Agenda and minutes

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstance shall be specified in the minutes.)

There were no late items, however the Chair referred to additional material received by the Board relevant to Item 10 – Request for Scrutiny regarding the Introduction of ‘Home Zones’.  This was correspondence received from various organisations, which had been received since the agenda despatch and was considered relevant to the request for scrutiny.

To declare any personal/prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Councillor Driver declared a personal interest in Item 12 – Sharing the Success – Leeds Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) – as a member of the Board of the Belle Isle Foundation which was in receipt of funding from LEGI.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor Harper.

To receive and approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 18^th September 2007.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th September 2007 be confirmed as a correct record.

To note the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 2^nd July 2007.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 2^nd July 2007 be received and noted.

To receive the Executive Board minutes of the meeting held on 11^th September 2007.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Executive Board meeting held on 11^th September 2007 be received and noted.

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development attaching a report from the Director of City Development providing information on two particular issues raised by Councillor Illingworth in his request for Scrutiny at the Board’s previous meeting, in order to determine whether the Board should undertake further scrutiny of this matter.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report outlining the Board’s position so far on the request for Scrutiny from Councillor J Illingworth considered at the previous meeting and attaching a report from the Director of City Development that had been requested by the Board in order to determine whether to undertake further scrutiny of this matter. 

Members of the Board were reminded in the report that the Chief Executive, at the request of the Council, was to bring forward a report and recommendations to Council as to how the Council could be better involved with the decision making process within Council operations and bring forward a new system of officer delegation to reflect greater democratic involvement.

The attached report from the Director of City Development provided additional information about the A65 Quality Bus Corridor requested at the last meeting, in particular the background; past, present and future consultation; and the relationship between the scheme and other developments along the A65 corridor.

Councillor Illingworth attended the meeting to respond to Members’ questions and clarify any points of concern following his request for Scrutiny.  Jean Dent, Director City Development, Caroline Allen, Head of Development and Regulatory, Chief Executive’s Department and Andrew Hall, Transport Strategy Manager, City Development Department, were also in attendance to put forward the legal and Departmental case and respond to questions from the Board.

Lengthy discussion ensued.  The issues discussed were in summary:

·  The legal position with regard to planning applications, permitted development rights, the Council as a local Highways Authority and Counsel advice.

·  The consultation process in general on the scheme.

·  The apparent gap in the consultation process between 2003 and 2006 which officers explained was due to delays by the Department for Transport and the time taken in setting up the Regional Transport Board.

·  The cumulative impact of the scheme.

·  Amendments and changes to the scheme as it evolved.

·  The Environmental Impact Assessment and the work undertaken on this issue.

·  That rat running, noise, loss of road access were issues of concern to residents.

·  That a report on the officer delegated decision process was being submitted to Council shortly and the consultation process with Members.

The Board decided to continue the discussions on the A65 at the next meeting.

The Chair then put the proposal by a Member that the Board consider a possible Inquiry into the effectiveness of the City Development Department’s consultation processes and that draft terms of reference be submitted to the next meeting to assist the Board in determining whether it wished to proceed with such an Inquiry.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the Board continue its deliberations as to the process applied to the A65 Quality Bus Corridor at its next meeting.

(b)  That draft terms of reference be submitted to the next meeting for a possible Inquiry into the effectiveness of the City Development Department’s consultation processes.

(Note: Councillor R Procter joined the meeting at 10.15am during the consideration of this item.)

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development attaching a request for Scrutiny concerning the introduction of ‘Home Zones’.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report outlining a request for Scrutiny from the Deputy Chair of the Alliance of Service Users and Carers concerning the City Development Department’s proposals to expand the use of shared space between vehicles and pedestrians.  Details of the request were attached to the report. The new draft ‘Street Design Guide’, which introduced the concept of ‘Home Zones’ that included the use of shared surfaces, was also attached for Members’ information.  Members had been advised that the new draft ‘Street Design Guide’ was out for public consultation during the period 14^th September to 26^th October 2007.

The Deputy Chair of the Alliance of Service Users and Carers, Mr Keith Spellman, attended the meeting to detail the reasons for his request for Scrutiny to the Board.  Representatives from other organisations who had also objected to the proposals to increase the use of shared space were also present - these were Mr Naylor, National Federation of the Blind, Leeds Branch and Mr Jonathan Bentley, Director of Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People.

Members were advised that other correspondence had been received on this issue from Mr Peter Knott, Vision is not Essential (VINE), Ms Avril Gaunt, Leeds Jewish Blind Society, Mr T Davey, Talking Newspaper for the Blind for Otley and District and Mr Iain Warwick, RNIB, Leeds Branch.  This correspondence had been circulated to the Board.

Jean Dent, Director of City Development, Mike Darwin, Head of Highways Development Services, City Development Department, and Gillian MacLeod, Principal Highways Development Engineer, City Development Department,

were also in attendance to respond to questions from the Board.

Mr Spellman outlined for the Board why his group opposed the proposal for more shared surfaces.

In brief summary the following issues were discussed:

·  The alleged lack of consultation.

·  The consultation that had been carried out by the Department.

·  Safety issues of disabled groups as well as issues regarding dignity, equality and inclusion in society for all groups of people.

·  The problems of parking on pavements in general and enforcement.

