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For the most recent news see Campaign News. For the previous section of the archive see Campaign News - Archive X. See below for news on:Streatham skaters at European Championships 17th-22nd Jan 2006 (added 12.01.06) Streatham Ice Arena on "Disappearing London" ITV programme, 14th Feb 2006 (added 12.01.06) Procurement process in progress (updated 12.01.06) Section 106 agreement being finalised (updated 28.08.05) Streatham Storm promoted (added 06.08.05) GOL decides 'non-intervention' - that means yes (updated 01.04.05) Ken Livingstone lifts his direction (says yes to the Hub scheme) (added 23.12.04) Streatham skaters at British Championships 1st-4th Dec 2004 (updated 10.12.04) GLA Officers report to Ken Livingstone 24th Nov 2004 (updated 10.12.04) Hub at Environment Scrutiny Sub Committee 17th Nov 2004 (updated 02.12.04) Answers from Ken Livingstone (added 11.11.04) Report on leisure funding to Council Exec 28th September (updated 11.11.04) Section 106 agreement to Planning Committee 10th August (added 9.9.04) What is a "short period"? (added 9.9.04) Executive resolution for extra leisure funding (updated 9.9.04) For even older news see Campaign News - Archive ZStreatham skaters at European Championships 17th-22nd Jan 2006Streatham ice dancers Phillippa Towler-Green and Phillip Poole are competing at the European Championships in Lyon, France, 17th-22nd January 2006. In last year's European Championships, British Champions Sinead and John Kerr came 8th, which entitles Great Britain to two places this year. Pippa and Phillip were this year's British silver medallists, and the second place is theirs! There was an article about British skating featuring Pippa and Phillip and the Streatham rink in 12th January Guardian Sports section. It is online here: http://sport.guardian.co.uk/columnists/story/0,10260,1684355,00.html Unfortunately we will not see them on terrestrial TV, but if you have access to Eurosport there is coverage of the entire event. The dance sections will be on Tuesday afternoon (Compulsory Dance), Thursday afternoon (Original Dance) and Friday evening (Free Dance). Back to Top of Page Streatham Ice Arena on "Disappearing London" ITV programme, 14th Feb 2006A film crew came to Streatham Ice Arena for a series "Disappearing London" about London landmarks that are going. The series will be broadcast each Tuesday at 7.30pm on ITV London from January 10th until February 14th 2006. The Streatham item will be in the last show (Feb 14th). Back to Top of Page Procurement process in progressThe procurement process for the new leisure centre is proceeding. This process is expected to take about 18 months to complete. The first step was the advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) which appeared on 1st April. The deadline for initial expressions of interest was 13th May. Lambeth received three submissions. They all passed the initial pre-qualification stage. An Invitation to Submit Outline Proposals (ISOP) was issued to all three bidders on 23rd June. The purpose of the ISOP is to get bidders doing some preliminary thinking about how they are going deliver the project before ITN (Invitation to Negotiate) stage. The response deadline was Friday 29th July. The target date for the Invitation to Negotiate stage is now end September 2005. For more details see the project update for July 2005 at Project Updates 12Jan06: Since this item was written the process has continued and is progressing, but the current phase is confidential. More information will be posted when publicly available. Back to Top of Page Section 106 agreement being finalisedThe text of the Section 106 agreement (the legal agreement that goes with the planning consent) was agreed between Lambeth and Tesco at a meeting on 29th July 2005. The GLA have verbally advised council officers (to be confirmed in writing) that there are no problems with the agreement as finalised, i.e. they are happy with the changes since the version they approved at the start of this year. The council solicitors have been instructed to complete the agreement based on this version. When the agreement has been signed and planning permission issued the next step in the procurement, the Invitation to Negotiate (planned for September), will be able to go ahead. We had thought the agreement was all ready to be signed as soon as the GOL approval came through, and hearing that there were still negotiations going on caused some anxiety. SISAG asked the planning department what details were still being discussed, and for reassurance that they did not affect the clauses about ice rink continuity. The reply said:
