Cllr Elizabeth Hughes stated that she would leave the room during the discussion of Item 6, Land adjoining Heston Services, as she would be involved in a decision on this matter in a forthcoming meeting of the Sustainable Development Committee and wished to ensure that she retained a completely open mind. Cllr Hughes also declared that she knew a director of the company concerned along with his son, a former Hounslow Councillor.

 

Cllr Rajinder Bath declared that he had received and passed on correspondence regarding the Item, Cllr Amrit Mann stated that he had dealt with officers regarding the Item and Cllr Sohan Sangha declared that he knew a director of the company and his son. The interest of these three Councillors was not prejudicial and there was no reason for any to be excluded from the discussion.

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2012 were agreed as an accurate record and signed.

Matters arising from the previous minutes.

Cllr Rajinder Bath stated that he had asked Satnam Sahota to report back to the Committee with written assurances of a time frame for action to be taken on Burns Way, following nine months of inaction, and Mr Sahota had agreed. (Page 4 of the minutes). Mr Sahota was not present and no such assurances were in the agenda. Cllr Bath expressed the hope that another year would not pass before action was taken.

 

Cllr Amrit Mann advised that he had taken part in a meeting regarding the size of the pool within the proposed redevelopment of Heston Leisure Centre. (Page 9) He had asked for a larger Olympic standard pool but had been advised that it would not be possible without changing the entire scheme. This was simply not possible under current financial circumstances.

i)       Members of the public or applicants should contact the Committee Administrator, David Christopher on 020 8583 2071 with details of the proposed submission no later than 5pm, on the Thursday of the week before the meeting. The Chair will decide whether or not to grant the request to speak and notification will be given of the decision.

 

ii)      For all highways matters, if there are members of the public with opposing views regarding the proposal the chair will allow both sides to speak. Generally, speakers will only be allowed to speak on issues where funding is available.

 

iii)     Each party will be given no more than 5 minutes to speak.

iv)     Planning items for comment are for councillors’ comments only. Members of the public or applicants can apply to speak at the Sustainable Development Committee, should a report be taken to that meeting for decision.

 

v)      The Area Committee will consider submissions on 3 items per meeting.

 

vi)     Written submissions must be made to the Committee Administrator no later than 4pm on the day of the meeting.

Please see the report by the Director of Environment (Agenda Item 5.)

 

Mark Frost, Senior Transport Planner, presented the report and pointed out that the project would be funded by TfL. There were no questions.

 

Voting record:

 

For: Cllrs Gopal Dhillon, Rajinder Bath, Elizabeth Hughes, Gurmail Lal, Amrit Mann and Sohan Sangha.

 

Against: None.

 

Abstained: None.

 

Resolved:

 

That the Committee: 

 

·         noted the contents of this report;

 

·         gave approval to officers to advertise a Cycle Tracks Order in relation to formalising the use of cycles on existing footpaths in the vicinity of the Civic Centre, as set out in proposals 1 (b), 2 and 3 (a), summarised in 4.1;

 

·         gave approval to officers to implement proposals in regards to converting footpaths to Cycle Tracks, as set out in 4.1 in the event that no objections are received, or objections are received and resolved or withdrawn, to the Cycle Tracks Order;

 

·         requested officers to provide an update to Committee setting out options for progressing the proposals in the event that objections remain;

 

·         gave approval in principle for a scheme to be developed by officers to facilitate cycle access across the entrance to the multi-storey car park (as set out in proposal 4b), with final approval delegated to the chair of the Area Committee, in consultation with the Lead Member for Performance and Customer Care; and

 

·         gave approval to officers to implement all further proposals, as set out in 4.2, table 2, namely to build new permissive paths in the vicinity of the Civic Centre and Lampton Park, to formalise the use of cycles within the park and to introduce improved signage in the area.

 

 

 

Change of use for the outdoor parking and overnight storage of buses and coaches with associated landscape works.

 

Cllr Hughes left the Committee room prior to the report’s presentation. Cllr Mann remained but did not comment.

 

See the report by Myfanwy McNally (Agenda Item 6). Robert Coomber, Area Planning Manager, presented the report.

