Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman of the Committee, to serve until the first meeting of the Committee following the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2024.

Purpose:  To decide whether these Minutes can be confirmed and signed by the Chair as correct records.

Minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2023

Mark Codman explained that an updated version of the minutes was circulated at the meeting reflecting comments from Councillor Chris Aldred. An amended copy was circulated to members of the committee at the meeting and Cllr Aldred confirmed that they reflected his comments.

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2023, as amended, be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Minutes of the Special Meeting held on 5 May 2023

Mark Codman explained that the minutes would be amended to include those In Attendance and the names of the organisations for the three representatives that spoke at the meeting.

Resolved –

That the minutes of the special meeting held on 5 May 2023, as amended, be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

To elect a Vice-Chair of the Committee, to serve until the first meeting of the Committee following the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2024.

Election of Vice-Chair

Councillor Pat Marsh invited nominations for the Vice-Chair of the Committee, to serve until the first meeting of the Committee following the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2024.

There were two nominations for the position of Vice-Chair of the committee:

Councillor Monika Slater

Proposed by Cllr Philip Broadbank Seconded by Cllr Matt Walker

Cllr Paul Haslam

Proposed by Cllr Robert Windass Seconded by Cllr John Mann

A vote was then taken for the two nominations for Vice-Chair:

Councillor Paul Haslam

There were 5 votes for 6 against and 1 abstention

Councillor Monika Slater

There were 7 votes for and 5 abstentions

Councillor Monika Slater was therefore elected as Vice-Chair of the committee.

Resolved –

That Councillor Monika Slater be elected Vice-Chair, to serve until the first meeting of the Committee following the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2024.

Apologies for absence

Councillor Peter Lacey’s apologies were noted.

All Members are invited to declare at this point any interests they have in items appearing on this agenda, including the nature of those interests.

Declarations of interest

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice (including the text of the question/statement) to Mark.Codman@northyorks.gov.uk of Democratic Services by midday on Monday 5 June 2023. Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item. Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak:-

·         At this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the Agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes).

·         When the relevant Agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the Agenda for this meeting.

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

Public Questions and Statements

The Chairman advised that four notices had been received from members of the public who wished to make statements or ask questions at this meeting.

The following public statement was read out by Rene Dziabas- On behalf of the Western Arc Coordination Group (WACG) consisting of:

–      North Rigton PC

–      Pannal & Burn Bridge PC

–      Beckwithshaw PC

–      Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association

–      Duchy Residents Association

–      Hampsthwaite Action Group

This statement is being made on behalf of the Western Arc Coordination Group (WACG), and its purpose is to register our complete dissatisfaction concerning the lack of progress with the production of a West Harrogate Infrastructure Strategy (WHIS) and associated Infrastructure Delivery Schedule (IDS).

For many years now we have expressed our concern that the equivalent of a small town, approximately 4000 dwellings, is being proposed for the western arc of Harrogate without an improved infrastructure able to support such a massive development. By infrastructure we are not just referring to roads, but to schools, medical facilities, bus services, etc. It also needs to be noted that all of this ultimately tracks back to a Local Plan process that started more than a decade ago, and in many respects is now out of date.

The time allotted today is not sufficient to go over the background to this work, but nearly a year ago HBC and NYCC presented us with a draft `Mitigation Summary Pack`, solely concentrating on highways. At the time we expressed the view that much of this work came over as incoherent and lacking any real structure but we were assured that a complete WHIS and associated IDS would be made available in October of last year.  Council representatives assured us that these documents would include clear objectives, clear deliverables, timings, supporting data and financial costings. This was a Council commitment, not one invented by us as stakeholders. Yet here we are in mid-2023 and the latest position is that consultants are still looking at the viability of what previous consultants have proposed.

So far, we have seen no hard detail whatsoever in relation to the WHIS and IDS, and no offer of meaningful engagement with the community.  Recent correspondence would seem to indicate further delays. Therefore, our overall concern is that this work, when it eventually emerges, will deliver an ineffective and inadequate package.

