Agenda item

(1) Mr Cohen asked Mr Beddard what are the measurements of the rafts in the new reserve in Hackney because they are looking into building some rafts.

He also asked whether they are any chestnut trees because there is a particular moth on the leaf of the chestnut which is causing a disease and is damaging the growth of conkers and strength of chestnut tree. He requested if the leaves could be cleared up and composted. The Chairman requested to include this in the next report to the Committee.  (Action:  Ms Sawyer)

(2)  Mr Cohen added that it was agreed in a previous occasion that any Committee reports should be sent by post in advance of the meeting so that they can be considered internally.

(3)  There is a rough sleeper issues, fishing issues and Mr Cohen requested that a leaflet be produced so that this can be given to rough sleepers in order to make them aware on what the position is and they would be punished.

The Allotment society added that not all issues on the Welsh Harp are caused by rough sleepers.

The Chairman requested Barnet officers to look at the issue of signage. Ms Sawyer responded that when people are caught in the Harp, their IDs are taken and they need to report to the immigration office to receive those documents back. During operations, all IDs and photographs are recorded. They also get CPN notices when they are caught.

(4)  The Chairman welcomed Eric Holroyd from Barratt London. Mr Holroyd a copy of presentation slides and offered an update to the Committee on the West Hendon regeneration.

The majority of demolition has been undertaken. After demolition is finished Barratt will start building phase 3b in the new year. Phases 3b and 3c are due to complete in late 2018, this is a 18 months building programme.

Planning condition 40 requires monitoring of the potential construction-related noise on water birds associated with Welsh Harp and particularly Great Crested Grebe. Initial monitoring found no evidence on breeding or wintering waterfowl. The mitigation and monitoring strategy was agreed with LBB/Natural England in 2013 and included monitoring in 2 locations overlooking the northern arm of the Welsh Harp.

Although no significant demolotion took place in 2014, and no planning condition requirement Barratts voluntarily continued monitoring in 2015-2016.

Mr Holroyd outlined the outcomes of the report and explained that the great crested grebe continued to breed successfully in the northern arm of the reservoir during the monitoring period (2015-16). There have been no behavioural responses by great crested grebe to noise stimuli recorded during the monitoring period. The evidence was minimal regarding significant disturbance to other waterfowl that could be attributed to construction-related noise. Noise data indicated that baseline noise levels are relatively high and as result of this, construction work beginning and ending does not significantly change the noise profile at the Welsh Harp. These findings provide no evidence that indicates that the integrity of the Welsh Harp has been affected as a result of development at West Hendon and this conclusion is consistent with the previous monitoring report (PBA 2015)

Planning condition 42 requires monitoring of the potential effects of recreational noise on water birds associated with Welsh Harp and particularly on the Great Crested Crebe.

The approach to monitoring was agreed with Natural England in September 2015.

The monitoring included visits during winter months (2015/16) and during the first breeding season (March-July 2016) prior to the first occupation of phase 3A in June 2016. Surveys were also completed every 2 weeks during the winter and the breeding season from six survey locations. The data collected established that recreational activity in the areas adjacent to the SSSI including walking, feeding birds and dog walking, with boating activity was limited to the southern part of the reservoir.

No recreational disturbance was noted to great crested grebe during the breeding season and there is no evidence that the integrity of the SSSI is currently being eroded by recreational disturbance. There was no evidence to suggest that recreational disturbance events significantly affect the breeding or wintering waterfowl communities

Species found to be subject to disturbance were common and ubiquitous waterfowl attracted into certain areas of the reservoir to benefit from artificial feeding. These congregations of birds, close to the publically accessible areas of the bank, are inevitably periodically disturbed by people and their dogs.

Surface water drainage system is designed to ensure the flows from the redevelopment site are controlled and do not exceed those pertaining to the original site for all storm events up to an including the 1 in 100yr event with a 20% allowance for climate change . This is achieved using a flow control devise to 289l/s which is below the calculated peak flow from the existing development of 303l/s. Excess rainfall in exceedance events will temporarily be stored within the attenuation tank and released at a steady rate no greater than the peak design rate of 289l/s.  In addition to increasing the lag time between rainfall and discharge the system treats the rain water to improve the quality of the water entering the Welsh Harp.

Mr Holroyd added that they aim to create as minimal disturbance as possible with the creation of the bridge. Regarding the attenuation tank there no live data was available. They have installed one attenuation tank to date and would install five more. The Chairman asked Mr Holroyd to clarify where is the attenuation tank situated. Mr Holroyd indicated the location of the attenuation tank is shown in the master plan.

 Ms Johnson asked how many trees were being demolished. Mr Holroyd responded that this information is not available but can be reported back at the next meeting. (Action: Barratts)

Mr Johnson also asked whether the bridge is being extended. Mr Holroyd responded that they are creating a DDA compliant bridge that is why it’s being extended.

Mr Johnson also added that a lorry went past the bridge a few weeks ago. Mr Holroyd responded that this has been reported to the local authority and that it is the responsibility of the local authority.

Mr Beddard asked when the damage in the old bridge going to be repaired. Mr Holroyd added that they reported that incident to the local authority and there was some work done but not sure whether that is relevant to the incident that Mr Beddard was referring to. The Chairman requested Mr Johnson to provide a copy of the photo of the damage on the bridge.  Mr Holroyd agreed to send correspondence regarding the bridge incident and the Chairman agreed to take this forward. (Action: Cllr Khatri)

Mr Holroyd also added that for the bridge and the second bridge, the applications will be submitted and there will be a statutory consultation. If they can they will try and avoid breeding season.

Mr Hider asked how far out from the bridge is the pedestrian bridge and Mr Holroyd clarified that they are going to expand the bridge 45 metres. Mr Hider asked why there is a cycling requirement for the bridge and Mr Holroyd responded that this is a S106 requirement. They had a pre-application with the Environment Agency.  Councillor Agha, added that this discussion has already taken place when the planning permission was considered.

Mr Cohen responded that he didn’t think that the planning application has been agreed.

Mr Cohen also asked in order to avoid disturbance that the bridge should be built outside of the breeding season.

Councillor Langleben asked whether the developer is providing any education on the SSSI on the Welsh Harp and what measures are in place for bin collections since the Welsh Harp will be used more by residents.

Mr Holroyd said that Barratts is launching the community space on their website where people can raise their views and concerns. Ms Cullen said that they should get more people involved in the area.

Mr Hider asked when will they send a local welcome pack to new residents and whether there is a way to add information about the welsh harp.

Mr Holroyd responded that this is very important and that there is a possibility to add this information for existing and new residents. They would also research on what groups live around the area.