Committees:
Dates:
Open Spaces and City Gardens
Projects Sub
Subject:
St Botolph, Bishopsgate - Ball Court Improvements
Report of:
Director of Open Spaces
Report Author:
Patrick Hegarty
Delegated Authority
17 February 2017
Issue Report: Public
Light
For Decision
Summary
Dashboard
 Project Status: Green
 Timeline indicating the stage at which the project is: The works have been split
into two phases:
o The re-surfacing of the ball court has taken place as a stand-alone
project undertaken by a contractor working directly for and funded by
the Church, with indemnities in place to protect the City’s interests.
o Improvements to the ball court surrounds, floodlighting and access are
to be installed in 2017.
 Total Estimated Project Cost: £188,000
 Spend to Date: £11k
 Overall project risk: Green
Last Gateway Approved
Gateway 2 (‘Light’ path)
Progress to date including resources expended
 Open Spaces & City Gardens Committee have delegated authority to
negotiate a new Churchyard maintenance agreement for the site to the
Director of Open Spaces in conjunction with the Comptroller & City Solicitor.
Community & Children’s Services Committee supported this approach.
 Representatives from the Parish Council, the Department of Community and
Children’s Services (DC&CS) and the Open Spaces Department have reached
agreement in principle that the Church will take on the maintenance and any
future refurbishment, of the court.
 £11k has been spent to date on staff time and fees.
Summary of issue
 Agreement has not been reached with the Parish Council on the provision of
dedicated time for use of the court by young people, which is a requirement of
the Section 106 funding and a key objective of the project.
 The Parish Council decided to carry out the essential ball court re-surfacing
from their own resources, as it is a source of income for the Parish. The ball
court is now operational however the other improvement works (floodlighting,
access and court surround improvements) have not been carried out.
Proposed way forward
 The Church employ a youth worker to work in partnership with and be jointly
managed by the City. The post is to be funded initially from £100k of the Heron
Tower S106 allocated to St Botolph Bishopsgate. The post would be part time,
funded for three to four years and subject to a job description to be agreed with
DC&CS.
 Future funding of the post would be sought through working in partnership with
other organisations and businesses.
 Subject to reaching a satisfactory agreement between the Church and the City,
the other proposed elements of the project such as improving the ball court
floodlighting and improved access can then also be funded from the S106
agreement.
 The project is on the Light pathway so Gateway 5 approval is delegated to the
Director of Open Spaces subject to a satisfactory outcome to the negotiations
with the Church.
Total Estimated Cost
£188k
Recommendations
1) That Members approve the funding of the post of youth worker employed by
the Church, at a maximum cost of £100,000 to be funded from the Heron
Tower S106 agreement allocation for the Church of St Botolph without
Bishopsgate.
2) That Members approve the spending of the balance of the Heron Tower S106
agreement allocation for the Church of St Botolph without Bishopsgate,
including indexation, on improvements to the Churchyard as outlined in this
report and estimated at £88,000.
Main Report
1. Issue description
1) The Heron Tower S106 agreement provided funding to be
spent at the Church of St Botolph Bishopsgate for youth
services and floodlighting improvements. The Church
subsequently sought a change to this allocation to allow it to
be used to upgrade the ball court on the site, which was
agreed by the City subject to dedicated time on the court
being allocated for use by young people for various sporting
activities.
2) The ball court is managed by the Church, which retains the
income from lettings, whilst the maintenance liability has
historically fallen to the City. The City required the Church to
permit the youth provision and take on the maintenance
responsibility for the ball court as conditions of the S106
funding. These conditions would then become part of an
updated maintenance agreement for the site.
3) Gateway 2 approval was granted for improvements to the
Ball Court in October 2014 on the ‘Light’ route, Gateway 5 to
be approved by the Director of Open Spaces subject to a
satisfactory outcome to the negotiations with the Church.
4) The draft proposals for improving the Ball Court, developed
in conjunction with the Parish Council, were presented to the
Open Spaces & City Gardens Committee. Authority to
negotiate a new Churchyard maintenance agreement for the
site was delegated to the Director of Open Spaces in
conjunction with the Comptroller & City Solicitor. The report
was also presented to the Community & Children’s Services
Committee, who supported it.
