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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Corporate Services, Climate Change and Scrutiny Management Committee |
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Date |
25 September 2023 |
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Present |
Councillors Fenton (Chair), Ayre, Baxter, J Burton, Healey, Kelly, D Myers, Steels-Walshaw, K Taylor, Waller and Widdowson |
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Apologies
In Attendance
External Attendees
Officers Present |
Councillor Rowley
Councillor Kilbane (Executive Member, Economy and Transport) Councillor Lomas (Executive Member, Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion) Councillor Douglas (Executive Member, Leader, Policy, Strategy and Partnerships)
Kathryn Black, CEO, YMT Simon Bean, English Heritage
Neil Ferris, Corporate Director of Place Kathryn Daly, Head of City Development Claire Foale, Assistant Director Policy and Strategy Dawn Steel, Head of Democratic and Scrutiny Services Frances Harrison, Head of Legal Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer |
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1. Declarations of Interest (5.33 pm)
Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.
In respect of Item 4 (the Castle Gateway Update) Cllr Burton noted that she had contributed to consultations held as part of the planning process. On the same item, Cllr Merrett noted that he had also contributed to the consultation process.
2. Minutes (5.34 pm)
Resolved: That the minutes of the last meeting held on 06 March 2023 were approved as a correct record.
3. Public Participation (5.35 pm)
It was reported that there had been four registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
Flick Williams spoke on Item 4 (the Castle Gateway Update) where she highlighted the planning process for the project and expressed concerns in relation to the plan for Blue Badge parking. She stated that the Castle car park was the closest ground level car park to city centre amenities and explained the reasons why cars were essential to many disabled people.
Gwen Swinburn spoke on matters relevant to the committee’s remit, voicing concerns about issues including the scrutiny of officer decisions, the role of scrutiny officers and the content of the forward plan. She also commented upon consultation procedures.
Andy D’Agorne also spoke on Item 4, he noted that there were parts of the project that were in receipt of external funding and cautioned against losing sight of the vision for the project. He referred to car park usage and suggested that greater promotion of the park and ride service would reduce car travel in the city.
Phil Bixby spoke on Item 5 (Resident Consultation and Engagement) . He gave his experience of consultation processes and noted the limitations of some methods of consultation. He highlighted the benefits of long-term creative engagement processes and co-production methods as being key to successful consultation programmes.
4. Castle Gateway Update (5.48 pm)
The Corporate Director of Place and the Head of City Development provided an update for Members on the Castle Gateway project. They confirmed that the ongoing aspiration for the project was to develop the economic potential and sustainability of the site.
The officers and the Executive Members for Economy and Transport and for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion, responded to questions from Members which covered the financial position, including the cost and risk to do nothing, Blue Badge parking provision and car park options, funding sources including levelling up bids and the devolution deal and the time constraints on the sources of funding as well as the existing planning permission.
During the discussion, Executive Members confirmed the intention to undertake a review of the project to determine what would be appropriate to deliver within the funding constraints. This was to be brought to November’s Executive meeting and could be brought to pre-decision scrutiny if required.
Resolved: That the Castle Gateway update be noted.
Reason: To keep the committee updated.
5. Resident Consultation and Engagement CSMC 250923 (6.55 pm)
The Assistant Director of Policy and Strategy presented a report on Resident Consultation and Engagement and explained the approach taken to the consultation on several different purposes. She corrected the error on page 36 of the report, paragraph 36, where York Disability Rights Forum (YDRF) had been misnamed.
The Assistant Director, together with the Leader of the Executive, responded to a variety of questions and comments from Members, including the tone of all council communications with residents, the role of Ward Councillors in distributing information, quality control, levels of engagement, how the council consults with all city users including the least engaged and those residents who cannot leave home, the role of social media and consultation fatigue.
It was agreed to include the communications plan in the local transport plan scrutiny report which was on the work plan of the Economy, Place, Access & Transport Scrutiny Committee.
Members requested that the future report on improving customer experience, which was part of the council plan, be brought to the Committee prior to Executive.
Resolved:
i. That the contents in the report be noted.
ii. The Improving Customer Experience report be brought to the Committee for scrutiny.
Reason: To keep the Committee updated.
6. Work Plan (7.43 pm)
Members considered the Scrutiny Work Plan for the scrutiny committees and a request to incorporate the Forward Plan within this item.
Resolved:
i. That the Work Plan be noted.
ii. That a hyperlink to the current Forward Plan be included in future scrutiny committee work plans.
Reason: To provide an overview of the scrutiny work programme.
Cllr S Fenton, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.32 pm and finished at 7.49 pm].