Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director of City Development presenting an update on the operation of a temporary Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO), following initial consideration by Executive at its meeting on 7 October 2025.

(Report to follow)

Resolved (unanimously):

That Executive

                        i)         Agrees the publication and implementation of the York (City Centre) (Anti-Terrorism Temporary Traffic Restrictions) Order 2025 (Annex A and B of the report).

                      ii)         Notes the risk assessment at Annex C of the report and agrees the operational protocols to the scheme summarised at paragraphs 31-36, and included at confidential Annex D to the report, and the approach to excluding vehicular access set out at paragraphs 37-42 of the report. Agrees that any minor amendments to the arrangements be delegated to the Director of City Development (in consultation with the Leader) to agree with North Yorkshire Police.

                    iii)         Agrees the risk and impact mitigation package summarised at paragraphs 31-42, and (in respect of risk mitigation measures) included at confidential Annex D of the report.

                    iv)         Approves a temporary change of the Council’s policy on vehicle clamping and removals to enable the removal of vehicles parked in the protected area, within the HVM, during event hours after a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) has been issued (as waiting and loading will be temporarily suspended), in accordance with the statutory guidance for local authorities in England on civil enforcement of parking contraventions.

                      v)         Acknowledges the forecast additional costs of £102k to support the recommendations ii) and iii), and to seek to recover these costs (except where they relate to discretionary impact mitigation measures) from event operator Make it York.

                    vi)         Agrees to receive a future report early in 2026 reviewing the strategic case for, and ongoing delivery arrangements associated with, the Christmas Market and other significant footfall city centre events.

Reason

                  vii)         Having agreed to make the ATTRO in October’s Executive meeting, Executive must identify an approach to implementing the ATTRO which is reasonable and proportionate having fully considered all relevant matters, with all associated activity funded and deliverable. A further report reviewing the case for, and delivery arrangements associated with, the York Christmas Market and other largescale city centre events will allow for strategic city decision making around these future events.

The Director of City Development submitted a report which presented an update on the operation of a temporary Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO), following initial consideration by Executive at its meeting on 7 October 2025.

The following information was appended to the report:

-       ATTRO Order

-       ATTRO Notice of Making

-       Recommended Excluded Vehicle Access Risk Assessment

-       Recommended Controlled Vehicle Access Risk Assessment (Exempt from publication)

-       Equalities Impact Assessment.

The following officers were in attendance for this item:

-       Garry Taylor, Director of City Development

-       Ben Murphy, Head of City Development.

The key areas of discussion were:

·        The Director of City Development reported that there had been numerous meetings since the decision made at the October Executive meeting at multiple levels from bronze through to gold command, including engagement at national level in terms of specialist anti-terrorism advice. The only vehicles that were to be allowed were those that were from a known staffed organisation and fully vetted through the relevant processes and procedures.

·        The Opposition Group Leader expressed concern that this was the second time that Elected Members had been presented with a report less than 24 hours before the meeting, which didn't give the public or opposition members sufficient time to read through all the details contained in the report. There were also some concerns around the financial issues contained in the report. In particular, the suggestion that the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority could find £102,000 towards cost mitigations. In addition, comments made at the last meeting which threatened the Christmas Market were particularly unhelpful and destabilised partners and businesses. It was welcomed that this report had started to step back on some of those threats about cancelling the York Christmas Market.

·        The Executive Member highlighted the need to reflect on the work that happened between making the decision last year and then considering it again this year. Consideration of doing the market differently and all the risks and benefits. It had been anticipated based on the information available that it would be a matter of making a similar decision to last year. That the letter from the Chief Constable letter put the ruling administration in what was considered an impossible situation and there was a need to mitigate the harm. Officers were thanked for working at phenomenal pace since the last meeting to identify what could be done to limit the harm caused.

·        In relation to exemptions, these were limited cases for very specific deliveries. It was not ordinary deliveries to shops. The advice of the Chief Constable was clear that no other traffic could be tolerated within the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) zone. That advice was being followed. There was a need to take the responsibilities seriously and keep people as safe as possible. This was to be balanced against the impact of the decisions that might be made to limit those risks. Advice had been received from the Chief Constable, but also human rights experts.

·        The Leader of the Council concluded that Executive was committed to ensuring that residents were not excluded from elements of their city. That was a highly important aspect, and it needed to be balanced against all the other considerations. There was a need to consider how the Christmas Market functioned if it could not accommodate all residents. That there was a need to find a way of doing that and that work was to start in early 2026, as referenced in the report.

Resolved (unanimously):

That Executive

                     i)        Agrees the publication and implementation of the York (City Centre) (Anti-Terrorism Temporary Traffic Restrictions) Order 2025 (Annex A and B of the report).

                    ii)        Notes the risk assessment at Annex C of the report and agrees the operational protocols to the scheme summarised at paragraphs 31-36, and included at confidential Annex D to the report, and the approach to excluding vehicular access set out at paragraphs 37-42 of the report. Agrees that any minor amendments to the arrangements be delegated to the Director of City Development (in consultation with the Leader) to agree with North Yorkshire Police.

                  iii)        Agrees the risk and impact mitigation package summarised at paragraphs 31-42, and (in respect of risk mitigation measures) included at confidential Annex D of the report.

                  iv)        Approves a temporary change of the Council’s policy on vehicle clamping and removals to enable the removal of vehicles parked in the protected area, within the HVM, during event hours after a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) has been issued (as waiting and loading will be temporarily suspended), in accordance with the statutory guidance for local authorities in England on civil enforcement of parking contraventions.

                   v)        Acknowledges the forecast additional costs of £102k to support the recommendations ii) and iii), and to seek to recover these costs (except where they relate to discretionary impact mitigation measures) from event operator Make it York.

                  vi)        Agrees to receive a future report early in 2026 reviewing the strategic case for, and ongoing delivery arrangements associated with, the Christmas Market and other significant footfall city centre events.

Reason

                vii)        Having agreed to make the ATTRO in October’s Executive meeting, Executive must identify an approach to implementing the ATTRO which is reasonable and proportionate having fully considered all relevant matters, with all associated activity funded and deliverable. A further report reviewing the case for, and delivery arrangements associated with, the York Christmas Market and other largescale city centre events will allow for strategic city decision making around these future events.