Agenda and minutes

None Received.

None

Councillor Dave Poyser declared a personal interest with regard to Item B7, Regeneration of Retail Areas as he is presently a member of the Archway Town Centre Group.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2017 be confirmed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

A member of the public requested an update following a meeting between Environmental officers and the contractors regarding fly tipping around Wedmore Gardens.

The Executive Member for Environment & Transport advised that the Council continues to work with various agencies in addressing anti-social issues such as fly tipping wherever it occurs irrespective of whether it is on council or private owned land and to treat the issue of fly tipping very seriously.

The Chair informed the resident that an update on the outcome of the earlier meeting that had occurred in the day would be communicated to her.

None

The Chair invited David Fordham, Service Manager, Service Trading Standards, Jan Tucker, Chair of Archway Traders Association and Christine Lovett, CEO of Angel’s  Business Improvement Bid (BID) to address the Committee on their experiences, challenges and future prospects within the retail areas in Islington.

During consideration of this item the following points were raised -

·         Members were informed about the draft street trading strategy which lists  key things the Council aims to achieve in the next 5 years

·         Members were advised that the value of revitalising and keeping the markets alive, providing local jobs for local people and meeting environmental sustainable objectives was the stimulus for action
 

·         That the strategy aims to create a dynamic street trading and market experience suitable for residents and businesses

·         Members agreed that as shopping habits of members of the public had changed over the years, street markets would have to adapt to this new trend.

·         There are a number of challenges facing Street Trading and include lack of infrastructure regarding the removal of waste, parking issues on market site attracting new traders and retaining the existing traders.

·         Members were advised that the Council aims to raise the profile of  street markets and would promoting street markets in the Time Out Magazine in May 2017 called ‘ love your market’ 

·         A recognition that street markets still had a vital place within the community not only with the residents but businesses in its vicinity so the regeneration of the market was essential to provide future opportunities.

·          Members were informed that street markets would be encouraged to introduce different themes on market days as it was noticeable that the existence of farmers markets had resulted in increase in trading and footfall  especially visitors

·         Members were advised that most authorities in the country were experiencing similar issues on managing street markets and that the decline of traditional street markets was due to a number of factors such as competition from other forms of retail, lack of investment or vision by the local authorities and changing demographics .

·         A Member enquired if the loss of vibrancy of street markets was due to the prevalence of food stalls competing with the shops especially as businesses pay rates and charges.  The Service Manager, Service Trading Standards advised that it had not been raised as an issue, however the Council be looking at ways of assisting or supporting such businesses

·         With regards to the cost of hiring stalls and pitches and the revenue derived by the Council, the Service Manager, Service Trading Standards advised that Council charges £60 per week, the lowest in comparison to other neighbouring authorities and cheaper than markets that are located on private land.  On the issue of revenue, Members were advised that any revenues received would be ring fenced. 

·         A Member enquired whether the Council offered support such as mentoring/training for new stall holders with a view to helping the stall holders move into retail shops .

·         A Member enquired if Officers were aware of a financial  ...  view the full minutes text for item 106.

Nick Fairholme, TFL Director of Programmes was present and was accompanied by Daniel Hall, Project Manager TFL and provided a verbal update to the Committee during which the following main points were made-

·          Nick Fairholme apologised to residents and businesses for the disruption to their daily lives as a result of the unplanned works on the Holloway Bridge Work on the A1.  In explaining the causes for the work, Nick Fairholme reminded Members that works on the bridge was necessary as the bridge had reached the end of its operational life and that the delay and subsequent closure of long sections of the Holloway Road was done in consultation with Islington Council and Highways Officers simply to allow demolition to be carried out during the Christmas period when traffic would be lighter.

·         Ascertaining the ownership of the deep seated cables under the road surface owned by gas, electricity, water and telecommunication companies was very challenging as in most cases they had been laid underground for decades.

·         Nick Fairholme acknowledged that as a result of the disruption especially over the October half term break in 2016, TFL did issue over 500 letters and emails to residents and businesses explaining the situation and staff were deployed to respond to enquiries from residents and businesses in the affected area on Holloway Road. In addition he also stated that TFL would respond at short notice especially when sudden incidents occurred for example making available shuttle buses.

·         The Director confirmed that he was delighted to announce that despite the disruption, the unplanned works to the Bridge was completed on schedule with all the roads opened by 16 January 2017 and traffic restrictions lifted.

·         Members were advised that although engineering works are complex in nature, most of the challenges are not noticeable until when work commences however lessons learnt from this experience would be shared when TFL engages in other projects.

·         Nick Fairholme advised the Committee that a number of options had been considered with regards to the closure of the A1 road and the decision was not taken lightly and the overriding issue in this instance was safety.

·         Lessons learnt from the experiences on the Holloway Bridge project include improving the engagement and consultation process with residents and businesses by using social media forums to communicate not only prior to the commencement of the project but throughout the duration of the project. Also better collaboration between contractor and utility companies should be encouraged especially where there are over 15 different utility companies involved.

·         With regards to identifying ownership of underground utility cables especially in the future, Members were advised that utilities are now mapped and there are now electronic records available which identifies not only the exact location but the actual depths of the cables underground.

·         The meeting was advised that Upper Holloway would have a number of utility cables but these were not as complex as those that were found on the Bridge works at Holloway Road.

·         A Member wanted TFL to consider the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107.

That the work programme be noted.