Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor David Ireton, with Councillor George Jabbour attending as substitute.

Councillor Paul Haslam also gave his apologies, but was able to attend virtually to present item 9 (Annual Report of the Climate Change Member Champion).

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meetings held on 19 January 2024 and 1 February 2024, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and confirmed 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.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice (to include the text of the question/statement) to Will Baines, Senior Scrutiny Officer (contact details below) no later than midday on Friday 5 April 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.

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 those taking a recording to cease while you speak.

No public questions or statements were received.

Karl Battersby, Corporate Director of Environment, attended the meeting to provide a verbal update on the directorate.

Some of the key points highlighted in his update are as summarised below:

·       The restructure of the Environment directorate and plans for service transformation

·       Progress with the three ‘Transforming Cities Fund’ projects

·       Upcoming consultations on Traffic Regulation Orders in Skipton and Harrogate

·       Kex Gill – piling works due to start shortly

o   Designs for replacement road scheme to be finalised shortly

o   Expected to be on site in April and May, with extended working hours over evenings and weekends.

o   Set to be the largest capital project for North Yorkshire Council

·       Directorate climate change action plans are under development and lead officers now in post to drive forward plans.

Following the update, questions raised by the committee included:

·       The impact of the recent unprecedented wet weather and its impact on the progress with major road schemes?

·       The disruption to local businesses and the traffic congestion caused by the Kex Gill diversion route and the expected completion date for the reopening.

·       Whether the work of the climate change team will look at future proofing against potential costs coming in the years ahead, as well as policies and procedures around rationalising the estate and decarbonisation?

·       How potential transformation savings are monitored and checked within the directorate?

·       If there was any impact of climate change events on the insurance cover for the authority.

·       A member emphasised that new trees are required when others are chopped down.

·       The continued use of spray injection patching for road repairs and whether it works better in some areas than others?

·       The link up between the Environment directorate with the planning service.

·       Plans for improving coastal infrastructure.

·       Work on developing a long-term solution to the Oliver’s Mount approach road at Jackson’s Lane, particularly given the economic impact for the local area with the nationally recognised motorbike races.

Resolved – That the update be noted.   

Considered – Report of National Highways.

Stewart Jones (A66 Project Director) and Tom Gifford (A66 Project Sponsor) from National Highways introduced the update, setting out the structure of the organisation, comprising teams in strategy, operations and major projects.

Within major projects, there are projects that can be delivered under National Highways governance (typically under £500m) by regional teams, and those costing more that fall under Department for Transport (DfT) governance.

On the A66 Transpennine Route Scheme, the Development Consent Order was granted by the Secretary of State for Transport on 7 March 2024, and is now going through Department for Transport (DfT) governance to secure further funding to continue developing this scheme. The appeals period is ongoing, where objections can be raised. In recent months, the development has progressed, with designs initially worked up on the western side of the scheme in the first instance.

The full business case is required to be finalised and signed off by the Department for Transport to access the construction phase funding. Pending the conclusion of the appeals period and the extent of any challenges made, construction is expected to start in Spring/Summer 2025 with enabling works. An Environmental Management Plan is also being prepared.

Councillor Angus Thompson, the division member for North Richmondshire, asked about the implications of the A66 scheme on the Scotch Corner roundabout. In response, it was explained that the plans at Scotch Corner were to widen the carriageway rather than a significant intervention. The end of the involvement of Costain as one of the developers for the eastern side of the project had caused a delay in progress, but with different suppliers now in place things can move forwards, but this is at very early stages currently.

As a follow up, the congestion at the roundabout was highlighted, for example residents leaving Middleton Tyas via Scotch Corner can find it extremely difficult and that is without any additional traffic. In response it was noted that as part of the Development Consent Order there has been a lot of engagement on the scope of the scheme which sits within its remit. The scheme now has approval and detailed designs are being worked up for all aspects of the scheme, from the A1 to the M6, with a total of ten different schemes undertaken by three different contractors. Construction for the project will take a number of years, given the size and scale across the Pennines as an important strategic route, with Scotch Corner an important part of this A66 upgrade. However, it is a smaller component project in relation to some of the large bypasses required to enable the A66 dualling.

Councillor Steve Watson asked for the Scotch Corner junction improvements to be brought forward in the overall programme, believing it is pointless rushing traffic to a known congestion spot. On the scheduling of the works, it was explained that considerations on priority include safety as well as the earthwork seasons, traffic management requirements and the views of the expert  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Considered – Report of the Head of Highways Operations to update on the progress and performance to date of NY Highways (NYH) on gully cleaning and maintenance over the last 12 months.

Nigel Smith introduced the report, with the key points covered as highlighted below:

·       Managing the removal of water from the highway network and its impact on highway deterioration is as important as ever.