Back to Top of Page Streatham Storm PromotedStreatham Storm, the women's hockey team, were promoted to the Premier league. Next season will be very exciting as they will have one premier team and one first division team. For more details see their website http://www.streathamstorm.co.uk Back to Top of Page GOL decides 'non-intervention - that means yesThe next stage after the Mayor's decision was the referral to the Government Office for London (GOL). Because of the shopping part of the scheme the Council was required to refer the application to GOL under the Town and Country Planning (shopping Development)(England and Wales)(No2) Direction 1993 which is part of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. After some delay due to the complexity of the scheme, the GOL decided 'non-intervention'. This means that the scheme can go ahead. After this decision the Section 106 agreement can be signed and the procurement process for the new leisure centre will be able to start. Preparatory work is already under way. Back to Top of Page Ken Livingstone direction (says yes to the Hub scheme)On 22nd December 2004, the Mayor lifted his direction order on the Streatham Hub application. Negotiations to achieve this milestone have been going on since his original direction in March 2003. Because of the amount of retail in the scheme, it now goes to the Government Office for London (GOL). They have 21 days within which to decide whether they are happy for Lambeth to issue the planning permission. Then the section 106 (S106) agreement can be signed. This is the legal agreement that goes with the consent, and contains the clauses to ensure that the existing rink stays open. With that agreement in place, the procurement process will begin for the contracts to build the new leisure centre. Back to Top of Page Streatham skaters at British Championships 1st-4th Dec 2004The British Ice Figure and Dance Championships 2004 took place in Nottingham 1st - 4th December, and four Streatham-based ice dance couples did extremely well! In the Juniors
and in the Seniors
Two podium places and two 4ths would be great results in any case, but are especially so considering that conditions at the rink were less than ideal in the run-up to the Championships (boiler problems, thankfully now resolved). You can see full results here or here A photo of Harry and Emma on the podium here Pippa and Phillip on the podium (with Jayne Torvill in front of them) here Back to Top of Page GLA Officers report to Ken Livingstone 24th Nov 2004GLA officers submitted their report on the Streatham Hub to the Mayor on 24th November 2004. He is still considering whether to lift his direction to refuse planning permission, and has asked for more information about some aspects of the Section 106 agreement (the legal agreement that would accompany planning consent). Lambeth planning department says that Officers from Lambeth and representatives of Tesco have been discussing the Mayor's concerns with officers at the GLA and are hoping that these issues will be resolved and that a report will be going back up to the Mayor on 22nd December. Back to Top of Page Hub at Environment Scrutiny Sub Committee 17th Nov 2004The Lambeth Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Sub Committee met in public on Wednesday 17th Nov 2004. The Streatham Hub was on the agenda. The Committee previously raised issues raised largely relate to the proposed losure of the swimming pool; Transport for London (TfL) facilities; funding, easibility and costs of the project; and the processing time. A report on this issues was presented at the meeting. To find the report and other documents for the meeting go to http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/services/government-democracy Click on 'Meetings and Events' scroll down November 17th and click on the link for the meeting. Alternatively, you can find the report directly here Back to Top of Page Answers from Ken LivingstoneBelow are links to two questions and answers from the Mayor's questions on 20th October 2004, and a further question tabled for 17th November 2004 (no answer yet). Meeting date 20/10/04. Question by Mike Tuffrey. Question no 1317/2004 Question by Valerie Shawcross. Question no 1370/2004 Meeting date 17/11/04. Question by Mike Tuffrey. Question no 1662/2004 The Mayor is still considering whether to lift his direction to refuse. We understand that the GLA officers are currently aiming to report to him on 24th November 2004. Back to Top of Page Report on leisure funding to Council Executive 28th SeptemberA report on leisure funding (including the new Streatham Leisure Centre) was presented to the Lambeth Executive on 28th September 2004. For meeting details and documents ee the Lambeth website http://www.lambeth.gov.uk This was one of the key next steps. The other is Mayor Ken Livingstone's reconsideration of the planning application, expected in November. If he grants permission the Section 106 can be signed and the process can move on to the next stage - the PPP procurement for the new leisure centre. Back to Top of Page Section 106 agreement to Planning Committee 10th AugustThe report on the Section 106 agreement was presented to the Lambeth Planning Applications Committee (PAC) on Tuesday 10th August. The report is available at http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/intradoc/groups/public/documents/report/027035.pdf The paragraphs about ice rink continuity are 4.1 and 4.2 . SISAG Secretary Saki Hajnal spoke on behalf of SISAG and emphasised that we were very keen that the Section 106 agreeement be signed. There is at present no legal protection for the ice rink, and we are relying on this agreement to keep the rink open, and preserve the future of skating in Streatham. However, we were disconcerted to see that a new clause has appeared since the interim report of February 2004. Clause 4.2 (a) now says that the developer shall be released from the obligation to keep the ice rink open if the Council has not reached a certain stage (Best and Final Offers) in the procurment process within 3 years of planning permission being granted. We have previously been told that the PPP bidding process is normally