Agenda and draft minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the 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.  The following interests were declared:

• Councillor D’Agorne declared a personal interest as an active volunteer of Edible York.
• Councillor Funnell declared a personal interest as Chair of St Nicholas Fields Environment Centre.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of 1 February 2011.

RESOLVED:That the minutes of the meeting held on 1 February 2011 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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 committee’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is Monday 21 March 2011 at 5.00pm.

It was reported that there were no registrations to speak under the council’s Public Participation Scheme.

The Edible York draft final report is presented for consideration.

Consideration was given to the Edible York Draft Final Report.  A copy of the revised draft of the report was tabled and Members gave consideration to the proposed changes that were highlighted on the document. 

Copies of a draft Garden Licence were tabled.  It was agreed that this should form Annex C of the Final Report.

Members made a number of comments in respect of the Draft Final Report including:

• There was a need to clarify that the proposal for a community bed at Tang Hall referred to an area beside the Sustrans track.
• An addition to recommendation 3 arising from the review in relation to the Council’s website containing a link to any local “Green Portal” that might be established.
• A suggestion had been put forward that a bond should be required from individuals and organisations to cover any costs incurred in clearing land if a project was not sustained.  Members agreed that this would not be appropriate and may deter food-growing initiatives. 
• Proposed changes were put forward to the wording of recommendation 6 (and the associated implications) to reflect the following:

-         Omit the reference to highway verges in paragraph 67

-         Add information pertaining to projects on the highway to the implications section of the report

-         It was noted that voluntary organisations such as Edible York and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) had public liability insurance for their projects.  The licence at Annex C to the draft final report required that all parties had public liability insurance and the Council would need to see proof of this before they approved any scheme.

Members noted that the report would be considered by the Scrutiny Management Committee at their meeting on 4 April 2011 and would then be forwarded to the Executive for consideration at their meeting on 12 April 2011.

The Committee wished to place on record their thanks for the support received from the Scrutiny Officer in the preparation of the report.  They also expressed their appreciation of the contribution that had been made by other officers and by voluntary organisations.

RESOLVED:That, subject to the agreed amendments, the Edible York Final Report be approved.

REASON:      In order to progress this review.