Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 18 January 2011.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 18 January 2011 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or a matter within the Executive’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Monday 31 January 2011.

It was reported that there had been seven registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme, all in relation to agenda item 5 (Minutes of Working Groups), and specifically the recommendation of the Local Development Framework Working Group (LDFWG) to implement an Article 4 Direction in respect of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). 

Tim Ngwena spoke against the LDFWG recommendation on behalf of the University of York and University of York St John Students’ Unions.  He accepted residents’ legitimate concerns about the concentration of student lettings in the City but felt that these should be addressed by other means, including active engagement with the Universities and Students’ Unions.

Mark Warters spoke in favour of the LDFWG recommendation, noting that an Article 4 Direction would put control back in the hands of residents and highlighting the approval of the new University development at Heslington as a major factor in the current shortage of student accommodation.

Paul Fletcher, of the Residential Landlords Association, spoke against the recommendation, on the basis that implementing an Article 4 Direction across the whole City would lead to increased homelessness.  He noted that training to help students to respect their neighbourhoods would be more effective in addressing residents’ concerns.

Niall McTurk, the Chairman of York Residential Landlords Association (YRLA), spoke against the recommendation, on the basis of the detrimental effect it would have on the private rented sector in York.  He submitted a petition signed by 585 people and announced the intention of the YRLA to mount a legal challenge to the implementation of an Article 4 Direction.

Phil Stephenson spoke against the recommendation, as a member of the YRLA and a Freeman of the City of York.  He stated that an Article 4 Direction would effectively disadvantage certain ethnic and age groups and urged that further consultation be carried out.

Steve Boldison, the Director of York Property Company, spoke against the recommendation, highlighting the potential effects of an Article 4 Direction on non-student lettings of HMOs and objecting to its implementation without further consultation.

The seventh registered speaker did not attend the meeting.

The Chair also acknowledged the written representations submitted in respect of this item by Zelinda de Cruz, Ben Saxton, John Zimnoch and Michael Cain, which had been circulated to Members.

To receive details of those items that are listed on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings.

Members received and noted details of those items currently listed on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings.

This report presents the minutes of recent meetings of the Local Development Framework Working Group and asks Members to consider the advice given by the Group in its capacity as an advisory body to the Executive; in particular, its recommendation in respect of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Article 4 Directions.

RESOLVED: That the recommendations made by the LDF Working Group at their meetings on 13 December 2010 and 10 January 2011 be approved.

REASON:      In accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution in relation to the role of Working Groups and with regard to the reasons given by the LDFWG for their recommendations.

Members considered a report which presented the minutes of the meetings of the Local Development Framework Working Group (LDFWG) held on 13 December 2010 and 10 January 2011.  The minutes were attached as Annexes A and B to the report. 

Attention was drawn in particular to the recommendations contained in Minute 27 of the meeting on 13 December and Minutes 31 and 32 of the meeting on 10 January, as summarised below:

Minute 27, Annex A (Towards a York Economic Vision) – to approve the vision document for further stakeholder and public consultation.¹

Minute 31, Annex B (Houses in Multiple Occupation and Article 4 Directions – to progress the implementation of a city-wide Article 4 Direction, covering the main urban area, and for Officers to continue working with stakeholders to establish detailed planning guidance and consider ways of mitigating the effects of concentrations of short-term lets on local neighbourhoods.  The original report to the LDFWG on this item was attached as Annex C. ²

Minute 32, Annex B (Biodiversity Audit) – to approve the Biodiversity Audit for publication as part of the LDF evidence base and approve the list of sites in Appendix 1 for formal recognition as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation. ³

With regard to the comments made under Public Participation in respect of Minute 31, the Chair noted that, should the recommendation be approved,  there would be a formal consultation period of 12 months during which stakeholders’ concerns could be discussed.  He hoped that those who had made submissions to date would continue to take part in these discussions.

Having noted the comments of the Labour Group Spokespersons on this item, it was

RESOLVED: That the recommendations made by the LDF Working Group at their meetings on 13 December 2010 and 10 January 2011 be approved. ^1-3

REASON:      In accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution in relation to the role of Working Groups and having regard to the reasons given by the LDFWG for their recommendations.

This report, a revised version of the one deferred from the Executive meeting on 18 January 2011, seeks approval to sign up City of York Council as an official partner in Race Online 2012, and for the Council to work with partners to inspire, encourage and support as many people as possible to get online.

RESOLVED: (i)         That approval be given to pledge the Council to be an Official Partner in the Race Online 2012 Campaign.

                        (ii)        That approval be given for Libraries and Adult and Community Education to lead on developing partnerships to make York a digitally inclusive city.

REASON:      To inspire, encourage and support people to go online and enable all residents to secure the many benefits of being able to access the internet.

                        (iii)       That Officers be requested to provide a further report on measurements of digital inclusion, including steps taken to improve internet connectivity, and access to the internet amongst older residents and lower income families.

REASON:      To ensure that these issues are being adequately addressed and monitored.

Members considered a report which sought approval to sign up the City of York Council as an official partner in Race Online 2012.

The Race Online 2012 partnership campaign had been launched in March 2010.  It aimed to join up existing community ICT infrastructures, to help the 9 million adults in the UK who had never used the internet to get online.  City of York Council already supported digital inclusion in various ways, via the Library Service, Adult & Community Education and Future Prospects.

Once the Council was signed up as a partner to Race Online, the Library Service and Adult Education would develop an action plan and take a lead role in encouraging other partners and organisations to sign up.  In developing the plan a number of actions had already been identified, including linking digital inclusion to the Sustainable Community Strategy, running a series of roadshows to promote the benefits of being online and developing the use of libraries as key access points to government and council services.

Officers at the meeting provided an update on progress with the Council’s  Fibre Network project, and other work being carried out by local and national telecommunication providers to expand access to fast broadband within York and the surrounding areas.

Having noted the comments of the Labour Group Spokespersons on this item, it was

RESOLVED: (i)         That approval be given to pledge the Council to be an Official Partner in the Race Online 2012 Campaign. ¹

                        (ii)        That approval be given for Libraries and Adult and Community Education to lead on developing partnerships to make York a digitally inclusive city. ²

REASON:      To inspire, encourage and support people to go online and enable all residents to secure the many benefits of being able to access the internet.

                        (iii)       That Officers be requested to provide a further report on measurements of digital inclusion, including steps taken to improve internet connectivity, and access to the internet amongst older residents and lower income families. ³

REASON:      To ensure that these issues are being adequately addressed and monitored.