This week in Southwark:

• The Planning Committee (Smaller Applications) was scheduled to discuss the redevelopment of South Dock Marina and new sports facilities at Dulwich Sports Club.
• The Overview & Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss the council's Delivering Southwark 2030 strategy and a new cabinet scrutiny protocol.
• The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to review a premises licence application for Delicias Colombianas on the Old Kent Road, with concerns raised by police and residents.

Planning Committee (Smaller Applications) - Tuesday 06 May 2025

The Planning Committee (Smaller Applications) was scheduled to discuss two planning applications: the redevelopment of South Dock Marina and the construction of new sports facilities at Dulwich Sports Club.

South Dock Marina Redevelopment

The committee was scheduled to consider a full planning application for the refurbishment of South Dock Marina boatyard at Rope Street. The proposal included demolishing all buildings and structures, renewing services infrastructure, and constructing new workshops, studios, and boat repair areas. A new 50-tonne crane and pontoon were also planned, along with public realm works and additional trees.

The report pack noted that 80% of the new workspace would be affordable, exceeding the 10% requirement in the Southwark Plan 2022. The addendum report noted concerns from the Southwark Law Centre on behalf of the South Dock Marina Berth Holders Association, regarding boatyard business units, a ban on sleeping on boats, and the loss of a community garden.

Dulwich Sports Club

The committee was scheduled to consider a full planning application for the construction of outdoor playing facilities and a sports pavilion at Dulwich Sports Club on Giant Arches Road. The proposal included reducing the number of tennis courts from 11 to 10, but increasing the number of floodlit courts from 5 to 8. Five new floodlit paddle courts were also planned, along with a sports pavilion.

The report pack noted that the site is designated as Metropolitan Open Land¹ and is adjacent to a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. The application was withdrawn by the applicant.

Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday 07 May 2025

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday 7 May 2025 to discuss the council's delivery plan, cabinet scrutiny protocol, and work programme.

Delivering Southwark 2030

The committee was scheduled to receive a report regarding the Delivering Southwark 2030 strategy¹. The report pack included the Creating Good Lives Together: Southwark 2030 Delivery Plan for 2025/26, which was agreed at Cabinet in February 2025, following the agreement of the Southwark 2030 Strategy at Council Assembly in November 2024.

The delivery plan builds on the previous Fairer, Greener, Safer Delivery Plan (2022 – 26), adopted by Cabinet in September 2022. The 2030 Delivery Plan outlines priorities and objectives, representing major commitments to the people of Southwark for the next year, structured around six goals and an internal-facing council goal: decent homes for all, a good start in life, a safer Southwark, a strong and fair economy, staying well, a healthy environment, and a well-run council.

The report pack stated that the Southwark 2030 strategy was developed in line with the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), and that a £3m enabling Southwark 2030 budget funded from reserves was previously agreed by Cabinet.

Cabinet Scrutiny Protocol

The committee was scheduled to receive a report regarding the Cabinet Scrutiny Protocol. The protocol was developed to support recommendations from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) Scrutiny Improvement Review, specifically to strengthen collaborative relationships between scrutiny, Cabinet, and Directors while maintaining the independence of scrutiny.

The protocol sets out how cabinet and scrutiny will work together, the development of the overview and scrutiny committee / commission work programmes, with a focus on key council priorities.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to note the work programme as at 7 May 2025. The work programme document lists items which have been or are to be considered in line with the committee’s terms of reference.

Licensing Sub-Committee - Thursday 08 May 2025

The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to convene to consider a licensing matter. The main item for discussion was a review of a premises licence application for Delicias Colombianas, located at 720-722 Old Kent Road, London SE15 1NG.

Licensing Act 2003: Delicias Colombianas, 720-722 Old Kent Road, London SE15 1NG

The sub-committee was scheduled to review an application made by Sigifredo Ramirez to vary the premises licence for Delicias Colombianas, a Latin American restaurant and cocktail bar with a dancing space.

Sigifredo Ramirez applied to extend the hours for the sale of alcohol and regulated entertainment until 04:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and to increase the maximum number of people permitted on the premises from 120 to 200. He also requested to remove a condition preventing the sale of spirits by the bottle.

The Metropolitan Police Service raised concerns that the additional hours would effectively turn the premises into a nightclub, and that increasing the capacity and removing the condition on bottle sales would fail to prevent uncontrolled excessive consumption of alcohol. The council’s environmental protection team stated that the hours are excessive for the area and not in line with the Southwark statement of licensing policy, and that being a residential area, the extended hours would negatively impact surrounding residential properties.

