North Yorkshire Council
Selby and Ainsty Area Committee
Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 19 September 2024 commencing at 2.30 pm.
Councillor Melanie Davis in the Chair and Councillors Karl Arthur, Stephanie Duckett, Cliff Lunn, John McCartney, Bob Packham, Andy Paraskos and Jack Proud.
In attendance: Councillors Carl Les, OBE and George Jabbour
Officers present: Christine Phillipson, Principal Democratic Services Officer, Mark Codman, Parish Liaison and Local Devolution Manager, Andy Clarke, Public and Community Transport Manager, Sarah Fenwick, Regeneration & Economic Project Manager, Elizabeth Jackson, Principal Democratic Services Officer; and Dawn Drury, Democratic Services Officer.
Other Attendees: Chief Inspector Ryan Chapman and Sergeant Lauren McGillivray, North Yorkshire Police (attended remotely), Lewis Wheatley, Area Organiser for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), North Eastern Region.
Apologies: John Cattanach, Tim Grogan, Mike Jordan and Steve Shaw-Wright.
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Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book
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Welcome, introductions and apologies
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, including the Leader of North Yorkshire Council, Councillor Carl Les, OBE.
Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Jordan, Cattanach, Grogan and Shaw-Wright.
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Minutes of the meeting held on the 13 June 2024
That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 June, 2024, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
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Declarations of Interest
Councillor Karl Arthur declared a personal interest in item number 9 of the agenda pack, Update on Rail Matters, as he is employed by Network Rail.
Councillor Stephanie Duckett declared a personal interest in item number 6 of the agenda pack, USDAW North Eastern Region, as she was a Member of USDAW,
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Public questions and/or statements
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Inspector Martin Wedgwood, North Yorkshire Police
The Chair informed Members that Inspector Wedgwood was unavailable, however Chief Inspector Ryan Chapman and Sergeant Lauren McGillivray from North Yorkshire Police were attending remotely to provide Members with an update on shop theft in the area.
The Chief Inspector introduced himself and explained that he was the newly appointed, dedicated, Neighbourhood Police Team Inspector for Selby and York, and the Forces lead officer on retail crime and one of the National Retail Crime lead officers working on the National Retail Crime Plan, which was a joint working initiative with private and public industry looking at ways to address the escalation in retail crime.
The Committee heard that nationally, post Covid, there had been a significant increase in burglary and robbery with an issue around shop lifting and the increased use of violence, particularly in large cities, and a more organised approach to the crime.
The Chief Inspector acknowledged that due to other pressures in the past, the focus of the Police Force had moved away from retail crime, however this had now changed, with all Forces concentrating on retail crime, working together with the major supermarkets, and independent shopkeepers, to ensure that the small business owner was also heard.
Members noted that there were dedicated retail crime officers in place, who dealt specifically with shop lifting and retail crime offences, and where good practice had been identified in other areas, this was cascaded nationally.
The Police Force was concentrating on managing suspects and offenders in the community, rather than the traditional route of the offender receiving a custodial sentence, by attaching Criminal Behaviour Orders; the Order controls the places that the offender can enter, with the aim of breaking the continuous cycle of offending.
The AC heard that all Forces had pledged that when violence was being used as part of a shoplifting offence the Police would attend the scene when they received the emergency call. In addition, the major retailers were being asked to take positive action, particularly where the shop had security personal, to make them pro-active and prevent known offenders from entering the shop; and with the introduction of body worn cameras for evidence collection.
Members asked a number of questions in relation to retailers expected stock losses through shoplifting, if the trigger for Police attendance at an incident, in monetary value, was £200, what the government was putting in place to support the Police Force in reducing retail crime, did the Police work with local community network groups; and finally did shops still have mug shots of persistent offenders to show to new staff members, and ShopWatch two-way radios in the individual shops.
The Chief Inspector confirmed that retailers had a built-in figure in their accounts for expected losses through shoplifting, North Yorkshire Police did not have a minimum value for stolen goods before they attended an incident, and that the Police did collaborate with local network groups. Members noted that the government were currently bringing in a new specific offence around the assault of retail workers. In terms of the ShopWatch radio, the Chief Inspector advised that this was something that the shops had in place in his previous role in Scarborough, and that one of his jobs was to identify a dedicated officer for ShopWatch in Selby.
