Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Member is asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which he may have in respect of business on this agenda.

The Executive Member was asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any personal interests, not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that he might have had in respect of business on the agenda. He confirmed he had none.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Wednesday 14 November 2018.  Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the Executive Member’s remit.

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officers for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be filmed and webcast, or recorded, including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts or, if recorded, this will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting.

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting. Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officers (contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at

https://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/file/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809

It was reported that there had been 10 registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Cllr Waller presented two petitions from residents. The first related to Wetherby Road, where residents had requested that the council consider action to control the speed on the road. The second petition related to the Kingsway West area, where a large amount of development was planned and residents requested that the council undertake works to improve access along Kingsway West and Ascot Way prior to any further building work in the area. He asked the Executive Member to encourage officers to provide a timetable so that residents were informed on when work would be undertaken. In relation to agenda item 7 (Street Lighting Policy) he requested that where street lights were obstructed by City of York Council trees, that more work was done to manage that situation.

Peter Sheaf spoke on behalf of York Cycle Campaign on agenda items 3 (Fossgate Public Realm Improvements) and 10 (Walmgate Bar Traffic Signal Refurbishment). A detailed written representation had also been submitted by York Cycle Campaign. With regard to Walmgate Bar Traffic Signal Refurbishment he stated that DfT statistics showed that Walmgate Bar was particularly dangerous for cyclists and therefore cyclist safety should be a priority for any changes to the Bar. However he felt that the proposals failed to prioritise cyclist safety, contravened the safety aspect of the DfT guidance on cycle infrastructure and failed to meet the equalities requirement of the Equalities Act 2010 and he requested that should the scheme be approved, that proposals should be amended accordingly to improve safety for cyclists. With regard to Fossgate Public Realm Improvements, he advised that there was support from the York Cycle Campaign for the implementation of a two way cycle access on Walmgate, Fossgate, possibly Colliergate and High Petergate and he felt that, contrary to officer’s views, Fossgate was wide enough for a contraflow.

Cllr Craghill spoke on agenda items 3 (Fossgate Public Realm Improvements) and 6 (Marygate Car Park Systems). In relation to Fossgate Public Realm Improvements, she addressed the proposed consultation process to pedestrianise Fossgate. She expressed her support for option two but asked that consultation took place as soon as possible, in keeping with the recommendations agreed at the Economy and Place Policy Development pre decision call in committee meeting, that it be carried out in keeping with the people’s street principles; and that further improvements were looked at for provision for pedestrians at the junction of Fossgate, Pavement and Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate. Regarding Marygate Car Park Systems, Cllr Craghill expressed the need for officers to take a strategic look at the future of all City of York Council car parks, in order to provide high quality facilities for everyone including people with disabilities and an appropriate number of spaces to support the Sustainable Transport Policy.

Cllr D’Agorne spoke on agenda items 5 (Changes to Permit Emission Charges) and 3 (Fossgate Public Realm Improvements).  With  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

This report provides background to the Fossgate Public Realm Improvements scheme, which aims to enhance the street’s appearance and character; create a more pedestrian-friendly environment; attract more people into Fossgate; and improve access for pedestrians and cyclists, whilst maintaining vehicular access for residents and deliveries.

Resolved:

(i)      That the implementation of the proposed scheme as shown in Annex C be approved.

Reason: The proposals serve to provide much needed improvements to enhance the layout of the street in support of the recent change in traffic flow direction, thereby improving the quality and experience for pedestrians with additional crossing facilities, widened footways and sections of the road raised to improve accessibility. By renovating the junction of Pavement and modifying the Merchantgate junction, this will provide improved connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists to access Fossgate.

(ii)      That approval be given to advertise a Traffic Regulation Order required to amend the parking and waiting restrictions on Fossgate associated with the measures and to give approval to implement the changes to the TRO if no objections are received. If objections are received to the TRO advertisement, these will be reported back to the Executive Member for a decision.

