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, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in respect of business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Economy and Place Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 7 March 2018.

Resolved:           That the minutes of the meetings of the Economy and Place Scrutiny Committee held on 7 March 2018 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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 Friday 17 May 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 this meeting may be filmed and webcast, or recorded,  and that includes 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 no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme on general matters within the remit of the Economy & Place Scrutiny Committee.

Members will be given a bi-annual update on the progress of Make it York by Steve Brown, Managing Director of Make it York.

Members were given a bi-annual update on the progress of Make it York by the Managing Director of Make it York (MiY). He highlighted a number of points:

·        The new Service Level Agreement (SLA) was under discussion and the budget had been considered by the Stakeholder Committee.

·        The role of MiY in supporting a number of activities (such as the Guildhall, York Central and Castle Gateway) would develop over the next year.

·        There were opportunities for the city for economic and tourism development, through upcoming festivals such as the Bloom! flower festival, Great Yorkshire Fringe, York Mystery Plays, York Balloon Fiesta and York Mediale.

Following the update and in response to Members’ comments and questions, the Managing Director of (MiY) commented that:

·        As a result of the piece of work with the top 100 businesses in York, MiY had been able to form new relationships, and the data on turnover had showed that turnover for those top 100 businesses had grown by 6%.

·        Not having enough resources to meet the MiY mission was of concern to the Managing Director.  He confirmed that MiY had grown revenue by £1million with a 45% reduction in contribution from City of York Council (CYC). MiY tried to be resourceful and were investing in inward investment and business support.

·        Following an explanation of the decision making process around the new SLA and  its delivery, the Managing Director explained that for the most part, MiY had delivered the original SLA.

·        In the context of One Planet York and encouraging companies to sign up to sustainability and cycling, there were many businesses interested in sustainability and MiY assertively promoted that York had good Park and Ride facilities.

·        In order to address the balance of secondary shopping areas that had seen a decrease in footfall and standards, MiY had been trying to make sure that shoppers to York were dispersed around the city centre through the promotion of trails, for example the Easter egg trail and ghost trail at Halloween. It was suggested that a future focus for the committee could be secondary shopping areas outside of the city centre.

·        The CYC Chief Executive was driving York as a cultural centre within the Leeds City Region. It was noted that LCR was at the centre of the Channel 4 bid.

·        MiY promoted business rate relief, which was CYC led.

·        The Managing Director was asked if there was a skills shortage which resulted in businesses not being attracted to York. He explained that there was a shortage in IT skills which may be as a result of the Leeds area being attractive to potential employees. In York there was a shortage of skills in the hospitality sector, in particular a shortage of chefs. He confirmed that the biggest issue limiting companies investing in York was the lack of available space in the short term. However, long term, there was the York Central site and there had been interest in this.

Members discussed the number of empty shop units on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Andrew Lowson, Executive Director of York Business Improvement District (BID) will provide Members with an overview of the projects and initiatives the BID is undertaking in the city.

The Executive Director of York Business Improvement District (BID) provided Members with an overview of the projects and initiatives that the BID was undertaking in the city and highlighted the following points:

·        The BID was a limited company funded by 1100 members.

·        The BID covered a range of activities such as the street rangers, street cleansing and York Winter lights. Part of their current activities included working with CYC and York Civic Trust on way finding.

·        The number of large vacant units in the city was of concern and BID had tried to engage with landlords to address this. The continued growth of online retail was one of the reasons attributed .

·        The amount of visible drug taking in the city was problematic and its impact on tourism was discussed. It was noted that a response to this was needed.

·        The BID’s good relationships with trade associations in York was noted.

·        the Executive Director confirmed that car parking was one of BID’s top priorities and that  BID was working with CYC on a car parking strategy.

·        Future activity for the BID included work on communications (encouraging residents in York and within a 15 mile radius of York to spend in York shops), business cost savings (for which specialists had been brought in); and a focus on the months of February and March which were particularly challenging for retailers.

Having noted the excellent work of the BID, in particular the work of the street rangers, Members then made comments and asked a number of questions:

·        In response to a question regarding BID support to business and trading associations, the Executive Director explained that BID had funded Spark:York’s planning application but had not funded any further requests for support from them. BID had also given out a number of small grants and had committed a sum of money to a larger project.

·        The Executive Director acknowledged the concerns raised by Members related to street cleaning on Micklegate. He confirmed that BID had been working with staff to minimise disruption caused by street cleaning and that it was the role of their Operation Manager to check on the work of their contractors.

·        In relation to the public realm and the removal of the toilet block on St Sampson’s Square, a Member noted that this was the only covered cycle parking in the city centre. The Executive Director advised that consultation with York Civic Trust was being undertaken and a plan was in place to address this.

·        In the context of encouraging people living within a 15 mile radius to shop in York, a number of suggestions were made to encourage travel by park and ride and how loyalty schemes could be used to promote this. The importance of investment in technology for this was also noted.

·        Citing the budget cuts in public health, particularly in relation to drug and alcohol abuse support services, a Member asked which organisation undertook the clean up of drug taking. The Executive Director explained that it was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Members will consider the draft Workplan and potential Scrutiny topics for 2018/9.

Members were asked to consider the Committee’s draft work plan and potential Scrutiny topics for the 2018/19 municipal year. It was suggested that the Committee could meet jointly with the Economy and Place Policy Development Committee. It was agreed that the Committee would receive a covering report on how sickness absence in the Economy and Place Directorate impacted on service delivery.

Members thanked Councillor N Barnes for chairing the Committee over the previous year.

Resolved:  That the workplan be approved with the addition of a covering report on how sickness absence in the Economy and Place Directorate impacted on service delivery.

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