DD126 In The Making - Victoria Road corridor planting coordination

OPDC is currently leading the design and delivery of four public realm/landscape projects, within close proximity, on the Victoria Road and Old Oak Common Lane corridor. OPDC has already secured external grant funding to implement three of these:

• Willesden Junction Public Realm (CD097)
• Old Oak Lane towpath ramp (CD128)
• Wormwood Scrubs entrances (DD127)
• Cerebos Gardens (DD111 - capital funding for implementation not yet secured)

As all the projects are currently under design development, and will be delivered on site from autumn 2020 onwards, there is an opportunity to coordinate the approach to shared elements such as planting and signage between the projects. This DD seeks approval to commission a specialist landscape consultancy to coordinate between the projects and develop recommendations for an overarching planting and biodiversity strategy to inform these projects and potentially other future projects within this area.

This coordination, and potential for identifying common elements between projects, will help to increase their impact on the local area and potentially create efficiencies in terms of procuring specific elements across several projects, increasing the overall impact.

This DD seeks approval for £20,000 of expenditure. The initial coordination study will cost £12,000. The remaining £8,000 would scope out opportunities for planting along the key road corridors of Victoria Road, Old Oak Common Lane, Chase Road, along the railway embankments and within future developments. This additional expenditure would only be used if a scope of work is agreed by the Director of Land and Property.

OBJECTIVES

• Provide input on planting, biodiversity to the four public realm projects currently being designed along the Victoria Road/Old Oak Common Lane corridor in order to optimise the coherence between projects and their overall impact
• Undertake baseline analysis and pilot approaches which could inform planting and biodiversity strategies and proposals as part of OPDC's 'Western Lands' work

DELIVERABLES

• Presentations to client group at the end of each phase of work.
• Presentation to OPDC's CRG and PLACE review group of draft proposals
• Collaborative design workshop with the different design teams to explore opportunities for coordinated planting approaches
• Final document summarising the character study and local planting analysis, opportunities and thematic approaches

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Increased impact of the individual public realm and landscape projects in terms of value for biodiversity networks and user experience.
• New opportunities for landscape improvements identified which can inform the Western Lands work and future funding applications.

PROCUREMENT

• A Single Source Justification has been approved for Jonathan Cook Landscape Architects (JCLA) to undertake this work. JCLA are the landscape sub-consultants already working on three of these projects
• All of these commissions were procured via a competitive process utilising the ADUP framework or invited tender. As JCLA are sub-consultants on the teams where they have worked on projects for OPDC it is not possible to just extend an existing contract to include this task.

Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the OPDC is subject to the public sector equality duty and must have 'due regard' to the need to (i) eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation; (ii) advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not; and (iii) foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who don't. Protected characteristics under section 149 of the Equality Act are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sex orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (all except the last being "relevant" protected characteristics.

At the heart of the four projects which are the focus of this commission is the objective to build capacity and facilitate truly community-led projects. The groups of residents engaged in these projects include a range of nationalities and gender.

A benefit of the public realm improvement projects are to improve the nature of the green space to make it more open and accessible, to encourage social interaction, play, relaxation and physical activity as noted in D1 of the draft London Plan and the OPDC draft Local Plan. These improvements will benefit all users including those with protected characteristics.

In the Making

'In the Making' is an initiative which OPDC are leading that form part of the OPDC's Delivery Plan. It enables OPDC to deliver improvements and pilot initiatives within locations where it is possible to accelerate deliver. A key aim is to provide confidence that OPDC are bringing forward the regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal. It comprises a combination of capital improvement projects, community initiatives, and cultural and artistic commissions.

The overarching objectives of the In the Making initiative are:

• to create immediate benefits for local communities from the public investment and regeneration in Old Oak and Park Royal by improving physical links, open spaces and community infrastructure;
• to establish a strong identity and profile for Old Oak and Park Royal further afield to attract high calibre investors and organisations who will deliver the vision; and
• pilot activities and local initiatives that could support the vision and objectives of the longer term regeneration of the area.

Risks and Issues

There is a risk that the advice on a coordinated approach to planting and biodiversity is too late to influence the design proposals of each project.

Mitigation: The selection of JCLA to undertake the work will ensure that it is completed in a timely way because they already have a good understanding of the projects and wider context.

There is a risk that the proposals are nit affordable within the budgets identified for each project.

Mitigation: JCLA will be fully briefed on the budgets and the management and maintenance arrangements to ensure that the recommendations are appropriate for the context.

Expenditure of up to £20,000 on the consultancy services described above will be funded from the 2020/21 Design budget. Additional spend is subject to the Corporation's decision making process.

The report above indicates that the decision requested of the Director falls with the OPDC's object of securing the regeneration of the Old Oak and Park Royal area and its powers to do anything it considers appropriate for the purpose of its objects or purposes incidental to those purposes, as set out in the Localism Act 2011.

In taking the decision requested, the Director must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it foster good relations between person who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Director should have regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

Section 4.1 of the Contracts and Funding Code (the 'Code') requires OPDC to seek a call-off from a suitable framework, where possible, or if not, undertake a formal tender process which will be managed by TfL in respect of the services. However, the Director may approve an exemption from this requirement under section 5 of the Code upon certain specified grounds. The officers have indicated at section 2.4 of this report that a single source justification has already been approved in respect of the services. On this basis the Director may approve the proposed exemption if satisfied with the content of this report and the single source justification obtained.

Officers must ensure that appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by JCLA and OPDC before the commencement of the services.