Sergeant McGillivray advised the AC that during the summer of 2023 the Community Safety Team and the Neighbourhood Policing Team had been in contact with the shops within Selby, to ascertain if the shops still had the radios but unfortunately, they were not running at that moment in time. One of the difficulties was that there was a cost to the individual shop, however, if the radios could be partially funded, one of the response police officers could monitor the radio on a daily basis.
Members reminded the police officers of the Councillor Locality Budget; each Councillor has a budget of £10,000 per year to allow them to respond to local needs by recommending the allocation of small amounts of funding to support specific activities, of which the radio’s could be one of those activities. The Chief Inspector welcomed this information and confirmed that he would look into the process for accessing the Locality Budgets.
Sergeant McGillivray provided an update on prolific offenders in the Selby area and assured Members that they were monitored and that there was a specific local protocol in place to deal with these offenders.
Members queried if there were any plans to improve Police visibility across the area, it was confirmed that neighbourhood policing was a priority and that it was being taken seriously. A neighbourhood policing review looking at the allocation of numbers of Police Constables and Police Community Support Officers was currently underway, with the information due to be presented to the Chief Constable at the end of September 2024.
Finally, discussion took place regarding anti-social behaviour, Members heard that North Yorkshire Council, the Police and other external partners were working together to set up projects and events for the youths, and to provide some dedicated youth provision for the area.
The Chair stated how pleased she was to have a dedicated Chief Inspector in Selby.
Resolved:
That the Committee thanked Chief Inspector Ryan Chapman and Sergeant Lauren McGillivray for their attendance and the detailed information received.
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Lewis Wheatley - USDAW North Eastern Region
The Chair introduced Lewis Wheatley, Area Organiser for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), North Eastern Region.
Mr Wheatley thanked the Chair for inviting him and commented on the excellent discussion which had taken place so far at the meeting.
Mr Wheatley highlighted a campaign being run by USDAW called the Freedom from Fear campaign which sought to prevent violence, threats and abuse against shop workers and as part of this USDAW were working with politicians and policy makers to campaign for legislative change in England to keep shop workers safe. USDAW are also in negotiations with employers for better Health and Safety measures to ensure that employees are protected at work.
Members heard that in a survey undertaken by USDAW with their Members in 2023, to which over 5,500 retail staff responses were received; of those numbers 7 out of 10 respondents had suffered verbal abuse, 46% had been threatened and 18% had been physically assaulted during that year. These figures were significantly above pre-pandemic levels, and in the current climate, more local shops were adopting lone working processes, and these shops were more likely to be targeted by offenders.
Mr Wheatley explained that it was critical that the different organisations speak with one voice on retail crime, to raise awareness of the issue and to make it clear to shop workers that they should not intervene when incidents are happening, in their place of work, for their own safety. Each instance of theft should be reported to help to identify any patterns and to show employers if there is a need for them to consider employing security personal.
Lastly, Members noted that USDAW were running a “Respect Week” campaign across the country from the 11 to the 17 November 2024, to raise awareness of the problem.
In response to a query regarding if understaffing in shops was a national trend, Mr Wheatley confirmed that it was, and this was, in part, due to employers being unable to recruit staff, as people were frightened to go into the retail industry due to the increase in abuse and violence.
Resolved:
That Mr Wheatley be thanked for his attendance at the meeting and for the information he provided.
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NYC Parish Sector Overview - Parish Liaison, Local Devolution and Community Rights Teams
Christine Phillipson, Principal Democratic Services Officer and Mark Codman, Parish Liaison and Local Devolution Manager delivered a presentation to provide Members with an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the Parish Liaison, Local Devolution and Community Rights team, and the Local Area Support team.
Members heard that North Yorkshire was unique in that the area had 664 parish sector organisations, which was double that of any other Council in England; and in terms of the Selby and Ainsty area, there were a higher percentage of parish and town councils which raised a higher precept income than the North Yorkshire average.
