Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Merrett declared a personal non prejudicial interest in relation to Agenda item 6 (City Strategy Capital Programme – 2010/11 Budget Report) as a member of the Cycling England Board.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Sessions held on 28 January and 2 February 2010

RESOLVED:                         That the minutes of the Decision Sessions – Executive Member for City Strategy, held on 28 January and 2 February 2010 be approved and signed by the Executive Member as correct records.

It was reported that there had been 2 registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme. Details of these speakers are set out under the individual agenda items.

This report seeks to assist the Executive Member in determining whether or not to make a number of Definitive Map Modification Orders to register public rights of way on the Definitive Map for the former County Borough of York within Acomb, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe and Westfield Wards.

RESOLVED:             That the Executive Member agrees to:

i)          Authorise the (Interim) Head of Civic, Democratic and Legal Services to make and advertise the required Definitive Map Modification Orders to add all those paths to the Definitive Map, where it is recommended based on the evidence available, to make an Order (see bottom of page of each Schedule (Annexes 1-3) for recommended action). 

ii)        If no objections are received, or any objections received are subsequently withdrawn, the Orders referred to in i) above be confirmed; or

iii)      If objections are received, and not withdrawn, the Orders, or relevant parts thereof, be referred to the Secretary of State for determination;

iv)       Request the Director of City Strategy to report to a future Decision Session the position on any outstanding requests for footpath diversion, closure or gating orders for the Acomb, Dringhouses and Westfield Wards, and to make recommendations on how any backlog of work can be addressed.

REASON:                  As surveying authority for the area, the Council for the City of York has a statutory duty (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 55(3)), to produce a Definitive Map and Statement for the former County Borough of York; and in doing so is obliged to make Definitive Map Modification Orders to register the existence of all public rights of way in that area.

The Executive Member considered a report, which sought to assist him in determining whether or not to make a number of Definitive Map Modification Orders (DMMO’s) to register public rights of way on the Definitive Map for the former County Borough of York. These public rights of way were situated in the Acomb Ward (Annex 1 of the report), Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward (Annex 2 of the report) and Westfield Ward, (Annexes 3a and b of the report).

As the surveying authority for the area, the Council for the City of York had a statutory duty to produce a Definitive Map and Statement for the former County Borough of York and in doing so it was obliged to make DMMO’s to register the existence of all public rights of way in the area.

It was reported that of the routes identified for inclusion these formed the basis of the first phase but that eventually all the public rights that were recorded on the Definitive Map that were found to be highways maintainable at public expense would be added to the List of Streets.

The Definitive Map Officer updated with the following amendments to the report:

• Table in Paragraph 15, in relation to the Westfield Ward should read as follows:

• Annex 3 a (Page 105) removal of reference to Path Nos. 76 and 88.

Representations on behalf of the Ramblers Association were received from David Nunns. He stated that he was pleased that work was now being undertaken on adding footpaths to the Definitive Map and he referred to work undertaken by their Association both in 1981 and 2002 to assist this process. He pointed out that there were many more paths for consideration as public rights of way in the area and he asked that there should be no further delays in progressing this work. He went onto ask that outstanding requests for gating orders and PROW diversions should not be carried out at the expense of registering these paths.

He referred to a number of paths in the area which did not appear on the maps but which had appeared on earlier West Riding maps and he hoped that Officers would be examining all such cases.

Councillor Merrett also confirmed that he was pleased to see that this work was being undertaken. He went onto refer to a number footpaths in the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe area, which he hoped, would be included in the surveys including one which he had personally used for the past 20 years.

The Definitive Map Officer also confirmed that this was only the first stage in a very long process and that some routes had intentionally been omitted at this stage and that any paths subsequently identified could be picked up during the later stage, although paths with less than 20 years use could be designated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

This report outlines the development of York’s Third Local Transport Plan (LTP3) to cover the period from 2011 onwards.

Please note that this is a provisional decision as this item has been called in for consideration by the Scrutiny Management (Calling In) Committee meeting scheduled for Monday 8 March 2010.

RESOLVED:            That the Executive Member for City Strategy agrees to:

i) Note the content of the report, particularly the analysis of the Stage 1 consultations and Annex C which sets out the four options to put forward for the Stage 2 consultation in April 2010;

ii)                  Approve the options proposed in Annex C, to form the  basis of the Stage 2 (options and impact) consultation;

iii)                That Officers be requested, if possible, to publish the results of the Traffic Congestion Scrutiny Committees recent survey, in the April edition of Your City in order to provide background information for residents as they respond to the second stage of the consultation on LTP3.

REASON:                  To enable the commencement of the second stage of consultations required to prepare the City’s Local Transport Plan 3.

