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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Executive |
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Date |
22 April 2021 |
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Present |
Councillors Aspden (Chair), Craghill, Cuthbertson, D'Agorne, Orrell, Runciman, Smalley, Waller and Widdowson |
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Apologies
In Attendance |
Councillor Ayre
Councillor Myers |
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118. Declarations of Interest
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 interests, that they might have in the business on the agenda. No interests were declared.
119. Exclusion of Press and Public
Resolved: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting should any discussion arise on Annex 4 to Agenda Item 7 (York Central and York Station Gateway Update) on the grounds that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). This information is classed as exempt under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as revised by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).
120. Minutes
Resolved: That the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 18 March 2021 be approved as a correct record, to be signed by the Chair at a later date.
121. Public Participation
It was reported that there had been 3 registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
Gwen Swinburn spoke on matters within the Executive’s remit, raising concerns about issues of governance and transparency.
Cllr Pearson spoke on Agenda Item 7 (York Central and York Station Gateway, as a Ward Member who also worked in the rail industry, supporting the project and proposals.
Ben Hughes spoke on Agenda Item 8 (Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Update) on behalf of the Environment Agency, highlighting the importance of working in partnership to manage flood risk.
122. Forward Plan
Members received and noted details of the items that were on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings at the time the agenda was published.
123. City of York Council Recovery and Renewal Strategy - April Update
The Chief Operating Officer presented a report which provided an update for April on activities both directly in response to Covid-19 and to support recovering and renewal.
The latest Covid figures were reported at the meeting. The number of cases in York now stood at 10-15 per 100k population, compared with a regional average of 50. The report sought approval for a strategy for engaging with residents, as set out in paragraphs 10-14 and Annex 1, and for an approach to responding to the government funding opportunities detailed in Annexes 2 and 3, as described in paragraphs 21-23.
Members paid tribute to the positive work being carried out by teams across the council. The Chair praised residents and businesses for keeping infections low and urged residents to continue following the guidance and to participate in the proposed consultation.
Resolved: (i) That the contents of the report be noted.
(ii) That the approach to resident engagement outlined in Annexes 1a, 1b and 1c of the report be approved.
(iii) That approval be given to trial the collection of bagged commercial waste on a Sunday within the city centre, as outlined in paragraph 20.
(iv) That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Economy & Place, in consultation with relevant Executive Members, to select projects for submission to the Levelling Up Fund and that an update on submissions be presented to the Executive meeting in July, as outlined in Annex 2.
(v) That a York UK Community Renewal Fund call for proposals, as set out in Annex 3, be approved.
(vi) That the final decisions on the selection of a York UK Community Renewal Fund priority list for submission to government be delegated to the Executive Member for Ecomomy & Strategic Planning, in consultation with the Executive Member for Culture, Leisure & Communities.
Reason: To support the re-opening of the city, promote a clean and tidy city centre, and enable York to benefit from government funding to support regeneration, economic development and infrastructure across the UK.
124. York Central and York Station Gateway Update
The Corporate Director of Economy & Place presented a report which provided an update on the progress of the York Central project, set out changes to the financial profile and governance arrangements for the project, and sought approval in respect of resources required to ensure the council’s future involvement in delivering York Central (YC) and the associated York Station Gateway (YSG) project.
Progress on the key YC project milestones was set out paragraph 12 of the report. IP1 enabling works to demolish existing buildings and prepare the site had now commenced, prior to the start of IP2 construction works in the autumn. Following the grant of funding direct to the landowners, delivery arrangements had been reviewed and City of York Council (CYC) would no longer be delivering the infrastructure. A Highway Adoption process would therefore be required. Key progress on the YSG project was set out in paragraphs 25-29. Technical support services contracts for YSG would need to be re-procured separately from those for YC, to ensure compliance with procurement regulations. Proposals for CYC’s continued involvement in YC, and commitment of £900k of the remaining capital funding, were set out in paragraphs 36-41.
The cycle and pedestrian path running from Salisbury Terrace to Scarborough Bridge, an important part of the active travel network, was in private ownership and leased to the council until 2023. The council had the option to: a) exit the lease (not recommended), b) seek to extend it (not supported by the landowner) or c) purchase the freehold (recommended), at a cost of £150k.