Members noted that there were three members of the Parish Liaison, Local Devolution and Community Rights team based within the Localities team, who had responsibility for the Parish Charter, local devolution, parish liaison generally, and supporting any developments regarding the Parish Portal and community rights legislation. As part of this work a review of the Parish Charter was currently being undertaken and Parish Liaison meetings with Parish Councils were being held. A drop-in session was planned at Hambleton Village Hall on the 6 January 2025, and a formal Parish Liaison meeting on 30 January 2025 at Selby Town Hall, where there would be speakers to address particular issues that had been raised for the area. In addition, there was now a dedicated single point of contact email address – parishliaison@northyorks.gov.uk for general Parish Council queries.
In terms of the Local Area Support team, there were three officer’s part of whose role it was to offer support to the individual parish and town councils on general parish queries, the recording of Councillor Register of Interests, temporary appointments, NYC website accuracy: working alongside both the Localities and Elections teams. As North Yorkshire covered such a large area, Democratic Services had been split into three smaller areas, Central, West and East. Selby and Ainsty sat within the Central area and had a dedicated officer who was also available to deal with any general parish queries.
It was explained that North Yorkshire Council, as the principal authority for the parish and town councils within North Yorkshire, was responsible for recording members register of interests and receiving and handling complaints that a parish or town councillor may have breached that authorities Member Code of Conduct, and since vesting day on 1 April 2023 to 6 June 2024, a total of 223 such complaints had been received by NYC. That was where NYC’s jurisdiction ended and any complaints on the day to day operation of a parish council should be referred to the clerk or chairman of the parish council, in the first instance.
Members were informed that online training sessions had been offered to all of the parish and town council clerks and Councillors in the North Yorkshire area during the month of September, to improve the understanding around declarations of interest and the Member Code of Conduct, however it was noted that very few people had attended the sessions. It was noted that a recording of the training session was available to those that would like to view the session retrospectively.
It was brought to the officer’s attention that a number of parishes in the area were having difficulty using the Parish Portal, particularly where an individual parish Councillor registered to use the Portal, the parish Clerk was then unable to register. The officer requested a list of the parish councils who were experiencing these difficulties so that they could be approached to resolve the issue and explained that parish councils were being encouraged to engage with the Parish Portal and also to have their own email address.
In response to a query regarding the types of things a parish council could spend the parishes money on, officers stated that if it wasn’t clear where a particular query should be sent for clarification, then it should be emailed through to the dedicated liaison email address, where the query would be assessed and forwarded to the best contact for a response.
In terms of the recent standards training on the Member’s Code of Conduct, one Member commented that not many parish councils within the Central area had been informed of the training, and that parish councils, in the main, only tended to liaise with NYC Highway’s department; and that he could not see a benefit from the introduction of the Parish Liaison teams.
The Chair stated that she felt that the Parish Liaison teams were important and that she would like to see them become more established, and to open a channel of communication with the parish and town councils to encourage them to attend the AC’s, as this was the correct forum to raise local issues.
One Member commented that the demographic of people joining parish councils had changed over the years, younger people were busier and didn’t have the time to join parish councils, who he felt generally did a wonderful job, and were extremely busy in their respective villages. In addition, he defended the Parish Portal and felt that it could make a huge difference if it were to work correctly; the Chair concurred with this.
Members were informed that the Parish Portal would be changing, and that there would be significant communications, advice and support during the process and requested that should Members have any views on how the relationship with parish and town councils could be improved to let the officers know.
Finally, one Member added that there was a resource of 90 NYC Councillors, who visited their parishes, and suggested that Members be provided with training to enable them to disseminate information in their individual areas.
The Chair thanked the officers for their attendance.
Resolved:
That the presentation be noted.
