Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests 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.

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, 9 November 2009.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

With the consent of the Chair, Cllr Horton addressed the meeting regarding the called-in item.  He outlined the reasons for the recommendations of the SMC (Calling-In) in respect of this item, having attended the SMC (Calling-In) meeting as a substitute Member.  He noted that the recommendations had effectively been unopposed, with three Members abstaining from the vote and the remainder voting in favour.  He urged the Executive to reconsider the decisions of the Executive Member for City Strategy and to accept the recommendations of the SMC (Calling In).

To reconsider the decisions taken by the Executive Member for City Strategy on 20 October 2009 regarding the above item, if requested to do so by the Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In) meeting on 9 November 2009.

The report on this item was published as part of the agenda for the Executive Member Decision Session held on 20 October and the agenda for the Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In) to be held on 9 November.  The links to those agendas on the Council’s website are provided below:

http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=672&MId=4764&Ver=4

http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=602&MId=4734&Ver=4

Members re-considered the decisions taken by the Executive Member for City Strategy at a Decision Session on 20 October 2009 in relation to the extension of cycle facilities on Beckfield Lane between Ostman Road and Wetherby Road.

The Executive Member’s decisions on this item had been called in by Cllrs Simpson-Laing, B Watson and Hortonand subsequently considered by the Scrutiny Management Committee (SMC) (Calling In) at a meeting on 9 November.  The SMC (Calling In) had resolved:

“That Option B be approved and that the decisions be referred back to the Executive Member for City Strategy for reconsideration, and in doing so the Executive Member be asked to:

a)         not progress the scheme in its current form and

b)         give further consideration to a revised scheme later in the programme, following the completion of other more well supported cycling schemes.”

Having reconsidered the Executive Member’s decisions in the light of the advice offered by the SMC (Calling In), it was

RESOLVED: (i)         That it be noted that the provision of the second stage of the Beckfield Lane segregated cycle path was aimed at addressing safety concerns on the road and that all the other Cycling City projects included in the capital programme are fully resourced and timetabled during the period leading up to the end of the programme in March 2011.

(ii) That it is recognised that, for inexperienced and child cyclists the availability of off road facilities is a critical factor when they make their choice of transport mode.

                        (iii)       That the Executive regrets that some members of the SMC are seeking to inject a delay into the provision of safer cycling facilities in the City and hence that they will have to bear the responsibility for the detrimental effect, that failure to maximise the number of journeys completed by cycle, will have on the City’s climate change policies.

(iv) That implementation of the Beckfield Lane scheme be deferred for a maximum of 9 months, during which time Ward Councillors and other interested parties will have the opportunity to suggest alternative ways of encouraging the use of benign transport modes on the Beckfield Lane corridor.

REASON:      In accordance with the calling-in procedure and to take account of the advice offered by the Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In), whilst noting the potential consequences of this advice.