 

Cllr Gurmail Lal thanked Mr Coomber and commented that he had not seen such a well-balanced report for a long time and that officers had clearly highlighted green belt issues and also reasons favourable comments could be given. He stated that the land was currently derelict, contaminated and unsuitable for use as a picnic area and that he wished the Sustainable Development Committee (SDC) to consider the application favourably. Cllr Lal described the applicant as a small business that was doing quite well and needed extra space for parking; mitigation to address traffic issues had been put in place. He agreed that there was a need to ensure that the area used for coach parking did not expand subsequently. Cllr Lal pointed out that the applicant was proposing to landscape the area around the coach parking and was doing their best to offer favourable conditions. He asked the SDC to be mindful of the need to improve the transport infrastructure, which he advised the application would contribute to, stating that he was in favour of the application.

 

Cllr Sohan Sangha agreed with Cllr Lal and asked how many coaches were intended to use the parking facilities; Robert Coomber advised that there were to be 15 spaces. Cllr Sangha asked if the previous failed development application was an impediment to the current application and Mr Coomber replied that it was not, and the Section 106 agreement went with the land and therefore applied to the current owner. Mr Coomber advised that many, and possibly all, aspects of the S106 were still enforceable. The Chair asked if the S106 was negotiable; Robert Coomber advised that there was no transfer of money to the Council under the current terms, but one possibility would be to seek financial costs from the developer to improve access to other parts of the green belt, which would raise several thousand pounds. Cllr Rajinder Bath asked which areas he was referring to and Mr Coomber replied that the site applied for was just part of Area 6, which included some land south of the motorway as well as part of a golf course and extended for some distance, covering many square kilometres. He stated that some larger areas were joined by ribbons of open land and that it would be beneficial to allow both people and animals to move freely between them.

 

Resolved:

 

That the following comments from the Area Committee shall be reported to the Sustainable Development Committee:

 

Cllr Gurmail Lal stated that he fully appreciated the issues surrounding the use of green belt land but pointed out that the land in question was contaminated. He agreed that it must be ensured that the development did not expand beyond the given boundaries but added that the applicant was trying to offer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

Construction of a three form entry primary school to replace the existing two-form entry school.

See the report by Robert Coomber (Agenda Item 7).

 

Robert Coomber, Area Planning Manager, presented the report. He advised that there was an error on the published map and distributed corrected versions. Mr Coomber apologised for the omission of comments from Heston Residents’ Association (HRA) from the report and read out the comments as follows:

 

Major concerns regarding the volume of traffic associated with set down and pickup of children morning/afternoon, particularly in Westbrook Road and 

Dorset Avenue. Whilst it is noted that alterations to existing lay-bys are

proposed, with the intended growth in the number of children at the school

more action needs to be taken in order to alleviate parking problems in

residentialroads during peak times. Whilst the Headteacher is fully aware of the problems there is a need for the problem to be addressed by encouraging walking to school, cycling and car sharing thus avoiding conflict with the local community.

 

There is a need for a condition to be written into the planning application

requiringvehicles associated with the construction of the new school and the eventual demolition of the existing school to avoid local peak traffic times.

This should if necessary require vehicles if early to park up outside the

immediatearea.

 

A condition associated with exterior materials and finish to complement the

local street scene, that is to say they should be pleasing to the eye as indeed should be the design. 

 

A condition to be included to ensure that the road surface is kept clean/swept by the contractor during construction/demolition. 

 

Provision for an onsite wheel wash facility. 

 

Robert Coomber advised that the residents’ concerns regarding traffic had been highlighted in the report and that other items, such as the wheelwash facility, were standard conditions. As a result, he did not feel that the HRA had been disadvantaged by the omission of their comments from the report, but nonetheless apologised wholeheartedly.

 

Mr Coomber went on to present the report itself.

 

Cllr Amrit Mann advised that he had visited the school two weeks previously to present a cycling award and had found the buildings to be impractical for a school, very cold, and far from user-friendly in layout. He expressed the view that the site could not be redeveloped soon enough and that any parking issues would not be worsened from those currently existing. Cllr Mann gave the application his full support and all members present agreed.

 

Resolved:

 

That the following comments from the Area Committee shall be reported to the Sustainable Development Committee:

 

Cllr Amrit Mann stated that he felt the current school was very impractical and could not be redeveloped soon enough. He did not believe that traffic and parking issues outside the school would be worse than they currently were as a result of the development and asked the SDC to find in favour of the development. Cllrs Gopal Dhillon, Rajinder Bath, Elizabeth Hughes, Gurmail Lal and Sohan Sangha unanimously agreed with Cllr Mann.

An opportunity for members of the public to address the meeting on general issues relating to the Monitoring items on the agenda.

 

Protocol:

•        Questions will be allowed at the Chair’s discretion.

•        The Chair will normally only allow one question per item.

•        Items on the main agenda should not be raised in the open forum.