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Bus Travel Update
· Due to the impacts of a significant increase in operating costs, along with national difficulties recruiting bus drivers there had been some service reductions across the county. · The bus company Arriva had closed their Wakefield depot, where the bulk of engineering work for the area was undertaken, due to structural issues which had come to light with the building. · There had been a number of service changes in the Selby area in July 2024, mainly on the routes operated by Arriva, due to congestion on the route into York which had led to a slight reduction in the frequency on some bus timetables. · The Coastliner service operating between Leeds, York and the East Coast had suffered difficulties with reliability, however additional resources had been put into the service; from the 27 October the service would see an increase in the frequency of buses to three per hour, running every 20 minutes between Leeds, Tadcaster and York. · Additional resources were being put into Service 476, Selby to Pontefract, and 164, Leeds to Sherburn in Elmet to Selby routes from February 2025, with additional journeys to the Sherburn in Elmet Industrial Estate. · A fare cap of £1 per journey for young people under the age of 19 had been put in place until the end of December 2024. · Following the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP3) allocation of funding in 2024/25, North Yorkshire were currently waiting to see what funding would be made available for 2025/26 and onwards. · Following the creation of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (CA) and the election of a Mayor in May 2024, the CA had overall strategic responsibility for public transport, with the day-to-day operational functions being delegated to NYC and the City of York Councils. Future funding from government would be paid to the CA, who would lead on the creation of a new joint Bus Service Improvement Plan for York and North Yorkshire from 2025 onwards.
Discussion took place around the possibility of franchising bus services. The Leader, Councillor Les, who was in attendance, advised Members that the Mayor had not reached a view on the franchising model as yet, and that the Mayor’s office had recently received a list of dates for the next cycle of NY Area Committee’s, therefore the AC should invite the Mayor to the next available meeting.
One Member highlighted that a local parish council had investigated the possibility of buying a minibus and queried if there would be any financial support for such a venture. The officer confirmed that potentially there could be and advised the Member on two grant schemes which were available to support this kind of scheme.
Members confirmed that they would like to leave the bus travel item on each AC agenda, however this could take the form of a short, written update unless something strategically significant were to take place, in which case Members would like an officer to attend the meeting.
The Chair thanked the officer for his attendance at the meeting and the updates provided.
Resolved:
That the report be noted.
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Train Travel Update
Councillor Proud brought Members attention to the fact that the car park to the side of Selby Train Station had been closed and queried the reasons for this.
Councillor Packham informed the AC that there had been an increase in the Trans Pennine train service but this did not currently call at Sherburn in Elmet train station, although a stop was badly needed to bring staff to the industrial estate and address the problem of recruitment: the trains were unable to stop at the station as the platform was too short and low. Members agreed that there was a need for co-ordinated bus and train transport which may help to alleviate the problem of recruitment on the industrial estate, which was an important growth area for North Yorkshire.
Members confirmed that they would like to leave the train travel item on each AC agenda, however this could take the form of a short written update unless something strategically significant had taken place, in which case Members would like an officer to attend the meeting.
Resolved:
That the report be noted.
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Economic, Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund - AC Project Proposal Approval
Sarah Fenwick, Regeneration & Economic Project Manager presented a report which provided an update on two of the projects previously endorsed by the Selby AC under the Economic Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund.
At the Area Committee meeting on 13 June 2024 the Selby and Ainsty AC had agreed to progress three projects to the Project Scoping Form stage. Members heard that Project Scoping Forms had been completed for two of the three projects, Interactive Town Guides and Village Cinemas; both of which had been reviewed and approved by the Executive Portfolio Holder, Councillor Mark Crane, and submitted for consideration and endorsement by the AC at this meeting.
Members noted that the third project, the Real Time Bus Information Project was still in progress as the Council were in contract negotiations regarding the operation of the system, however there would be a contract in place from the 1 March 2025.
In terms of the Interactive Town Guides project, a lengthy discussion took place, with differing Member views around the interactive online map and the need for both physical and online maps in the towns of Selby and Tadcaster. Members expressed concerns regarding the physical guides and how robust the maps would be. The officer reminded the AC that £20k of the seed funding had been re-allocated from the Real Time Bus Project to the Town Guides project and therefore it seemed prudent to provide something physical, and the NYC Tourism team had confirmed that physical maps were desirable in terms of the user experience. Members heard that quick-response codes (QR) signage would also be used as part of the project.
Councillor Paraskos enquired about on-going costs for the scheme, and who would provide maintenance for the online and physical maps, in response the officer advised that there was no budget for maintenance.
Councillor Paraskos proposed that this particular project should not be taken forward, and that the funding be returned to the Council, the proposal did not receive a seconder, therefore the proposal fell.
