This meeting was about the spending of developer contributions from Section 106 agreements on local education projects, the transfer of a waste operator's licence to Lampton 360, and the resolution of an objection to plans to remove a parking space at Ginkgo Corner in Chiswick.

Spending of Section 106 developer contributions on education projects

The meeting report pack included a proposal for the Executive Director of Children's and Adults Services and the Executive Director of Finance and Resources to approve the allocation of £334,000 of Section 106 funding¹ to 8 school building projects. The money will be taken from existing agreements, and spent on a range of projects, from feasibility studies, to providing new playgrounds, to improving security. The largest projects to be funded were:

• £117,000 for playground improvement - capital costs following feasibility study and agreement as part of a wider review on school organisation of site at William Hogarth School
• £114,000 in top up funding to supplement the Capital Expansion Grant for expansion of childcare places following increased entitlement at Kingsley Pre-School

The report argues that the funding was required because:

The DfE allocation of £4,278,333 for 2023-24 through the School Condition Allowance (SCA) Grant is used to fund the capital maintenance programme for Community School to be delivered in 2024-25. The funding was approved by Cabinet on 5 September 2023 and is monitored by the Asset Management Advisory Group. The number and cost of the projects far exceeds the SCA budget allocation. There is no funding available from the Dedicated Schools Grant.

Transfer of the Southall Lane Waste Depot Operator's Licence to Lampton 360

The meeting report pack proposed that the Executive Director for Regeneration and Housing should approve the transfer of the licence for the Southall Lane waste depot from Hounslow Council to Lampton Recycle 360 Limited.

Lampton 360 already operate the depot, which they took over in October 2016, but the Council currently holds the operator's licence. The report argues that:

In the related Statutory Guidance on the recognition of entities by the DFT for operator licences, “Statutory document 5 – Legal entities, including insolvency and Regulation 31 and Section 57 applications.”, it is confirmed that a limited company operating vehicle, or its parent company, must hold its own licence. It is also confirmed that shareholders may not hold the licence on behalf of the company.

The report notes that this will have financial implications for both the Council and Lampton 360, as the company will become liable for a periodic license fee of around £210,000. However, the Council's licence fee will be lower when it becomes due for renewal in March 2027.

Resolution of Ginkgo Corner Statutory Consultation Objection

The meeting report pack contained a proposal to approve the removal of a parking bay opposite 209-211 Chiswick High Road, to allow for the creation of the Ginkgo Corner parklet.

The parklet is a project that aims to:

create seating, additional greenery, flood mitigation, community space and biodiversity improvement in the form of a small permanent “parklet” at Ginkgo Corner.

The report describes how the statutory consultation on this removal received one objection, from a person who was concerned that removing the parking bay would impact the amount of space available for market traders on weekends. The report says that:

The supplementary use of the car park space for market stall traders is on the provision that such temporary use is facilitated by the repurposing of existing parking bays.

The report notes that the parking bay is only 2.3 metres wide, and that the cost of amending the existing Traffic Management Order is expected to be in the region of £3,500. The report recommends that the objection is rejected, and the parking bay is removed as planned.