•        Individual cases cannot be discussed.

•        Items submitted to the Chair in advance of the meeting are welcomed.

Mr David Blackett, Chair of the Heston Residents’ Association, asked if there had been any feedback with regard to Osterley Lane. Heidi Shearn replied that unfortunately there had been no further progress since the last meeting. She stated that Satnam Sahota and Nick Woods were both currently on sick leave, but that she would advise them of the great importance of this issue on their return and that she would urge them to bring back a report to the Committee. Mr Blackett agreed that these problems had persisted for far too long and that whilst he had advised the last meeting that fly tipping had abated, sadly the problem had since returned.

 

Miss Margaret Bull asked if security work suggested in 2011 for the Hermitage was to be carried out. Ms Shearn advised that neither Maggie Urquhart, Historic Conservation & Urban Design Officer, nor Mr Buller, the owner, had supplied such information. She said that she would request that Ms Urquhart attended the next meeting of the Committee and would notify Miss Bull as soon as information was available. Miss Bull stated that English Heritage had offered to fund a report into the condition of the fabric of the building which Ms Urquhart had refused. Heidi Shearn responded that she would ask Ms Urquhart to clarify this for the next meeting.

 

Miss Bull asked if any enforcement action had been taken against the use of garden buildings for cooking. Cllr Elizabeth Hughes advised that one such action had proceeded in Hanworth; the owner had been told to remove cooking facilities as there was no water supply or drainage. Cllr Amrit Mann stated that he had not heard of enforcement action in Heston East and asked if cooking was permissible if an outbuilding was ancillary to housing. Robert Coomber, Area Planning Manager, advised that according to law, outbuildings could be built for purposes incidental to the house. As an example he cited permissible uses as pigeon lofts, swimming pools and stables, but said that planning permission was unlikely to be granted for an extra bedroom; however this was not always upheld on appeal. Outbuildings could be used for hobbies which can include cooking, therefore there was nothing in law to say unequivocally that outbuildings could not be used for cooking. Mr Coomber advised however that the Council was aware that people were living in outbuildings within the Borough and wanted to take action.

 

Mr Blackett asked for any news on the Vicarage Road mini roundabout and advised that Thorncliffe Road residents had informed him that very little had been done regarding anti-social behaviour (ASB) and bad parking in the area and that they were very keen that something was done to tackle these issues. Heidi Shearn advised that she would ask Gurpreet Thethy to look at the ASB issues around Thorncliffe Road and Satnam Sahota and Nick West to give an update at the next meeting regarding parking. She advised that work on the Vicarage Road mini roundabout  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

Please see the CPCG report March 2012 report (Agenda Item 9). Sergeant John Hipkiss presented the report .

 

Sgt Hipkiss advised that a new steering group was currently being set up and that a number of very effective PCSOs had left to become PCs; it was hoped that new PCSOs would be recruited after the Olympics.

 

Cllr Rajinder Bath thanked Sgt Hipkiss for the report and stated that he had received feedback from Ringway residents regarding anti-social behaviour (ASB) and alleged drug dealing involving youths gathered around the entrance to flats occupied by elderly residents. Many elderly people felt unable to use the front door because of the youths hanging around. Cllr Bath said that police had solved the problem before but it had now recurred. Sgt Hipkiss responded that police had worked with A2 Housing who had cut back surrounding foliage and had also spoken to the young people, most of whom lived locally. They had denied wrongdoing, saying that they were simply “chilling” but Sgt Hipkiss advised that they could become noisy and potentially intimidating; he stated that police would try to resolve the problem.

 

Regarding the increase in domestic burglaries over Christmas, Cllr Elizabeth Hughes asked if the police had evidence that any particular groups had been targeted by criminals, for example the elderly. Sgt Hughes advised that there was no evidence of targeting but the burglars had primarily been looking for gold as it was easy to sell on. He informed the Committee that a resident had filmed a “couple” walking slowly looking at houses. Another man had gone over a fence and entered a house, emerging with a bag which he had passed to the “couple” who had walked off hand-in-hand with it. The film included good shots of faces which would be very useful in catching and convicting the offenders. 

 

David Blackett, Chair of Heston Residents’ Association, stated that the now defunct Ringmaster system had covered around 9,000 homes whereas its replacement, Neighbourhood Link, covered just 900. He advised that the Hounslow Neighbourhood Watch Association was organising a meeting in the Civic Centre in early June to publicise the switchover. He acknowledged that the switchover had been quite well publicised but felt that significantly more was needed to be done. Gurpreet Thethy said that a problem with Neighbourhood Link was that it was entirely internet based which excluded anybody without a computer. The Data Protection Act meant that the earlier scheme’s existing database could not simply be switched over and so there was a need to publicise widely to get as many people as possible on to the new scheme.