expected to take 18 months to 2 years. Every stage of the process so far has taken longer than expected. It is not surprising that Tesco do not want a completely open-ended commitment, but a 3-year time limit does not allow much margin. We do not want to come to a meeting in 2 1/2 years time to be told that there has been a delay, and there’s nothing that the Council can do about it. We asked for reassurance that meeting the 3-year deadline is in fact within the Council’s control. John Harrison (Lambeth solicitor) replied that in the negotiations there has to be a balance between the Council's requirement to ensure continuity and Tesco's wish to manage risk. It is true that the estimated period is 18 months, so if this stage is not reached within 3 years something is seriously wrong. There would be a strong incentive for Tesco to extend the period if things were moving in the right direction, but also a strong incentive for Lambeth to get on with the process. 3 years was the longest period the Council were able to negotiate. Another clause in the Section 106 agreement specifies that the rink can be closed for short periods for refurbishment, redecoration, health and safety maintenance works. There was some anxiety about the meaning of "short periods". See separate item below. Most of the meeting was taken up (as in previous meeting) by long discussions on the percentage of affordable housing and the arrangements for the swimming pool. Officers were instructed to ask Tesco if they would contribute to the costs of transport for schools etc to alternative pools during the interim, but were told that they must report back on this question in September so as not to cause any further delay. The next important steps are the presentation of the report on leisure funding the council executive, and Ken Livingstone's reconsideration of the application. Back to Top of Page What is a "short period"?A clause in the section 106 agreements allows the ice rink to be closed for "short periods" for maintenance etc. At the PAC meeting on 10th August there was some concern about what this means. The actual wording of the Section 106 Agreement is quite complex, but the upshot is that in the first 8 months after the section 106 is signed Tesco wouldn't be in breach of their requirements to keep the existing ice rink open if it was closed because the tenant is prevented from keeping it open by reason of destruction or damage due to certain specified risks or by some other cause beyond the tenant's control or because closure is necessary to carry out substantial repairs, alterations or additions to the rink or to complete an assignment or under lease or because it would be unlawful otherwise. Before and after this eight month period Tesco will not be in breach if the rink is closed for short periods not exceeding (a) 6 weeks in any one calendar year and (b) 3 continuous weeks at any time for refurbishment, redecorations, health and safety works or maintenance works provided that such works are reasonably necessary and the closure is for the minimum period reasonably necessary. The public should be notified at least 4 weeks in advance of any closure. The reason for the slightly different rules within and after the 8 months is that Tesco have a current lease agreement with the existing operator and that agreement does not contain clauses (a) and (b) (although there are provisions requiring them to keep the ice rink open for business throughout normal trading hours). Tesco have the ability to alter the current lease and will need to do so within the 8 month period so as to honour clauses (a) and (b). Back to Top of Page Executive resolution for extra leisure fundingAt the meeting of the Lambeth Executive on 26th July 2004, they passed a resolution
SISAG spoke briefly with Councillor Lumsden (Executive Member for Finance) at the end of the meeting to ask for clarification of what this means. The "commutation adjustment" is extra money that the council now has as a result of correcting previous accounting errors (apparently not just Lambeth - there was a miscalculation that has affected several boroughs). It has yielded a large lump sum this year and has some effect continuing in future years. The £1m mentioned is £1m per year. The existing subsidies to the Streatham, Clapham and Brixton leisure centres together are over £2m pounds per year. These amounts had already been taken into account in modelling the funding for redevelopment. The extra million approved yesterday will bring the amount to over £3m per year. Obviously this is not extra money just for Streatham, but part of it is for Streatham, and should help to reassure the Mayor that the Lambeth part of the funding proposals is assured. The other positive news is that the remaining issues in the Section 106 legal agreement between Lambeth and Tesco have been resolved and it should be ready to come for approval to the Planning Applications Committee on 10th August. It is hoped that the Mayor will review all the developments soon and lift his direction to refuse the planning application in September. Councillor Lumsden said that there had been a "much warmer reception" in recent meetings with the GLA. After a frustrating period over and since the elections, things are looking more optimistic for progress over the next couple of months. Back to Top of Page For even older news see Campaign News - Archive Z |
Page last updated: 5th October 2008