As a group we have always expressed our willingness to be involved in discussions relating to issues of concern to our community, and to play a positive role, but the reality is that we are now some years on and we have seen nothing that convinces us that there is any sort of a plan in place that will really help to mitigate the strains on the infrastructure to the west of Harrogate.And, before somebody raises the matter, the Parameters Plan as it stands will not achieve this.

We therefore respectfully ask for meaningful consultations to take place with community representatives before the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Petition referred to the committee for consideration - Submission of petition for a maximum speed of 20mph on roads in south & west Harrogate

Considered – Mark Codman, Democratic Services, introduced the petition stating that it had been referred to the Committee under the Council’s Petitions Scheme due to the number of signatories being above 500.  He outlined the options that the committee had under the Petitions Scheme, including the following:

(a) to take the action requested by the petition;

(b) not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate;

(c) to commission further investigation into the matter, for example by a relevant committee; or

(d) where the issue is one on which the council executive are required to make the final decision, the council will decide whether to make recommendations to inform that decision.

Allan McVeigh (Head of Network Strategy, Highways and Transportation) provided an update to the technical information in the report and stated that the outputs from 20 mph review were now due to be reported to the Executive in July and not June.

The Chair invited Hazel Peacock to introduce the petition.

Hazel Peacock thanked the chair and the committee and introduced Dr Vicki Evans. She explained that they were petitioners for the agenda item from the Oatlands Road Safety and Active Travel Campaign and were attending to hear the discussion about the petition which was signed by 924 people.

The proposal calls for a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour in roads in South and West Harrogate across Oatlands, parts of Pannal, the Stray, Hookstone and St George's. This is urgently needed for the safety health and well-being of children and the wider community. Over 4 000 children walk, Cycle, travel by car and bus to schools in the area and a further five thousand attend the schools in the Pannal Ash area.

The proposal complements and is dovetailed with the initiative by Pannal Ash Streets with the aim to deliver better road safety and facilitate active travel for a total of 9 000 children and the community. The Committee have just heard of the devastating effects of the Collision on the pavement on Yew Tree Lane in February and been made aware of the Collision outside Oatland's Junior School also on the pavement in January.

These awful events coupled with overwhelming evidence of the benefits of 20 mile an hour limits demonstrate why change is urgently needed, the higher the speed a vehicle travels the greater likelihood of a serious injury or death if there is a crash. A crash at 30 miles per hour involves a lot more energy and destructive potential than a crash at 20 miles per hour. This is further evidenced by transport for London data showing that people hit by a vehicle at 20 miles an hour are around five times less likely to be killed than at 30 miles an hour. The changes to maximum speed limits of 20 miles per hour  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Petition referred to the committee for consideration - Harrogate Station Gateway Opposition

Considered – Mark Codman, Democratic Services, introduced the petition stating that the petition has been referred to the Committee under the Council’s Petitions Scheme due to the number of signatories being above 500.  He outlined the options that the committee had under the Petitions Scheme, as follows:

(a) to take the action requested by the petition;

(b) not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate;

(c) to commission further investigation into the matter, for example by a relevant committee; or

(d) where the issue is one on which the council executive are required to make the final decision, the council will decide whether to make recommendations to inform that decision.

Mark Codman asked Richard Binks (Head of Major Projects and Infrastructure) if there was anything he would like to add or update from the information contained in the covering report.

Richard Binks covered the following:

·       He apologised if residents felt they had not been listened to, he understood this project generated a lot of passion and divided opinion

·       He was happy to have a 1-2-1 meeting with the member of the public who had submitted the petition

·       Officers had met with the Department for Transport’s representatives in Harrogate to have a walk-around and they praised the scheme

·       Discussion regarding the schemes risks and funding profile were moving forward

·       Harrogate was a fantastic place to live and visit and officers were keen to uphold/improve the gateway aspect of the town

·       Officers had up until this point held more consultation on this project than similar size projects but they remained happy to sit down and discuss the scheme with any group or individual

·       The scheme had receive unanimous support from the Executive and work would commence for delivery, it was critically important now to demonstrate a positive face to the outside world – grant funding bodies needed to see the Council was united in delivering a successful scheme.

