Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the Victoria Park Action Plan.

RECOMMENDED that the Leader of the Council with responsibilities for  Planning, Regeneration and Economic Development approves the Victoria Park Action Plan.

(TAKE IN REPORT)

The Assistant Director of Culture and City Development introduced the report stating that it was a framework/guidance document not a hard and fast plan. The Action Plan was being brought to PRED as Victoria Park is seen as an important part of the city.  The document would form part of a larger plan going forward which would go to the full Cabinet with recommendations.

Written representations had been received from Janice Burkinshaw and Martin Chalk. Deputation requests had been made by Ms Hilary Reed, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson and Councillor Lee Hunt.

Ms Hilary Reed made her deputation which included the following points;

·         A request that the item be withdrawn

·         An assertion that the Equality Impact Assessment was defective and non-compliant

·         That community involvement and consultation should be carried out before any decision was taken

·         Requested an explanation of why this had been separated from the Public Realm Strategy.

Councillor Vernon-Jackson made his deputation which included the following points:

·         that the item should not be decided today so that consultation could take place as happened for the Seafront Strategy

·         Failing that, he requested that the paragraph entitled Project Description on page 13 of the report and the paragraph headed "Aviary Removal/Band stand Facility" be deleted

·         That Art & Soul Traders be offered a renewal of their lease.

Councillor Lee Hunt made his deputation which included the following points:

·         He supported all the points made by Councillor Vernon-Jackson.

·         He said it would be helpful if the letter sent to Mr Lewis was withdrawn

·         He suggested that perhaps students could help with the consultation as they had with the Seafront Strategy

·         He thought the paper was premature and hoped it would be withdrawn

Councillor Donna Jones thanked those making deputations and invited questions from opposition spokespersons.

In response to a query about why the original Equality Impact Assessment had been withdrawn, the Assistant Director of Culture and City Development said that because this was a guidance/framework document, it was not possible to assess the impact. If this was taken forward today, the next step would be to seek authority from Cabinet to go out for public consultation - usually 6-8 weeks.  The process would be similar to that used for Supplementary Planning Documents and once the results of the consultation were known, an Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) would be done at that stage.

The legal adviser, Mr Robert Parkin, said that although the Council has a public sector equality duty,  he explained that the law does not require an EIA on every occasion.  The decision today is to adopt a framework so there are no consequences yet that would enable an EIA to be carried out at this stage.  The original EIA distributed with the papers had therefore been withdrawn. 

The Assistant Director of Culture and City Development said that the document was intended to set out ideas that would help developers in the future.

Councillor Jones said that she recognised this was an emotive subject and said that full consultation would take place.  She thanked all those who were in attendance in the public gallery.  She referred to a written representation received from Janice Burkinshaw concerning the importance of retaining the hedges around the park for several reasons including for birds.  Councillor Jones wanted to reassure people that the document is not stating what the Council will do, it is just a springboard for consultation. She said the birds and animals will stay, but it may be that the aviary will be re-sited but there were no details as yet.  The Council has been working with the University and Shaping Portsmouth Partnership in relation to the site.

With regard to the Lodge, Councillor Jones said that she had found the comments made by Mr Lewis at Council on 12 July pragmatic and useful.  She advised that she had met with him to discuss options.

In summary Councillor Jones said that the decision today was not about detail.  Victoria Park is a very important site and it was important to keep all options open.

DECISION:

That the Leader of the Council with responsibilities for Planning, Regeneration and Economic Development approved the Victoria Park Action Plan.