Responding to the committee’s queries, Thomas Wyld explained that it was intended that the appointment of the SSSI Warden be made as soon as possible but it was expected to take between three and six months to achieve. It had been envisaged that the post would be for a period of seventeen years and would be funded via Section 106 monies. A total of £500k had been allocated to the Warden post and the cost of mitigation activities, with 60 per cent of this sum directly funding the salary of the post. It was expected that one of the tasks of the post would be to identify further sources of funding. The London Wildlife Trust had agreed to support the Warden position and further work between key stakeholders would be undertaken to draw up a job description for the role. Barratt Homes had attended the meeting and was supportive of having a single point of contact for the management of environmental issues for the site. There had been some discussion regarding the potential for shared office space with the estate management group, which offered a possible solution to safety concerns regarding lone working.
The committee sought further information regarding the noise monitoring activity and bird surveys being undertaken at the site. It was particularly queried whether vibration level was taken into consideration and whether monitoring was constrained by the working week. It was also highlighted that there could be a protracted breeding season for birds nesting in the area, depending on rises in water level. Thomas Wyld advised that noise monitoring equipment was active on a continuous basis and was supplemented by manned observations undertaken between Monday and Saturday. Details of the noise monitoring scheme had been approved via Natural England and it was expected therefore, that issues such as disturbance resulting from vibrations would have been considered. The meeting was further advised that Bird surveys were being conducted on a rolling basis; bi-monthly during breeding season and monthly otherwise. Breeding seasons were not considered to be fixed and this was reflected in the plans for conducting the surveys.
Queries were also raised regarding mitigation measures planned in relation to the colony of House Martins that would undoubtedly be disturbed due to demolition works at the West Hendon Broadway. The committee noted several options for increasing the wildlife sustainability of the development such as the inclusion of swift bricks and peregrine boxes. Nathan Smith advised that Barratt Homes did make provisions of this nature but he was not able to comment on the particulars. However, he would liaise with Thomas Wyld regarding the issue of the colony of House Martins.
The committee thanked Nathan Smith and Thomas Wyld for their contribution to the meeting and noted the update.
Supporting documents: