Apologies were received from Councillors Mike Brunt and Michael Paterson

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of 28 June 2022 were agreed as a correct record. 

A verbal update to be presented at the meeting

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Civic Pride provided a verbal update on the Night Time Strategy and Safer Streets.  In response to questions, it was confirmed that

-       Merton work closely with street pastors and have provided some funding for recruitment and patrols

-       Work is ongoing with police to improve evidence collection to give CPS the necessary information to prosecute.

-       Work with the police to facilitate summary reviews by the Licensing Sub-Committees to determine whether or not licensed premises should have stricter conditions or a licence revoked.

-       Merton has very good CCTV, recently upgraded to digital

-       The policy intended to talk about what we do want, rather than what we don’t want, to promote a diverse nighttime economy

-       Although we are not as advanced in the nighttime strategy in Merton as in other boroughs, that allows us to learn from the challenges experienced by other boroughs.

-       Licensing can be quite daunting, some issues around fees are set in law, but there is work that can be done to simplify the process for applicants, and some work will be done on this

-       We are committed to working with the police to keep Wimbledon Police Station open and staffed.  We will also be working with them to ensure they are resourced to support the work we are proposing in relation to the night time economy.

-       Infrastructure is a key part of the plan, data is being gathered to inform the strategy and help determine where to focus efforts

-       The aim in regulation is to support compliant businesses to survive

-       We are looking at musical and arts/cultural events within parks, for this summer, while the longer term strategy is being developed. These will also provide opportunity to poll the community on what they want to see in the future

-       Work is ongoing to look at sustaining some of the programmes beyond the end of March when funding ends.

-       Merton is the 3^rd safest borough, but it’s important the residents feel like it’s a safe borough, so perceptions are as important as the reality.

-       Bystander training is very useful and more sessions will be made available over the next twelve months

A verbal update to be presented at the meeting