Agenda and minutes

Venue: St George's RC School

Items
No. Item

11.

Surgery

Minutes:

The surgery gave the opportunity for residents to find out how they could minimise their carbon impact. There was information advice and free eco-giveaways. The Councillors, Safer Neighbourhoods Team, street environment officer and neighbourhood management officer were also on-hand to talk to residents.

12.

Welcome and introduction

Minutes:

Jonathan Tyler opened the meeting, the previous minutes were approved and mentioned that Clair Bailey, the Street Environment Officer, had forms to fill in. He asked if anyone had any items they wanted to raise. Heslington Road was the response as was cyclists and graffiti on New Walk Terrace. The powers of the police were explained in relation to anti-graffiti measures.

13.

World Heritage Site Status

Minutes:

Alison Sinclair talked about the city’s bid to become a  World Heritage Site. She said that the area directly affected would probably be within the walls but that it could increase the length of time tourists come to the city and mean that they visit several attractions over a few days instead of just a visit to one. Cllr Taylor addressed concerns concerning York becoming a World Heritage Site and assured the meeting that it does not harm business development in other cities. Cllr D’Agorne supported this and noted that it would take several years to become a WHS site even if the government agrees to nominate York as a possible site.

14.

Fulford Road/Fishergate transport study update

Minutes:

David Webster (Project Leader, Engineering Consultancy, City of York) discussed the Fulford traffic system. He started by covering City of York’s  hierarchy of users;

  1. Pedestrians
  2. Cyclists
  3. Disabled motorists
  4. Public transport (including taxis)
  5. Cars, lorries and motorcycles

 

He covered the consultation about crossings and locations for cycle lanes. Ways are being sought to improve bus movement throughout the city, giving them priority. Traffic will get even worse if we don’t do something about it now. There is a real risk of bus companies not servicing York because of lack of custom. Plans were on view at Fields Fayre Shop and on the internet.

 

There were concerns from the public about the lack of attempt to reduce levels of traffic and about there not being continuous cycle lanes. It was suggested that the entrance to Heslington Lane cycle path from New Lane is quite dangerous. David Webster mentioned the constraints of cycle lanes and parked cars. He encouraged people to put forward their opinions as this allowed them to exert more pressure.

 

It was asked if reducing the speed on the stretch of road in front of the Mecca Bingo hall would help. David said that the police wouldn’t allow speed bumps there. This was followed by a discussion about ways of reducing speeds with arguments for and against different ways of achieving reduced speeds.

 

Jonathan Tyler told the meeting that councillors were looking at the policy being implemented in Portsmouth to reduce speeds to 20mph linking to the proposed scheme for Grange Garth.

 

Cllr. D’Agorne thanked David Webster for coming and providing the maps and display.

15.

Ward Budget 2008/09

Minutes:

Cllr. Taylor started by explaining that for the past 5 years Fishergate has been funding Group Response Rangers, despite halving the cost it was felt that the ward wasn’t getting value for money and it had been decided to discontinue to fund it. Cllr D’Agorne added that the Safer Neighbourhoods Team has grown since Group Response were first funded by the ward. Cllr Taylor added that there is now a dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team for Fishergate. A question was raised about statistics to show the effect of PCSOs. The answer was that crime has dropped.

 

There was a debate about whether the decision to stop funding Group Response was up for discussion. It was explained that the list of potential priorities is drawn from the public’s suggestions. Jonathan Tyler took a vote at the meeting and the decision not to continue to fund Group Response was ratified.

 

There was a question about tree planting and the meeting was told that it cost £200 each tree.

 

The meeting was told that the budget hadn’t been confirmed yet but that all suggestions passed would be within budget.

 

Erin Gardner talked about various options for encouraging recycling within the ward. To support our Neighbourhood Action Plan ambition 1 – kerbside recycling for every property there were several suggestions - biodegradable bag green waste collection. Student clean up – more collections where there are more students, extra waste generated by landlords and students. She then explained that recycling sites get moved for many different reasons.

 

Graeme mentioned the Bokashi bins funded by the ward committee and Cllr D’Agorne explained that the ward is trying to work with Waste Strategy in collecting recycling from flats. There is a project planned to research different methods happening within the Guildhall Ward this year. The councillors are still pursuing the promises regarding trials of recycling collections in flats in Fishergate.

16.

Planning Panel election

Minutes:

Alison Sinclair explained the role of the planning panel, there was a discussion and the panel was elected. There was some discussion about the funding of the panel and the lack of clarity in parking permit schemes.

 

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