Agenda item

To receive and consider any petitions for which notice has been provided under Standing Order 66.

Members are asked to note that the following petition is due to be presented at the meeting:

(a)    Lighting at Tiverton Green.

The supporting details on the petition have been attached, for reference.

(Members are asked to note this petition was approved for presentation following the original agenda having been published)

Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Leader of the Council) welcomed Alison Durant (as lead petitioner) to the meeting, who he advised was attending to present a petition regarding Lighting at Tiverton Green.

In thanking the Leader of the Council for the opportunity to present the petition, Alison Durant explained that Tiverton Green was a green space in the Queens Park area, directly south of Queens Park Community School, which included a range of outdoor leisure facilities as well as a children’s play area and was a well-used space providing a convenient access route for residents in the neighbourhood and for pupils attending the local school.

In outlining the concerns being raised within the petition, Alison Durant advised that whilst the space was accessible at all hours it was unlit, meaning access was in complete darkness during the winter months.  In highlighting her personal experience, members were advised that this had led to concerns being raised by parents, children and the local community in relation to safety by those seeking to use the space once daylight faded, with specific examples provided in relation to the impact on school pupils using the space as a route home after school.  As a result of the concerns highlighted and following discussion with Councillor Nerva (as a local ward councillor) she had therefore started the petition seeking the installation of lighting on paths across the Green.  This had resulted in a total of 548 signatures being obtained in support demonstrating what she felt to be the strong desire across the local community for the lighting issue to be addressed.

In outlining the basis for the support identified, Alison Durant highlighted that lighting made people feel safe which would subsequently result in more people using the Green and lead, as a wider benefit, to improvements in the health and wellbeing of the community.  It was also pointed out that a number of the pathways across the Green did not benefit from adjacent street lighting.

Whilst advocating for improved lighting, however, the petitioners had also recognised the associated cost implications as well as the need to consider the impact of lighting on the surrounding ecology and wildlife.  As a result, it was pointed out that the petitioners had been working with a lighting consultant who had identified the potential for a lighting scheme that, whilst cost effective, would also be sympathetic to the ecology and wildlife of the surrounding Green, on which they were keen to continue working with the Council in order to explore available options.

In summarising, Alison Durant advised members that the petitioners were therefore seeking to advocate for the provision of suitable, considerate lighting that would benefit the local community as well as school pupils in being able to safely access and use the Green after dark in a way that was also cost effective and appropriate for the ecology of the area. In welcoming the discussions already undertaken with councillors and Council officers, it was also suggested that the implementation of lighting in the park could be used as a best practice case study for other local public spaces looking to introduce similar lighting schemes in the future.

The Leader then invited Councillor Nerva to speak (as a local Queens Park ward councillor) who thanked Alison Durant for her efforts to coordinate the petition along with all those who had signed to express their support on the issue.  In welcoming the practical work already underway in response to the petition, Councillor Nerva also highlighted the wider links and benefits the proposal would support in terms of the focus on active wellbeing by maximising use of the open space at all times of the day. In concluding, whilst recognising the need to work within the resources available Councillor Nerva advised he was encouraged by the work already undertaken with the local authority to see what could be achieved in an innovative way.

As a further contribution, Councillor Mili Patel also spoke on behalf of local Harlesden & Kensal Green ward councillors to thank the petitioners for their presentation and work undertaken with local ward councillors from across the area in seeking a practical way forward.  Highlighting the work undertaken to deliver improved lighting in Roundwood Park, she felt a similar outcome should also be possible at Tiverton Green recognising the need for an innovative and cost-effective solution that would also strike the right balance between environmental and safety considerations.

In thanking other members for their contributions, the Leader then invited Councillor Krupa Sheth (as Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Enforcement) to provide a formal response.  Having thanked Alison Durant for attending Cabinet to ensure the views of residents were represented, Councillor Sheth felt it important to start by recognising the value of the borough’s parks and Green spaces to residents, including the ability to use them safely after dark. She assured the petitioners that issues around personal safety, particularly for women and girls, were a key concern in designing public spaces, acknowledging the importance in everyone being able to feel safe when using these spaces, including once daylighted had faded.

Highlighting the important role which it was recognised well designed lighting would play as part of the process in illuminating key pathways, improving visibility, and increasing confidence for those walking through or using the park in the evening, the need to ensure this was carefully planned to ensure it would not negatively affect the natural environment, local wildlife, or the character of the green space that residents valued was also recognised as a key consideration.

In response, to the work already undertaken to understand the specific issues and areas across the Green where residents felt lighting may be most beneficial Councillor Krupa Sheth advised that officers would now be undertaking a scoping exercise to explore potential options in terms of the most appropriate type of lighting and costs involved with any potential scheme needing to ensure that the solution was affordable, adaptable, appropriately subtle, and sympathetic to the park’s ecology and natural surroundings. Subject to these conditions being met and resources identified as available, it was felt a positive way forward could be developed that would not only improve access and confidence in using the park but also preserve its character.  In summing up, Councillor Krupa Sheth once again thanked Alison Durant and the petitioners for highlighting the issue and for the constructive work undertaken with officers to explore what may be possible.

As a final contribution and in summing up, Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Leader of the Council) also took the opportunity to thank Alison Durant for attending the meeting to present the petition, confirming that the Council remained committed to working with residents in order to achieve a positive outcome for the local community.