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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Executive |
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Date |
14 October 2021 |
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Present |
Councillors Aspden (Chair), Ayre, Craghill, D'Agorne, Smalley, Waller and Widdowson |
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Apologies
In Attendance |
Councillors Cuthbertson and Runciman
Councillor Kilbane |
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42. 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.
Cllr Waller declared a prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 5 (Minute 46 refers), as a governor of York High School and Westfield Primary School. He left the room during consideration of that item and took no part in the debate or decisions thereon.
43. Public Participation
It was reported that there had been 3 registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme, all in relation to Agenda Item 4 (Housing Delivery Programme Update).
Cllr Fenton spoke as Chair of the Housing and Community Safety Policy & Scrutiny Committee. He thanked officers and the Executive Member for engaging with the Scrutiny recommendations, as referred to in paragraph 70 of the report, and welcomed the approach to affordable homes.
Cllr Pavlovic spoke as Vice Chair of the same Scrutiny Committee and as Opposition Spokesperson. He also highlighted the recommendations of the Scrutiny review, and went on to state that there was a need to acknowledge the severity of the housing crisis in York and provide genuinely affordable housing in the city.
Christopher Rainger spoke on behalf of the Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington Local History Society. He urged Members to retain all the existing houses on Ordnance Lane as a heritage asset that would enhance the scheme, noting that they could be refurbished and made more energy efficient, like similar houses in the area.
44. 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.
45. Housing Delivery Programme Update
The Director of Housing, Economy & Regeneration presented a report which outlined progress on the Housing Delivery Programme since the last report to Executive on 22 October 2020 (Minute 48 of that meeting refers), and sought approval to submit a planning application for Ordnance Lane and Hospital Fields Road site.
The Programme aimed to deliver over 600 new homes in York, with a minimum 40% of these being affordable housing tenures such as social rent and shared ownership. To date it had attracted grant funding of over £7.5m and was expected to deliver more than 100 affordable homes by the end of 2021. Progress made since last October on Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the Programme was summarised in paragraphs 10-13 of the report, and the financial position was detailed in paragraphs 24-26. Site maps and images of completed and proposed building works were attached at Annexes 1-6.
The Executive Member for Housing & Safer Neighbourhoods welcomed the report, highlighting the quality and sustainability of the new developments, the level of affordable housing, and the amount of community engagement in the Programme. In response to matters raised under Public Participation, she welcomed the involvement of Scrutiny, noting that some houses at Lowfield had been prioritised for key workers and that there were plans to work more closely with Housing Authorities, including at York Central. Regarding Ordnance Lane, officers confirmed that retaining the buildings referred to, which were in poor condition, would constrain the site layout and reduce the number of homes.
Resolved: (i) That approval be given to submit a planning application to deliver new homes, community and flexible commercial spaces at the Ordnance Lane and Hospital Fields Road site.
(ii) That it be noted that an outline business case has been developed and that this will be refined and brought before Executive post planning permission, to allocate a construction development budget to the project, transfer the general fund part of the site into the HRA through appropriation, and agree the procurement of a construction partner.
(iii) That the grant offer of £2.64m under the Brownfield Land Release Fund be accepted to support projects at Ordnance Lane, the former Tang Hall Library site, and Chaloners Road Garage Court, and that approval be given to:
· use up to £700k of this allocation for the Ordnance Lane project to undertake utility works on site and prepare a tender pack to procure a contractor to undertake enabling works; and
· put the enabling works contract out to the market, with the contract signed after the business case for the whole site redevelopment has been approved by Executive.
(iii) That an additional £500k be allocated from the Housing Delivery Programme capital budget in order to undertake detailed design work at the Ordnance Lane and Hospital Fields Road site in conjunction with the submission of the planning application and completion of the financial business case for this site.
(iv) That a grant application be submitted to Homes England to support the delivery of additional Shared Ownership affordable homes on the Ordnance Lane and Hospital Fields Road site.
(v) That the lessons learned on Phase 2 projects within the programme, and the progress and approach to projects which may form part of Phase 3 of the programme, including continuing use of the high standards defined in the ‘Building Better Places’ design manual as the set of objectives for the Housing Delivery Programme, be noted.
