Council - Wednesday 18th September, 2024 7.00 pm

September 18, 2024 View on council website  Watch video of meeting  Watch video of meeting  Watch video of meeting or read trancript
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Summary

At this meeting of the full council, a number of petitions and questions were presented by members of the public, two topics were debated by Councillors, a new Instrument of Governance for the Westminster Adult Education Service (WAES) was approved, and a motion was passed relating to supporting pensioners struggling with the cost of living.

Illegal Short Term Lets

Councillor Md Shamsed Chowdhury spoke about his concerns about the rise in illegal short term lets across Westminster. He explained how, since 2015, when the then Conservative Housing Minister Brandon Lewis removed the requirement to obtain planning permission when renting a property as a short term let for less than 90 days, the situation had worsened and agents were routinely abusing the system to maximise their profits by evicting long-term tenants to make way for lucrative short lets. He said:

The level of corruption is so significant that it requires stronger primary legislation mandating individuals to register with [the] council if renting out properties as a short-let for [a] business purpose.

Councillor Chowdhury went on to describe instances of antisocial behaviour, including a rave, that he had had to call the police to deal with, as well as the difficulties he had experienced trying to get the council to enforce the existing rules. He highlighted that, despite Westminster having at least 13,000 short term lets, the council only has 2 officers tasked with enforcing the 90 day rule, and called on Councillor Matt Noble, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Renters, to increase the number of officers to at least 6 to enable the council to respond to issues more effectively.

Councillor Noble agreed with Councillor Chowdhury's concerns. He outlined the issues caused by the increase in short-term lets in the city, particularly the impact on housing supply for residents of the borough. He then explained that he was working with the government to try to reverse the changes made by the Conservative government in 2015 and introduce new legislation that requires all landlords to register with their local authority, pay appropriate business rates, and provide up to date safety information and contact details, to ensure that they comply with the law.

A new vision for biodiversity and greening in Westminster

The majority party chose to debate their new strategy for biodiversity and greening in Westminster. Councillor Ryan Jude, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, opened the debate by describing the council's plans. He said that last year's declaration of an ecological emergency in the borough had been followed up with the commissioning of the most comprehensive Green Infrastructure Audit the council had ever undertaken.

The audit, published alongside the new Biodiversity Strategy, provides a detailed analysis of the quantity and distribution of all of Westminster's parks, gardens, rivers and trees. This has revealed that, whilst overall tree canopy cover is slightly below the London average, there are vast differences between wards. He explained how the audit had also been used to map air pollution hotspots and deprivation.

Councillor Jude went on to list some of the council's achievements since the declaration of the ecological emergency, such as introducing No Mow May, banning the weed killer Glyphosate and starting a suite of greening projects in North Paddington, before outlining the 6 aims of the strategy:

  • Protecting and enhancing nature in the city
  • Establishing corridors for nature and people
  • Improving resilience to climate change and pollution
  • Making streets cleaner and more liveable
  • Ensuring access to nature for all
  • Empowering local environmental stewardship

Councillor Jason Williams, of Churchill Ward, spoke next about his ward's commitment to greening, highlighting the establishment of the Churchill Gardens Wildlife Meadow Garden as a good example of how residents can play an active role in protecting and promoting biodiversity. He explained how important it is that all residents of Westminster have equal access to good quality green spaces, regardless of their income or location in the borough, and expressed his support for the council's Greening Westminster Programme, which provides grants of up to £50,000 to community groups wishing to undertake greening projects.

Councillor Iman Less then spoke about the importance of green spaces for the physical and mental wellbeing of residents. She described the urban heat island effect, where densely built-up urban areas can be significantly hotter than surrounding areas, and explained how creating more green spaces would help to mitigate this effect, as well as help to prevent future flooding like that which recently occurred in her Maida Vale ward. She explained how access to nature helps to reduce anxiety, stress and depression and how vital it is that the council provides accessible green spaces across the borough.

Councillor Geoff Barraclough then outlined how the council is putting the strategy into practice. He explained how the council had doubled the budget of the Greening Westminster programme to £400,000, and how the money was being spent on a range of projects such as transforming a tarmac yard at St John the Evangelist Church in Kensal Green into a community garden, supporting the planting of 5,000 new plants at the Covent Garden Playground and Nature Garden, and transforming the Onion Garden behind City Hall on Victoria Street. Councillor Barraclough then spoke about the council's plans to use its planning powers to require developers to make a 30% net gain in biodiversity on all new developments.

