Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests, or any disclosable pecuniary interests, which they might have in the business on the agenda.

Cllr D’Agorne declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 7 (Use of Volunteers in Economy and Place Directorate: Briefing Note), as a Sustrans volunteer.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Economy & Place Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 28 November 2017 .

It was reported that an early draft of the minutes of the last meeting had been attached to the agenda in error.  The correct version had now been circulated to Members and would be published to the website.

Resolved:  That consideration of the minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2017 be deferred to the next meeting of the committee.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Tuesday, 16 January 2018. Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the Committee. To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be filmed and webcast, or recorded, including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts or, if recorded, this will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting. Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting. Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting. The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present. It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_f

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It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Anthony Wicks spoke in relation to agenda item 5 (CYC Flood Defences Action Plan – Biannual Update).  He expressed concern about potential future flood levels in the B16 flood cell area (New Walk) downstream of the Foss Barrier, and the efficacy of the action proposed to address this.

To receive a presentation from the Assistant Director of Regeneration and Asset Management on the progress of major projects ongoing across the council.

Members received a presentation from the Head of Design, Conservation & Sustainable Development and the Commercial Project Manager on the progress of major projects across the council, namely: York Central, the Castle Gateway, the Guildhall, the Housing Delivery Programme and the Outer Ring Road.

Slides from the presentation were to be circulated to Members after the meeting and made available to view on the council’s website.  [Note: the slides have now been published online as an annex to these minutes].

During the discussion that followed, Members queried aspects of the York Central and Guildhall projects, to which the Officers responded as summarised below:

York Central

a)   Despite the number of homes proposed, the development was expected to result in relatively low levels of additional car ownership and traffic generation, given its location in a central area well served by public transport.

b)   There was a proven demand for the extensive office space offered by the development, with businesses looking to re-locate to high-grade, modern format accommodation.   

Guildhall

·        Proposals for the operation of the restaurant space, which would be large enough to accommodate up to 100 ‘fine dining’ or 120 ‘family dining’ covers, must be compatible with the council’s aspirations for the project as a whole.

·        The business area would initially be operated in-house by the council, as agreed by the Executive.

Resolved:  (i)      That the information provided in the presentation and responses to questions be noted.

                   (ii)      That highlights of further progress on these projects be reported to the committee at key stages in the process in future.

Reason:     To ensure that the committee has an overview of the progress of these major projects.

This report provides an update on the work of the Environment Agency across the city to renew existing flood defences and provide new ones, following the flooding in December 2015.

Members considered a report on the flood defence work being carried out by the Environment Agency (EA) across the city following the flooding in December 2015.  The Council’s Flood Risk Manager and an officer from the EA were present to answer questions and gather any feedback from Members.

Annex 1 to the report summarised activities carried out since the last update on 4 October 2017 to progress the delivery of new or upgraded flood defences in the city, including a review of high level options for each of the 29 ‘flood cells’ within York and the approach taken to prioritise measures across these cells.  Annex 2 set out the latest progress against each action arising from the York Flood Inquiry.

In response to questions from Members, Officers confirmed that:

·        The EA was costing the proposed work in detail to determine whether it could all be carried out within the £45m provided by government, or whether additional funding would be required.

·        Action would be prioritised in terms of properties at risk and damage consequent upon flooding, rather than seeking to ‘favour’ certain areas by diverting the water flow to others. 

·        Information on the drone survey of Fulford would be made publicly available to residents.

·        Consideration would be given to timing the works to ensure they coincided where possible with other roadworks etc., to minimise disruption to residents.

Officers stated they were aware of the matters raised under Public Participation and were committed to working with residents to address these and all concerns expressed during consultation.

Resolved:  That the update report and the additional information provided at the meeting be noted, and that a further update be received in the summer.

Reason:     So that Scrutiny Members can maintain an overview of the work on flood defences across the city.

This report provides an update on the successful procurement of a  new Park & Ride contract for 2018 to 2026, together with details of changes to the current Park & Ride service and timescales for their implementation.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the successful procurement of a new Park & Ride (P&R) contract for the period 2018-2026, together with details of changes to the current P& R service. 

Executive had approved the award of the new contract to First York on 18 May 2017 (Minute 160 of that meeting refers), with a start date of 1 February 2018.  Key features of the new service were set out in Table 1 at paragraph 7 of the report.  These included the introduction of 3 fully electric buses, compliance of all diesel buses on the network with Euro VI standards and replacement of 9 articulated buses with double-deckers, to achieve fuel efficiencies.  In addition, contactless ticketing would be introduced in February and secure overnight parking would be made available at Askham Bar and Monks Cross during 2018/19.

In response to questions from Members, Officers confirmed that:

·        Security arrangements for overnight parking would include fencing, barriers and 24 hour CCTV linked to the city-wide system;

·        There would be the opportunity for First York to provide a cafe and / or kiosk at P&R sites;

·        Officers would continue to explore further potential opportunities for the service with First, such as links to the hospital and extended evening hours for cultural events, including the Rose Theatre;

·        First’s performance would be monitored by the council via regular review meetings and the submission of performance data.

Resolved:  That the report and additional information be noted.

Reason:     To ensure the committee remains informed on the operation of the P&R service.

This briefing note provides an overview of services in the Economy and Place Directorate which already have input from volunteers, and identifies service areas where more use could be made of volunteers.

Members received a briefing note which provided an overview of services within the Economy and Place Directorate that already had input from volunteers and identified service areas that could benefit from more volunteer involvement.

Service areas where volunteers were currently used were set out in paragraphs 4 to 11.  Numbers of registered volunteers, mostly working as snow wardens and / or as gardeners, litter pickers and ‘lockers / unlockers’ of parks, were provided in paragraph 11.  It was noted that the Communities team acted as the overall lead within the council in respect of all volunteer services.

Members were invited to consider whether there were any aspects of volunteer involvement that it would be appropriate for this committee to scrutinise further.  They concluded that this was an area more suited to the remit of the Children, Education & Communities Scrutiny Committee, should that committee wish to include it in their work plan.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

To consider the Committee’s work plan for the remainder of the 2017/18 municipal year.

Members considered the committee’s work plan for the remainder of the 2017/18 municipal year.

No changes were requested to the plan, but in response to issues raised during the discussion the Scrutiny Officer confirmed that:

·        A representative from Make it York (MIY) would normally attend for one of the MIY bi-annual updates;

·        A visit to the Allerton Park Waste Recovery Treatment Centre would be arranged for committee members in March.

Resolved:  That the work plan be approved.

Reason:     To ensure that the committee has an agreed programme of work in place.