Agenda item

To consider the following motions:

 

·  Busking on Bankside

·  Improving mental health and wellbeing in Southwark

MOTION 1: BUSKING ON BANKSIDE

 

Councillor Adele Morris declared a non-pecuniary interest as she is a board member of Better Bankside. 

 

Councillor Mark Williams declared a non-pecuniary interest as he is a board member of Better Bankside. 

 

Councillor Paul Fleming declared a pecuniary interest, as he works for Equity, the trade union which represents a number of buskers, and left the meeting for this debate.

 

(See pages 20-21 of the main agenda)

 

Amendment B – Carried

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes:

 

a)  The dramatic increase in footfall alongside Bankside that has occurred over the last 20 years, driven by the opening of the Globe, Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and the ongoing redevelopment of the riverside area.

 

b)  That Bankside was, and remains, an area with a significant residential population, namely residents in Falcon Point, Bankside & Gallery Lofts, the Bankside houses and Clink Street, plus newer developments in Benbow House, 20 New Globe Walk and the Bear Pit.

 

c)  The work that the council is already doing to tackle nuisance busking, including the re-organisation of the Regulatory Services team which has brought together the Noise and Nuisance team, SASBU, street wardens and other street enforcement teams which work closely together to reduce the disturbance of busking, the ongoing analysis of busking activity to tackle those causing nuisance, anti social behaviour and difficulties, and ceasing the advertising of busking sites in Southwark to discourage a further increase in busking levels.

 

2.  Council acknowledges:

 

a)  The efforts of council officers, Bankside residents, and partners from other stakeholders, including Better Bankside, the Tate Modern and Bankside Residents forum, to find a solution to the busking noise related issues.

 

b)  That the massive increase in visitors and tourists has attracted buskers to the area, many of whom use amplification in their performances

 

c)  That the impact of this noise nuisance on a daily basis can have a detrimental impact on the residential amenity of those who live and work in Bankside, including possibly for some residents on their physical and mental wellbeing.

 

3.  Council supports:

 

a)  The work of the ‘Bankside Busking Working Group’, which seeks to:

·  Reduce the number of nuisance buskers along the riverside

·  Improve and better co-ordinate local authority and police force efforts to manage nuisance busking

·  Co-ordinating use of resources to control nuisance buskers

·  Provide residents and businesses with a  voice to lobby for additional resources, and changes to protocols, processes, procedures and legislation controlling busking

·  Explore introduction of a scheme to organise and regulate busking in the Bankside area

 

And looks forward to the group bringing forward options for an effective and proportionate approach to dealing with the issue of nuisance busking.

 

4.  Council resolves to call on cabinet to:

 

a)  look at the recommendations coming forward from the Bankside Busking Working Group and the multi-agency Buskers group, which includes representatives from the council’s noise team, SASBU, EPT, street enforcement teams and the police, with a view to adopting a solution which protects the amenity of local residents and reduces problematic and nuisance busking.

 

MOTION 2: IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN SOUTHWARK

 

(See pages 21-22 of the main agenda)

 

Amendment C – Lost

 

Motion – Carried

 

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.

 

1.  Council assembly notes that two million Londoners experience poor mental health, which equates to 62,500 people in each borough, and that London’s suicide rate increased by 33 per cent from 552 to 735 incidents between 2014 and 2015 – the highest figure recorded by the Office for National Statistics since records began.

 

2.  Council assembly understands that employment for Londoners with a mental health problem is 31 per cent lower than the UK average and that the financial cost of mental ill-health is approximately £700 million for each London borough.

 

3.  Council assembly reaffirms its commitment to approach mental health and wellbeing as a key priority and to work collaboratively with partners within and outside the borough to address and tackle mental ill-health across our communities.

 

4.  Council assembly welcomes the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy jointly developed by the council and Southwark Clinical Commissioning Group that was agreed by both organisations in January 2018.

 

5.  Council assembly resolves to call on cabinet to commit to support and work with Thrive LDN, and develop the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, to:

 

a)  Create a citywide movement for all Londoners that empowers individuals and communities in our borough to lead change, address inequalities that lead to poor mental health and create their own ways to improve mental health.

 

b)  Following on from the examples set by Harrow Thrive and Black Thrive in Lambeth, look in to localising Thrive LDN to Southwark by exploring the practicalities of establishing a local Thrive hub that responds to local needs.

 

c)  Work with Thrive LDN and the Mental Health Foundation to develop a pilot programme on an estate to develop new approaches to improving mental health well-being.

 

d)  Examine new methods to support more people in Southwark to access a range of activities that help them to maintain good mental health and wellbeing.

 

e)  Work closely with partners across Southwark to end mental health stigma and discrimination.

 

f)  Build on the great work happening across London to engage children and young people in mental health by helping Thrive LDN to develop training and resources for youth organisations, schools and student societies.

 

g)  Support employers to make mental health and wellbeing central to the workplace.

 

h)  Work with partners to explore new ways to access services and support, and consider the use of digital technologies to promote mental health and improve information about accessing support.

 

i)  Work with partners and build on the excellent work being done across the borough to reduce suicides in Southwark. We welcome the vision in the Southwark Suicide Prevention Strategy to reduce suicide, attempted suicide and self-harm in Southwark to among the lowest rates in London, and to work towards this ambition by ensuring that the number of suicides across the borough decreases by at least 10% by 2023.