Reason: to enable the parking and waiting restrictions to be amended and implemented concurrent to the proposed scheme

(iii)     That approval be given to undertake a future, more focussed consultation on the potential to pedestrianise Fossgate either in full or partially,noting that any consultation would not take place until works on the scheme had been completedand after options for pedestrianisation had been presented to the  Executive Member.

Reason: The consultation has highlighted that there is a strong desire to pedestrianise Fossgate.

(iv)    That the recommendations of the Economy and Place Policy Development - Pre Decision Call In were taken into consideration in coming to a decision.

Reason: To consider the views of Councillors through the Pre Decision Scrutiny process.

This report  will update the Executive Member on the management of the council’s highway structures and outline the proposed programme of bridge work to be progressed using the funding provided in the council’s capital programme.

Resolved:

(i)      That the adoption of the new risk based highway structure inspection procedure, in order for City of York Council to comply with the recommendations within the code of practice, Well Managed Highway Structures, be noted.

Reason: To enable the continued management of City of York Council highway structures.

(ii)      That the proposed programme of bridge works be approved.

Reason: To enable the maintenance of City of York Council highway structures to continue.

The Executive Member considered a report that updated him on the management of the council’s highway structures and outlined the proposed programme of bridge work to be progressed using the funding provided in the council’s capital programme.

He acknowledged the importance of inspecting and maintaining brides in order to reduce the likelihood of having to close them due to structural issues.

Resolved:

(i)      That the adoption of the new risk based highway structure inspection procedure, in order for City of York Council to comply with the recommendations within the code of practice, Well Managed Highway Structures, be noted.

          Reason: To enable the continued management of City of York Council highway structures.

(ii)      That the proposed programme of bridge works be approved.

          Reason: To enable the maintenance of City of York Council highway structures to continue.

Following the Government’s changes to the vehicle tax (VED) bandings, this report asks that a review and changes are brought in to update the council’s parking discount criteria in line with these Government changes. 

Resolved:

(i)      That the implementation of Option 3 be approved as follows:-

Update permit rates to align with vehicle tax (VED) bandings and change the discount threshold to 75g/km or less with implementation from April 2019 with acquired rights for existing vehicles/permits to end no later than April 2023.

(ii)      That the advertisement of the changes to the terms of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) with any objections reported back to a future Decision Session if required, be approved and that, if no objections are received, the implementation of the changes be authorised.

Reason: To come into line with the Government changes to VED and update the council’s outdated policy that in turn would seek to encourage Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) car ownership and support the One Planet York initiative.

The Executive Member considered a report which highlighted the Governments changes to the vehicle tax (VED) bandings, and asked that a review and changes be brought in to update the councils parking discount criteria in line with these Government changes.  

Officers drew Members attention to two errors in the report and advised that paragraph 7, recommendation (a) and references in paragraphs 12-13 should refer to implementation by April 2019 (not April 2018) and that paragraph 18 should refer to option 2 (and not option 3).

The Executive Member considered the four options detailed in the report.

1.        Option 1 - Update permit rates to align with VED bandings and change discount threshold to 75g/km or less – implement from April 2019.

2.        Option 2 - Update permit rates to align with VED bandings and change discount threshold to 75g/km or less – implement from April 2019 with acquired rights for existing vehicles/permits.

3.        Option 3 (Recommended) - Update permit rates to align with VED bandings and change discount threshold to 75g/km or less – implement from April 2019 with acquired rights for existing vehicles/permits to not later than April 2023.

4.        Option 4 - Not implement any change but remove reference to A-L bandings in permit charges as they are no longer in use for vehicles registered after April 2017.

He acknowledged the comments made by Cllr D’Agorne and Alasdair McIntosh under public participation in relation to this item.

Officers advised that this report was to give effect to a budget decision taken at Full Council in February 2017 to raise the qualification threshold for the 50% discount from low emission vehicles (LEV), which emit less than 120g/km, to ULEV, emitting less than 75g/km. 

