Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, 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.

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. There were none.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings of the Economy and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee held on 17 January 2023 and 30 January 2023.

Concerning the minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2023, under the public participation, a Member confirmed that he would contact the Guildhall regarding problems with access to accessible toilets.

Resolved: That;

                     i.        the minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2023 and 30 January 2023 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

                    ii.        the Democracy Officer follow up with the Head of Economy on circulating information to Members on inward investment from the meeting held on 17 January 2023.

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 have changed to 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at meetings.  The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Monday 6 March 2023.

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 reported that there had been two registrations to speak under the Councils Public Participation Scheme.

Flick Williams spoke on agenda items 4  - York Civic Trust 9 Cities and 5 - City Centre Café Licences. She thanked officers for their diligent enforcement of café licence actions. She explained that a number of disabled visitors may not revisit the city. She noted that a lack of parking, accessible seating and accessible toilets remained a barrier to access and she asked what enforcement was in place regarding the A boards. She added that she had counted 18 A boards in the footstreets alone with many situated where it was hazardous. She further added that there was still work to do on this and regarding the York Civic Trust 9 Cities findings she was fearful of the impact on disabled people.

Dave Merrett spoke on agenda item 6 – Highways update. He raised an issue regarding works being prioritised as some sections were severely degraded. He explained that the state of some roads was potentially dangerous for cyclists. In respect of the Lendal gyratory he raised the question of how works were being prioritised. A Member suggested that the points raised by Dave Merrett could be addressed under agenda item 5.

This report provides an update on York Civic Trust 9 Cities case studies as part of Section 6 of the Trust’s Transport Strategy for York.

In April 2021, York Civic Trust were invited by council officers to research some possible case studies from which the Council might learn in preparing its new Local Transport Plan (LTP4). The Trust selected nine cities from England and continental Europe which share some common characteristics with York in terms of size, geography, economy and history. The overall summary of what the Trust saw as the key messages from the nine case studies was  detailed in Section 6 of their Transport Strategy for York, which was included at Annex 1 of the report and the draft case studies are included at Annexes 2-10 of the report.

In attendance at the meeting from York Civic Trust were Andrew Morrison (Chief Executive Officer) and Professor Anthony May (Chair of our Transport Advisory Group and Environment Committee). Professor May thanked the Committee for their invite to the meeting. He explained the case studies noting that the Trust had offered visits and to work up two or three case studies, which had not been taken forward by the council. He noted the strategic messages from the case studies. Andrew Morrison explained that the request for the case studies came from the council Assistant Director Policy and Strategy as it was linked to engagement in using other cities as case studies which was around transport but not principally around engagement.

In response to questions raised by Members, Professor May and Andrew Morrison explained that:

·        The research was about looking at participation in the broadest sense, starting with the vision then the strategy. Reference was made to the International Association of Public Participation and the levels of engagement detailed by the Association were explained.

·        An integrated approach was needed to all modes of transport and there needed to be a reduction of 15% to be free of congestion and 20% to reduce emissions. This needed to be made attractive and communities needed designing so that there was no need to travel for amenities.

·        Some cities used revenue from road pricing to invest in transport. The Trust said it would be a good idea to commission a study on it. The value of looking at case studies was that those cities had been through the changes and offered a valuable way of learning.

·        Regarding drawing from successful approaches from the nine cities, the Trust had offered to work up two or three case studies. This involved looking at what did work and analysing it in terms of York.

·        Regarding the impact of changes in political administration, an all party informal members group had been formed in 2021 and there would be an election this could be an all party group. It was noted that there were coalitions in European countries and different government structures.

[The Director of Transport, Environment and Planning noted the benefits of getting buy in from residents. He noted the focus on overarching strategy in the transport plan and credited Cllr D’Agorne for setting up the cross party group, which still met. He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

This report provides an update on the current policy of City Centre Café Licences, the number of licences issued, the enforcement approach and future changes once the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill is enacted.

Members considered a report that provided an update on the current policy of City Centre Café Licences, the number of licences issued, the enforcement approach and future changes once the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill is enacted. The Traffic and Highway Development Manager outlined the report.

The Executive Member for Transport was in attendance to answer Member questions. In response to Member questions, the Traffic and Highway Development Manager and Director of Transport, Environment and Planning explained that:

·        Enforcement action around A boards was separate to café licences and officers on visits to the city centre could asl for A boards to be removed.

