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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Economy, Place, Access and Transport Scrutiny Committee |
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Date |
25 April 2024 |
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Present
Officers in Attendance |
Councillors K Taylor (Chair), Pearson (Vice-Chair), B Burton, J Burton, Fenton, Hook, Nelson, Rose (Substitute) and Steward
James Gilchrist - Director Environment, Transport and Planning Andrew Leadbetter - Transport Project Manager |
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Apologies |
Councillors Healey and Whitcroft |
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35. Declarations of Interest (17:32)
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 interest that they might have in respect of the business on the agenda. None were declared.
36. Minutes (17:33)
It was noted the minutes of the Committee’s 27 February 2024 minutes which had already been confirmed as a correct record were included in the agenda by mistake. Therefore it was confirmed that the minutes from the 25 March 2024 would be included in the agenda for the Committees 21 May 2024 meeting.
37. Public Participation (17:34)
It was reported that there had been one registration to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
Cllr Merrett spoke on residents parking, he confirmed that he was pleased to see the technical challenges from the launch of the digital permit system had been addressed. He noted his concern that the loss of visible permits meant that communities could no longer enforce the residents parking in their area.
38. Digital Residents Parking and Parking Enforcement (17:39)
Officers introduced the report into Digital Residents Parking and Parking Enforcement. They confirmed that the Council implemented a new parking system in 2021-22 which included changes to the customer journey and introduced online self-service. On parking enforcement officers noted that the Council was currently advertising to fill four vacant Civil Enforcement Officers.
The Committee asked about access to paper parking permits and it was confirmed that these remained available to customers that wished to remain on the physical permit route within the customer journey. Officers noted the suggestion from the Committee that some residents would engage in resident parking enforcement when there were physical permits that could be checked. It was therefore noted that the Council was exploring the ability for residents to check for digital permits via searching a database of registration numbers.
Members raised questions regarding the Councils ability to police traffic management offenses. Officers confirmed that the Council could only currently enforce bus lanes, all other traffic management offense enforcement was covered by the Police. The Council had applied to government for additional powers but was yet to be granted these powers. The Committee specifically highlighted concerns around parking outside of schools and the Executive Member for Economy and Transport welcomed member engagement with the Local Transport Strategy Consultation on this issue.
The Committee agreed that parking issues were a major concern for residents and something which Councillors were often contacted on. Members noted that not all Councillors were always aware of the best way to raise issues around parking to the Council. Officers confirmed that there were options such as organised petitions for things such as residents parking and double yellow lines Councillors could explore. They also noted that specific training in regards to parking could be arranged for Councillors if this would be beneficial to Councillors.
Members enquired regarding the experience residents had when calling to report parking issues. Officers noted that the service was 7 days a week and was a nationally run hotline. Members raised concerns that residents were not always asked the same questions when calling to report issues to the national hotline and were unsure if issues were resolved. Officers confirmed that they could explore access to feedback and a review of caller scripts to explore if a more consistent approach could be undertaken.
Resolved:
i. That Officers and the Executive Member pass on the thanks of the Committee to the Council’s Civil Enforcement Officers for their hard work;
ii. That Officers consider what guidance could be provided to Councillors on how to approach parking enforcement issues;
iii. That Officers would review the information the Council includes on its website regarding parking enforcement and to ask to review the scripts provided on the national parking enforcement hotline and provide feedback for a more consistent approach;
iv. Officers to feedback to Committee members parking income data;
v. Officers to consider whether a live list could be published online with the progress of approved Traffic Regulation Orders.
Reason: To support the improvement of parking enforcement in the city.
39. Electric Vehicle Gully Charging (18:52)
Officers introduced the Electric Vehicle Gully Charging report.
They outlined the work undertaken by the Council around electric vehicle charging since the adoption of the Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy in 2020. Officers confirmed that they were not recommending gully charging to the Executive due to a number of issues but it remained a part of the Councils discussions with the Energy Saving Trust workshops.
The Committee discussed the challenges associated with gully charging. It was confirmed that issues remained around areas such as road safety, as well as, on street parking being a public highway rather than a designated space for an individual. Members enquired as to whether the Council would consider gully charging if a resident wished to pay for it themselves. Officers confirmed that they continued to review on street charging as part of the Council’s strategy but the challenges would remain whether it was Council or privately owned gully charging.
Community charging points were therefore discussed as an alternative to gully charging or private charging points in drive ways. Members and officers agreed the that there was potential for the use of areas such as at council owned sites and buildings for Electric Vehicle charging. As part of the Council’s Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, officers confirmed that its next investment would be for more close to home standard charging sites. Officers acknowledged concerns raised by Members regarding charging times and noted that with longer battery lives and average usage, more local charging points would alleviate these issues.
The Committee raised concerns about the current cost of charging. Officers confirmed that as energy prices reduce they would want and expect the cost of charging to decrease. It was noted that the Council currently charged lower than the average commercial rate for electric vehicle charging on its charging sites. It was also noted that the Council was the largest provider of electric vehicle charging in the city, which provided some ability to control prices.
Reliability of Council electric vehicle charging sites were discussed. Members questioned whether current charging stations were sufficiently accessible and operating effectively enough, for current users and to encourage more drivers to switch to electric vehicles. Officers noted that the Council’s data showed them a robust system but agreed that both in the city and nationally there remained access issues and while York was performing well, the Council aimed to provide more options locally. Members enquired as to whether the Council could seek private involvement in residential charging schemes. Officers confirmed that there wasn’t currently an interest from commercial providers for residential charging, with the main interest commercially being in motorway services.
Resolved:
i. Noted the Electric Vehicle Gully Charging report;
ii. Committee members to provide feedback to officers regarding the next Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy.
Reason: To ensure the Committee remain engaged with the development of Electric Vehicle charging within the city.
40. Task and Finish Group update: Dial and Ride Community Transport Services (20:03)
The Dial and Ride Community Transport Services Task and Finish Group provided an update on their work to the Committee. They confirmed that they had gathered evidence from a range of sources and had talked to over 40 representors. The Group confirmed that they aimed for their report to be brought back to the Committee in June.
Resolved:
i. Noted the update from the task and finish group.
Reason: So that the Committee remain up to date on the work of the Dial and Ride Community Transport Services Task and Finish Group
41. Work Plan (20:05)
The Committee discussed work planning for their schedule of meetings in 2024/25. The Committee agreed to consider the Local Transport Plan update at its May meeting and would join in with the Councils other Scrutiny committees in considering a York pipeline of Scrutiny topics for the Combined Authority in June.
Members agreed that the chair would discuss with officers a draft timetable of work to be shared with the Committee for consideration at the Committees May meeting.
Resolved:
i. That the Chair of the Committee would discuss with officers a draft timetable of work to be shared with the Committee for consideration at the Committees May meeting.
Reason: To ensure the Committee has a programme of work for 2024-25.
Cllr Taylor, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.30 pm and finished at 8.19 pm].