In relation to the Village Cinema Project, the AC fully supported this project. The officer explained the process and criteria involved in determining the two villages and venues to be provided with the cinema facilities, however Members did not feel that the suggested villages of Riccall and Brayton were the best locations, and a lengthy debate took place regarding villages in the area who had a greater need for the facilities.
Councillor Paraskos enquired whether a village in the Ainsty area had been considered as the recipient of the cinema facilities, the officer said that only Tier 1 villages were considered, the reasoning behind this was that the fund was spent on a facility that would be sustainable, and that the catchment of the area was sufficient for the cinemas to be maintained in the long term.
It was moved, and seconded, and agreed unanimously that the Village Cinema Project be endorsed by the AC, with the locations for the two cinemas to be delegated to the Chair (Councillor Davis) and the officer to make the final decision.
Resolved:
That the Committee:
Endorse the completed Project Scoping Forms for the following projects:
i) Interactive Town Guides. ii) The two Village Cinemas in principle, with the final decision on the two villages to receive the facilities to be delegated to the Chair, in conjunction with the officer. iii) Request that the Project Scoping forms be presented to the Corporate Director (Community Development) for the relevant projects to be funded from the Economic Regeneration, Tourism and Transport Project Development Fund for Selby.
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Selby Free SEND School Update
“Further progress has been made on the delivery of the Selby Free School. As expected, decision notices from the planning committee were published on 7 June 2024. The highway works started on 1 July 2024 with works progressing as per the agreed programme. Drainage, kerbing and street lighting is complete, and a new access road is now formed. The construction of new footway and widening of existing carriageway is in progress currently and will be followed by installation of a signalised crossing. Works are on track to be completed by 4 November 2024. Following the completion of the highways works the Department for Education (DfE) will begin construction of the school. As the construction of the school is being delivered by the DfE, the Council has requested an updated programme and for the expected delivery date to be communicated with wider stakeholders and North Yorkshire residents when this is confirmed by the DfE”. Members agreed that they would like sight of a timetable for the works, and a completion date. Resolved:
i) That the Democratic Services Officer request a timetable for the works; and a completion date. ii) That the report be noted.
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Changes to Parliamentary Boundaries - Impact on the Area Constituency Committee
The Chair commented that the local MP reported to the AC’s, and Selby now had two MP’s, it was requested that, as part of their remit, that the Working Group look at how this would work.
Resolved:
That the update be noted.
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Update on Enforcement matters
Members noted the information which had been received from Allan McVeigh and was included within the agenda pack, and requested that the following questions be relayed back to the officer: · Following the improvements on New Lane, when can Councillors expect to see the signage be replaced, that had been taken down at that time. · The Chair informed Members that parking enforcement had improved outside Abbey School, and there was one traffic enforcement officer who was excellent. Within the update it stated that SCHOOL KEEP CLEAR markings would be introduced, and a 20mph speed limit was under active consideration, Members would like to know what is the timetable for these works to be completed. · Following the Parking Services re-structure, Members be provided with an update on the Operational Supervisor, two FTE CEO’s, one part time CEO and one Car Park Inspector, who were expected to start in post in July 2024; are these new staff members now in place?
Resolved:
i) That the update be noted. ii) That the Democratic Services Officer forward the Councillor queries above to the relevant officer.
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Work Programme
Members were invited to consider, amend and add to the Committee’s Work Programme.
A Member requested that an update on housing be added to the Work Programme for the December meeting, with an officer to attend to provide information on the number of void properties, repairs, the failed inspection, and the condition of the housing stock in the area.
One Member commented that the Road Speed Review should be pursued, looking at the criteria, how many of the roads in the Selby area would be involved, what progress was being made at controlling speed on the roads in the area, and the use of fixed speed cameras.
The Chair requested that a written update on the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) be added.
Resolved:
i) That alongside the items of business already listed for the meeting in December 2024, the following items be added to the Work Programme:- Update on Housing in the Selby & Ainsty Area Road Speed Review Update on the Transforming Cities Fund.
ii) That the Work Programme be approved.
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Such other business as, in the opinion of the Chairman should, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency
None.
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Date of the Next Meeting
The next ordinary meeting of the Committee will be held on 13 December 2024 at 10.00 am.
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The meeting concluded at 5.08 pm.