Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To confirm arrangements for chairing the meeting as follows:

Councillor M Pavlovic, Executive Member for Housing, Planning & Safer Communities – Agenda items 1-7.

Councillor K Lomas, Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion – Agenda item 8 and Urgent Business.

Resolved:   That item 8 would be presented first in the running order and Councillor Lomas would therefore chair the meeting for items 1-5 and 8; Councillor Pavlovic for items 6-7, 9.

To receive and note apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence received.

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are

asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other

registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on

this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the

Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of

the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it

becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

(1)  Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2) Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member

concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3) Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months

must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget

calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction

applies to them. A failure to comply with these requirements is a

criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government

Finance Act 1992.

The Executive Members were invited to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests, or any disclosable pecuniary interests that they might have in respect of business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Combined Executive Member Decision Session held on Tuesday, 4 November 2025.

Resolved:   That the minutes Combined Executive Member Decision Session on Tuesday, 4 November 2025 be approved as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have

registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak

on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working

days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of

public participation at our meetings. The deadline for registering

at this meeting is 5:00pm on Friday, 28 November 2025.

To register to speak please visit

www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online

registration form. If you have any questions about the registration

form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services.

Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will

be webcast including any registered public speakers who have

given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on

demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

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

Cllr Vassie spoke on item 7, acknowledging that there was a need for preservation, but felt that the report was focused on the past and restrictions to what people can do with their properties. He suggested that more balance was required to consider climate change and thermal efficiency. He asked for the full text of Historic England’s advice note 18 to be incorporated in full rather than “tucked away”.

This covering report presents the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report April 2024 to March 2025 (ACP&SI).

Resolved:  

                               i.     To note the performance details contained in the covering report and annexes.

                             ii.     To note the outcomes of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) cases and published performance data.

Reason:      So that Members and residents are provided with the LGSCO and HOS reports and findings to enable them to scrutinise complaints, comments, compliments and concerns to improve service delivery and ensure transparent, robust decision-making processes.

This report was presented by the Assistant Director, Customer and Communities on behalf of the Information Governance and Feedback Team Manager.

She noted that the report gave an overview of how complaints, compliments, comments, and concerns raised with CYC have been handled over the reporting period April 2024 to March 2025.

She explained that this was being shared with the Executive Member to enable effective scrutiny, to drive continuous service improvement and to ensure accountability.

She reported that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) had not raised any systemic concerns regarding CYC’s complaints handling for the second year running, although they had investigated the complaints themselves; of the 53 cases received, 50 had been concluded during the reporting period, demonstrating active engagement with the issues. 7 cases were upheld after a detailed investigation, and in each of these cases the council implemented all required remedies in a timely manner.

She advised that the team dealing with complaints had been moved across to the customer services directorate in a recent restructure, and coinciding with this there had been an explicit push to reduce avoidable complaints by improving customer experience and early resolution through clearer communication, planning and attention to detail.

She requested the Executive Member note the performance details contained within the covering report and annex, and to note the outcomes of the LGSCO, the Housing Onwards service cases and the published performance data.

Further to guidance from the LGSCO that all local authorities have a member responsible for complaints within Housing, the Executive Member asserted that he was currently the member responsible for complaints within his own Housing and Communities portfolio, and as of May he would be responsible for complaints across the whole authority, in every department.

The Executive Member noted several minor errors in calculations/figures that he requested be reviewed by the report’s author prior to publishing, and he therefore asked the Assistant Director, Customer and Communities to discuss this with the Information Governance and Feedback Team Manager.

Subject to these checks and corrections being undertaken before publishing, the Executive Member

Resolved:  

                               i.     To note the performance details contained in the covering report and annexes.

                             ii.     To note the outcomes of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) cases and published performance data.

Reason:      So that Members and residents are provided with the LGSCO and HOS reports and findings to enable them to scrutinise complaints, comments, compliments and concerns to improve service delivery and ensure transparent, robust decision-making processes.

This report aims to enable the council to publish guidance on caring for historic windows and considering changes.

Resolved:   To publish the “Historic Windows. Planning, Design and Conservation Guidance Note” on the council’s web site.

Reason:      To assist the public and enable efficient delivery of council services.

Resolved:   To delegate to the Head of Planning and Development Services the approval of any future review of this guidance, and subsequent editing and re-publication, necessary from time to time to ensure it is kept up to date.

Reason:      To ensure guidance is kept up to date with national policy and enable efficient delivery of council services.

The report was presented by the Design and Conservation Manager, assisted by the Head of Planning and Development Services.

The Design and Conservation Manager explained the council’s policy on windows, as set out in the report, and explained that the report was intended to be an easy reference guide to assist both residents in historic buildings and also council planning officers .

He stressed that setting out what permissions are required in different circumstances was intended to come across informative and helpful, not negative or prescriptive, as had been inferred by the speaker in public participation.

He advised that the guidance was brief (six pages) and provided links to supporting information from Historic England. The guidance identified six types of works concerning historic windows and gave general best practice guidance for each; these areas were painting, repairing, adding secondary glazing, replacing glazing, replacing windows on listed buildings, and changing windows on non-listed building within a conservation area.

The Head of Planning and Development Services responded to speakers comments in public participation, stating that this item concerned the council’s duty of care to comply with guidance in conservation areas and with listed buildings, ideally to pre-empt getting into a position involving appeals and enforcement. While climate change and energy efficiency were also of concern, these was not the focus of this item.