·        The new policy included a distance of 5m around footway and café licences would only be allowed if the whole footway was level. Local guidance followed national guidance. If the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill was not passed before summer the temporary deregulated regime may be given a further extension of a year.

·        An online course was a requirement of a café licence.

·        At present café licences were delivered through highways and the temporary legislation removed the requirement for planning permission.

·        The reason for the refusal of ten café licence refusals was because the cafes could not provide a 5m distance on the highway. Licence breaches included barriers not being correct and some cafes had been using the area outside their cafes without a licence.

·        [Cllr Cuthbertson left the meeting at 19.02]

·        Regarding feedback from businesses regarding the support offered to them, they were appreciative of the team that had been on site to advise them. They also feedback that they needed to provide too much information for their application.

·        Regarding staffing, there were two members of staff doing two rounds of visits and the reports were done by Gough and Kelly.

·        If there was the same issue following a warning, a second warning would be issued. If it was a new issue, a new warning would be issued. The definition of new issues was detailed in the categories within the policy.

·        With reference to the LGA representation on national legislation, seizing furniture would not be good. It was preferable to have the same enforcement powers as in London.

·        The Access Officer was involved in the process and their involvement was explained.

Resolved: That;

                                         i.    It be recommended that the Committee consider adding café licences to their workplan for the new municipal year.

                                        ii.    Members note the report on the current policy, number of licences issued, enforcement approach be and future changes once the Levelling up and Regeneration Bill is enacted.

Reason:     In order to be updated on café licences.

This report updates the Committee on highways maintenance, the capital programme and major highways developments. It includes an update on major development highways impacts including scheduling and planning.

The Committee considered a report that provided an update on highways maintenance, the capital programme and major highways developments. It includes an update on major development highways impacts including scheduling and planning. The York Central Highway Authority Lead gave an overview of the report.

The York Central Highway Authority Lead, Director of Environment, Transport and Planning, Traffic and Highway Development Manager and Executive Member for Transport were in attendance to answer questions. Officers were asked and explained that:

·        The city had a transport model that covered the whole transport network.

·        The transport works on Water End, Leeman Road, and York railway station were timetabled not to happen all at once. There would be individual elements and projects that would overlap.

·        The management of the station works was explained.

·        Regarding the possibility of interim bus stops on Clifford Street due to the closure of Coppergate,  work was being undertaken on a review of bus operations and the request would be fed back.

·        Further dates on the work for the station frontage could not be given as the contract was not yet in place.

·        Work on the A19/A1237 junction was in an application for resurfacing work on the A19. Work on roads in Askham Richard and Moor Lane was a highways maintenance issue.

·        Councillors were asked to report their concerns about highways to the council.

·        Work on Lendal Bridge would be major and the programming and timing of the work was yet to be determined. As the Highways Authority, the council had the opportunity to be flexible with the timing depending on what the survey came back with.

·        The Water End closure would affect the no10 bus service and an extra bus service to the city centre, paid for by developers, was being potentially looked at.

·        Bus operators would be notified of temporary traffic orders. Councillors and residents were encouraged to sign up to traffic alerts.

·        Regarding residents receiving a hard copy of information on the closure of Water end, they should receive a letter from the developers regarding the activity.

·        There had been a media briefing to encourage the media to be more proactive and transparent on upcoming highways works. The council would be looking at how Leeds City Council communicated highways work on its website. Information on highways works was also included on road signage.

·        Regarding section 278 on Wigginton Road, there would be a remodel of the junction and a relocation of the bus stops.

·        Concerning any associated roadworks with the Haxby station scheme, this needed to run through the planning process.

·        Regarding works on the National Railway Museum, from a regulatory point of view the council would be reasonable in helping them and there would not be any shortcuts.

·        There was a balance to be struck regarding the timings and impacts of highways works.

Resolved: That it be recommended that the Committee consider adding an quarterly update on highways and regular updates on the highways capital programme to their workplan for the new municipal year.

Reason:     In order  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To consider possible outstanding business to be considered under future work plan arrangements when the new Council Administration is formed.

Resolved: That it be recommended that the Committee consider adding café licences, a quarterly update on highways and regular updates on the highways capital programme to their workplan for the new municipal year.

Reason:     In order to be keep the workplan updated.