Agenda item

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 have changed to 2 working days before the meeting. The deadline for registering at this meeting is at 5.00pm on Friday, 7 March 2025.

 To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill out an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting whose details can be found at the foot of the agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

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

It was reported that there had been 8 registrations to speak at the session under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Andrew Beattie spoke on item 6 supporting the recommended option, and the original proposition. He noted that many Government House Road residents were keen to progress this item.

Rachel Gilbert-Cornish spoke on item 6, and her concerns that a 24-hour parking ban and cutting off the access to river Ouse for dog walkers and others represented misapplication of the law and governance procedure. She also said that the park and ride was not suitable for the sort of access that these people needed and instead of a blanket ban she urged for limited parking to allow family access.

Cllr Steels-Walshaw spoke on item 7, thanking officers for their work on the report and consultation. She supported the proposed solution allowing church parking on Sundays and for services, and safer access to St Barnabas school.

Tim Kinslow spoke on item 7, noting that the council always had a responsibility for maintenance of the church access road and had fully adopted this road due to the river path, the church retracted its objection to this adoption on a good will basis because the had advised it had no plan for traffic regulation impacting parking. He said the Riverside path was a great way to connect communities but noted that the Leeman Road area represents a community requiring access in itself.

Reverend Paul Millard spoke on item 7 as the vicar of St Barnabas Church, stating his concern for option 2a locking down parking. He observed that when parking for a wedding or a funeral, parishioners would already likely be stressed, and being forced to search the wider area for suitable parking would add to this stress. He noted that some residents were not so disabled as to require a blue badge yet did still require car to access church, and strict parking regulations would restrict their ability to attend. He proposed a possible permit-based parking system for the church.

Peter Hale spoke on item 7 as member of the Parochial Church Council, discussing the impact of the removal of parking on Jubilee Terrace on the local community, church and disabled access. He felt the item as presented to him at the PCC was very different from the item as presented today, reading out the item initially presented to him which he felt was worded so as to avoid objection from local residents. He said he felt that an option to deter commuters while still permitting church parking would be good. He pointed out that York Central development would likely make St Barnabas the place of worship for a larger community but this item was removing the option to park.

Robyn Jankel spoke on item 7 on behalf of York Cycle Campaign, to support the recommendations for proceeding with the route upgrades. She stated this would be of great benefit to the cycling community and she was in favour of the overall design approach, but expressed concern that implementation of option 2 may create further delay.

David Finch spoke on item 7 as a local resident and chairperson of the Friends of Leeman Park group. He said that Leeman Road functioned as a diversion when people cannot use the Riverside path (due to flooding or other reasons)and he noted the delay in this scheme had already spanned several years. He said option 2 was the “common sense” option but urged haste from hereon in.