Five representations were received from local residents, who raised concerns regarding the extension of hours and the proximity of the premises to residential dwellings. They also expressed concern that existing antisocial behaviour in the area would likely be exacerbated by a late-night premises, negatively impacting existing and future residents of the extended Ledbury Estate.

The report pack noted that the premises lies outside of a cumulative impact area¹ and a residential area.

This week in Southwark:

• The Planning Committee (Major Applications) A was scheduled to discuss the Borough Triangle business relocation strategy and the Canada Water Retail Park redevelopment.
• The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to review a premises licence application for Afrikiko, 871 Old Kent Road, which has a history of licensing issues.
• The Environment Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to discuss Thames Water's street works, Transport for London's (TfL) contributions to environmental health, and responses to draft planning documents.

Planning Committee (Major Applications) A - Tuesday 29 April 2025

The Planning Committee (Major Applications) A was scheduled to discuss several key planning applications and strategies. These included the Borough Triangle Business Relocation Strategy and the redevelopment of the Canada Water Retail Park, as well as a deed of variation to a Section 106 agreement[^2].

Borough Triangle Business Relocation Strategy

The committee was scheduled to review the draft Business Relocation Strategy (BRS) for the Borough Triangle development, located at 18-54 Newington Causeway, 69 Borough Road, and 82-83 Borough Road. This strategy is crucial for managing the relocation of businesses affected by the development, particularly those currently operating within Mercato Metropolitano. The strategy includes several key components, such as a temporary food market, an independent business advisor, a business relocation fund of £200,000, a new permanent market, a trader steering group, and relocation information. The existing Mercato Metropolitano will remain open until the temporary food market is ready, ensuring continuity for traders.

Canada Water Retail Park Redevelopment

The committee was also scheduled to consider planning application 24/AP/3718 for the comprehensive redevelopment of Unit 1 and 4 Canada Water Retail Park, located on Surrey Quays Road. The proposal involves demolishing existing buildings and constructing new commercial and residential buildings. This includes two commercial buildings (Plots A1 and A2) for offices, retail, and food and drink outlets, and two buildings (B1 and B2) for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and residential units. The development also includes landscaping, cycle parking, and new vehicular access points. The application site is subject to a consented Outline Planning Permission (OPP) ref. 21/AP/2655, approved in January 2023, and Reserved Matters Applications (‘RMAs’) have already been approved for Plots A1, A2, and their related basements.

Deed of Variation to a Section 106 Agreement

The committee was scheduled to consider a report regarding a Deed of Variation to a Section 106 agreement (25/AP/0738) related to the planning consent 12/AP/4126 (as amended) for Unit 1 and 4 Canada Water Retail Park (formerly known as Canada Water Sites C and E) on Surrey Quays Road. The proposed variation relates to amending payment triggers for the Additional Affordable Housing Payment secured in a previous Deed of Variation dated 18 January 2023. The key issue for consideration is whether the proposed changes to the legal agreement would remain compliant with the legal tests set out in Regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010. The recommendation was to agree to delegate authority to negotiate and complete the Deed of Variation.

Licensing Sub-Committee - Tuesday 29 April 2025

The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to review a premises licence application for Afrikiko, located at 871 Old Kent Road. The application, submitted by Afrikiko Restaurant & Night Club Limited, seeks permission for late-night refreshment, live music, and the sale of alcohol until the early hours of the morning.

The Metropolitan Police Service, the environmental protection team, and health and safety representatives have all lodged representations against the application. The Metropolitan Police Service raised concerns about the premises' history, citing two previous summary reviews under the current management. The environmental protection team argued that the application did not adequately address the prevention of public nuisance, particularly concerning noise and disturbance during late hours. Health and safety representatives presented evidence of safety issues, including a Prohibition Notice served by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) in summer 2023 and more recent Improvement Notices issued in February 2025.

The report pack highlights the location of the premises outside of a cumulative impact area[^4] but within a residential zone. It references the Southwark statement of licensing policy, which recommends a closing time of 23:00 for restaurants and public houses in such areas, and states that night clubs are not considered appropriate.

The report pack details the premises' history, noting that it previously faced two expedited reviews, one in 2017 following a murder in the car park and another in 2020 for breaching licensing conditions and Covid-19 regulations, leading to the revocation of the premises licence.

Environment Scrutiny Commission - Wednesday 30 April 2025

The Environment Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to meet to discuss several key environmental issues. These included Thames Water's street works, Transport for London's (TfL) contributions to environmental health, and responses to draft planning documents.

Thames Water and Network Management

The commission was scheduled to discuss ways to improve the reinstatement of streets after Thames Water sub-contractors complete their work. James Abbott, Local Engagement Manager, Public Affairs, Thames Water, alongside Ian Law, Traffic Manager, and Paul Lowbridge, Roads and Street Works Manager, were expected to attend the meeting.