The Chair invited Rachael Inchboard to introduce the petition on behalf of Granville Road Area Residents Group:

Rachael Inchboard clarified that it was not just a meeting with herself but with several groups that was required. She represented Granville Road Area Residents Group and presented a petition set up against the Gateway project which was also on behalf of several groups and several hundred people currently signed by over 2 000 people. The petition was set up to oppose the Gateway scheme as town centre residents feel they have been totally ignored with regards to concerns about the negative impacts from the proposed Harrogate Gateway scheme.

The Committee has talked about air pollution and how important it is, however there has never been any support on this around the area. Town Centre residents feel that there has been a lack of any in-person consultation for residents and it is of a key significance. They have been offered a quick Zoom session online at short  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager.

Purpose: To provide a guide about Area Constituency Committees’ ways of working for the period ending 31 March 2024.

Area Constituency Committees - Ways of Working

Considered – Daniel Harry (Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager) provided a summary of the report on the Area Constituency Committees - Ways of Working. He covered the following areas:

·       The introduction of mid-cycle briefings – to include the Chair, Vice-Chair and group representatives from other parties

·       There was Corporate Director support for ACC meetings that was there if support was needed e.g. to ‘unblock’ things and as a route of escalation

·       Parish and Town Councils would be able to engage with their respective ACC to raise any relevant issue and the ACCs were there to engage directly with the local community through the public participation scheme or directly through the Chair, Members or the Democratic Service Officers

·       The ACC’s were there to conduct local scrutiny but officers would work to ensure there was no conflict or duplication with efforts of the six Overview and Scrutiny Committees

·       Just because reports were down ‘to note’ doesn’t mean that the Committee can’t decide on what action it wants to take in response to an item

·       There is a £50k seed fund that would need careful management and close scrutiny – the fund would need a robust system in place for the allocation of the moneys and for which we can be held accountable by members of the public

·       The Committee managed a work programme and aside from the areas already being looked at it was suggested that the Committee look at areas such as economic development, community safety and highways related matters

Members discussed the following:

·       Allotting some of the seed fund moneys to the Nidd Action Group – DH responded that if Members urgently need funding they could use their locality budgets

·       In response to a question DH explained that allocation of the seed funding would likely involve collaboration with the Corporate Director and the s.151 officer but the exact process was to be determined

·       Councillor Warneken was keen to have environmental issues/climate change added to the list of priorities detailed at section 12 of the report – DH explained that this was not an exhaustive list

·       In response to another question DH stated that there would be report reviewing how the ACCs had got on after about 12 months or the four meetings that were planned throughout the 2023-24 year.

Resolved – 

That the report be noted.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services)

Purpose:  To invite the Area Constituency Committee to appoint the County Council’s representatives on various outside bodies.

Appointments to Outside Bodies

Considered – The report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) which invited the Area Constituency Committee to appoint the Council’s representatives on the outside bodies listed in the report. The report explained that the Outside Bodies were separated into two lists, appendix 1 contained the Category 2 Outside Bodies and appendix 2 contained the Category 3 Outside Bodies.

