Agenda and draft minutes

Welcome by the Chairman, introductions and apologies for absence:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  Apologies were noted.

Minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2023

Resolved

That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2023, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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.

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 of Democratic Services at mark.codman@northyorks.gov.uk by midday on Tuesday 9 January 2024. 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.

Public Questions and Statements

There was one statement that had been submitted prior to the Committee:

The following statement concerned an item not on the agenda and was read out by Barry Adams on behalf of Harrogate Residents’ Association, Granville Road Residents’ Group and Independent Harrogate.

ELECTION OF A TOWN COUNCIL FOR HARROGATE

Following the demise of Harrogate Borough Council and the setting up of the new

North Yorkshire Council in April of this year we the undersigned groups and

organisations are extremely concerned that election of a Town Council for Harrogate

has been delayed further until May 2025.

This ongoing delay as voted on by North Yorkshire Council without consulting at the

time with the population of our un-parished area is totally unacceptable to the residents

and businesses of this Town, the largest in the new Authority's administrative area. This is despite the residents and businesses of this Town clearly demonstrating

through previous consultations that there is a majority of the Town in full support of

such a Council for which elections should have taken place in May 2024. Whether

each ward on a new Town Council is represented by one or two councillors is not a

major concern - we just simply want a Town Council and are fully aware of the

implications and responsibilities involved.

We are extremely concerned since the formation of such a vast and disparate Council

such as NYC that residents and businesses in Harrogate feel isolated and remote from

proper local representation and decision making compared to the involvement enjoyed

by existing smaller parished areas.

There is no benefit in delaying the process yet another year unless NYC consider

people will be tired of any further consultations so will not vote again on this

issue. Perhaps a case of consulting until you get the result you want?

We therefore call on the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee

at this meeting to support as a matter of urgency the election and setting up of a Town

Council for Harrogate without any further delay and before 2025.

Barry Adams Chartered Architect (Retired) - Resident of Harrogate

on behalf of Harrogate Resident’s Association - 1,000+ members

Granville Road Resident’s Group - 300+ members

Independent Harrogate - 156 business members

MP Attendance:

Considered:  A verbal update from Andrew Jones MP regarding issues of key concern in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency.

The key points within the update provided by Andrew Jones MP were as follows:-

-        Since his previous update to the Committee in November 2022 significant progress had been made collecting data that would support a bid to achieve bathing water status for the River Nidd at the Knaresborough Lido. The team had received 30 supporting statements from bodies such as Town and Parish Councils and over 200 people had signed up to help with data collection and monitoring. He had personally delivered the bid to DEFRA and a decision was expected to be delivered by late spring, he would continue lobbying to make clear the supporting case for a positive decision on the bathing water status.

-        He also wanted to highlight details regarding Devolution for North Yorkshire. He explained that the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority had now passed all Parliamentary procedures and was on its way to being ready for election of the Mayor in May. The set up of the new combined authority would unlock £540M of funding which is designated to be spent on local priorities that were determined here rather than in Westminster. He was in favour of decisions being made locally and he wanted to express the importance of deciding the precise responsibilities that the Town Council would hold and to avoid duplication of work between the Town Council and the Area Committee.

Andrew Jones MP then responded to questions from Members:

-        In response to a question from Councillor Broadbank on spending on education and where North Yorkshire Schools, sat in national school performance tables, particularly in relation to SEND. He explained that SEND was seeing significant growth and this was an issue that was being experienced across the Country. The national budget for this area had gone up by 60% since 2020 and for the next financial year the funding was £10.5B. North Yorkshire received 1500 EHCPs in 2014 but was expecting around 5000 in the current year. This was due in part to a change in the Children and Families Act 2014, that broadened the scope of SEND. This increase was viewed by NYC’s Director of Finance as the primary financial challenge for the new Council.  The Council was operating with a deficit in its yearly budget and this deficit was expected to rise with challenges such that this. He explained that it was his view that all children, regardless of ability or need, were fully educated and this was a critical part of public policy. The Council was investing well with education in mind, for example in the Harrogate and Knaresborough area Woodfield Primary School will open in April for 80 pupils and focus upon speech and language communication and other associated mental health needs. In terms of funding he explained that he had met with schools, families, the Council and the children’s Minister to discuss funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Report of the Head of Waste Operations and Streetscene.

Waste and Street Scene Presentation:

Considered: a verbal presentation by the Head of Waste Operations and Streetscene and Associate Director for Environmental Services who delivered an update on the services’ progress through LGR and now into the new authority.

Michael Leah (Associate Director for Environmental Services) began by explaining that the new structure was being implemented and had started by appointing Harry Briggs as the Head of Waste Operations and Streetscene. The service was currently working to implement the remaining parts of the finalised Waste and Street Scene structure but they were keen to maintain service delivery and day to day operations which included household collections and a range of other waste services. Performance stats had demonstrated that the service had been unaffected by LGR and as of summer 2023 the service had been taking steps to improve the service’s delivery with some improvements in missed collections and a reduction in complaints.

Harry Briggs continued the presentation and explained that the service was prioritising services that directly affected members of the public such as waste collection, commercial waste services and street cleansing. Whilst maintaining frontline services the team were working to harmonise services across the county and ensure they could respond to the varying needs of the different areas. The service had also formulated costs for services as one team and had now provided one calendar that anyone in the county could use to see when their collection was. There was now an area manager for the Harrogate and Craven region who would be responsible for performance and improving services in the local area.

In terms of the litter bin project Harry explained that there were more than 1500 litter bins in the former Harrogate BC area and it was key to assess the number, location of these litter bins and also the condition over which some concern had been raised. The service was looking to provide a comprehensive service while also lowering operating costs and therefore litter bins were to be emptied in the regular rounds of household collections rather than a dedicated service. They had increased the size of the litter bins so that they had enough capacity to last between these collections. The service was soon to have completed roll-out of the new bins and officers would review the success of the project once it was complete.

In Discussion:

Members expressed concern about the placement of the new bins which were often closer to a road than where members of the public actually needed them. Another concern was raised about dog poo litter bins and whether there was a consistent policy and communications to advise members of the public. There was significant concern that if these litter bins are going to be emptied only once a fortnight then this could become a public health hazard. In responding to these points Harry explained that they were wheely bins and placed close to roads so that the collection teams could access them easily. As the project was near  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

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 – The report of the Democratic Services and Scrutiny Manager that

invited Members to consider, amend and add to the Committee’s work programme.

Mark Codman (Democratic Services) provided an overview of the Committee’s current work programme. Mark advised that the two statements that had been referred by the last committee meeting had been referred to the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee

on the 18 January.

Harrogate and Knaresborough ACC - 14 March 2024 Items to be considered:

-        School's education achievement and finance

-        Local nature recovery strategy

Harrogate and Knaresborough ACC - £50k fund:

-        Mark advised that he was in the process of finding an officer to support this meeting and there would be an in-person meeting in the next few weeks that would look at any submitted proposals based on the previously agreed criteria

Informal Sessions:

-        Mark advised that there was to be a Commuted Sums briefing once it had been arranged with officers

Harrogate Station Gateway:

-        Councillor Aldred advised that the station gateway working group had met and were beginning their formal monitoring of the project – the working group would report back to future meetings with its findings

Harrogate Town Council

-        It was agreed that a working group to consider the progression of Harrogate Town Council would not be set up

Any other items which the Chair agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances.

Any other business which the Chair agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances:

There was no urgent business.

Thursday 14 March 2024 at 10.00 am.

Date of Next Meeting

Thursday 14 March 2024