Agenda item

Prior to consideration of the main agenda Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Chair) advised the Trust Committee that he had accepted a number of requests to speak at the meeting from representatives of tenant organisations occupying the Barham Park building updating the Trust Committee on the work being undertaken through their organisations supported through use of the building.

Each representative was then invited to address the meeting with the following comments highlighted.

Lorna Gemmell (representing ACAVA) was the first to address the Trust Committee stating that the charity had been running affordable artist studios and community arts programmes for many years and was currently supporting over 400 artists and creative organisations.  ACAVA had been a tenant in the Barham Park building for over 9 years with a number of art studios located within the building.  There are currently renovations underway in the community studio space to make ready for a new arts programme commencing in Autumn.  In concluding, the Trust Committee were asked to ensure meaningful consultation was undertaken with all tenant organisations with regard to any proposals for future development of the Barham Park building.

Following on from the representations made by ACAVA, Jane Ryan (as a local artist using a studio provided through ACAVA) spoke about a persistent intruder to the building and the nuisance and security concerns being caused to users of the community spaces as a result, which she was keen to seen addressed in a co-ordinated way and as part of any security enhancements to the building.

Chris Murray then spoke (representing the Young Brent Foundation) in order to highlight the work of the charity and support the concerns raised in relation to security of the Barham Park building, given issues being caused by the same individual referred to by Jane Ryan in persistently gaining illegal access to the property.  Highlighting a number of incidents and impact this was having in limiting current use of the building due the safety concerns he supported the request for a co-ordinated approach to be developed in tackling the security concerns and individual identified.

Mr J M Patel (representing Barham Park Veterans Club) was then invited to speak.  In highlighting the work of the club and links to the local community support was also sought in securing accessible access and the ongoing maintenance of the building.

As a further contribution, Shivakumar Gurung (representing Tamu Samaj UK) highlighted the work of the organisation and range of activities and educational programmes being offered for all sections of the local community with the request made for the Trust Committee to consider an extension of their lease to further support development and use of the facility.

As a final contribution, Francis Henry (representing Friends of Barham Library) began by seeking clarification and further detail on the potential impact relating to the outcome of the Feasibility Study and Strategic Property Review and plans to engage with current tenants within the Barham Park building.  Prior to enabling him to proceed further, Councillor Butt (as Chair) paused the meeting to remind Mr Henry of the scope of the representations being sought by the Trust Committee which related to an update on the work being undertaken by each organisation supported through use of the Barham Park building rather than any other matters due to be considered on the agenda.  In expressing concern at what he felt to be the limited scope of the representations, Mr Henry used the reminder of the time available to highlight the work and activities being delivered through the Library and its value to the local community, which he felt needed to be recognised as part of any wider development proposals due to be considered during the meeting.

In noting the comments raised, Councillor Muhammed Butt thanked everyone who had spoken for their participation and advised that the issues raised would be responded to as appropriate during the remainder of the meeting.