(v) That the progress made on bringing forward proposals for the community-led redevelopment of the former Tang Hall Library and the Morrell House site for housing be noted, and that approval be given to dispose of the former Tang Hall Library and Morrell House sites on long leases for the purpose of enabling construction/delivery of community housing, on condition that any such disposal is made at or above its open market valuation and is subject to a deliverable business case provided from community housing organisations.
(vi) That authority be delegated to the Director of Housing, Economy & Regeneration (in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer, Executive Member for Housing, Executive Member for Finance & Performance and the Director of Governance or her delegated officers) to take such steps as are necessary to negotiate and complete the disposal of the sites.
Reason: To progress with the construction, rental and sale of much needed new homes in York set within healthy and sustainable neighbourhoods.
46. School Capital Works at Millthorpe and Manor Schools to Accommodate the Expected Demand for Pupils Places from within the Schools' Catchment Area by September 2022
The Assistant Director, Education and Skills, presented two reports, which provided details of capital work needed to create additional accommodation at Millthorpe School and Manor CE Academy to address current accommodation pressure and meet an expected temporary 3-year demand for pupil places in the Millthorpe catchment area and in the West of York Secondary Planning Area (SPA West), and sought approval for funding to undertake the work.
Three options were presented in respect of each school, as detailed in paragraphs 14-40 of the Millthorpe report and paragraphs 13-37 of the Manor report and summarised below:
Option 1 – do nothing. This was not recommended, as the needs of pupils and staff could not be met within the existing buildings.
Option 2 – create additional teaching space only. This was not recommended, as this would not address the issue of circulation around the buildings and the associated risks to safety.
Option 3 - provide additional teaching & circulation space, at a cost of £1.9m for Millthorpe School and £1.1m for Manor CE Academy. This was the recommended option.
The Leader read out the comments of the Executive Member for Children and Education, who strongly supported the recommended option in each case.
Resolved: (i) That, in respect of Millthorpe School, Option 3 be approved, and that £1.9m be allocated by grant agreement from the Basic Needs Fund to South Bank Academy Trust for capital works to create additional teaching and circulation space at the school.
(ii) That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director, Education and Skills in consultation with the Director of Governance (or her delegated officers) to take such steps as are necessary to enter into the resulting grant agreement.
Reason: to create the space needed to address current accommodation pressure and fulfil the expected demand for a temporary 3-year bulge of pupil places from within the catchment area of Millthorpe School by September 2022.
(iii) That, in respect of Manor CE Academy, Option 3 be approved and that funding of £1.1m from the Basic Needs fund (with a proportion to be recouped from S106 monies in relation to the Civil Service housing development) for capital works to the Academy by grant agreement to Hope Sentamu Learning Trust.
(iv) That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director, Education and Skills in consultation with the Director of Governance (or her delegated officers) to take such steps as are necessary to enter into the resulting agreement.
Reason: To create the space needed to address current accommodation pressure and fulfil the expected demand for a temporary 3-year bulge of pupil places in the SPA West area (excluding the Millthorpe catchment area) by September 2022.
47. Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan
The Corporate Director of Place and the Head of Highways & Fleet presented a report which sought approval to introduce a strategic approach to the asset management of York’s highway network.
This approach involved the introduction of a Highways Improvement Asset Management Plan (HIAMP), and a new Highways Safety Inspection Manual (HSIM), as attached at Annexes A and B to the report. The HIAMP provided an integrated framework for the delivery of highways maintenance services across the city’s road and footway network and would become a live and working document. Both documents followed good industry practice as promoted by the UK Road Liaison Group.
In response to questions, officers confirmed that all roads would continue to be maintained, although a limited budget meant that full re-surfacing would be subject to prioritisation.
The Executive Member for Transport welcomed the new approach, which aimed to secure an efficient and effective system and keep roads in a safe condition. Members agreed a minor amendment to the HSIM to include reports / complaints from ward councillors as issues that might lead to enhanced inspection frequency.
Resolved: That the introduction of a highways management framework, including implementation of the Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan and theHighways Safety Inspection Manual, be approved, subject to the addition of the words ‘and ward councillors’ to the end of section 2.3.3(b) of the Manual.
Reason: To ensure delivery of all highway maintenance services in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Cllr K Aspden, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.30 pm and finished at 6.35 pm].