Decisions

York Station Gateway Project – Package 2.
Permanent closure of the City Walls between Station Rise and Micklegate Bar for a further 4-week period until high-risk activity - piling works are complete and Health and Safety measures have been put in place.
The extension to the closure is required owing to unexpected ground conditions which required further design to the piling, and equipment breakdown delaying the piling works.
The 4-week closure allows safety measures to be installed, enabling the walls to be opened safely from Friday 26th July 2024, or earlier subject to a further risk assessment.
Decision - Implement Option 3. Whilst further closure is unfortunate public safety is a priority and I note work to find a solution to allow access is planned for the summer holidays.

There is sufficient evidence to meet the statutory test under s53 (3) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to make an order to record a public restricted byway over Priest Lane as shown on the map (see separate attached document).

Decision: Agreed to make an order to record a public restricted byway along Priest Lane but take a neutral stance towards the confirmation of the order in the event it is referred to the Secretary of State.

The Council has been approached by the freehold owner of 43 Thornhills, Haxby as to whether it would dispose of a small area of land which, the Council owns and currently leases to them. The land (“The Leased Property”) currently forms part of that properties enclosed garden, for which they have responsibility for the maintenance of such.
The area of the “Leased Property” is land-locked either side by garden land, which is owned by 43 Thornhills and hence there is no strategic value to the Council in retaining this asset. The “Leased Property” comprises 39 square metres and is leased subject to a lifetime tenancy at zero rent. The extent of the “Leased Property” is shown edged red on the attached plan.
The tenancy of the “Leased Property” was granted by Ryedale Council in 1985 and passed to City of York Council under Local Government Reorganisation in 1996.
The freehold interest of the “Leased Property” has been independently valued by Align Property Partners at £500. The owner of 43 Thornhills has offered to purchase the freehold interest of the land for this sum, plus pay the Council’s legal and surveyors fees totalling £1,000.
It is recommended that the freehold interest in the subject piece of land is disposed of, to the owner of 43 Thornhills for the sum of £500, plus the Council’s legal and surveyors fees.
Decision: To transfer the freehold interest of the land currently leased to the owner of 43 Thornhills, Haxby, York YO32 3WD, as shown edged red on the attached plan for the sum of £500, plus the Council’s legal and surveyors fees of £1,000.

As part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund York has been allocated £400k capital from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) to implement an investment plan that was agreed by DEFRA in January 2023. This funding can be spent only in designated rural areas as shown on the DEFRA MagicMap, and only on capital items. In October 2022, CYC Executive gave delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Place to implement this Investment Plan, in consultation with the relevant Executive Members and the York UKSPF Partnership Board. This delegation was reconfirmed in October 2023 when Executive considered the results of a light touch review of the programme. Due to the senior management restructure, the decision has been made by the COO who is able to make any decisions that are delegated to any Directors.

As part of our York REPF investment plan, the Executive Member and Partnership Board agreed to invest £100k in the BioRenewables Development Centre (BDC) at Dunnington, with the objective of providing tangible support to the Bio Yorkshire initiative which is a joint project of the University of York, Askham Bryan College and FERA Science. BDC is a subsidiary of the University of York and would invest the funds in equipment and facilities at their Dunnington site which would enable companies to pilot production of new industrial products utilizing waste from other processes.

Discussions with BDC have led to a final plan for investing this funding in facilities in Dunnington which will expend the capabilities of the centre. Design work has included detailed consideration of the Council’s requirements under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Legal have concluded that the proposed investment is permitted under the Act.

The grant requires completion of a Best Value form as it has not been awarded through a competitive process. This form has been duly completed.

Decision:
To award £100k UKSPF capital funding to the BioRenewables Development Centre for investment to support the Bio Yorkshire Initiative through the Rural England Prosperity Fund.

York has been allocated £5.1m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to implement the investment plan that was agreed by DLUHC in January 2023. In October 2022, CYC Executive gave delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Place to implement this Investment Plan, in consultation with the relevant Executive Members and the York UKSPF Partnership Board. This delegation was reconfirmed in October 2023 when Executive considered the results of a light touch review of the programme, which included allocating skills funding to the Construction Skills Initiative. Due to the senior management restructure, the decision has been made by the COO who is able to make any decisions that are delegated to any Directors.

Executive considered detailed plans for a Construction Skills Initiative at its February 2024 meeting, noting progress and reiterating their support for the project. In order to implement the project, which was due to commence in April 2024, a call for expressions of interest was made in March 2024 through the Yortender portal. Six expressions of interest were received, and the businesses expressing interest were then invited to submit grant funding applications following the process outlined in the York UKSPF Assurance Framework. The brief for the project split the work into two separate Lots, one focusing on overall project management, the development of the partnership, and supporting CYC to embed new processes to support Employment and Skills plans for major construction projects (£140k), and the second Lot focused on the provision of on-site construction training (£160k). CHY Consultancy submitted the only proposals, scoring 79/100 for Lot 1 and 77/100 for Lot 2, above the threshold score of 70/100 for projects to be fundable for a total value of £299,740.

UKSPF funding must all be spent by the end of the current financial year, when the current programme finishes and any unspent funds must be returned to Government. It is hoped that future equivalent funding will be available to extend and expand the CSI after that date, with the expectation that this would be through the new Mayoral Combined Authority.

Decision: Award £299,740 to CHY Consultancy to deliver the York Construction Skills Initiative.