Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Phil Trumper, with Councillor George Jabbour attending as substitute and from Councillor David Noland.

Resolved 

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2025, 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.

Councillor Steve Mason declared a personal interest under item 5 (Climate Change Delivery Pathway Performance Report) regarding procurement due to his employment as a sustainability consultant.

Members of the pubic 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 (william.baines@northyorks.gov.uk) no later than midday on Thursday 17 April 2025. 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.

There were no public questions or statements received.

A report from Jos Holmes, Climate Change Strategy Manager was considered, providing a progress update on the Climate Change Delivery Pathway (CCDP), tracking the implementation of the overall Climate Change Strategy.

In introducing the report, it was noted that alternative solutions are being considered to present the visualisation of the progress of the CCDP in future updates.

Some of the key points highlighted in the report included:

·       A refresh of the regional ‘Routemap to Carbon Negative’ is being undertaken by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, following previous work by the Local Enterprise Partnership. There is currently a review of the Carbon Abatement Pathway and the Routemap itself underway, with a consultation draft to be agreed later in the year. It is planned that the committee will have the opportunity to feed in views and comments on the refreshed Routemap. 

·       The public and private sector housing programmes have made significant progress, with a large number of retrofits either in delivery or programmed in across the Harrogate, Selby and Richmond housing stock following a successful bid to the Social Housing Delivery Fund.

·       Work on an Adaptation strategy is ongoing, as it has become clear that it needs to be done on a broader scale. Officers are working with the Combined Authority, City of York Council and representatives from the protected landscapes to produce a comprehensive Climate Risk and Vulnerability report, which will conclude in early summer. A session for town and parish councils is also planned for later in the year to improve knowledge and understanding.

·       Work to deliver an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Rollout Strategy back in 2023 has led to a successful grant to the LEVI capital fund from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, and this work is now coming to fruition to deliver a much more comprehensive programme of electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs).

·       Leisure facilities decarbonisation audits have now been completed, utilising Beyond Carbon funding. This has helped to support bids for funding from the Combined Authority for renewable energy improvements.

·       Work to build a number of new care and support hubs across North Yorkshire, to provide care for 250 people, will include energy efficient and low carbon measures built into the developments.

Following this, questions raised by Elected Members was as follows:

·       It was asked if more EVCPs were planned to be delivered in the Whitby area. In response, it was highlighted that all the charging points were being brought together under one supplier as part of the new council. This was currently at procurement stage, and that a review of EVCP locations would follow this.

·       Improved signage and promotion of cycling and walking routes was requested, to get as many visitors and local residents using these, given the benefits this would lead to for the wider mental and physical health improvements and the climate change agenda.

·       The existing basic infrastructure for walking and cycling, particularly the width of footpaths, requires improvement. For example, grass verges and hedges are not adequately maintained, leading to narrower  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

The annual report of the Climate Change Member Champion, Councillor David Hugill, was considered, setting out the activities he has undertaken in his role as Member Champion. As part of his report, he highlighted the new initiatives from North Yorkshire Council to ensure tackling climate change is at the heart of everything we do. As an example, the proposed new care and support hubs project was emphasised for the net zero opportunities that had been identified in the design phase of the programme. Councillor Hugill also listed the impressive variety of events he has attended in the last nine months, from a recent North Yorkshire Climate Coalition event to the Women’s Institute in Great Broughton and Kirby.

Questions and comments from committee members included the collation of environmental material in an easily accessible format in future and ways of increasing and improving engagement with interested parties.

It was resolved that the Annual Report of the Member Champion for Climate Change be noted.

Verbal Update

An update on the implementation of a Lane Rental Scheme for North Yorkshire was given by Alex Hollifield, Team Leader for Network Information and Compliance. The key points as highlighted below include:

·       Lane Rental is a scheme that allows Highway Authorities to charge utilities and other third-party contractors for occupying road space on the busiest roads at the busiest times. Highway Authority works are also chargeable.

·       Charges are set at a maximum of £2500 per day, dependent on the level of disruption caused. This is to incentivise Statutory Undertakers carrying out works to do it outside of disruptive times, leading to overall minimised disruption on the network.

·       The proposed Lane Rental Scheme will be overseen by a governance group made up of Utilities and the Authority, with any surplus generated from the scheme to be reinvested in network innovation projects, minus any scheme costs. A minimum of 50% of this is to be reinvested into Highway Maintenance, with the other 50% to be invested in innovation projects. Any Lane Rental scheme put in place would operate alongside the existing North Yorkshire Permit Scheme.

·       Examples of the type of innovation projects used by other local authorities include Kent County Council carrying out drone surveys as part of rapid investigations of roadworks and infrastructure conditions, reducing the need for physical traffic management on the road and resulting in faster maintenance response times. Furthermore, Surrey County Council introduced intelligent traffic management systems, utilising AI to optimise traffic signal timings based on the traffic flow and congestion patterns.

·       The objectives of the proposed Lane Rental scheme are to minimise disruption and encourage faster, smarter working, as well as reducing the environmental impact as works should be completed to a high standard first time.

·       As it stands, a detailed proposal has been submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) for Secretary of State Approval. 7.25% of the overall network has been proposed as subject to Lane Rental Charges. A Traffic Sensitive Street Review was required as part of the application.

·       A functioning permit scheme needs to be demonstrated, with the latest scheme report rated years 4 to 6 as ‘Excellent’ despite a huge increase in permits due to the introduction of fibre internet schemes.

·       Emergency works are exempt from Lane Rental charges in the first 48 hours only, to encourage work to get done as soon as possible.

·       If successful, North Yorkshire will look to implement the scheme at the end of 2025.

·       Next steps include the set up and recruitment of a Lane Rental team alongside the existing streetworks permit team, finalising the governance structure for allocation of surplus funds and finalising the environmental protection process.

Following this, key points raised in the discussion that followed included:

·       There were queries around the charging regime for the proposed Lane Rental scheme and how the position of the works on the highway (e.g. in the carriageway compared to in the verge) would dictate the level of charge that could be levied.

·       Further context was requested on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

The committee work programme was considered. Comments made by committee members included:

·       It was requested that an Economic Development/Tourism update be brought to the scheduled October committee meeting.

·       As per the previous item, a report was requested on the plans for implementation of the Lane Rental Scheme (if given approval to commence) and the future plans for the North Yorkshire Streetworks Permit scheme. The date of this was to be confirmed.

There was also a general discussion about the scrutiny priorities for the committee at future meetings.

Taking into account the feedback received, it was resolved to note the work programme.

An update was asked for on the setup of the Active Travel Working Group referenced in the report.

Following this it was resolved to note the progress on issues raised report.

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

Councillor Mason recorded his thanks for the letter co-signed by the Leader and the Chair of the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the Climate and Nature Bill.