Agenda and draft minutes

To receive and note apologies for absence.

The Committee noted apologies from Cllr Taylor.

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they may have in respect of business on the agenda.

Cllr Perrett confirmed that she had a prejudical interest in minute 6 and would leave the meeting for this item.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 24 March 2026 and 19 May 2026.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Place Scrutiny Committee on 24 March 2026 and 19 May 2026 be signed as a correct record of the meeting.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the Committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings. The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Friday 12 June 2026.

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services. Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

It was reported that there had been three registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Ruth Phillips spoke on behalf of Bishopthorpe Road traders. She welcomed the Arup report and noted it provided an opportunity to reflect and change on parking charges. She suggested the Council explore a low cost first hour rate to support local shopping areas.

Johnny Hayes stated that the Arup report vindicated the decision of the right to challenge. He asked whether the Council had a draft parking policy as it was suggested in the Arup report that the Council should review its policy.

Joe Nasson stated that the increased parking charges had led to a reduction in footfall and time spent on Bishopthorpe road. He supported work to reduce congestion which included a rise in parking costs but that this needed to be over a longer timeframe. He noted that the Council needed to also increase access to and promotion for other forms of travel across the city.

This report invites Place Scrutiny Committee to review the independent review of car parking charges produced by Arup. Feedback from the Committee will inform an Executive decision later in 2026 – to consider whether the car parking charges in local community areas should be amended.

The Council’s Chief Strategy Officer introduced the report and the Independent Review by Arup following the right to challenge. Officers asked that the Committee consider the review and that they had the opportunity to provide feedback and recommendations for an upcoming Executive Decision.

The Committee considered the review and enquired about the different pricing levels across the city and whether the Council should consider a single sustainable price across the city. Members noted that the Local Transport Plan in November 2024 included the intention to create a parking strategy that included 2 miles from the city centre policy and asked whether the evidence for a blanket approach or a place-by-place approach would produce a better policy for congestion, accessibility, income etc. Officers noted that the Council had set out a two-tier approach to the city centre and outside that area for parking prices. They noted that each place provided a complicated situation to consider in parking policy which different uses and businesses, with consideration given to whether the parking is being used predominantly for local shopping, commuting or accessing the city centre.

Members enquired as to the rational relating to the increase in parking costs which meant in some areas like Bishopthorpe road the increase was a 500% price increase and then the decision to reduce the price for some areas. Officers outlined that the Council had a clear framework on climate change and health and wellbeing that sets out the target of reducing the number of car journeys and increasing active travel that is linked through the movement and place data. Officers noted that the recommendations from Arup would assist the Council in identifying ways to better balance different polices and strategies to meet the Council’s targets.

Members asked about the income from parking and whether the Council could show how this benefits transport across the city. Officers confirmed that all funding from parking income is used to support the highways and transport budgets, as outlined within the report and that this information could be found in the parking report that is published on the Council website.  

The Committee discussed the issues relating to congestion in the city as officers confirmed the need to reduce car dependency to take pressure off the network. Members noted improvements to public transport which needed to work alongside parking policy in relation to congestion. Members also asked about whether residents parking should be part of the overall parking strategy. Officers noted that residents parking was not a tool the Council used to impose restrictions, instead it was something that came from requests and engagement with local communities.

Members asked about whether the Council was developing a parking strategy, officers confirmed that a draft strategy was scheduled for November 2025 but had been delayed due to the necessary resources not being available. Members also asked if the crux of the issue was balancing the Council’s local transport strategy and its economic strategy. Officers argued that it was more nuanced than this, citing the economic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Following Executives approval in March 2026 to undertake public engagement with residents on a recycling review, this report outlines the results and feedback from the consultation that was live between 23rd March to 1st May 2026.

Cllr Perrett left the meeting due to her conflict of interest as noted in minute 2 (19:02)

Officers introduced the report which outlined the proposal to move from boxes to bins for recycling with an intention to take the decision to Executive on 7^th July 2026. They also welcomed consideration on the size of bins and noted that there would be challenges to consider particularly for the city centre. It was confirmed that paper and cardboard would still need to be kept separate from other recycling and that bins would be black with different coloured tops for identification.

The Committee considered the benefit of larger and of smaller bins, it was noted that officers would suggest starting with larger bins with the ability for residents to request a different size. Members considered that for terrace streets it might be easier with two 180L bins rather than the larger 240L ones. While some households would find a smaller bin easier, Members also considered the prospect of larger families potentially finding a 240L bin being too small for once-a-month collections. Officers confirmed that larger bins could be available on request, however, noted that larger than 240L would be quite substantial and acknowledged the Council’s policy to promote reduce, reuse, and recycle in that order. Members asked about the challenge of moving a bin for some residents and asked if the assistance required for this had been considered. Officers confirmed that they would contact all those households that currently received assistance on collections and would offer the same support for recycling bin collections.

The Committee considered the response to the consultation and noted that while the proposed move was supported on streets with more space, terrace streets had concerns. Officers noted that about 20,000 houses would be considered smaller/terrace houses but did not believe all of these would be against a move to bins especially with the introduction of film plastics for recycling next year. Officers confirmed that St Nicks would have capacity to support the move to bins and were working up appraisals on the number they can cover, but officers did not expect this to be thousands.

Members also enquired as to whether work was being done to ensure new developments would provide sufficient room for bins over boxes and officers confirmed that they were working with planning to ensure developments were being approved with sufficient room for bins. The Committee also noted a rise in the number of HMOs and asked whether these would create issues in the city for waste that would need to be collected. Officers confirmed that collection at HMOs would be something the Council would need to do as St Nicks in the city would have issues with these collections. Members acknowledged the challenge posed by HMOs and collections more generally on terrace streets and whether more bins lessen the street scene for some areas. The Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency recognised the difficultly for York and its different types of housing and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider the Committee’s work plan for the 2026-27 municipal year.

The Committee considered its work plan and the Council’s Scrutiny Officer confirmed that work was being done to organise a informal work planning session for 2026/27.

Resolved:

                         i.         Noted that the Committee work plan.

Reason:     To ensure the Committee maintains a programme of work.