·       During the course of the last year, discussion has taken place regarding how to further evolve the use of the Kaarbontech system. A review of data led to an interim programme being introduced in September 2023, which took into account concerns over gullies on main roads, gullies that had not been cleaned for more than 2 years as well as local knowledge relating to known flooding issues.

·       Surveys show that there are 164,171 gullies on the highway network. The risk-based programme approach adopted identifies that some 98,503 gullies need to be attended across North Yorkshire in any given year, with certain higher-risk locations requiring more than one clean in a twelve month period, taking the total number of attendances to circa 106,000 per annum. These targeted locations are constantly reviewed and updated by data that directs where those cleanses are required.

·       Usually there are an average of three named storms per year, but over the last 12 months we have had ten, all of which necessitated NYH resource to be deployed, particularly in December 2023, January and February 2024 to deal with flooding issues as a direct consequence of those storms. As a result, NYH has had to respond to non-programmed gully orders in addition to the cyclic programme. It is currently estimated that in excess of 10,000 additional gullies have been attended to.

·       The programme has been refined, as to what to do and where as part of the risk based, data led approach. This helps to constantly evolve the gully cleansing and maintenance programme.

Following this, key points raised by members included:

·       Does the increase in the number of reactive incidents requiring gully cleansing indicate that the service isn’t working well? Given the ten named storms, the highways drainage systems becomes over capacity following significant flooding events as there is simply too much water coming off not just the highway network, but adjacent land onto the highway network.

·       Part of the data collection is around how much silt is in the pot, so if there is 50/75% then the gully would be put on a more frequent cleaning schedule.

·       It was asked if the number of reactive call outs could be broken down into urban and rural settings, as there was feedback that local knowledge had sometimes not been fed in and taken into account. Gullies are looked at on an individual basis, with no distinction between whether it is in a rural or urban location. For example, work has been done in the Selby area to put in place solutions to work with landowners to improve the drainage and discharge of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Considered – Presentation of the Divisional Officer – Scientific and the Head of Environmental Protection to set out the plans for a more co-ordinated approach to the monitoring of air quality as part of the new unitary council.

The key points highlighted in the report are as follows:

·       An air quality steering group has been set up with representation across relevant services such as planning, highways, transport planning, public health and climate change to ensure there is a much more joined up approach to the subject across the authority.

·       An annual air quality status report will be published in June, followed by the submission of the final Air Quality Action Plan for North Yorkshire to DEFRA in September, which will confirm the Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) across the county.

Questions and comments raised by the committee included:

·       The proposed approach was welcomed, in particular the development of baseline monitoring data to track changes in air quality levels.

·       The future process for revoking the AQMAs currently in place and how quickly they could be reimposed if air quality levels deteriorate again. Furthermore, confirmation that monitoring arrangements will be retained despite the revoking of the AQMA.

·       The recent UK Clean Air Night campaign to shine a light on stricter conditions imposed on wood burning stoves to reduce the amount of smoke that can be emitted.

·       The legally binding target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce concentrations of PM_2.5

Resolved –

That the update to the committee be noted.

Considered – Annual Report of the Member Champion for Climate Change.

Councillor Paul Haslam joined the meeting virtually to present his report.

Comments and questions raised by committee members included:

·       It is difficult to track the environmental impact of Brierley Homes. It was asked whether an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework or full impact assessment could be done.

·       To share the information from the residential weekends attended.

·       It was noted that there was no reference to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) work undertaken as part of the Member Champion role. This was to be added.

Resolved – That the Annual Report of the Member Champion for Climate Change be noted.

Resolved –

i)               That the action points 2-6 from the Highways Reinstatements and Road Closures Working Group be endorsed.

·       Confirm and communicate the precise definition of works to communities and partners, ensuring first time completion and the use of temporary reinstatements only when necessary (especially in conservation areas).  Look to limit any attempts to exploit the 48 hour grace period with repeat works.

·       Recommend that the business case for change in resources or working patterns to allow increased inspector efficiency, up to and including additional recruitment, to improve the inspection rate in the face of anticipated continual increases from fibre.

·       Contact bus service operators in North Yorkshire, confirming their preferred procedure for informing them of short notice road closures and asking for information on their onward communication and contingency processes, ensuring that this is being done to mitigate and communicate the effect of closures.

·       Confirm a timescale for the improvement of One Network information.

·       Contact Parish Councils to inform them of the One Network tool for monitoring and communicating road closure information.

ii)              That a further update on this topic is considered in the 2024-25 civic year.

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

Considered -

The following topics were suggested to be included on the work programme:

·       Department for Transport invite

·       Coastal erosion

Resolved -

That the work programme be noted and the suggestions be explored.

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

There were no further items.