The Executive Member asked about the scenario set out in paragraph 16 of the report (concerning the replacement of traditional historic windows with double/triple glazed, not in a listed building but in conservation area), asking how this process would happen in practice.

The Design and Conservation Manager said that while permissions varied on specific properties, four panes in white (double/triple glazed) replacing four panes in white (original single glazed) tended to be fine, as outlined in the guidance; however, wanting to change the same window to eight panes or black frames would almost certainly be a situation necessitating permission from the local authority.

The Executive Member thanked officers for clarifying that “like for like” was visual and could include swapping single glazed to double or triple glazed panels.

The Executive Member acknowledged Cllr Vassie’s comments in public participation, agreeing that climate change was also a very important concern, but the points raised were more likely to be addressed as part of a Climate Change Supplementary Planning Document and not as part of this item. He stated that he would be happy to work with Cllr Vassie on this SPD or elsewhere as he was aware of the Councillor’s expertise in this area.

He commended officers for producing this style of guidance, and encouraged more like this in the future to assist residents and officers. He then

Resolved:   To publish the “Historic Windows. Planning, Design and Conservation Guidance Note” on the council’s web site.

Reason:      To assist the public and enable efficient delivery of council services.

Resolved:   To delegate to the Head of Planning and Development Services the approval of any future review of this guidance, and subsequent editing and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

The Council has had a concession contract in place for a concessionaire to provide and maintain bus shelters with either no advertising, paper adverts or Free-Standing Units (FSUs) since 15 July 1999. This contract ended on 31 December 2024.

This report seeks approval to enter a new Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the incumbent supplier for a further 10-months, commencing on 1 January 2026 and expiring on 31 October 2026, to ensure ongoing maintenance of Bus Shelters and a smooth removal and installation of new shelters. This will minimise the impact on residents.

Resolved:

                               i.     To approve the new SLA with the incumbent supplier for a period of 10 months commencing on 1 January 2026 and expiring at 23:59:59 GMT on 31 October 2026, to allow the installation plan to be completed.

                             ii.     To delegate authority to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Governance and the Head of Procurement to negotiate and conclude the proposed SLA in accordance with the terms and conditions of the current concession contract with the incumbent supplier and the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules under Appendix 11 of the Council’s Constitution (the “Council’s CPRs”).

                           iii.     To delegate authority to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Governance and the Head of Procurement to negotiate and conclude any further required modifications and/or further extensions to the SLA, if deemed necessary to ensure the successful completion of the installation plan in accordance with the terms and conditions of the current concession contract with the incumbent supplier (PROVIDED THAT any modifications and/or further extensions to the SLA are subject to consultation with the Executive Member before completion).

                           iv.     To ask that officers provide regular progress updates, including a report to a public decision session in Summer 2026.

Reasons:The concession contract with the incumbent supplier dated 15 July 1999 expired on 31 December 2024, and the previous 12-month SLA with the incumbent supplier expires on 31 December 2025. Following Executive Member approval, the current contract mechanism of an SLA will be replicated to cover the completion of the installation plan.

The proposed extension to the current SLA is in line with the original concession contract and can be varied subject to agreement with the incumbent provider.

While officers are engaging in a regular review process, presenting updates in a public forum allows full transparency.

This report was presented by the Head of Communications and Engagement, assisted by the Director of City Development.

He explained that the report covered the ongoing handover of the bus shelter advertising concession contract; the proposed change from one company to another necessitated removal of the old provider’s shelters and installation of the new provider’s shelters.

For residents’ convenience and safety, a coherent plan had been drawn up between the council and the two suppliers to ensure removal and replacement did not leave people without a shelter for a protracted period. The decision being presented called for an extension of this arrangement. Specifically, to approve the new Service Level Agreement with the incumbent supplier with a long stop date of the end of October 2026.

The Executive Member asked why the changeover process for the bus shelters was taking such a long time. The Head of Communications and Engagement answered that the changeover process was complex to arrange, having encompassed the design of new shelters specifically for York. Some items had also been discovered in the ground underneath shelters being removed, such as a gas main on Tadcaster Road. They were working at a steady pace, with weekly review meetings involving both the incumbent and new supplier.

The Executive Member asked whether the cost of the scheme had been factored into the council’s ongoing process of managing and monitoring the budget, regarding additional costs and unmet income targets.

The Director of City Development answered that the cost to date was in the reported outturn budget previously presented to the Executive, and the additional costs would be in the next outturn.

The Executive Member noted that this transparency was important within the council’s financial planning, and requesting that a further point (point iv) be added in addition to officer’s recommendations, on which basis she

Resolved:

                               i.     To approve the new SLA with the incumbent supplier for a period of 10 months commencing on 1 January 2026 and expiring at 23:59:59 GMT on 31 October 2026, to allow the installation plan to be completed.

                             ii.     To delegate authority to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Governance and the Head of Procurement to negotiate and conclude the proposed SLA in accordance with the terms and conditions of the current concession contract with the incumbent supplier and the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules under Appendix 11 of the Council’s Constitution (the “Council’s CPRs”).

                           iii.     To delegate authority to the Director of City Development in consultation with the Director of Governance and the Head of Procurement to negotiate and conclude any further required modifications and/or further extensions to the SLA, if deemed necessary to ensure the successful completion of the installation plan in accordance with the terms and conditions of the current concession contract with the incumbent supplier (PROVIDED THAT any modifications and/or further extensions to the SLA are subject to consultation with the Executive Member before completion).

                           iv.     To ask that officers provide regular progress updates, including a report to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.