Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Derek Bastiman (substitute Councillor Clive Pearson), David Ireton (substitute Councillor George Jabbour), Andrew Williams (substitute Councillor Andy Paraskos), Steve Mason and John Cattanach.

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 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 Wednesday 3 July 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.

Considered – Report of the Corporate Director – Environment to update the committee on progress with actioning the water quality motion that was agreed by Full Council in November 2023.

Hugh Clear Hill, Principal Environmental Policy and Project Officer introduced the item, reporting back on the first meeting of the North Yorkshire River Catchments Forum (NYRCF) that had taken place in late June.

Some of the key points highlighted in the update were as follows:

·       The first meeting of the NYRCF had attracted an excellent turnout, including: board level representation from Yorkshire Water; area directors from the Environment Agency and Natural England; the Chair of the Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee; the Area Director of the Association of Drainage Authorities; senior representation from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust; both of the National Park Authorities and a range of river trusts and catchment partnerships from across the county.

·       There was high level support at the forum for establishing a strategic initiative for river catchments and widespread support for the council taking a leading role and recognising our role as a major co-ordinator in this area.

·       A number of senior council officers were also in attendance, from service areas such as water quality, public health, nature recovery, flood management planning and highways services.

·       The focus for the months ahead will be to make sure that the River Catchments Forum adds value, with an agreement to focus on 3 to 4 key areas, of which improving water quality is the most important.

·       More widely, it was recognised that the forum was an opportunity to share good practice and ideas, and it is hoped to convene a Rivers Summit with a wider audience in spring 2025 along with working with key partners to deliver a work programme.

·       Elected member involvement in the NYRCF was addressed, with it felt in the pre-election period the forum event would not have happened if there had been political attendees. Looking ahead, there is a wider question to be dealt with around elected member attendance at future meetings.

·       Extreme weather events are increasing, causing a rise in the amount of surface water run offs, so there is a close relationship between water quality and flood risk. The council can explore this further as the Lead Local Flood Authority and the Local Planning Authority, in order to ensure new developments do not exacerbate existing problems and through S106 agreements to improve the situation, such as through building attenuation tanks to store rainwater for gradual controlled release.

·       On the new Local Plan for North Yorkshire, if national development management policies come to fruition, then water quality and environment protection are set to be key parts of these documents.

·       The authority has been involved for a number of years with a project on the River Leven, working with the Tees Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency. The initial focus was on silt, as it affects the water quality and loss of soil. The most effective initiatives undertaken have been nature-based solutions, such as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Considered – Report of the Head of Network Strategy to provide the committee with an update on actions arising from discussions at a previous meeting regarding 20mph schemes and active travel.

Questions raised by committee members included:

·       The current position of North Yorkshire Police regarding the use of fixed speed cameras in the county was asked about. In response, it was noted that a camera enforcement study is ongoing, led by North Yorkshire Police, that was live but had been pending the recent mayoral elections.

·       Clarity was sought on the response within the report to the query raised about the speed limit on Station Parade, Harrogate and what the next steps on this were. Outside of the meeting, a response was sought from the project team, and it was confirmed that the request for a 20mph speed limit on Station Parade is beyond the scope of the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) project.  It would though be considered, separately, following the completion of TCF, as part of a planned programme of speed limit reviews.

·       Timescales for the development of the outstanding Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) and specifically the current position of Selby as part of this was sought.

Resolved – That the updates be noted.

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

Considered -

The following comments for future topics were made by committee members:

·       In regards to the accessibility of green space, the maintenance of the Public Rights of Way in North Yorkshire and how they are publicised to maximise the use of them

·       The role of the Combined Authority and the overarching Economic Framework

Resolved -

That the future work programme and comments for upcoming topics be noted.

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

There were no further items.