Agenda item

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Councils Public Participation Scheme.

There were 7 registered speakers in respect of items on the agenda, as follows:

Councillor Ann Reid had registered to speak in respect of Agenda Item 6 – Public Rights of Way, Ashbourne Way, Acomb. She advised that the recommendations in the report were not supporting residents against anti-social behaviour at night and that a high number of minor incidents were having an impact on residents. The Police were aware of the situation and had tried to provide extra patrols but would not be able to keep these up in the long term. She urged the Cabinet Member to approve a Gating Order.

Councillor Brooks had registered to speak on Agenda Item 7, the petition for the relocation of a VAS sign at Holtby. She advised that following the removal of the sign in 2010/11 as part of speed reduction measures, residents were led to believe the sign would be reinstated with no mention of funding being required. She referred to the Monks Cross 2 development and the potential for increase in traffic in the area and asked that a VAS be reinstalled, even if it was some time in the future.

Lorna Evans, the Secretary of Duncombe Place Residents Group had registered to speak in respect of Agenda Item 4, Duncombe Place Taxi Rank. She advised that residents had seen a decrease in their quality of life since the rank was made 24 hours. She quoted incidents such as  17 people waiting for a taxi at 4.50am and no taxis serving the rank.

David Brooks, the Manager of the Dean Court Hotel also spoke on Agenda Item 4. He advised that guests at the hotel were being disturbed by people queuing at the rank and that use of the rank had increased dramatically over the past few years.

David Evans a Local Resident had also registered to speak on Agenda Item 4. He advised that while he recognised the need for late night taxi ranks, he would welcome any intervention to combat the anti-social behaviour and noise. Although CCTV assisted the Police he stated that it did not help residents and welcomed the taxi rank shelter being moved further along the street away from residents homes. He suggested that the Council may wish to look at trying to increase the use of the St. Leonards Place rank and Exhibition Square  by taxis.

Roger Pierce had registered to speak on Agenda Item 4 behalf of Duncombe Place Residents. He advised that a recent Licensing Hearing had restricted the operating hours of McDonalds Restaurant in respect of concerns raised by residents and requested that a midnight limit to the Duncombe Place rank be considered.

PC Adam Duffield had registered to speak on behalf of North Yorkshire Police on Agenda Item 4. He listed some statistics which highlighted the high level of crime and disorder in the City Centre. He advised that unfortunately Duncombe Place was not a high priority area for the Police, and there were no spare resources to send extra patrols to the area at present.

Paul Hepworth had registered to speak on Agenda Item 9. He advised that cycling and cycle parking in the city centre must be positively encouraged. He referred to the 2008 guidance from the Department for Transport which suggested that Local Authorities should give consideration to Vehicle Restricted Areas and to make blanket bans to promote cycling and public transport. He stated that the Cycle Touring Club (CTC)  had not sought a blanket relaxation in the city centre but preferred a 4pm finish time to facilitate flexitime working. A 24/7 cross city route would also be welcomed. He raised concerns about the removal of cycle parking racks in the city. He asked that no action be taken in respect of the recommendations relating to cycling in the report.