·  New high density housing developments built with seemingly little regard to parking provision.

·  That the various disability groups met on a monthly basis and needed time to consult with their members.

In view of the comments made, the Director offered to extend the consultation period for the draft Design Guide by at least four weeks.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the request for Scrutiny from the Alliance of Service Users and Carers be noted.

(b)  That the Department submit a report to the January 2008 meeting of the Board on the outcome of the consultation on the Street Design Guide in order to determine whether the concerns expressed by the various interest groups had been taken into account and to determine if further scrutiny was required.

(Note: Councillor Dunn left the meeting at 11.40am during the consideration of this item.)

To consider a report and presentation from the Assistant Chief Executive (Planning, Policy and improvement) requesting comments from the Board on the draft strategic outcomes and improvement priorities proposed for the Leeds Strategic Plan 2008-11 with particular regard to the city’s economic and physical development.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Planning, Policy and Improvement) submitted a report inviting the Board to provide feedback to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the draft strategic outcomes and improvement priorities proposed for the Leeds Strategic Plan 2008-11, with particular reference to the city’s ambitions in terms of its economic and physical development.

Members agreed to forego the film presentation as they had all seen it previously.  Jean Dent, Director of City Development and Dylan Griffiths, Project Manager (Policy), Chief Executive’s Department, attended the meeting and responded to queries and comments from the Board. 

Members commented on issues they would like including and raised a number of concerns:

·  The need for a delivery plan approach and a monitoring process.

·  Who decides the priorities in the Strategic Plan.  Concern that some schemes sink so low that they never get implemented.

·  The Strategic Plan should concentrate most resources in areas of most need.

·  Thriving Places: A place of many parts:

·  Should read reduce re-offending as well as offending.

·  Support of Shelter in its endeavours.

• Should read increase the number of affordable homes throughout the whole of the city.
• To reducing worklessness, add by working with families.

·  Environment City: A reputation for environmental excellence:

• Need to improve the general cleanliness of streets, not just publicly owned land and inner city areas but also in the more well off areas and on private land.
• The need for litter pickers rather than automated street cleaners.
• The problem of discarded cigarette butts since the ban on smoking.
• Reduced ecological footprint paragraph should be extended to mention the reason for doing this, ie one planet with finite resources.
• Climate change – should be considered only if it makes sense from an efficiency perspective.

·  Learning: A leading centre of learning, knowledge and research:

• The importance of family should be mentioned, particularly its role in preventing heart disease and establishing a good diet.

·  Health and Wellbeing: Creating a healthy city:

• Harm from drugs and alcohol was a major reason for claims for Incapacity Benefit.

·  Harmonious Communities: a rich mix of cultures and communities:

• The need for balanced communities; crime rates increased when there was a transient population eg Houses in Multiple Occupation, particularly as a result of high student numbers.

·  A Modern Transport System:

• Questioned whether cycle lanes were safer for cyclists than cycling on roads.
• Park and Ride – the need to establish more smaller sites as a priority to relieve congestion.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the report be noted.

(b)  That Members’ comments as outlined above, be fedback to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development providing a summary of progress in delivering ‘Sharing the Success’, the Leeds Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI).

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report providing a summary of progress in delivering ‘Sharing the Success’, the Leeds Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI).

Simon Brereton, Programme Manager LEGI, and Paul Stephens, Chief Economic Services Officer, both from the City Development Department, attended the meeting to present the report and respond to queries and comments from the Board.

Members were advised that funding for the programme had now been confirmed for the next three years.  The three themes of Engaging People, Engaging Business and Engaging Investors were referred to.  The twenty projects which were now up and running, including the two flagship projects, were also referred to. 

In brief summary, the following issues were discussed:

·  The challenge of attracting people to set up in business and then supporting them – the issues could not be solved by capital investment alone.

·  The need for childcare facilities in the areas covered by the programme.

·  The long-term sustainability of the programme.

RESOLVED – That the report and comments be noted.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development regarding the Board’s work programme, together with a copy of the Forward Plan of Key Decisions pertaining to this Board’s Terms of Reference for the period 1^st October 2007 to 31^st January 2008.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted the Board’s current Work Programme together with a relevant extract of the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions for the period 1^st October 2007 to 31^st January 2008.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the current Board’s Work Programme be received and noted.

(b)  That an initial paper on the impact of students on the economy of the city be included as early as possible in the Board’s Work Programme for 2007/08.

(c)  That a joint report of City Development and Education Leeds on the process for disposal of former school buildings including consultation, be considered at the Board’s November 2007 meeting.

(d)  That the following items, originally proposed to be considered at the Board’s October 2007 meeting, be considered at later meetings as indicated:

·  City Centre Area Action Plan – to December 2007 meeting

·  Bottlenecks/Pinch Points in our Transport System – to December 2007 meeting

·  Transfer of Services to City Development – to January 2008 meeting

·  Supply of one and two bedroomed flats in the city, the vacancy factor and supporting infrastructure – to December 2007 meeting

To note that the next meeting of the Board will be held on 20^th November 2007 at 10.00am with a pre-meeting for Board Members at 9.30am.

RESOLVED – Noted that the next meeting of the Board would be held on Tuesday 20^th November 2007 at 10.00am with a pre-meeting for Board Members at 9.30am.

The meeting concluded at 12.40pm.