Agenda and decisions

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be dealt with under Item XX below. New items of exempt business will be dealt with at Item XX below).

Members are invited to consider the guidance which accompanies this

agenda and make declarations of interest as appropriate.

On occasions part of the Cabinet meeting will be held in private and will not be open to the public if an item is being considered that is likely to lead to the disclosure of exempt or confidential information. In accordance with the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 (the “Regulations”), members of the public can make representations about why that part of the meeting should be open to the public.

This agenda contains exempt items as set out at Item [22] : Exclusion of the Press and Public.  No representations with regard to these have been received.

This is the formal 5 clear day notice under the Regulations to confirm that this Cabinet meeting will be partly held in private for the reasons set out in this Agenda.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting of Cabinet held on 27 March 2023.

To receive the minutes of the Cabinet Procurement Committee (CPC) held on 13 March 2023 - for noting only.

To consider any items admitted at Item 2 above.

RESOLVED:

1. That the scheme for Adult, Health and Integration as set out in section 11 be given approval as follows:

Hackney Mortuary (St John’s Churchyard): Resource and spend approval of

£814k in 2023/24 is requested to increase the existing budget for the

refurbishment and remodelling works to modernise and upgrade the existing

facilities to current standards and provide additional capacity to reduce the

reliability of ‘off-site’ facilities.

2. That the scheme for Climate, Homes and Economy as set out in section

11 be given approval as follows:

Fairchilds Garden, Dalston Public Realm and Hoxton Public Realm:

Resource and spend approval is requested to fund the improvements in these three sites: £290k in 2023/24 for Fairchilds Garden, £429k in 2024/25 for Dalston Public Realm and £200k for 2024/25 for Hoxton Public Realm.

Haggerston Park Changing Places Toilet: Resource and spend approval of £47k in 2023/24 is required to reflect the grant award to meet part of the cost of the Changing Places Toilet Facility that has been installed in Haggerston Park.

Clissold House Park Toilets: Resource and spend approval of £250k in

2023/24 is requested towards the cost of refurbishing the Clissold House park toilets.

Clissold Park Old Paddling Pool: Resource and spend approval of £150k in 2023/24 is requested to deliver an alternative use for the old paddling pool site at Clissold Park.

Former Side-By-Side Site: Resource and spend approval of £300k (£150k in 2023/24 and £150k in 2024/25) is requested to fund the return of the former side by side nursery site into park use within Springfield Park.

Haggerston Park ATP Surface Replacement: Resource and spend approval of £600k (£30k in 2023/24 and £570k in 2024/25) is requested to replace the existing 3G pitch surface in Haggerston Park which is in a poor condition.

Parks and Green Spaces Green Building Fund: Resource and spend

approval of £500k (£50k in 2023/24, £150k in 2024/25 and £300k in 2025/26) is requested to fund the work to replace carbon intensive boilers in the Council’s Parks and Green Spaces Service’s buildings (primarily its depots, toilets and other ancillary buildings) with sources of heat that produce less carbon.

Parks and Green Spaces Pathway Repair Programme: Resource and spend approval of £1,000k (£250k in 2023/24, £350k in 2024/25 and £400k in 2025/26) is requested to repair and resurface a significant number of the pathways that traverse the 58 parks and green spaces in the borough.

Parks and Green Spaces Depot Refurbishment - Phase 2: Resource and spend approval of £2,500k (£150k in 2023/24, £1,050k in 2024/25 and £1,300k in 2025/26) is requested to fund the Council’s Park Depot Refurbishments Phase 2.

Play Area Phase 2 and Phase 3 Refurbishment: Resource and spend

approval of £2,500k (£580k in 2023/24, £920k in 2024/25 and £1,000k in

2025/26) is requested to fund the Phase 2 of the Park Play refurbishments in Hackney Downs, Clapton Common, Stonebridge Gardens and Well Street Common and Phase 3 refurbishment of park play areas in the borough’s parks.

3. To  ...  view the full decision text for item 9.

RESOLVED:

1. To note the overall financial position of the Council as at February 2023

as set out in this report.

2. To agree to accept the £1,804,824 of UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant and to enter into a grant agreement with the Greater London Authority regarding the governance of the expenditure.

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. To facilitate financial management and control of the Council's finances and to agree to the offer of UKSPF grant funding and enter into a grant agreement with the GLA to govern the expenditure.

RESOLVED:

1. To approve the confirmation of an Article 4 Direction (A4D) (Appendix 1) to withdraw the permitted development (“PD”) rights granted by Schedule 2, Part 3, Class MA of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) (“the GDPO”) for changes of use from Class E to a dwellinghouse (Class C3) in Hackney’s CAZ, City Fringe, and Major Town Centres area (as shown in Appendix 2).

