Agenda and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests, other than the standing declarations attached, that 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, other than the standing declarations, that they might have in the business on the agenda.

No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Economic & City Development Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 2 November 2010.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the Economic and City Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 2 November 2010 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered their wish to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is Monday 6 December 2010 by 5pm.

To register please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of this agenda.

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

This is a copy of a report that was presented to the Executive Member for City Strategy at his Decision Session on 7 December. This report relates to a review which has been recently been undertaken by the Committee as a result of the Councillor Call For Action. It is provided for information only.

Members received a report, which was presented to the Executive Member for City Strategy at his Decision Session on 7 December.

The report discussed the possible reinstatement of a left-turn traffic lane on the Water End approach to the Clifton Green signals, whilst retaining a dedicated cycle lane. The report also included the responses to a proposal to take forward a chicane trial along Westminster Road and The Avenue.

Officers reported that the Executive Member had decided to not proceed with the proposed left turn lane and that the chicane trial should not be progressed.

RESOLVED:             That the contents of the report and the decision made by the Executive Member be noted.  

REASON:                  To update Members on the decision taken.

This report provides Members of the Scrutiny Committee with an overview and update in relation to the major transport initiatives in the city currently being progressed.

Members received a report which appraised them of an overview and update in relation to the major transport initiatives in the city currently being progressed.

In their discussion, Members asked Officers questions which related to;

• Lessons learnt from the Fulford Road corridor improvements and the Blossom Street layout scheme.
• The finish date for the A1237/A19 Rawcliffe Roundabout improvements.
• References to changes made by North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) in relation to subsidised bus services in the city, and the affect of these changes might have on York.

Officers reported that a proposal to extend the new layout from the Blossom Street scheme further down Holgate Road was not felt to be detrimental. They reported that a safety audit would be conducted in relation to pedestrian safety at the junctions and crossing point. They also informed Members that they hoped that improvements to the Rawcliffe Roundabout would be completed within the next financial year. Members were informed that the issues about changes to subsidised bus services from NYCC had been raised at the Executive Member for City Strategy’s Decision Session and that Officers would examine these in due course.

RESOLVED:              (i) That the report and present position in relation to major transport initiatives in the city be noted.

                                     (ii)That a further report be brought to the Committee in six months.¹

REASON:                  That the Committee be updated of the current transport initiatives.

This report provides details of the 2010/11 forecast outturn position for both finance and performance in City Strategy and Housing Services. 

Members received a report which provided details of the 2010/11 forecast outturn position for both finance and performance in City Strategy and Housing Services.

RESOLVED:             That the report be noted.

REASON:                  To update the Committee of the latest finance and performance position.

This Draft Final Report presents Members with all the information collated in relation to the scrutiny review to date. They are asked to formulate recommendations arising from this.

Members received a draft final report in regards to the scrutiny review that they had conducted on Newgate Market.

Members were asked to consider the information to date and formulate the recommendations arising from the review. Their discussions were focused around some common themes that had arisen during the course of the review namely:

• The implementation of the cleansing Service Level Agreement (SLA) and the possibility of this being reviewed after it had been in place for three months time.
• The use of the market space when the market was closed, particularly in the evening, for unauthorised parking.
• Possible enforcement action that could be used to dissuade people from parking in the market space.
• The trial of permanent sculpted stalls instead of current temporary ones.
• The possibility of the introduction of a fixed closing time for the market.
• The accessibility and attractiveness of the entrances to the market.
• The use of the empty space at the bottom of the market for storage purposes.
• A reduction of stalls in the medium term to generate more footfall.

Members expressed the view that as the market had been shown to be a viable and profitable operation for the city, that a greater amount of financial assistance should be given, in order to harness investment. It was suggested that if a certain part of the income of the market was reinvested into the market that this might build confidence amongst traders. Further discussion ensued as to where this assistance could be derived from. 

The Scrutiny Officer informed the Committee that the final report would be presented to the Executive at one of their future meetings.

RESOLVED:       1.That the draft final report be agreed and having considered all the information received the following recommendations arising from the review be added:

NB: The exact wording of the following recommendations are subject to change.

1.                                 To improve the general cleanliness of the market. This can be achieved in the short term by:

(i)                                         Early implementation of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) with a review after 3 months.

(ii)                                       Closing the market one day per quarter for deep cleansing(the first instance to be before Easter 2011).

And in the medium term by;

(iii)                                     Exploring the possibilities of storing waste underground-possibly in St Sampson’s Square or by exploring other suitable options.

2.                                         To improve the public realm-this can be achieved in the short term by:

(i)                                         Working with landlords and leaseholders of buildings surrounding the market to improve their general appearance.

(ii)                                       Trialling ‘sculpted style’ stalls along Jubbergate.

(iii)                                     Looking at ways of preventing unauthorised parking in Silver Street and the Market.

(iv)                                     Providing additional market stalls along Silver Street.

(v)                                       Improving lighting in the area.

3.                                         To begin to improve the early evening economy in the short term. This can be achieved by undertaking a trial of a fixed closing time of 5 pm for the market.

4.                                         In the short term, to improve and make more attractive all entrances to the market.

5.                                         In the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Members are asked to review the Committee’s work plan for 2010/11. Extracts from the Forward Plan are included for Members’ information.

Members considered the Committee’s work plan for 2010/11 together with the extracts from the Forward Plan related to the Committee’s remit.

RESOLVED:     That the work plan and Forward Plan extracts be noted.