Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED - That the minutes of the meeting of the Welsh Harp Consultative Committee held on 18 July 2012 were approved as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Alison Hopkins who was substituted by Councillor Javid Ashraf.  Apologies for absence were also received from Councillor Hugh Rayner, Councillor Roxanne Mashari, and Councillor Harbhajan Singh.

No interests were declared. 

Matthew Cox, the architect representing Allies and Morrison provided the committee with an overview of the project, and outlined the proposed development around the Site of Special Scientific Interest.  He informed the committee that the highest building proposed within the scheme would be ground plus 28 storeys.  He also informed the committee that the scheme would meet GLA standards of space. 

The committee considered the presentation and raised various issues, including:

• Concerns over the height of the buildings, the highest of which was proposed to be ground plus 28 storeys.
• Concerns over the availability for parking in the area.
• That there were not enough community and health provisions in place for the additional 6,000 people that the scheme envisaged. 
• Whether wall gardens could be created to increase the green environment of the area.
• Whether the spiritual needs of the increasing number of residents had been considered. 
• Concerns that for the 2,000 new homes, there was no place for the community to congregate properly. 

Leslie Williams, Brent Council’s Strategy and Service Development Officer presented the report, which outlined the progress on the Brent Reservoir / Welsh Harp Management Plan.  He informed the committee that as many comments as possible had been included within the Management Plan.  He highlighted the updates and requested that any inaccuracies be brought to his attention.

The committee considered the report and raised various issues including:

• The problem of alluvium:  the Chairman suggested that a cost free option would be to ask the Territorial Army’s Royal Engineers to remove it.
• The presence of algae: The committee were informed that there was increasing amount of effluents in the reservoir. The Committee questioned whether there were any penalties for misconnected drainage, leading to sewage ending up in the water.  Jenny Warren, from Barnet Greenspaces Service informed the committee that Thames Water will be putting together a special team to focus on this topic, and that she would keep the committee updated on progress.  The committee also noted that there was a particular problem in the Dollis Brook area.  The committee was informed by Jenny Warren that Local Authorities were working together to address this matter.  The Chairman informed the committee that he had been informed that the algae might be removed by filtering water with barley straw, and requested that this be considered. 

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted.  

Jenny Warren, Barnet Council’s Principle Greenspaces Manager introduced the report, which outlined the position on the Local Nature Reserve, and on-going site management. 

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted. 

·         Clearance of Algae - The committee discussed a complaint that had been made to a Ward Councillor by a constituent who had had algae dumped outside her house.  The committee discussed the process behind the clearance of algae and noted that pond weed also grew very quickly. 

·         Fireworks – The committee noted the recent increase in fireworks around the reservoir, and noted that fireworks could have a negative impact on wildlife. 

RESOLVED –

1)     That the contents of the report be noted.

2)      That Officers seek clarification on the conditions surrounding the use of fireworks by the lake, and report back to the committee.

There were no such items.