Councillor Ed Pitt Ford, of Lancaster Gate Ward, spoke last. He expressed his frustration that, despite numerous previous strategies on climate change and biodiversity that had been published by the council, very little had changed, and called on the council to stop talking and to start taking action. He said:

What we need is clear targets. Some might call it leadership. It's time we stop dancing around the issue and start asking the tough questions. How many car parking space need to give way to trees and by when? How many miles of hedgerows can we plant? How do we create more parks?

Councillor Jude finished the debate by thanking Councillors for their contributions and responding to Councillor Pitt Ford's concerns about inaction. He explained that this strategy was a substantial step forward from the 2019 Biodiversity Action Plan, which had not led to any meaningful changes in the borough.

Ensuring sustainable and safe dockless bike and scooter hire operations in Westminster

The opposition party chose to debate dockless bike and scooter hire operations in Westminster, and in particular the issues caused by a lack of parking facilities for the bikes. Councillor Ed Pitt Ford opened the debate. He said that the surge in demand for e-bikes in Westminster had not been matched by the council's provision of parking bays for them, and said that the council's failure to provide enough parking bays was contributing to the large numbers of bikes being irresponsibly parked on pavements. He finished by saying that, if the council was serious about promoting cycling and achieving its environmental objectives, it needed to start taking action now.

Councillor Judith Southern agreed with Councillor Pitt Ford, and spoke about the importance of promoting cycling as a safe, sustainable transport option. She said:

As with every council meeting, I cycled here tonight.

She argued that it was the council's responsibility to provide adequate numbers of parking bays, but that the council should also be working with the hire companies to ensure that they rigorously enforce the rules relating to parking, fining riders who park irresponsibly.

Councillor Elizabeth Hitchcock then spoke about the difficulties that many residents with mobility issues were experiencing because of bikes being left in inappropriate locations, and gave the example of a headmistress who was worried that her pupils wouldn't be able to access a local theatre to perform their school play because of the possibility of bikes blocking their access.

Councillor Tim Mitchell explained how he and his colleagues had successfully worked with the council and hire companies in the past to resolve issues with e-bikes in Covent Garden, and questioned why the same approach wasn't being taken to deal with problems in other parts of the borough. He said:

Every bike is tracked, every user's details and journey is traced, every time a bike is parked it is photographed, and every square meter of Westminster can be controlled by the hire companies through their GPS tools.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Cabinet Member for City Management and Air Quality, responded to the debate by saying that the council was already taking action. He explained that Westminster has 3,400 e-bike parking spaces, more than any other borough in London, and that the council was working to expand the network of parking bays. He said that he agreed that the council should be doing more to enforce the existing rules and that he was working to get the government to introduce new legislation that would give councils more powers to fine users who park irresponsibly.

Winter Fuel Allowance and Protecting Pensioners from Fuel Poverty

The meeting concluded with a motion put forward by the opposition party that related to the government's decision to change the rules relating to the Winter Fuel Allowance. The allowance, which is a payment made to people of pension age to help them heat their homes in the winter, was previously paid to anyone born on or before 22 September 1958.

The new rules, introduced by the Labour government, mean that the allowance will only be paid to people who are also in receipt of Pension Credit, a benefit for people on low incomes. Councillor Lorraine Dean, who moved the motion, argued that this change would leave many of Westminster's most vulnerable pensioners struggling to heat their homes.

An amendment to the motion was proposed by Councillor Adam Hugg, the Leader of the Council, which instead called on the council to support pensioners in claiming Pension Credit and other benefits they are entitled to, as well as to deliver its existing Cost of Living support programmes, such as the Winter in the City scheme. The amendment was passed, and the amended motion was then voted on and also passed.

Other business

The council also approved a new Instrument of Governance for WAES, which defines the responsibilities of the service and its governing body. The council also noted the Annual Report of the Audit and Performance Committee, the Biennial Standards Committee report, and adopted a Policy on Disclosure and Barring Service checks for Councillors.

Attendees

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