Resolved – 

(a)  That the under-mentioned Councillors be appointed to the following Category 2 outside bodies:-

·       Bond End Air Quality Steering Group (NYCC) – Councillor Matt Walker

·       Fairfax Community Centre – Councillor Phillip Broadbank

·       Harrogate District Community Safety Local Delivery Team – No longer functioning

·       Harrogate International Festival Board of Governors – Councillor Chris Aldred

·       Harrogate White Rose Theatre Trust – Board – Councillors Mike Schofield and

·       Robert Windass

·       JennyfieldStyan Community Centre Joint Management Committee – No longer functioning

·       Knaresborough Community Centre Committee – No Change (Councillor Gostlow)

·       Nidd Gorge Advisory Partnership – Councillors Arnold Warneken, Philip Broadbank,

·       Paul Haslam, Matt Walker, Hannah Gostlow and Mike Schofield

·       Nidderdale Strategic Partnership – (Skipton and Ripon Area)

·       Pateley Bridge Quarry, Greenhow - Board of Trustees - (Skipton and Ripon Area)

·       Renaissance Knaresborough Management Committee – No Change (Cllr Gostlow)

·       Starbeck Community Fund – there was only one spot to fill – Councillor Pat Marsh

·       The Local Fund – no change (Cllr Sam Gibbs)

(b)  That the under-mentioned Councillors be appointed to the following Category 3 outside bodies:-

·       King James’s Foundation at Knaresborough H&K 1 – Councillor Matt Walker

·       Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley - no appointment made.  The catchment covers part of the NYC area

·       Richard Taylor’s Educational Foundation Trust H&K 1 - Councillor Paul Haslam

Report of County Councillor Paul Haslam (Chair of Sub Group)

Update from the Climate Sub Group

Considered – Councillor Paul Haslam (Chair of the Climate Sub Group) updated the Committee on the work of the Sub Group, he informed the Committee that he had chaired one meeting so far and he had held a lengthy discussion with Councillor Pat Marsh on the top of climate change. Looking forward Councillor Haslam made the following points:

·       The committee would soon be considering the Local Transport Plan consultation and should consider the environmental aspects of the plan – the Council needed to consider whether the current roads were suitable for active travel needs

·       If Members were to pool their locality funds they could use those funds to make small changes that could add up to a larger effect

·       Cycleway improvement was much needed

·       There needed to be greater coordination and collaboration between the VCS and other organisations across NY

·       Councillor Haslam was planning to push the idea of a ‘Climate Champion’ as soon as he had determined the mechanism for operating such a scheme

·       He was also looking at creating an award for the best climate change or environmental initiative

Resolved – 

That the update be noted.

Report of the Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager.

Purpose of the report:  To ask Members to consider, amend and add to the Committee’s work programme.

Committee Work Programme

Considered: (i) The report invited Members to consider, amend and add to the Committee’s Work Programme.

During discussion about possible issues for the Work Programme, the following topics were suggested:

·       Councillor Gostlow informed the Committee that The Committees Bathing Water Working Group had met the previous night and had asked that the Environment Agency and the National Farmers Union be invited before the ACC to discuss the ongoing water issues – Mark Codman confirmed they would look at inviting representatives for the aforementioned bodies – Yorkshire Water had also stated that they would update the Members within six months on progress to their improvement works – MC would look at which meeting this would go to

·       Councillor Gostlow informed the Committee that Councillor Mike Schofield was to join the Bathing Water Sub Group

·       Further information from the Harrogate District Cycle Action Group had been circulated to Members prior to the meeting

·       Following up from the last meeting of the Committee was the proposal from Councillor Peter Lacey on a working group to look at any gaps in the Community support network in the absence of a Harrogate Council – as Councillor Lacey could not be present Councillor Aldred submitted the proposal on his behalf – the proposal was to creating a working group consisting of five Members that would meet around twice a year.

·       Councillor Schofield asked that the Committee look at the Playing Pitch Strategy as many playing pitches were tired and worse for wear – MC suggested that any particular queries be submitted directly to him and he would follow them up and report back to the committee.

·       In advance of the September meeting of the Committee Councillor Gostlow asked that we request the Youth Council give their views on sustainable transport and active travel issues.

·       The informal session on Teams for the Local Transport Plan on 29 June at 10:30 was noted. This would be confirmed and also if it could be recorded for those Councillors that were unable to attend.

·       The Committee resolved to request the MP to attend a meeting once a year with updates as required.

Resolved – 

That the work programme be approved.