Transport for London (TfL)

TfL was invited to contribute to the scrutiny review on Environmental Health. This contribution was expected to cover infrastructure updates aimed at increasing active travel[^2], partnership work to deliver Streets for People[^3], and improvements to cycling safety, particularly in identified safety hotspots.

Climate and Environment & Householder Draft SPD Commission Response

The Environment Scrutiny Commission was scheduled to note the completed response to the draft Climate and Environment SPD and draft Householder SPD. The commission's response highlighted several areas for attention, drawing on past reviews and recommendations. These included energy efficiency, biodiversity improvements, and guidance on air-conditioning in the Householder SPD. The commission expressed concern that energy supplied by District Heating Networks (DHNs) often originates from SELCHP, which they argued is not genuinely a low carbon source. The commission also recommended prioritising the development of a Green Infrastructure Strategy to map out a coherent Ecological Network for Southwark.

This week in Southwark:

• The Housing, Community Safety and Community Engagement Scrutiny Commission discussed cabinet responses to housing allocations, homelessness, heating outages, fire safety, policing, and tenant structures.
• Unfortunately, no information was made available about the meeting of the Unknown committee on Wednesday 23 April 2025.

Housing, Community Safety and Community Engagement Scrutiny Commission - Tuesday 22 April 2025

The Housing, Community Safety and Community Engagement Scrutiny Commission met on 22 April 2025 to discuss cabinet responses to a review of housing allocations, homelessness, heating and hot water outages, fire safety and policing in Southwark, as well as an interim report on tenant structures and the commission's work programme for the year 2024-2025.

Cabinet Responses to Review of Housing, Community Safety and Community Engagement

The commission was scheduled to note the cabinet’s responses to the Review of Housing Allocations, Homelessness, and Heating & Hot Water Outages, Fire Safety and Policing in Southwark. The cabinet responses were divided into two reports, with a further response to Recommendation 12 provided separately by council officers.

The original review contained 12 recommendations.

Heating and Hot Water Outages

The cabinet responded to six recommendations (5-10) relating to heating and hot water outages across the council’s district heating systems.

• Recommendation 5: Review heating and hot water outages at Rouel Road Estate and create an action plan. The cabinet agreed with this recommendation. The council said that it already delivers planned preventative maintenance tasks within the plant rooms at Rouel Road, including weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, and annual checks. They also stated that they would door-knock at least one property after an outage or shutdown, and use its Quality Monitoring contractor to perform a minimum of one detailed dwelling survey per boiler house per annum.
• Recommendation 6: Commission a resident consultation exercise with residents of Rouel Road Estate. The cabinet agreed with this recommendation, stating that Engineering Services had commenced a resident consultation exercise with Rouel Road residents, including in-person and online options for meetings and survey responses.
• Recommendation 7: Undertake a deep dive into heating and hot water performance on two estates, one of which should be Rouel Road, in the winter of 2024, focusing on the gap between the self-reported experience of residents and centrally held data monitoring. The cabinet did not agree with this recommendation, stating that Engineering Services ran a borough-wide consultation in 2020 which asked residents a range of questions about their experience of living with district heating. However, the cabinet committed to re-implementing the Heat Networks Governance Board.
• Recommendation 8: Put in place more robust and stricter controls for contract monitoring and accountability, prior to contract renewal of service providers for heating and hot water repairs in the municipal year 2024-25, and invest greater resources in the management of contracts. The cabinet agreed with this recommendation, stating that the council is currently undertaking procurement for new gas, heating and water maintenance contractors for individual heating, district heating, building management systems and quality monitoring.
• Recommendation 9: Review the compensation scheme payments for heating and hot water outages being paid to residents, taking into account continual non-consecutive outages or shorter multiple outages, extended periods of time taken for resolution of existing repairs causing detriment to health, disruption and inconvenience, and including a mechanism for automatic uprating of the compensation taking inflation into account. The cabinet agreed with this recommendation.
• Recommendation 10: Review the Compensation Scheme for heating outages to find a mechanism for compensations to be paid directly to private tenants’ bank accounts through an application process, rather than private landlords and leaseholders who already benefit from all-inclusive rents. The cabinet did not agree with this recommendation, stating that the council has no legal relationship with the private tenants of freeholders and leaseholders.

Homelessness, Housing Allocations and Policing

The cabinet responded to recommendations 1-4 & 11 of the review.

