Agenda for Overview & Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, 12th October, 2017, 7.30 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Room 1, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA. View directions

Contact: Stacey Gilmour 

Items
No. Item

266.

WELCOME & APOLOGIES

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting.  Apologies for absence had been received from Alicia Meniru and Simon Goulden.

It was noted that Councillor Dogan Delman was substituting for Councillor Edward Smith. It was also noted that Councillor Nneka Keazor would be leaving the meeting early due to prior commitments.

267.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members of the Council are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to items on the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

268.

UPDATE ON MERIDIAN WATER

To receive a report from Peter George, Assistant Director, Regeneration & Environment. (TO FOLLOW)

Minutes:

The Chair moved this item for discussion under Part 2.

 

RECEIVED an update report on Meridian Waters provided by Peter George, Assistant Director, Regeneration & Environment.

 

Discussions were focused on the contract and the progression of the development to date.

 

It was agreed that further reports on this matter would come back to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee as and when new information became available.

 

Councillor Keazor left the meeting at this point.

269.

RETAIL IN TOWN CENTRES

This item is for discussion purposes

Minutes:

RECEIVED an update from Councillor Alan Sitkin, Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration and Business Development:

 

NOTED that:

 

(i)              It was recognised that there were currently major issues with retail in Church Street Enfield EN1, with many units now vacant. It was however pointed out that these empty units were not council properties but are in fact owned by private landlords which means that there are restraints on what the council can/are doing;

(ii)             It is known that the changing face of retail has impacted on high street shopping, in particular the introduction of more and more retail outlets as well as internet shopping. These are issues that have been discussed at previous Overview & Scrutiny meetings;

(iii)            Various ideas had been tried and tested in an attempt to increase the footfall in Enfield Town Centre. This included the French and Italian Markets which, although these had proven to be a success, it was accepted that more revolutionary ideas were needed in order to address the problem;

(iv)           Research and work has taken place in an attempt to bring the higher end businesses and retailers into the borough. However this research has shown that one of the main reasons that Enfield is unable to attract these retailers to our shopping centres and high streets is due to the fact that there is not enough people with disposable income to spend therefore creating a situation of too many shops with not enough people using the. (e.g. supply and demand);

(v)            It would seem that retailers and businesses feel that they cannot make enough money in Enfield. The question was therefore, ‘how do we change ‘the market’s’ mind’? Put simply, Enfield needs more people with more money to spend;

 

Peter George, Assistant Director, Regeneration & Environment added the following comments:

 

·       He has made dressing the void shops in the high street one of his division’s top priorities;

·       It was recognised that Enfield Council has Planning Policies that are out of date as these policies are encouraging ‘A’ class retail on to our high streets and restricting other uses getting planning. We need to be promoting A3 property usage which in turn would hopefully result in a better night-time economy and increasing the footfall in our town centres.

·       Councillor Rye added that retailers and businesses need to be informed that it is within the power of the Planning Committee to agree ‘A3’ usage and we should be proactive in encouraging offers for ‘A3’ usage;

·       The Planning Enforcement Team is currently undertaking work to enforce against the retailers whose empty units are blighting our high streets. There is also a working group looking at the evidence base and working on an Enfield Town prospectus. This will be proactive in articulating and promoting the opportunities that exist for Enfield Town with a view to attracting more businesses into the area;

·       The Enfield Town Master Plan includes a plan for the development of over one thousand new homes in the borough which will again increase the footfall in our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 269.

270.

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING pdf icon PDF 117 KB

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 6 September 2017.

Minutes:

AGREED the minutes of the meetings held on 6 September 2017.

271.

DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS

To note the date of the next meeting as follows:

 

Wednesday 8 November 2017 – Joint O&SC & Health Scrutiny Standing Workstream Meeting

Minutes:

NOTED the date of the next meeting as follows:

 

Wednesday 8 November 2017 – Joint O&SC & Health Scrutiny Standing Workstream Meeting.

272.

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

To consider, if necessary, passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 excluding the press and public from the meeting for the item of business listed in Part 2 of the agenda on the grounds that it will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in those paragraphs of Part 1 Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information)(Variation) Order 2006), as are listed on the agenda (Please note there is not a Part 2 agenda)

Minutes:

RESOLVED in accordance with the principles of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of the Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

 

273.

PART 2 AGENDA- MERIDIAN WATER UPDATE

Minutes:

See Item 268.