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. The Council considers that the PD right allowing change of use from Use Class E (commercial, business and services) to C3 (dwellinghouse) without planning permission may constitute a threat to the economy, jobs and amenities of the Borough and would be prejudicial to the proper planning of the Borough, in particular the Council’s ability to prevent the loss of uses which contribute to the wider strategic aims for the area.

2. These A4Ds are considered necessary because the Council’s employment and retail planning policies are based on robust evidence which establishes a need to protect employment and commercial uses to ensure the vitality and viability of Hackney’s economy. The permitted development rights would undermine the operation of these policies and may impact negatively on the provision of employment spaces, commercial spaces and jobs in the Borough.

RESOLVED:

To approve the confirmation of an Article 4 Direction (A4D) (Appendix 1) to withdraw the permitted development (“PD”) rights granted by Schedule 2, Part 3, Class MA of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) (“the GDPO”) for changes of use from Class E to a dwellinghouse (Class C3) in Hackney’s District Town Centres and Local Shopping Centres (as shown in Appendix 2).

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. The Council considers that the PD right allowing change of use from Use

Class E (commercial, business and services) to C3 (dwellinghouse)

without planning permission may constitute a threat to the amenities,

economy and jobs of the Borough and would be prejudicial to the proper

planning of the Borough, in particular the Council’s ability to prevent the loss

of uses which contribute to the wider strategic aims for the area.

2. These A4Ds are considered necessary because the Council’s town centre,

retail and employment planning policies are based on robust evidence

which establishes a need to protect commercial and employment uses to

ensure the vitality and viability of Hackney’s town centres and economy.

The permitted development rights would undermine the operation of these

policies and may impact negatively on the provision of commercial spaces,

employment spaces and jobs in the Borough.

RESOLVED:

1. Adopt the Hackney Central Town Centre Strategy (as set out in Appendix 1) as the Council’s regeneration framework for Hackney Central town centre.

2. Agrees to accept £19.04m of capital funding via the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for Hackney Central in order to kickstart the delivery of the Town Centre Strategy and address the communities’ ambitions for Hackney Central, and, to enter into a grant agreement with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for such funding on such terms as shall be agreed by the Group Director for Climate, Homes and Economy, the Group Director for Finance and Corporate Resources, and the Director of Legal, Democratic and Electoral Services.

REASON(S) FOR DECISION

1. All town centres have experienced significant stresses recently, with the impact of covid, Brexit, the growth of online shopping, and inflation taking their toll. Hackney Central is both a Major Town Centre and a designated Area for Regeneration in the London Plan. It is a space that thousands of residents use daily as they seek to address their needs, the Council wants to take a proactive approach to respond to the issues that the community have identified in the town centre (such as poor air quality, road safety concerns, need for more affordable housing), to plan proactively and work collaboratively to deal with the challenges the area faces, and to ensure its future success.

2. Failure to positively and proactively plan for the future of Hackney Central will see the existing challenges continue to the detriment of the town centre and borough as a whole. By setting out a clear and shared vision for the future of Hackney Central, the strategy enables the Council to work together with communities, businesses, partners, landowners and other stakeholders to address these challenges.

3. The Town Centre Strategy (TCS) gives the Council what it needs to lead and

shape the strategic direction of Hackney Central in the future in line with the objectives set out in;

3.1. the Council’s Strategic Plan

3.2. the Local Plan (LP33), especially Place Policy 3 – Hackney Central and Surrounds, and

3.3. Hackney Council’s Inclusive Economy Strategy (2019) – support local neighbourhoods and town centres to thrive and to be inclusive and resilient places.

4. The TCS sets out a clear evidence, and community engagement led approach to regeneration in Hackney Central, underpinned by significant quantitative and qualitative research concerning local challenges and opportunities. It is a cross-Council strategy which guides projects and priorities of wider Council services in the town centre. As such, the strategy is a critical structure for coordinating Council projects under a shared vision, and coordinating the efficient use of Council resources, ensuring that investment in the town centre is strategic and maximises local benefit.

5. The TCS provides a vision for the future of Hackney Central, and a plan for

how to achieve this vision. This approach ensures the Council are leading future change  ...  view the full decision text for item 13.

Note from the Governance Team Leader:

Item 14 allow for the consideration of exempt information in relation to items 15 and 16.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as the

items below contain exempt information, as defined under paragraph 3 of Part 1, schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

To consider any EXEMPT items admitted at Item 2 above.