Officers confirmed that they would write to all residents who were holders of discounted parking permits to advise them of the proposed changes and highlighting the TRO consultation process which gave them the opportunity to make comments on the changes.

With regard to the speaker’s comments regarding charging points for those living on streets with no off street parking, officers advised that on street charging points were one of the largest challenges and that they were working with central government, the Department for Transport and the powergrid regarding how to overcome barriers to this, However they confirmed that it was not possible to consider facilitating requests for individual domestic provision crossing the highway from householders at the moment. 

Resolved:

(i)      That the implementation of  Option 3 be approved as follows:-

Update permit rates to align with vehicle tax (VED) bandings and change the discount threshold to 75g/km or less with implementation from April 2019 with acquired rights for existing vehicles/permits to end no later than April 2023.

(ii)      That the advertisement of the changes to the terms of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) with any objections reported back to a future Decision Session if required, be approved and that, if no objections are received, the implementation of the changes be authorised.

Reason: To come into  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

This report is to provide an update on the parking system in Marygate car park, specifically the pay on exit trial with a focus on the issues that have come up from it.

Resolved:

(i)      That the updates provided in the report of the Marygate car park system and what has been put in place to improve its operation, be noted.

(ii)      That work should be started on options for replacing the current system.

(iii)     That it be agreed that the trial continues with the new 1^st line maintenance regime in place and monitor the effectiveness of it and bring back a report at a later date to the Executive Member to update on the progress made and request the procurement of a new system(s) be taken forward with any supporting recommendations at that time.

Reasons:

(i)      The council recognises that the pay on exit system had performed intermittently and had continued to deteriorate resulting in a loss of revenue.  As a result a new 1^st line maintenance contract had been put in place and was showing positive results in helping to reduce the downtime of the system.

(ii)      Work was also underway to research a new system and produce a specification for tender. This will recognise that customers require a parking system that increases dwell time in the city centre and avoid them having to come back to top up their parking, which was a view supported by the York BID.

The Executive Member considered a report which provided an update on the parking system in Marygate car park, specifically the pay on exit trial with a focus on the issues raised during the trial. The report detailed what measures had been put in place already to help mitigate against the significant down time experienced over the years of the system being in place which had become increasing worse during the past year due to general wear and tear. The report also detailed work being undertaken to find a suitable replacement the system.

Officers acknowledged the comments made by Councillor Craghill with regard to the need to take a strategic look at the future of all City of York Council car parks.

They confirmed that a new system to replace the current system needed procuring in line with encouraging increased dwell time in the city centre, which was supported by York BID. In the meantime, however, a first line maintenance contract for the current system was now in place and performing well and reducing downtime.

The Executive Member expressed his support for the proposals and expressed his desire for officers to investigate options over the next few years for car park systems to become cashless.

Resolved:

(i)      That the updates provided in the report of the Marygate car park system and what has been put in place to improve its operation, be noted.

(ii)      That work should be started on options for replacing the current system.

(iii)     That it be agreed that the trial continues with the new 1^st line maintenance regime in place and monitor the effectiveness of it and bring back a report at a later date to the Executive Member to update on the progress made and request the procurement of a new system(s) be taken forward with any supporting recommendations at that time.

Reasons:

(i)      The council recognises that the pay on exit system had performed intermittently and had continued to deteriorate resulting in a loss of revenue.  As a result a new 1^st line maintenance contract had been put in place and was showing positive results in helping to reduce the downtime of the system.

(ii)      Work was also underway to research a new system and produce a specification for tender. This will recognise that customers require a parking system that increases dwell time in the city centre and avoid them having to come back to top up their parking, which was a view supported by the York BID.

This report  proposes to update the Street Lighting Policy to reflect the changes identified in the review.

