Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Cabinet Member is asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests he may have in the business on the agenda.

Personal non prejudicial interests were declared as the Cabinet Member acknowledged that he had involvement in the original decisions on Mayfield Grove. Also on the City Centre Footstreets as a member of the Working Group.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 21^st February 2012.

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of the last meeting held on the 21^st February 2012 be approved and signed by the Cabinet Member as a correct record.

It was reported that there had been 9  registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme. The Cabinet Member also granted 5 requests to speak from Council Members.

i)             The Future Management Arrangements for Public Open Space at Mayfield Grove York.

Ann Leggett, David Munley and Jacquie North spoke on behalf of the Chase residents Association. They thanked the Council for taking on the matter and welcomed the opportunity to take part in the process to establish appropriate management arrangements. They advised that they were disappointed with the framework in that in their opinion it was overly prescriptive and while it informs on what is required, it doesn’t involve the community sufficiently. They felt that any management board should include local education establishments, residents groups, conservationists and ecologists but the core representation should be local residents. They requested that some interim arrangements be drawn up to ensure work such as the mowing of the meadow is carried out.

Barry Potter spoke on behalf of YNET who advised that 15 years ago he had worked with the Council to devise an innovative scheme to look after the land. Whilst he acknowledged that the local community and wider community should have involvement in the management framework, he stated that YNET were already looking after the land and had worked hard to do so. He advised that he welcomed any support from the local community and that in general he was pleased with the report.

Brian Bevan spoke in support of Anglers who use the site. He advised that people had been fishing there for at least 50 years and asked that whoever takes control of the land recognise this fact and do not prevent fishing from continuing. He gave his support to YNET who he said has done a good job of looking after the site and had allowed fishing.

Councillor Semlyen spoke as Ward Councillor. Instead of focusing on any negatives, she advised that the site is a beautiful piece of land for recreation and for visiting groups. Residents have engaged with the Council and developers to try and sort the situation out, in particular the Chase Residents Association who had been particularly persistent. She welcomed the chance for residents to be involved in managing the site.

Councillor Watson spoke as a Council Member. He was keen to ensure YNET still had full involvement at the site and commented in particular that their knowledge and skill had ensured the pond is well looked after. He distributed a photograph showing the poor access for disabled anglers and  asked that this be improved on in future.

Councillor Healey spoke as the City Strategy Spokesperson for the Conservative Group. He advised that he was disappointed with the time taken to get to this point and hoped that from now on there would be some progress.

Councillor Reid spoke as Ward Councillor. She welcomed the progress and the work that had been undertaken by all involved. She had the following observations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

The purpose of this report is to summarise the background and history relating to this site and to set out for agreement the actions required, and the process to be followed to secure long-term management of this land for public benefit as per the section 106 agreement signed and dated 2 June 1997

RESOLVED:      

That Option 2 be approved and the process set out in the report, with the following amendments, be agreed:

(i)      That the Habitat Plan and Site Layout plan be improved for the final copy of the Management Framework.

(ii)      The Ecological Assessment should be made more specific to York species, particularly in relation to Bats etc but without being over-prescriptive.

(iii)     Section 1.4 be amended to recognise that there is currently not general disabled access to the site and improvements could be made.

(iv)     The value of the land as a community resource should be upfront in the Management Framework.

(v)     The Community involvement sections 3.3 and 3.4 should be strengthened and potentially based around a reinvigorated ‘friends of’ model.

(vi)     That the final wording be delegated to the Director of City Strategy in conjunction with the Cabinet Member.

(vii)    That the Council would seek to ensure that the site was managed according to the draft management framework for the interim period until a new managing organisation was established.

REASON:           

In order to confirm the process to be followed to secure the effective long-term management arrangements for land at Mayfield Grove York as per Section 106 agreement dated 2^nd June 1997.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which summarised the background and history relating to the Mayfield Grove site and to set out for agreement the actions required and the process to be followed to secure long term management of the land for public benefit as per the section 106 agreement signed and dated 2 June 1997.

The Council had produced a Management Framework which was attached at annex 4 to the report. It set out the minimum requirements necessary for the successful management of the land at Mayfield Grove. It had been informed by the ongoing informal management arrangements and dialogue with York Natural Environment Trust (YNET) and Chase Residents Association (CRA) over recent months.

Having taken into consideration the representations made by the public speakers and Council members, the Cabinet Member made the following comments:

·        Apologised for the ongoing situation and the fact that the land transfer is still to be finalised.

·        Acknowledged the efforts made by local residents in trying to discover who has responsibility for the land. As a result the Council has paid attention and a solution was now trying to be found. The key issue is to move forward.

Option 2 was approved with the amendments detailed below. The Cabinet Member suggested the changes to take into account the representations made by interested parties and council members at the meeting.

RESOLVED:      

That Option 2 be approved and the process set out in the report, with the following amendments, be agreed:

(i)      That the Habitat Plan and Site Layout plan be improved for the final copy of the Management Framework.

(ii)      The Ecological Assessment should be made more specific to York species, particularly in relation to Bats etc but without being over-prescriptive.

(iii)     Section 1.4 be amended to recognise that there is currently not general disabled access to the site and improvements could be made.

(iv)    The value of the land as a community resource should be upfront in the Management Framework.

(v)     The Community involvement sections 3.3 and 3.4 should be strengthened and potentially based around a reinvigorated ‘friends of’ model.

(vi)    That the final wording be delegated to the Director of City Strategy in conjunction with the Cabinet Member.

(vii)    That the Council would seek to ensure that the site was managed according to the draft management framework for the interim period until a new managing organisation was established.