• Recommendation 1: Ensure a clear set of success criteria for the Housing Allocations scheme and lettings policy before they are finalised, with details on how these will be measured, including not only quantitative analysis of how the scheme is helping to meet housing need in the borough but should also include post-move tenant satisfaction surveys to ensure the council is able to monitor tenants' views and experiences, and that the cabinet make a clear plan to monitor and audit this data regularly. The cabinet agreed with this recommendation.
• Recommendation 2: Improve incentives for residents and communication of the Rightsizing scheme, to address under-occupancy through increased uptake of the scheme. The cabinet agreed with this recommendation.
• Recommendation 3: Reinstate the post of the Housing Hospital Discharge Officer. The cabinet partially agreed with this recommendation, stating that the role of Housing Hospital Discharge officer is part of the councils future working arrangements however they are not able to confirm this role will be the single point of contact.

• Recommendation 4: Review its Draft Homelessness Strategy include the recommendations below as a part of the feedback for the consultation, which includes the following points:

  • An improved, less invasive drop-in process at Bournemouth Road for homeless people, with easier in-person security and access procedures to council buildings/offices when dealing with domestic abuse and sexual exploitation victims.
  • Separate escalation process and telephone contact numbers for partner agencies to book appointments.
  • Resolution of the issues faced in the joint protocol working between partner agencies and the housing options team when working with refugee and asylum cases.
  • Investment in better IT infrastructure, especially with regards to flagging same-day assessments, waiting times, updating forms, documentation and processes.

  The cabinet agreed with this recommendation.

• Recommendation 11: Work with the Metropolitan Police to develop new local accountability mechanisms for policing in Southwark, and that this includes a new forum or body that allows regular, multi-ward engagement between councillors and a senior police officer for each area in the borough. The cabinet agreed to lead the development and chair an Independent Policing Oversight Board.

Lithium-ion Battery Fires in E-bikes

The cabinet responded to recommendation 12, stating that the council recognises the emerging problem of lithium-ion battery fires in e-bikes. They stated that they now have a draft procedure and guidelines for “e-Bikes and e-Scooters storage and charging in communal areas” which is going through the governance process for approval.

Interim Report on Tenant Structures

The commission was scheduled to agree the Interim Report on Tenant Structures for submission to Cabinet.

Work Programme 2024-2025

The commission was scheduled to consider the work programme for the 2024-2025 year. Issues the commission is due to consider include:

• The council’s approach to upcoming market regulations of district heating networks by Ofgem¹
• Procurement and contract management - district heating systems, contractors, repairs and major works.
• Housing Associations and their partnership with the council
• Fair Community Housing Services Forensic Review

Unknown committee - Wednesday 23 April 2025

Unfortunately, no information was made available about the meeting of the Unknown committee on Wednesday 23 April 2025.

This week in Southwark:

• The Corporate Parenting Committee was scheduled to discuss its work plan for the year, care leavers into employment, and receive an update from Speakerbox.

Corporate Parenting Committee - Thursday 17 April 2025

The Corporate Parenting Committee was scheduled to meet on Thursday 17 April 2025 to discuss a work plan for the coming year, receive a verbal update from Speakerbox, and hold a workshop/discussion on care leavers into employment.

Corporate Parenting Committee Work Plan 2025-26

The committee was scheduled to review and update its work plan for the upcoming year. The Corporate Parenting Committee's role is to improve the life chances of looked after children, and to develop and monitor a corporate parenting strategy and work plan.

The committee was scheduled to consider the following dates for future meetings:

• 16 July 2025
  • Speakerbox verbal update
  • Exclusions report back
  • Care Leaver employment - council wide approach.
• 22 October 2025
  • Speakerbox verbal update and report back on actions
  • Annual health report for looked after children
  • Foster annual report.
• 25 February 2026
  • Speakerbox verbal update / annual report
  • Annual independent reviewing officer report
  • Adoption annual report
  • Annual virtual head teacher’s report.
• 22 April 2026
  • Speakerbox verbal update.

The report pack noted that there is national momentum towards improving outcomes for care leavers, and that Southwark Council has an ambition to go above and beyond, by creating the best Leaving Care Service possible, by co-designing this with young people, learning from other organisations and trialling new ideas to test what works best.

Care Leavers into Employment

The committee was scheduled to hold a workshop/discussion on care leavers into employment. This follows a similar discussion at the Education and Local Economy Scrutiny Commission on 8 April 2025, which received a report on youth employment support.

Speakerbox Verbal Update

Speakerbox was scheduled to provide a verbal update to the committee. Speakerbox ensures that the views of looked after children and care leavers are used to influence decision making that affects their care and support, particularly service planning and design. Speakerbox represents children and young people between 8 and 24 years old, and provides a peer to peer networking support system for looked after children.