Resolved: (i) That the revised infrastructure delivery arrangements, and the subsequent reduction of the capital allocation for York Central to £41.7m to reflect the direct award of £77.1m MHCLG funding and £23.5m WYTF funding direct to Homes England, be noted.
(ii) That it be noted that Homes England has agreed to reimburse City of York Council £3.836m of the costs incurred in preparing the site access proposals, Master Plan and initial design work, planning applications and the completion of site preparation works from the capital grant awarded to Homes England by MHCLG, and that this money will be retained to support York Central going forward.
(iii) That approval be given to procure Consultancy Design Services, Cost Consultancy and Project Assurance for the York Station Gateway scheme, and that authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place (in consultation with the Director of Governance or her delegated officers) to take such steps as are necessary to procure, award and enter into the resulting contracts.
(iv) That the proposed arrangements for the York Central Partnership be approved.
(v) That the procurement of technical services to support the process of adoption of the York Central highways infrastructure be agreed and that authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place (in consultation with the Director of Governance or her delegated officers) to take such steps as are necessary to procure, award and enter into the resulting contracts.
(vi) That the acquisition of land adjoining Scarborough Bridge to ensure the future availability and improvement of the riverside path be approved, at a cost of £150k from the York Central enabling budget.
(vii) That further funding of £900k be committed from the York Central enabling budget to continue to support delivery of the project. This will fund the CYC project team and legal, consultancy support costs to ensure CYC has the capacity to fulfil its Enterprise Zone obligations, prepare the EZ investment business case, seek further investment funding for project enhancements and provide input to the York Central Design panel, support the Leader’s strategic role on the project, and continue to support the partnership’s community engagement and communications work.
(viii) That a further report be brought forward on the delivery of remaining infrastructure packages, the future use of Enterprise Zone funding and the use of future Section106 monies.
Reason: To enable the successful delivery of the York Central and York Station Gateway schemes.
125. Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Update
The Director of Highways, Transport & Planning presented a report which presented an updated York Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA).
The SFRA had last been updated in 2013. The updated version, attached at Annex 1 to the report, had been revised to reflect the latest mapping and strategic level planning policy. It had also been simplified and a separate drainage document developed. Members had the option to:
A - accept the updated SFRA as evidence base to support decision making and agree to submit it for consideration as part of the ongoing Local Plan Examination, as recommended; or
B - reject the updated SFRA and suggest amendments.
The report had been considered by the Local Plan Working Group (LPWG) on 20 April and their comments, supporting the recommendations, were reported at the meeting.
The Executive Member for Environment & Climate Change commended the report to Members and, having noted the comments made under Public Participation, it was
Resolved: (i) That the updated SFRA be accepted as an evidence base to support decision-making and the emerging Local Plan policy.
(ii) That approval be given to submit the SFRA for consideration as part of the ongoing Local Plan Examination and for consultation purposes.
Reason: To ensure that there is an up to date evidence base to support flood risk policy and decision-making in relation to flood risk.
126. Continuation of Temporary Amendments to the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement
The Corporate Director of Economy & Place presented a report which sought approval to continue the temporary amendments made in October 2020 to the council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) for a further six months, in response to ongoing restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report had been considered by the Local Plan Working Group (LPWG) on 20 April and their comments, including suggested changes to the recommendations, were reported at the meeting.
In response to questions from Members, officers confirmed that they were aware of the need to be inclusive and to make provision for those unable to access either the internet or libraries.
Resolved: (i) That the temporary revisions to the council’s adopted SCI, as set out in Annex A, be approved for a further period of 6 months maximum, to reflect the specific requirements arising from national guidance and procedures on dealing with the implications of coronavirus.
(ii) That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Economy & Place, in conjunction with the Executive Member for Economy & Strategic Planning, to take a decision to revert back to the pre-pandemic version of the SCI when the pandemic situation allows for suspended consultation methods to be lifted.
Reason: To ensure that consultation and engagement in the planning process remains effective at a time when restrictions have been placed on face to face social interactions to help combat the spread of coronavirus.
Cllr K Aspden, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.30 pm and finished at 6.30 pm].