Agenda item

It was reported that there had been 9  registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme. The Cabinet Member also granted 5 requests to speak from Council Members.

i)             The Future Management Arrangements for Public Open Space at Mayfield Grove York.

Ann Leggett, David Munley and Jacquie North spoke on behalf of the Chase residents Association. They thanked the Council for taking on the matter and welcomed the opportunity to take part in the process to establish appropriate management arrangements. They advised that they were disappointed with the framework in that in their opinion it was overly prescriptive and while it informs on what is required, it doesn’t involve the community sufficiently. They felt that any management board should include local education establishments, residents groups, conservationists and ecologists but the core representation should be local residents. They requested that some interim arrangements be drawn up to ensure work such as the mowing of the meadow is carried out.

Barry Potter spoke on behalf of YNET who advised that 15 years ago he had worked with the Council to devise an innovative scheme to look after the land. Whilst he acknowledged that the local community and wider community should have involvement in the management framework, he stated that YNET were already looking after the land and had worked hard to do so. He advised that he welcomed any support from the local community and that in general he was pleased with the report.

Brian Bevan spoke in support of Anglers who use the site. He advised that people had been fishing there for at least 50 years and asked that whoever takes control of the land recognise this fact and do not prevent fishing from continuing. He gave his support to YNET who he said has done a good job of looking after the site and had allowed fishing.

Councillor Semlyen spoke as Ward Councillor. Instead of focusing on any negatives, she advised that the site is a beautiful piece of land for recreation and for visiting groups. Residents have engaged with the Council and developers to try and sort the situation out, in particular the Chase Residents Association who had been particularly persistent. She welcomed the chance for residents to be involved in managing the site.

Councillor Watson spoke as a Council Member. He was keen to ensure YNET still had full involvement at the site and commented in particular that their knowledge and skill had ensured the pond is well looked after. He distributed a photograph showing the poor access for disabled anglers and  asked that this be improved on in future.

Councillor Healey spoke as the City Strategy Spokesperson for the Conservative Group. He advised that he was disappointed with the time taken to get to this point and hoped that from now on there would be some progress.

Councillor Reid spoke as Ward Councillor. She welcomed the progress and the work that had been undertaken by all involved. She had the following observations on the report and framework:

·        Paragraph 13 implies restrictions when the site should be available all year round.

·        Paragraph 18 – Interim management arrangements have not been satisfactory.

·        Paragraph 27 – It is local residents who have drawn attention to and campaigned for something to be done about the situation.

·        The framework contains no details about access for all.

·        All decisions should be taken in public.

ii)            City Centre Footstreets Review – Traffic Regulation Order Objections.

Paul Hepworth spoke on behalf of the CTC. He advised that he recalled the Council having firm support for a cross city cycle route past York Minster in the days before the Unitary Authority was formed. The highway authority at the time had closed Deangate to all vehicles including cyclists but subsequently the Council persuaded them to trial an experimental 6 month relaxation for cyclists. This demonstrated that the Department for Transport advice on shared space can work. The subsequent extension of core time cycling restrictions in High Petergate was contested unsuccessfully by CTC at public enquiry. The recommendation to allow cyclists to travel through Bootham Bar throughout the day for a trial period was welcomed by the CTC.

Ian Anderson and Andrew Gray spoke on behalf of St. Michael Le Belfrey church and its Parishioners. They asked that parking be retained on Sundays due to a lot of the congregation being elderly. The 9am Sunday service in particular has around 100 attendees and getting into the City Centre is not easy due to Sunday bus services. They stated that any concession would be welcomed.

Mr. Langford, a local resident, had several observations on the report. In particular he expressed concern regarding the paper not addressing Sunday parking issues and the concerns of the Churches. He also commented that the Council should ensure that all affected residents have been notified about traffic orders as he felt that the envelopes used for mail outs are not marked clearly as being from the Council.

Councillor Reid spoke on behalf of residents in her Ward who regularly give their time to a City Centre church. She advised that parking spaces on a Sunday morning would only be required for 1 or 2 hours and the proposals set out in the report do not help those with limited mobility who may not have a blue badge. She urged the Cabinet Member to listen to the representations made and to allow some parking on Sundays.

Councillor Hodgson also spoke on behalf of residents in his Ward who attend City Centre Churches and advised that  more spaces are required, particularly on Sunday mornings.