Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To receive and note apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received.

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Member is asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

[Please see attached sheet for further guidance for Members].

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Member was asked to declare if he had any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that they might have had in relation to the business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session held on 19 November 2024.

Resolved:   That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 19 November 2025 be approved and signed by the Executive Member as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the Committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings.  The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Friday 14 March 2025.

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Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

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

This report outlines proposals to manage the burning of the most polluting solid fuels and the appliances they are burnt in across City of York Council’s (CYC) administrative area, and outlines a proposed public consultation on a York wide Smoke Control Area to cover the whole of the CYC’s administrative area.

Resolved:

That the Executive Member approved:

i.                A statutory consultation on the revocation of City of York Council’s (CYC’s) existing SCAs (made by way of order on or after 13 November 1980) and the making of a new order to designate the whole of CYC’s administrative area a SCA.

ii.               To delegate authority to the Director of Transport, Environment and Planning, in consultation with the Director of Governance to make an order to revoke the existing Smoke Control orders made before 13 November 1980 which will be processed in accordance with the statutory procedure for publication and confirmation of an order as set out in Schedule 5 of the Clean Air Act 1993.

Reasons:

i.                This would provide a mechanism to control the burning of the most polluting solid fuels and the appliances they are burnt in.

ii.               This would ensure consistency across CYC’s administrative area, and that all future development sites are subject to SCA requirements.

iii.             This would assist in reducing fine particulate PM2.5 levels in York, and would align with national priorities for reducing pollution from domestic solid fuel burning as outlined in the Air Quality Strategy for England.

iv.             This approach is considered proportionate and would demonstrate that CYC is actively taking steps to reduce particulate emissions within its area for the protection of public health.

The Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Air Quality) and Environmental Protection Manager presented the report and noted that Smoke Control Areas (SCAs) were designated under the Smoke Control Act, and that York had multiple SCAs covering different areas of the city, dating back to the 1960s. Officers reported that proposals to create one whole area for most of York would provide more clarity and would act as a deterrent to burning unapproved materials.

In response to questions from the Executive Members, the Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Air Quality) and Environmental Protection Manager confirmed that:

·       The PM_2.5 emissions from burning solid fuels was approximately double the PM_2.5 emissions from transport in York.

·       Outside the current Smoke Control Area boundary 0.2% of properties in York burnt solid fuels as a primary heating source, with the vast majority of houses with the ability to burn solid fuels doing so as a secondary heating source. Following proposed changes upgrades to some properties’ heating systems may be required.

Resolved:

That the Executive Member approved:

i.                A statutory consultation on the revocation of City of York Council’s (CYC’s) existing SCAs (made by way of order on or after 13 November 1980) and the making of a new order to designate the whole of CYC’s administrative area a SCA.

ii.               To delegate authority to the Director of Transport, Environment and Planning, in consultation with the Director of Governance to make an order to revoke the existing Smoke Control orders made before 13 November 1980 which will be processed in accordance with the statutory procedure for publication and confirmation of an order as set out in Schedule 5 of the Clean Air Act 1993.

Reasons:

i.                This would provide a mechanism to control the burning of the most polluting solid fuels and the appliances they are burnt in.

ii.               This would ensure consistency across CYC’s administrative area, and that all future development sites are subject to SCA requirements.

iii.             This would assist in reducing fine particulate PM2.5 levels in York, and would align with national priorities for reducing pollution from domestic solid fuel burning as outlined in the Air Quality Strategy for England.

iv.             This approach is considered proportionate and would demonstrate that CYC is actively taking steps to reduce particulate emissions within its area for the protection of public health.