Agenda item

a.       Cycle lanes on the A105 

b.    Proposed abolition of Enfield Southgate constituency

c.     Replacement of Southgate Library 

d.     Upgrade of planting areas around Southgate Tube station

e.    Update on proposed new primary school in Bourneside.

A105 – Cycle Scheme - Cllr Smith - Asked for feedback on the works for the new cycle lanes on the A105. One person supported the installation of cycle lanes and highlighted the pollution caused by cars and the need to encourage residents to use alternative forms of transport.

Paul Mandel spoke about the next stage of the scheme in Enfield, Southbury Road to Ponders End. He referred to the planning difficulties that might push Phase 2 to the end of the project.  Paul also raised the issue around the Post Office in Palmers Green, which wont be able to be serviced under current proposals.

Cllr Smith then highlighted the Quieter Neighbourhood Schemes that will be introduced by the Council to prevent traffic travelling through adjacent suburban roads to avoid congestion on the A105.

Cllr Hayward – stressed the impact on businesses and that the Council is denying the drop in trade being experienced by shops since the work has started.  Shops need to ask for a reduction in business rates.

Agreement from one cyclist that the scheme has not been thought through and the benefits have not been proven. Hackney and Islington have thought through plans. Real world tests were not carried out in Enfield.

Proposed Abolition of Enfield Southgate. The objective of the proposals was to equalise the number of voters in each constituency and reduce the number of MPs by 50.

Cllr Smith discussed the second consultation and the high number of residents that had supported the retention of the constituency.  He encouraged residents to comment on the Boundary Commission website.

There will be a third consultation based on the revised report from the Commission. This is expected around Christmas 2017. Final proposals will then go to Parliament.

Replacement of Southgate Library.
Cllr Smith referred back to the last meeting of the Forum where  Sally McTernan, who is head of customer services, including the libraries, had  came to speak to residents. More money would be injected to improve the layout of the new library, but residents felt that this would not improve the situation significantly. 

One resident highlighted the lack of security when he accessed the site and library without being challenged to sign in. He also has not heard back about the level of books available. He thought the amount of books in the new library was 70% down against previous volume of books. Cllr Smith also mentioned that he accessed the site without being asked to sign in.

The car park is now locked so residents cannot park as they used to. This was being done to prevent college staff parking on the site.

Residents commented that no real consultation was done and that this process was mismanaged by the council.

It was asked how much Council budgets have been reduced? – Cllr Hayward said that the budget for libraries has been drastically cut by the Labour Council and that they now needed to be operated largely by volunteers. The libraries have been reduced in scope as an alternative to closures. A resident commented that the same happened at Palmers Green Library.

The College are also not being clear over what plans they have for the previous library site.

Cllr Smith mentioned Edmonton library has the highest footfall, but this was due in part to the Library also acting as an advice centre.  This may become  the strategic direction for other libraries.

Upgraded planting around Southgate Tube.
Cllr. Smith reported that TFL have plans for the tube station. TFL has said they will be investing to upgrade the whole area around the station and improve the parking layout for buses.   A TfL project team has been set up to manage this.  Street lighting and paving is to be improved, but this will need to fit in with the Art Deco period design of the station. A planning application is expected to be submitted after a consultation around the end of 2017.

Residents complained of the disgusting litter outside the kebab shop. Cllr. Smith will try to investigate who owns and is responsible for the mess and get it cleaned up.

Update on new Primary School on Bourneside.
Cllr Smith updated residents on the proposed School. No further progress.  Still waiting for Historic England to make a ruling.

Survey of meeting attendees. Three supported a new school in Bourneside. The rest of the room voted against.

Cllr Smith updated the meeting on the permanent primary school proposed for the Ashmole School site. (A temporary school has already opened). The Barnet council planning meeting would take place on the 29^th March. This will determine whether a permanent school will be built for 420 children.

One resident said that the park is now used much more now than in recent years. There needs to be a master plan for the park.  He said the said the scary option was that Thames Water, who wanted to sell the site, would attempt to sell it to a developer for flats. This was felt to be unlikely given the planning obstacles, but a new plan to develop the Bourneside site as properly managed open space was becoming urgent.