Councillor Sarmila Varatharaj

Agenda

Wandsworth Council's Licensing Sub-Committee met to consider an application for a new premises licence for the Taste of the Caribbean food and drink festival, to be held in Wandsworth Park. After hearing from the applicant, and in the absence of the objector, Councillors agreed to grant the licence.

Agenda

The Council meeting began with tributes to recently deceased former Councillors Neville Daniels, Shawn Creighton, Lois Lee, and tributes were also read out on behalf of Councillor Ravi Govindia who could not be present. Councillor Peter Graham proposed an adjournment to highlight the Alton Renewal Plan, which the Council voted for. The Conservative group proposed a motion of no confidence in the Labour administration, arguing that it was incompetent, secretive, and unresponsive to residents’ concerns, particularly regarding waste collection and alleged changes to the constitution to avoid scrutiny. This motion was defeated. Councillor Cassidy proposed a second adjournment, this time to highlight the impact of the closure of Hammersmith Bridge. This motion was defeated too. The Council voted to approve changes to the constitution, and to approve the Housing and Annual Resources report. Finally, a Labour group motion stating that the Council will work with the national government to deliver on shared policy objectives was passed.

Agenda and decisions

The committee voted to support the recommendations on all of the reports discussed in the meeting. This included approval of the Alton Renewal Plan, an update on the Winstanley and York Road Regeneration scheme, a report on the Council’s plans to address housing needs and the allocation of social housing in 2024/25 and a report summarising the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

Meeting

Agenda

The committee approved both the draft Statement of Principles and Policy under the Gambling Act 2005[^1] and the proposal to consult on the reinstating of the no-casino policy. They also approved a proposal to conduct a Cumulative Impact Assessment on the borough’s licensed premises.