Resolved: 

(i)      That the redrafted Street Lighting Policy be approved

(ii)      That delegation be given to the Assistant Director, (Transport, Highways and Environment), in consultation with the Executive Member for Transport and Planning, to add a further section to the policy to ensure that Ward Councillors and Parish Councils are consulted on columns in conservation areas as well as the full programme of column replacements being published. This will need to include a mechanism based on majority public opinion for Ward Councillors to request a review by the Executive Member.

(ii)      That the Streetscape Strategy and Guidance be taken into consideration but treated as guidance only, and not policy, until such time as it is reviewed and adopted.

Reason: To ensure a proportionate and consistent approach to the management of street lighting across the city.

Further to consideration at a decision session on 12 July 2018 and subsequent referral to scrutiny for their consideration, the Executive Member considered a further report that proposed to update the Street Lighting Policy to reflect the changes identified during the review as detailed in the report.

Officers advised that, following consideration by scrutiny members, whose recommendations were included at paragraph 10 of the report, and acknowledging advances in technology, the proposed policy had been modified to state that when replacing street lighting columns, 5m columns would be considered if the same lighting levels could be achieved as using a 6m column and without relocating the column.

The Executive Member acknowledged the comments made by both Cllr Warters and Cllr Brooks in relation to this report and the request that Ward and Parish Councillors are consulted on replacement street lighting. Discussion took place around whether consultation should take place for lighting replacement schemes in conservation areas only or for all lighting replacement schemes and how it could work on a practical basis, noting the cost implications of it. 

In response to concerns raised about disregarding the Streetscape Strategy and Guidance for the present time, officers confirmed that this document was due to be reviewed but until such time as it was, it should be treated only as guidance only and not policy.

Resolved: 

(i)      That the redrafted Street Lighting Policy be approved

(ii)      That delegation be given to the Assistant Director, (Transport, Highways and Environment), in consultation with the Executive Member for Transport and Planning, to add a further section to the policy to ensure that Ward Councillors and Parish Councils are consulted on columns in conservation areas as well as the full programme of column replacements being published. This will need to include a mechanism based on majority public opinion for Ward Councillors to request a review by the Executive Member.

(ii)      That the Streetscape Strategy and Guidance be taken into consideration but treated as guidance only, and not policy, until such time as it is reviewed and adopted.

Reason: To ensure a proportionate and consistent approach to the management of street lighting across the city.

This report publishes the results of recent pedestrian crossing assessments undertaken on both York Road and Greenshaw Drive in Haxby.  The report discusses potential options, based on the outcome of the assessments, to improve crossing facilities on these two roads and puts forward a course of action for each site.

Resolved: That Option 1 be approved – to acknowledge the outcome of the crossing assessments on York Road and Greenshaw Drive in Haxby and approve the proposed course of action for each site.

Reason:     To understand the processes which officers had gone through to assess each site and the reasoning behind the proposed improvements.  Approval of the action plans would enable further work to be undertaken where necessary to draw up a scheme for each site and to undertake consultation on the proposals.

The Executive Member considered a report which presented the results of recent pedestrian crossing assessments undertaken on both York Road and Greenshaw Drive in Haxby. The report discussed potential options, based on the outcome of the assessments, to improve crossing facilities on these two roads.

The Executive Member considered the results of the pedestrian crossing assessments undertaken and the proposed course of action for each site.

In relation to Grenshaw Drive he noted that the proposed course of action was to install a pair of dropped kerbs in the vicinity of the pair of bus stops between the Kirkcroft and Sandyland junctions. After a minimum of six months of this work being completed, a further survey would be carried out to determine if the criteria for a more formal crossing was met.

In relation to York Road, he noted that, although there was a high level of support for a crossing, it was proving difficult to find the right location for a suitable crossing and officers proposed to undertake more detailed feasibility work to assess whether a crossing could be physically accommodated in the area with the highest factored flow and whether such a crossing could be supported given the below-threshold modified PV² value. He noted that the outcome of the feasibility would be brought back to a future decision session for him to consider a proposed solution.

