Agenda item

To consider a report setting out the Preferred Options in respect of the City Centre area, and seeking approval of the paper and the Panel’s  recommendation of its  approval by Executive Board

(report attached)

  The Panel considered a detailed report setting out the Preferred Options in respect of the city centre area, following the informal, Regulation 25 consultation process.  Notes of an informal consultation which took place on the CCAAP in October 2005 were tabled as additional background information

  Officers presented the report and highlighted the main points of the Preferred Options

  Members were informed that whilst Leeds had always been a commercial centre with leisure and retail facilities, due to the number of residential units which had, and were, emerging in the city centre, there was now an established residential use in the area.  This use was welcomed and added to the vitality and diversity of the city centre.  However, it was important that the commercial function of the area was not displaced, and that the 125,000 jobs within the city centre needed to be sustained to support the other functions

  Regarding the size of the city centre, the Panel was informed that consultation had been carried out last year on whether this should be extended on three corners, these being at Kirkstall Road, Mabgate and South Accommodation Road.  Varying responses had been received with one view being that the city centre should remain compact, ie walkable, whereas some land owners considered that extensions to the city centre should be made as these would add to the renaissance of the city

  Research on the amount of office space likely to be required in the city centre had formed the view that the city boundary need not be extended to include the Kirkstall Renaissance Area.  However, unless office development can be allowed at ground floor levels, the regeneration of the area will be thwarted as the flood risk in this area would preclude ground floor residential uses.  Therefore, the area should be included within the city centre but with the scale of office uses strictly limited

  The need to attract families to live in or near the city centre had been identified and proposals were included which would secure an amount of larger residential units with private amenity space within developments

  To ensure there were good transport links and to enable office accommodation to remain in the city centre, connectivity and accessibility was fundamental.  The CCAAP highlighted the importance of buses as a solution to transport congestion, with bus interchanges being proposed on the edges of the city centre to improve bus movement and circulation

  Members commented on the following matters:

• that the proposed extension of the city centre boundary to Kirkstall Road was unrealistic and that it was too far from the hub of the facilities within the city centre

• that family housing should be of a more human scale than was currently being built

• concerns that a residential area outside of the city centre boundary was marked as possible long stay commuter parking, and the view this should be considered for Affordable Housing

• the need for good linkages and the provision of health and education facilities in areas of family housing

• how no increases in surface water run off from new development would be achieved and monitored, and the importance of Plans Panels having regard to the potential flood risks when approving new developments

• the importance of having a realistic and accurate flood map for the city

• green corridors and whether there was a minimum width for these

• the lack of green space south of the river and the need for this to be addressed as a matter of urgency

• that the existing permeability of the centre of the city should be marked on the plan which was included within the CCAAP document

• the need for some separation between cycle and other vehicle routes, possibly through kerbing, which would increase safety for cyclists

• the proposed bridge crossings and whether these were designed for the benefit of pedestrians or as a way to deal with traffic problems

• the importance of retaining bus routes which cross-linked the city

• the need for better ticketing arrangements to speed up journey times and prevent delays, and the difficulties of achieving such outcomes until there was greater control over private bus operators

• the need for Traffic Regulation Orders to be enforced to prevent delays and congestion

• that the number of transponders should be increased

• to welcome the possibility of developing Marsh Lane and the provision of a rail halt, the financial and legal ramifications of undertaking such a project, particularly in view of the graves which existed within the site and the complex process which would be required to relocate these

• the need to reconsider the Loop road and whether the southern loop concept could be extended to include certain roads in Holbeck

• that any remodelling of the Loop road should not result in the demolition of buildings

• that areas around Great George Street could be pedestrianised to enhance the vitality of this area

Officers welcomed the comments made by Members and provided the following responses:

• that considerable internal dialogue had taken place regarding the size of the city centre, and that the proposals were a compromise, with the Kirkstall Road extension being seen as exceptional.  Furthermore, it was the view that any substantive office accommodation should be at the city centre end of the extension

• that the term ‘fringe areas’ as sites for larger family housing would be deleted from the CCAAP as the informal consultation had led to the view that such areas should not be defined

• whilst noting Members’ concerns regarding the area outside the city centre boundary marked for possible long stay commuter car parking, this was an area which had been carried forward from a UDP policy, and that for the purposes of the CCAAP, this was outside the remit of the plan

• that thorough consideration had been given to walking distances to schools and access to health facilities, and that city centre health care provision had recently been augmented by the opening of an NHS walk-in centre within The Light development

• that developers would need to convince officers that their proposals would not result in increased surface water run off prior to any officer recommendation to Panel.  Whilst it was accepted there might be a need for increased monitoring, there was a sustainable drainage policy in place together with current guidance regarding urban drainage, and that officers were working closely with the Environment Agency on this to better understand and work with the guidance contained in PPS25

• that it was important for biodiversity that narrow green strips remained within the city centre as well as the creation of larger, open areas

• that increased green space to the south of the river was planned, with schemes beginning to deliver, for example at Sweet Street and Clarence Dock.   The CCAAP also proposed that major development would need to provide at least 20% of a site area as open space, and this could not include walkways etc in the calculation.  Members were advised that work was ongoing to raise the profile of green space in the city centre and the creation of meaningful open areas

• that the permeability map of the city centre would be amended as suggested

• that there was a need to ensure new development contributed positively to cycle and pedestrian circulation

• the use of bridges would achieve the desire to connect the north and south sides of the city centre more effectively

• that the proposals did not put a stop to cross-linkage of buses, but was more related to having an infrastructure in place to enable some buses to stop and turn around.  This would be part of a range of other interlinking initiatives, ie BRT, extension to the free Orbital Bus and tram/train alignments from the Harrogate and Castleford lines

• regarding the enforcement of TROs, Members were informed this was beyond the remit of the AAP

• that the southern loop extension had been included as a concept which would lead to other outcomes, particularly if road pricing was ever introduced which could lessen the volume of traffic through Leeds

RESOLVED –

(i)  To note the outcome of the informal consultation undertaken as part of the preparation of the preferred options (as set out in Appendix 2 of the submitted report)

(ii)  To recommend to Executive Board that it approves the City Centre Area Action Plan Preferred Options, for publication along with its Sustainability Appraisal and other supporting documents, with the exception of the proposal to extend the city centre boundary to include Kirkstall Road, and to maintain the concerns raised by Members regarding cross-linking bus routes, and to formally invite representations between April 16^th and May 28^th 2007