REASON:          

In order to confirm the process to be followed to secure the effective long-term management arrangements for land at Mayfield Grove York as per Section 106 agreement dated 2^nd June 1997.

This report sets out the funding sources for the City Strategy Capital Programme and the proposed schemes to be delivered in 2012/13. The report covers the Integrated Transport and City Walls Restoration allocations.

RESOLVED:      

That the proposed 2012/13 City Strategy Capital Programme as set out in the report and Annex 1 be approved.

REASON:           

To implement the Council’s transport strategy identified in York’s third Local Transport Plan and deliver schemes identified in the Council’s Capital Programme.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which set out the funding sources for the City Strategy Capital Programme and the proposed schemes to be delivered in 2012/13.

Subject to approval at Full Council, it was reported that the City Strategy Capital Programme budget for 2012/13 is anticipated to be £7,345k which includes £1,910k of Local Transport Plan (LTP) funding, plus other funding from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) grant, developer contributions, council resources and funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) for Access York Phase 1.

Officers updated that the Better Bus Area Fund bid had been submitted earlier in February and if successful it would add to the amount detailed above. The programme included a number of important schemes such as improvements to the cycling and walking network and the 20mph limit scheme.

The Cabinet Member commented that York is in a good position in relation to other Authorities and was happy to approve the proposed Capital Programme.

RESOLVED:      

That the proposed 2012/13 City Strategy Capital Programme as set out in the report and Annex 1 be approved.

REASON:          

To implement the Council’s transport strategy identified in York’s third Local Transport Plan and deliver schemes identified in the Council’s Capital Programme.

The purpose of this report is to consider the representations made following the advertising of amendments to various Traffic Regulation Orders in and around the city centre footstreets. The report also makes recommendations on how to progress the proposals.

RESOLVED:               

That the following be approved:

(i)      The ongoing development of disabled parking provision.

(ii)      The implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to remove Pay and Display parking bays and replace them with double yellow line in:

·        Goodramgate (13 spaces)

·        Blake Street (9 spaces)

·        Lendal (9 spaces)

(iii)     The implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to remove the Pay and Display parking bays in Duncombe Place (8 spaces) and replace them with a single yellow line to prohibit parking Monday to Saturday at any time and on Sundays between 11am and 6pm.

(iv)     The Implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to make access into the Newgate Market area for loading only by permit holders.

(v)     The implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to permit cyclists to use High Petergate between Bootham Bar and Duncombe Place. However this is to be for a 12 month trial period and is to be subject of a further report in due course.

REASONS:

(i)      To provide some improvement for disabled parking.

(ii)      To remove intrusive parking in, and excessive travel by motor vehicles through the central area seeking the very limited on street parking.

(iii)     As (ii above) but giving allowances to those attending church services by implementing a restriction of reduced severity in Duncombe Place on Sunday mornings.

(iv)     allow the removal of street furniture, some of which is very expensive to maintain, repair or replace, in areas of historic importance, and begin the simplifying of the traffic regulations in the central area whilst reasserting the special nature of the pedestrian zone.

(v)     trial measures to better inform future decisions on the operation of the footstreets

The Cabinet Member considered a report which presented the representations made following the advertisement of amendments to various Traffic Regulation Orders in and around the City Centre Footstreets and suggested recommendations on how to progress the proposals.

Officers addressed the comments made by Councillor Hyman as Liberal Democrat spokesperson for City Strategy as follows:

·        The bollards at the Market will not be locked and if they do not work then other measures will be considered.

·        Disabled parking road markings will stay in the position they are currently.

·        The road train is not considered in the report.

·        In regard to the horse and carriage, no problems had been reported to the Council but if a problem does arise then officers confirmed they would look into it.

·        Signage at Bootham Bar would be reviewed at the end of the 12 months.

In response to the representations made by St. Michael Le Belfrey Church, the Cabinet Member asked if it was possible to put in place a set of regulations that that allowed parking up to 11am on Sundays. Officers confirmed that this could be done.

The Cabinet Member welcomed the proposals in terms of the original ambition that footstreets should be footstreets as far as possible. He commented that more and more vehicles have been using the streets in recent years and the traffic orders address that issue along with Re-invigorate York who are also seeking to de-clutter the footstreets. He recognised that a compromise was required in respect of Duncombe Place on Sundays.

RESOLVED:               

That the following be approved:

(i)      The ongoing development of disabled parking provision.

(ii)      The implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to remove Pay and Display parking bays and replace them with double yellow line in:

·        Goodramgate (13 spaces)

·        Blake Street (9 spaces)

·        Lendal (9 spaces)

(iii)     The implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to remove the Pay and Display parking bays in Duncombe Place (8 spaces) and replace them with a single yellow line to prohibit parking Monday to Saturday at any time and on Sundays between 11am and 6pm.

(iv)    The Implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to make access into the Newgate Market area for loading only by permit holders.

(v)     The implementation of a Traffic Regulation Order to permit cyclists to use High Petergate between Bootham Bar and Duncombe Place. However this is to be for a 12 month trial period and is to be subject of a further report in due course.

REASONS:

(i)      To provide some improvement for disabled parking.

(ii)      To remove intrusive parking in, and excessive travel by motor vehicles through the central area seeking the very limited on street parking.

(iii)     As (ii above) but giving allowances to those attending church services by implementing a restriction of reduced severity in Duncombe Place on Sunday mornings.

(iv)    allow the removal of street furniture, some of which is very expensive to maintain, repair or replace, in areas of historic importance, and begin the simplifying of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.