Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director of City Development setting out a strategic approach to events and accessibility of the city centre. It follows further discussions with North Yorkshire Police and Counter Terrorism Security Advisors since the April Executive meeting. The options and recommendations have been reviewed and refined.

Resolved (unanimously):

That Executive

i)              Approves on a trial basis for 2026, to progress a 6-

day Christmas Market, with 10.30am to 7pm market

operation on the operational days, and on the basis of the

evidence presented, to select Tuesday as the rest day, and

as part of this, on the rest day, to restrict Blue Badge access

to the Goodramgate access loop only, with additional

temporary Hostile Vehicle Measures to protect Church

Street, Low Petergate and King’s Square from vehicles;

ii)             Receives a further report early in 2027 containing detailed

analysis of the impacts and outcome of this trial;

iii)            Establishes an interface group between the Council and

other necessary parties to ensure effective joint planning,

risk assessment and mitigation, such group to include the

Council’s Chief Executive, Director of Governance, Director

of City Development and other officers as appropriate in

order that such group will undertake an ongoing process of

dynamic risk assessment to prepare for, and assess, any

serious risks which may emerge, and which could impact on

the proposed arrangements for any of the days; and

iv)           That the additional costs of temporary HVM set out at i)

above be met from existing budgets.

Reason: To allow the trialling of an approach to providing

improvements for residents, visitors and disabled people in

accessing the City Centre through reduced operating hours, and in

a way which is deliverable operationally, considers the safety and

security of the city centre area, and minimises economic impacts

to the city.

Councillor Douglas left the meeting during the consideration of this item. Councillor Kilbane took the Chair. (Minute no. 230 refers)

The Director of City Development submitted a report which set out a strategic approach to events and accessibility of the city centre. It followed further discussions with North Yorkshire Police and Counter Terrorism Security Advisors since the April Executive meeting. The options and recommendations had been reviewed and refined.

The following annexes were attached to the report:

-       Annex A: Human Rights Equality Assessment (HREAT)

-       Annex B: Previous Legal Advice.

The following officers were in attendance for this item:

-       Richard Webb, Chief Executive

-       Bryn Roberts, Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer

-       Garry Taylor, Director of City Development

-       Ben Murphy, Head of City Development.

The Director of City Development advised that the report presented an option which proposed that each Tuesday be allocated as the rest day for the whole six-week period of the Christmas Market.  Tuesday was considered the least impactful day. It did not interfere with the weekend overnight stay economy and it presented the lowest risk since the city centre was not operating at its full capacity. The approach was to be managed through a dynamic risk appraisal. It involved working with key partners reviewing local and national security threats. It was reported that economic scenarios suggested a potential drop of between 1.87% and 5.62% in terms of income spent on the Christmas Market during the six-week period. That could range between £2.6m and £7m. The final figure was unknown given that the Christmas Market had not previously operated in this way.

The Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer reported that since the April Executive meeting there had been number of vehicle as weapon attacks in the UK and across Europe. Consequently, the UK government had raised the national threat level from substantial to severe, which suggested an attack was highly likely. It was noted that Executive should be conscious of these factors when making a decision. In response to a query raised at the April Executive meeting, it was advised that the risk of a prosecution for corporate manslaughter or manslaughter by negligence was judged to be extremely low bordering on non-existent. That the Council had taken all reasonable steps and had sought professional advice as appropriate. It was advised that ultimately, in any vehicle as weapon attack, responsibility lay with the individual carrying out the attack, not the Council.

The Chief Executive reported that there had been further consideration of the issues. That it had been a difficult balance between different legislative and other council responsibilities in terms of the community, businesses and public safety. There was to be a regular assessment of the risk situation which meant that on any of the seven days if there was new information or intelligence that posed a risk to the public then a different decision may be required. There was also to be a joint group in the Place Directorate, which the Director of City Development was to attend with other key partners to keep the whole situation and planning on track. In addition, there was to be additional hostile vehicle protection in place, the details of which were set out in the report.

The Executive Member reported that the city centre brought many advantages and challenges. One of those challenges was accessibility. That access to the city centre was not optimal at times. That the design of the hostile vehicle mitigation measures that had been installed meant that protection for city centre events limited this access even further by shutting off two loops that enabled blue badge holders’ closer access to central shopping and service areas. It was the job of Executive to listen carefully to all the advice, evidence, and guidance that had been provided. There was also a need to balance the views of traders, disabled people and the organisations representing them. The balancing decision was difficult and required careful consideration of all issues. Looking forward, it was important to ensure that events in the city centre were as accessible as possible for everyone.

Resolved (unanimously):

That Executive

i)              Approves on a trial basis for 2026, to progress a 6-

day Christmas Market, with 10.30am to 7pm market operation on the operational days, and on the basis of the evidence presented, to select Tuesday as the rest day, and as part of this, on the rest day, to restrict Blue Badge access to the Goodramgate access loop only, with additional temporary Hostile Vehicle Measures to protect Church Street, Low Petergate and King’s Square from vehicles;

ii)             Receives a further report early in 2027 containing detailed

analysis of the impacts and outcome of this trial;

iii)            Establishes an interface group between the Council and

other necessary parties to ensure effective joint planning, risk assessment and mitigation, such group to include the Council’s Chief Executive, Director of Governance, Director of City Development and other officers as appropriate in order that such group will undertake an ongoing process of dynamic risk assessment to prepare for, and assess, any serious risks which may emerge, and which could impact on the proposed arrangements for any of the days; and

iv)           That the additional costs of temporary HVM set out at i)

above be met from existing budgets.

Reason: To allow the trialling of an approach to providing improvements for residents, visitors and disabled people in accessing the City Centre through reduced operating hours, and in

a way which is deliverable operationally, considers the safety and

security of the city centre area, and minimises economic impacts

to the city.