Consideration was given to a report, which outlined the development of York’s Third Local Transport Plan (LTP3) to cover the period from 2011 onwards. In particular it summarised the findings of the first stage of consultation in respect of setting the context for transport in York, the future transport challenges it faced and the possible actions that could be taken to tackle the challenges.

The report also set out the approach for undertaking the second stage of consultation for putting forward four options, together with an overview of their likely achievements against objectives and their impacts, to generate support and agreement for the strategy and the degree of the strategy’s application in LTP3.

The Executive Member reported that this matter had been called in for further consideration by three members for the following reasons:

(i)                 The report fails to take into account the recommendations from the traffic Congestion Scrutiny report and the current household scrutiny questionnaire that is being undertaken on the long term strategy for the city, contrary to assurances given by the former Assistant Director that they would be.

(ii)               The 10 year strategies in annex C do not match the Government's LTP 3 guidance (paragraph 4) which is looking for a twenty year long term strategy and shorter term policies and implementation plans.

(iii)             The outline questionnaire in annex C is extremely confusing and unlikely to produce useful results in its current form.

He confirmed that he would be making an in principle decision on the report which would be reviewed by the Scrutiny Management (Calling In) Committee at their meeting on 8 March 2010.

Officers confirmed that the proposed options had originally been intended for consideration as part of the Local Development Framework but that the draft strategy would go towards any longer term strategies. In relation to the consultation document and its distribution within the April 2010 issue of Your City he referred to the tight deadlines involved which required the final version to be available for printing on 23 March.  He pointed out that a paragraph had been included in the draft confirming that the results of the Traffic Congestion Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee had not yet been analysed but that if additional information became available in time it would be included. He also referred to correspondence received from Yorkshire and Humber Government Office in support of the approach taken by Officers.

Councillor Merrett referred to the concerns specified in the reasons for the

call in of this report. He questioned how the results of the Traffic

Congestion Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee would be taken into account as no

acknowledgement was made of their work in the LTP3 strategy - the committees short/medium term recommendations had been agreed two months ago so as they could be taken into account but hadn't been brought forward to the executive for some reason. He also felt that residents would find Annex C confusing with the overlap in short and longer term options. He stated that earlier  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

This report sets out the funding sources for the City Strategy Capital Programme and the proposed schemes to be delivered in 2010/11.

RESOLVED:             That the Executive Member approves the scheme allocations set out in Annex 1 of the report subject to the following modification:

·                    That the allocation for the purchase of Dial and Ride vehicles be increased from £80k to £97k to enable two vehicles to be purchased. This to be accommodated by increasing the level of overprogramming across the programme by £17k.

REASON:                  To implement the council’s transport strategy identified in York’s second Local Transport Plan and deliver schemes identified in the Council’s Capital Programme.

The Executive Member considered a report, which set out the funding sources for the City Strategy Capital Programme and the proposed schemes to be delivered in 2010/11. The report also covered the Integrated Transport and City Walls restoration allocations.

It was reported that the programme for 2010/11 would comprise of the following, further details of which were outlined in the report together with details of funding:

Officers updated that Yorkshire Forward would match the funding for the purchase of Dial and Ride vehicles. It was therefore proposed to increase the budget allocation from £80k to £97k to enable two vehicles to be purchased in 2010/11. It was reported that a budget had also been included for measures to improve safety for cyclists at the southern end of Beckfield Lane and that this work would be carried out when an acceptable solution had been found.

Representations were then received from Dee Bush of Beckfield Lane. She asked for clarification that the reference in the report to the measures to be undertaken to improve safety for cyclists on Beckfield Lane would be provided on rather than off road. She stated that pedestrians should not be punished for bad driving habits which required the provision of a shared cycle path. Drivers should be required make allowances for cyclists and slow down. She referred to the blind and partially sighted and asked for the use of Department for Transport (DfT) best practice in relation to the extension of this path.

Councillor Merrett referred to this being the final year of the three year Cycling City grant and he queried whether application would be made for a further grant if money became available. He also welcomed the commencement of the low emission strategy for the city and questioned the piloting of additional 20mph schemes in the forth-coming year. In relation to paragraph 13 of the report and the Bus Location and Information Sub-System (BLISS) he supported its roll out onto further vehicles together with additional indicators at bus stops.

Councillor Horton referred to the reference to the Beckfield Lane cycle improvements and requested clarification on the dual use proposals for the southern section.

Officers confirmed that that the budget allocation for the Beckfield Lane works had been based on the original proposals however other measures were now being investigated details of which would be brought back to the Decision Session for the Executive Members approval. He also confirmed that the BLISS works included the upgrade of bus stops and shelters and that, if additional Cycle City funding did become available then an application would be made for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.