Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Thornton Room - Ground Floor, West Offices (G039). View directions

Contact: Angela Bielby  Democracy Officer

Webcast: video recording

Items
No. Item

16.

Declarations of Interest

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

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

 

Minutes:

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they may have in respect of business on this agenda. None were declared.

17.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 95 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the Communities and Environment Policy and Scrutiny Committee / Economies and Place Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 24 July 2018.

 

Minutes:

Members asked for an update on the progress of a Motion to Council around single use plastics. This item has been passed to the Customer and Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee by the Economy and Place Policy Development Committee. Members requested that an update be provided to members of this committee at their next meeting.

 

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting dated 24 July 2018 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

 

18.

Public Participation

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 by 5.00pm on Monday 24 September 2018.  Members of the public may speak on an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit. To register, please contact the Democracy Officer responsible for the meeting (the contact details are available at the foot of the agenda).

 

Filming or Recording 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.  This broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

 

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 Officer (whose 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 http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

 

 

 

Minutes:

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

19.

2018/19 Finance & Performance Monitor 1 Report pdf icon PDF 170 KB

This report provides details of the 2018/19 forecast outturn position for both finance and performance across services within the Economy and Place Directorate. The paper incorporates data to July 2018 as reported to Executive on 30 August 2018.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Officers presented the first quarterly monitoring report for Finance and Performance of the Economy and Place Directorate.

 

Under questioning from members, Officers explained that there were financial reserves listed for waste associated with Allerton Waste Recovery Park and that these would be used to counteract the projected overspend in waste services. Officers also highlighted that the extra expenditure on the fleet account had been a result of work carried out to ensure the fleet continues to be compliant. It was noted that a larger piece of work was underway to identify how best to operate a more streamlined fleet of vehicles in the future.

 

Officers informed members of the work that had been undertaken on the barrier at the Marygate car park and a number of upgrades to card payment machines in the city that had offset the additional income noted in the Parking Income account.

 

Resolved:  That the committee note the information in the report

 

Reason:     To update the scrutiny committee of the latest finance and performance position.

 

 

 

 

 

20.

Flood Defences Action Plan - Biannual Update pdf icon PDF 192 KB

This report presents an update on the work of the Environment Agency to renew existing and provide new flood defences across the city, following the flooding in December 2015.  Members are asked to provide feedback on progress to date.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Officers from CYC and the Environment Agency presented the bi-annual update on the City’s Flood Defences Action Plan.

 

Members questioned officers on the timescale of a number of individual projects listed in the report and in particular the time it has taken to begin additional flood defence work following the floods in 2015.

 

Officers informed members that this project had been progressed far quicker than flood defence work in other areas of the country and due to the complexity of the modelling carried out, the time taken was essential in ensuring the right results. Officers also explained that due to having good standards of flood defences prior to the 2015 flooding, The Environment Agency was not expecting the additional ‘special’ funding that has been allocated from central government. With this in mind, planning had not begun on how to spend the figure that had been allocated.

 

Under further questioning from members, officers explained that the previous approach to assisting residents with their home insurance in relation to flood risk, had been reactive. The plan for the future was to be able to engage with residents at an earlier stage and provide them with information they need in advance. Officers also expressed their desire to continue working with national insurance providers on this topic.

 

Members were interested to hear more about tree planting and other ecological projects that could be used to combat flooding. Officers outlined some of the work they have been doing in this area and also alluded to potential changes in future policy and how this could have a positive effect on flood defence projects.

 

Resolved:  That members provide feedback and note the report.

 

Reason:     To inform members of flood defences across the city.

21.

Update on Recycling of Waste pdf icon PDF 209 KB

This report sets out the current performance in relation to collection and disposal of kerbside recycling.

 

Minutes:

Officers presented a report on Recycling and Co-mingling following a request by this committee.

 

Members questioned officers on statistics and cost of co-mingling. Officers explained that the reason for co-mingling recycling was due either to narrow streets in the City in which the correct vehicle could not access, or due to buildings and residences in the city that are not yet being asked to separate their waste. Members mentioned the work of St. Nick’s in York and the positive effect that ‘rejecting’ various items in the recycling process can have on residents’ behaviour.

 

It was noted by Members and officers that knowledge of what items can and cannot be recycled in York, particularly with plastics, was not strong and that a communications campaign would be explored in an attempt to resolve the situation.

 

Following a question regarding the amount of plastics that are currently being recycled in York, officers informed members that the value of ‘mixed’ plastics is lower than that of certain plastic products individually and that the chance of a product actually being recycled also reduces with large scale sales overseas. The current way in which CYC recycles plastics maximised the value of the recyclate as a product and could be traced to recycling projects in the region. It was also noted that authorities across the country are beginning to feel the effect of a change in Chinese legislation regarding recycling exports.

 

Resolved:  The committee are asked to consider the briefing and any further work they wish to see.

 

Reason:     To update the committee on the current state of recycling in the city.

22.

Economic Health of the City Centre pdf icon PDF 326 KB

This Report presents an update on the Economy of York City Centre.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The committee received a report and a presentation on the economic health of the city. The presentation slides were uploaded to the website following the meeting.

 

Following the presentation, Members noted the importance of focussing on Coney Street and on ensuring that conversations are held with the landlords that own vacant properties. 

 

Officers also highlighted that there was very little that could be done from a Local Authority perspective regarding rates.

 

Members were also keen to hear about the plans for secondary shopping areas, including Haxby and Acomb, as this was a growing concern for the future. Officers explained that research was planned and smaller projects are up and running in some secondary shopping areas to help improve the situation.

 

Resolved:  That the committee note the report and discuss the next steps.

 

Reason:     To keep the committee updated on the economic health of the City Centre.

 

23.

Work Plan 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 145 KB

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the municipal year.

 

Minutes:

Members discussed the Work Plan for 2018/19.

 

Economic Health of the City Centre: The committee decided that it would be beneficial to meet and hear from organisations and businesses operating within York and asked that this take place during their next meeting on 28 November 2018.

 

 

 

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