Resolved: That Option 1 be approved – to acknowledge the outcome of the crossing assessments on York Road and Greenshaw Drive in Haxby and approve the proposed course of action for each site as detailed in the report.

Reason:     To understand the processes which officers had gone through to assess each site and the reasoning behind the proposed improvements.  Approval of the action plans would enable further work to be undertaken where necessary to draw up a scheme for each site and to undertake consultation on the proposals.

The purpose of this report is to seek approval from the Executive Member to commence a piece of work which will consider the implications of introducing a Permit Scheme (PS), to govern all utility and highway works activities within the authority’s highway network.

Resolved: 

(i)      That the commencement of feasibility work, to look at scheme development and cost benefit analysis (work stages 1 and 2), be approved.

(ii)      That the procurement of such works through the North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) Services Framework be approved.

(iii)     That the funding of feasibility work from transport budgets, be approved. This costs approximately £41,300.

(iv)    That a further report be presented to the Executive following completion of work stages 1 & 2.

Reasons:

(i)      To respond positively to the letter received from the Minster for Transport, Chris Grayling, which sought that all local highway authorities now pursue the implementation of a Permit Scheme within their respective boundaries.

(ii)      To ensure that the local highway authority continued to fulfil its statutory duties under the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991 (NRSWA) and Traffic Management Act 1994 (TMA).

The Executive Member considered a report that sought approval to commence a piece of work which would consider the implications of introducing a Permit Scheme (PS), to govern all utility and highway works activities within the authority’s highway network. 

Officers passed the Executive Member a copy of a letter received in August from the Roads Minister encouraging York to consider a permit scheme.

Officers advised that feasibility work (stages 1 and 2) would take a minimum of 2-3 months to complete and that a further report would be presented to the Executive after completion of this feasibility work which was likely to be around June 2019.

Resolved: 

(i)      That the commencement of feasibility work, to look at scheme development and cost benefit analysis (work stages 1 and 2), be approved.

(ii)      That the procurement of such works through the North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) Services Framework be approved.

(iii)     That the funding of feasibility work from transport budgets, be approved. This costs approximately £41,300.

(iv)    That a further report be presented to the Executive following completion of work stages 1 & 2.

Reasons:

(i)      To respond positively to the letter received from the Minster for Transport, Chris Grayling, which sought that all local highway authorities now pursue the implementation of a Permit Scheme within their respective boundaries.

(ii)      To ensure that the local highway authority continued to fulfil its statutory duties under the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991 (NRSWA) and Traffic Management Act 1994 (TMA).

This report informs the Executive Member of the options available to improve the traffic signalling equipment at Walmgate Bar.

Resolved: That Option 1 be agreed – to approve the proposed preliminary junction layout shown in Annex B to the report.

Reason:     To mitigate the risk of failure of the junctions signal equipment.

The Executive Member considered a report that informed him of the options available to improve the traffic signalling equipment at Walmgate Bar and asked him to approve the preliminary junction layout shown in annex B to the report.

Officers acknowledged the comments of York Cycle Campaign (YCC) expressed during the public participation item and in the written representation and advised that the proposals went further than necessary in terms of cycle provision. He noted YCCs desire to improve safety for cyclists by removing a lane to allow for a wider cycle lane but advised that this was not practical as it would have a significant impact on congestion. They confirmed that the proposals did not put the council at risk of breaching equalities legislation and guidance as stated in YCCs written submission.

They advised that the driver behind the scheme was to replace broken assets and that the possibility of widening cycle lanes could be explored separately. He confirmed that YCC would have the opportunity to have an input into the detailed design stage of the scheme.

The Executive Member acknowledged the need to replace the traffic signals and the proposals to bring the junction up to current standards in terms of safety and junction geometry including the proposed measures to improve safety for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Resolved: That Option 1 be agreed – to approve the proposed preliminary junction layout shown in Annex B to the report.

Reason:     To mitigate the risk of failure of the junctions signal equipment.