 

An anonymous resident of the Meadows Estate advised of continuing ASB and drug dealing in the area, particularly around Legrace Avenue and Lela Avenue, adding that the Hounslow Chronicle had referred to the area as the “estate from hell.” The resident agreed, stating that since the removal of two CCTV cameras things had become much worse and he alleged that people came  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

Update by Gurpreet Thethy

Please see the report by Gurpreet Thethy, Community Safety Team (Agenda Item 10.)

 

Ms Thethy presented the report. She advised that following the closure of the Bull’s Bridge site a number of drug addicts had moved to the M4 site, bringing the total number currently present to around 40. Ms Thethy described the difficulties in removing individuals, such as the fact that many had no passports or other documentation, although the UK Border Agency (UKBA) was working with the Indian High Commission and were doing their best to identify people. Following the recent attention in the media officials from the Indian High Commission had met the local MP and Councillors and visited the site, and had since said that they would allocate an officer to the case. Ms Thethy was unable to confirm whether or not they had actually done so, but stated that UKBA had acted very quickly.

 

Ms Thethy confirmed that the Find & Treat TB Screening Van had visited the site on 13 and 15 March when they had screened 132 people. 13 had been taken to hospital with suspected TB but no cases were confirmed. 10 individuals had been found housing although Ms Thethy advised that those with drug and alcohol issues could not be rehoused. She added that Punjabi speakers were helping with these problems via Ealing DAIS.

 

Ms Thethy advised that she was emailing the Highways Agency on a daily basis as they were still denying ownership of the freehold and a response was still awaited from them. She added that the landowners either side of the bridge had now given consent for the land to be sealed off, meaning that the land could now be secured.

 

Cllr Elizabeth Hughes asked if the Council was able to recover costs from the Highways Agency as they had failed to secure the land initially. Gurpreet Thethy advised that clean-up costs had been recouped from landowners who had failed to secure sites used illegally by travellers and so she would investigate the possibility, adding that if costs were involved the Highways Agency may respond faster in future if people were to return to the site. Cllr Amrit Mann congratulated Ms Thethy and her team for their dogged determination in pursuing a very difficult task. He said that he had spoken to the Indian High Commission who had since left a message with his PA without a name or contact number. Cllr Mann expressed the opinion that the Indian High Commission did not want these individuals to return to India and so were not considering the issue of temporary visas or even admitting that they were Indian nationals. He advised that he did not know a long-term solution to this issue as he believed that the people would come back if removed from the site but said that he wanted to see the problem ended. Cllr Mann agreed that obtaining costs would help persuade the Highways Agency to make efforts to ensure that the homeless people did not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

See the report by Uttam Gujral (Agenda Item 11)

 

Sikh Welfare and Awareness team (SWAT)

 

Following a presentation of the report by Heidi Shearn, the Committee voted as follows:

 

For	Councillors Bath, Dhillon, Hughes, Lal, Mann and Sangha
Against
Abstained

 

Brabazon Estate Residents’ Association (BERA)

 

Following a presentation of the report by Heidi Shearn, the Committee voted as follows:

 

For	Councillors Bath, Dhillon, Hughes, Lal, Mann and Sangha
Against
Abstained

 

Home Start Hounslow

 

Following a presentation of the report by Heidi Shearn, the Committee voted as follows:

 

For	Councillors Bath, Dhillon, Hughes, Lal, Mann and Sangha
Against
Abstained

 

Sure Start Hounslow

 

Following a presentation of the report by Heidi Shearn, the Committee voted as follows:

 

For	Councillors Bath, Dhillon, Hughes, Lal, Mann and Sangha
Against
Abstained

 

Resolved:

 

That the Committee approved the allocation of the Area Committee Fund to the following organisation:

 

Sikh Welfare and Awareness team (SWAT)	£500
Total	£500

 

 

                       

 

That the Committee approved the allocation of the Hounslow Together Grant to the following organisations:

 

Brabazon Estate Residents’ Association (BERA)	£500
Home Start Hounslow	£500
Sure Start Hounslow	£500
Total	£1500

 

 

           

                                                           

 

                                                           

 

 

The next scheduled meeting will take place on 31 May 2012.

The next scheduled meeting will take place on 31 May 2012.

Any other items which the Chair accepts for consideration on grounds of urgency.