The Royal Borough of Greenwich's Cabinet met on Wednesday 9 April 2025, and agreed to recommend to full council the prohibition of itinerant ice cream trading on King William Walk and to note the updated Strategic Risk Register. The Cabinet also reviewed school place planning and capital programmes for 2024/25 - 2026/27, agreeing to proposed arrangements for managing projected trends in school place demand.

School Place Planning and Capital Programme

The Cabinet agreed to proposed arrangements for managing projected trends from 2024/25 and beyond, as detailed in the School Place Planning and Capital Programme 202425 - 202627 report.

Councillor Adele Kyra, Cabinet Member Children and Young People, highlighted the council's duty to provide sufficient school places for children and young people, including those with special needs up to age 25. The report outlined the strategy for managing forecast demand and ensuring enough spaces across the borough's schools.

According to the report, the number of young people without a school place on the first day of term has decreased significantly, from 189 in 2023 to 39 in 2025. However, challenges remain in providing enough spaces for boys in the south of the borough.

The Cabinet agreed to add another five dedicated designated specialist provisions, bringing the total to 20. Councillor Kyra also mentioned the Rowan Wood all-through school for special needs, a project she and Councillor Majid Rahman, Cabinet Member Planning, Estate Renewal and Development, had previously worked on.

The Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of Place and Growth, in consultation with the Director of Children’s Services and Director of Legal Services, to:

• Negotiate and agree the terms for transferring the Hargood Road site under a 125-year academy lease to Compass Partnership of Schools (CPS).
• Engage in activities and negotiations to identify a suitable site for the primary phase of the new all-through special free school.

The Cabinet delegated authority to the Director of Children’s Services to facilitate the expansion of the Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys (WPSB) to deliver a designated specialist provision for children and young people diagnosed with Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD).

The Cabinet also delegated authority to the Director of Children’s Services to facilitate the expansion of Newhaven School’s Kings Park Campus, including undertaking a statutory consultation, to increase the number of specialist secondary places to further support the Council’s delivery of its sufficiency duties for children and young people with SEND¹.

Finally, the Cabinet noted the development of a pilot scheme to establish new primary designated special provisions for up to four primary schools in the borough, and delegated authority to the Director of Place and Growth, in consultation with the Director of Children’s Services and Director of Legal Services, to negotiate and agree the terms of any property related leases and/or agreements required with the schools.

The Cabinet noted the urgent need for additional capital resources to fully implement the priorities outlined in this report, due to Royal Greenwich receiving a Basic Need (BN) allocation of £nil for 2024/26 and the uncertainty of the DfE’s announcement on High Needs Provision Capital Allocation (HNPCA) for the period beyond 2024/25.

Prohibition of Itinerant Ice Cream Trading on King William Walk

The Cabinet agreed to recommend to full council the prohibition of itinerant ice cream trading on King William Walk.

Councillor Jackie Smith, Cabinet Member Inclusive Economy, Business, Skills and Greenwich Supports, explained that the council had to go out to consultation again to review some things that legally weren't done properly. The report set out the outcome for the process, with 28% of respondents opposing the prohibition of ice cream trading at King William walk.

Councillor Pat Slattery, Cabinet Member Housing Management, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, supported the prohibition, stating that King William Walk is in her ward, and that the council is not anti ice cream, but that the ice cream van regularly parks up in a way that gets in the way, causes huge queues, and is very noisy, upsetting local residents.

Councillor Rachel Taggart-Ryan, Cabinet Member Community Safety and Enforcement, asked about enforcement during a period where a legal challenge might be expected. Officers clarified that if challenged, the prohibition remains in place pending the outcome of the challenge, entitling the council to take enforcement action.

Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Council, referenced comments made by Vanessa Feltz on TV, clarifying that the council is not banning ice creams in Greenwich, and that it was nice to know that Michael Gove was not writing to them again about banning ice cream or banning ice cream locations.

The recommendation was supported by technical advice from the Highways Authority, stating that such trading would not be safe in King William Walk and the prohibition would be in the interests of preventing obstruction to traffic, or undue interference or inconvenience to persons using that street.

Strategic Risk Register

The Cabinet noted the Royal Borough’s updated Strategic Risk Register, as well as that it had been presented to the Audit & Risk Management Panel for consideration on 25 February 2025, and that it would be presented to Full Council for noting.

Vivian, the Council's Head of Financial Governance Insurance and Risk, introduced the report, stating that the register is owned by the Council's Greenwich Management Team, and sets out the key risks that could impact on the Council's ability to achieve its objectives. She noted that there were no new risks to report, and that key risks for every local authority, including Greenwich, are around finances, demand and complexity for school places, and achieving carbon neutral. She added that the council has robust internal controls in place to manage these risks, and carries out actions required to keep the risks mitigated.

Councillor Okereke appreciated the layout of the report, finding it much easier to understand. He asked about the mechanisms that kick in to catch on to those areas that the council needs to focus on in terms of risks, and how the cross-working of different departments ensures that risk is alleviated.

Vivian explained that working collaboratively with the Council is key, and that processes require interaction with other areas across the Council. She stated that decision reports capture comments and views on the risks, and that the council looks at finance, legal services, and housing, depending on the nature of the risks. She added that Greenwich Management Team departments consider risk areas in their individual management teams as well.