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.

The Chair invited Members to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests which they had in the business on the agenda.  Cllr Hudson declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 4 (York Racecourse – Application for Lease Extension and Amendments), as a member of York Racecourse.

To consider excluding the public and press from the meeting during consideration of Annex 2 to Appendix B to agenda item 5 (York Racecourse – Application for Lease Extension and Amendments), on the grounds that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons. This information is classed as exempt under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006.

RESOLVED: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Annex 2 to Appendix B to agenda item 5 (York Racecourse, Application for Lease Extension and Amendments), on the grounds that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons, which is classed as exempt under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the remit of the Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In) may do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Friday, 23 November 2007.

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

Cllr Merrett, as one of the Calling-in Members and Ward Member for Micklegate Ward, addressed the meeting in support of the calling-in.  He re-iterated the comments made by the Shadow Executive on the York Racecourse item at their meeting on 14 November, in particular the need to address the public order and traffic issues arising in residential areas as a result of activities at the Racecourse.  He stated that the opportunity to address these issues as part of negotiations over the lease should not be missed and asked the SMC either to initiate a scrutiny review to look at how negotiations should be handled or to advise the Executive to adopt the Shadow Executive’s recommendations.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2007.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In) held on 8 January 2007 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

To consider the decision of the Executive on the above item, which has been called in by Councillors Scott, Merrett, Fraser, Gunnell and King in accordance with the provisions of the Council’s Constitution.  A cover report is attached setting out the reasons for the call-in, the remit and powers of Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In) in relation to the call-in procedure, together with the original report and decision of the Executive.

Members received a report which asked them to consider the decision of the Executive, at their meeting on 20 November 2007, regarding a request from the Race Committee to extend and amend their lease of York Racecourse.  Members were reminded that the Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In) had the option either to confirm the decision of the Executive (Option A) or to refer it back to the Executive for further consideration (Option B).

Full details of the Executive’s decision were attached as Appendix A to the report. The original report to the Executive, on which their decision had been based, was attached as Appendix B.  In summary, the Executive had decided:

·        to grant the extension and amendments to the lease;

·        to ask Officers to  investigate options for providing a set of temporary toilets on major race days;

·        to keep the other issues raised by ward members under review and addressed as part of any proposed changes to licensing arrangements and planning permissions and / or during traffic management reviews;

·        that any further refinement of the ‘off course’ race management arrangements be submitted as a revenue growth bid.

This decision had been called in by Cllrs Scott, Merrett, Fraser, Gunnell and King, for the following reasons:

“The Executive should have referred the lease back to Officers for further negotiation and / or should have ensured that monies were earmarked from the monies received to ensure that the issues raised by the Shadow Executive were addressed.”

After a full discussion, which took into account the comments made by Cllr Merrett as a Calling-in Member, Cllr Scott moved, and Cllr Simpson-Laing seconded, the following motion:

“That Option B be approved and the decision referred back to the Executive for further consideration, with the recommendation that the Executive:

(i)         Refer the lease back to Officers for further negotiations, in order to:

a)  Seek an automatic allocation from the lease income to cover ward matters, including:

·        toilets;

·        policing;

·        local traffic management;

·        benefits for residents by means of a reduced cost of entry to the Racecourse for York Card holders.

b)     Investigate the possibility of providing access to the Racecourse from the southern side of the site.

(ii)        Agree, if it is found to be inappropriate to deal with these issues via the lease, on a sum of income from the lease to be automatically set aside to address the ward matters in Micklegate specified in (i)a) above.”

Cllr Taylor then proposed, and Cllr Scott agreed, that the motion be amended to include the following additional recommendation to the Executive:

“Ask Officers to investigate measures being taken in other cities to deal with public order issues arising from sporting events.”

The motion, as amended, was then debated and voted upon.  The result of the vote was 5 for the motion and 3 against.  It was therefore

RESOLVED: “That Option B be approved and the decision referred back to the Executive for further consideration, with the recommendation that the Executive:

(i) Refer the lease back to Officers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.