5) Agreement in principle was reached that the Church will take
on the maintenance and any future refurbishment of the
court.
6) However the Parish Council were unable to agree to the
proposals for dedicated hours for youth provision at the ball
court, an essential requirement of the Section 106 funding
and a key objective of the project. Although the City’s
proposals were very advanced and developed in a timely
manner, the Parish Council prioritised the importance of
having an operating ball court as a source of income for the
parish. In order to allow essential court re-surfacing to
proceed ahead of the full agreement, the Church organised
and funded the re-surfacing from their own resources,
separate to the rest of the works, with indemnities in place to
protect the City’s interests. The ball court is now operational.
7) Part of the difficulty with the negotiations was that there was
no Rector incumbent in the Parish Church at the time.
Officers met with the Archdeacon of London's Head of
Operations who provided clear support for youth provision
based at St Botolph Bishopsgate and a proposal from the
diocese for their direct involvement to facilitate the
agreement.
8) As an outcome of these negotiations the diocese proposed
£100k of the S106 funding be used to fund a community
youth worker who could facilitate the sports activities at St
Botolph Bishopsgate and would be available at the times that
young people were available to use the facilities: evenings,
weekends and holiday periods. The post would be part time,
run for 3 to 4 years and be employed by the Church in
partnership with DC&CS (DCCS to be consulted on
appointment/job description, timing of provision, etc. but not
responsible for any costs in the long term). It is proposed the
post will have a co-ordinating and outreach role in the wider
area in support of a new Youth Services Strategy being
developed by DC&CS, as well as providing a defined
summer and evening programme on site at St Botolph
Bishopsgate. Part of the remit of the post would be to work
with local organisations and businesses to develop
sustainable funding for the post after the initial funding for 3
to 4 years from the Heron Tower S106.
9) In the budget previously reported to Members officers had
allowed £15k for a City sports provider to offer sports
activities to young people on site. However the revised
proposal is closer to the original intention proposed at the
time of the Heron Tower S106 negotiations, i.e. for a Youth
Scheme to provide “activities and services for young people
including those in the vicinity of the development by or on
behalf of the Rector and Churchwardens of St Botolph’s
Church [Bishopsgate] …. and any other appropriate scheme
for the benefit of young people selected by the City in
consultation with the Rector of St Botolph’s Church.” The
current proposal is an acceptable use of this S106
agreement.
10)Key elements of the job description of the youth worker and
clearly defined outcomes that meet both the City’s and the
Church’s aspirations will be the subject of further discussions
and are to be agreed by both parties. A revised maintenance
agreement (including on-going ball court maintenance by the
Church) is to be progressed with support from the diocese.
11)The outstanding capital works (improved ball court
floodlighting, access and court surround improvements)
would be carried out using the balance of the funding
available.
Funding Source
Heron Tower S106
£160,775
Indexation and accrued interest
£31,673
Total S106 funding available
£192,448
2. Last approved limit
3. Options
Proposed Budget
£000
Youth worker
100
Works
57
Fees
16
Staff cost (OS & DBE)
15
Total project costs
188
£30,000 for consultant’s fees and staff costs was approved at G2
in order to progress the project to G5.
As the proposals represent the outcome of negotiations with
the Church only one option is proposed and recommended:
Develop the terms for provision of a youth worker employed by
the Church and based at St Botolph Bishopsgate, with clearly
defined outcomes that meet both the City’s and the Church’s
aspirations. Carry out the proposed works to bring the ball
court floodlighting, access and court surrounds up to a good
standard and complete an agreement with the Church for them
to take on full responsibility for the future maintenance of the
ball court, including the floodlighting. It is envisaged this would
cost approximately £188k and be funded from the Heron Tower
S106 agreement.
Appendices
None
Contact
Report Author
Email Address
Telephone Number
Patrick Hegarty
patrick.hegarty@cityoflondon.gov.uk
020 7332 3516