Agenda and minutes

There were no appeals against refusal of inspection of documents.

There were no exempt items.

There were no late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31  of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies were received from Cllr J Goddard, Cllr K Renshaw attended the meeting as his substitute.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2020.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th July 2020, be approved as a correct record.

Minute 17 – Update from the Director of City Development.

In relation to points raised by Board Members, Members were advised of the following:

·  Minute 17 – Update from the Director of City Development.

·  In relation to points raised by Board Members, Members were advised of the following:

·  The availability of Discretionary Grants closed at the end of August, with a deadline for payments to be granted by 30 September;

·  Information in relation to responsibilities for flood alleviation would be provided to Board Members. Advice would be sought from DEFRA regarding the responsibilities of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in relation to flood alleviation;

·  It was noted that Flood Risk management is due to be discussed at the Board’s November meeting;

·  First Bus are reporting that they are trying to return to a full timetable. However, due to social distancing buses are running at only 50% capacity. Significant preparations were put in place for the schools and FE colleges returning, however, there is still a finite number of drivers and fleet due to shortages brought about by Covid-19. Member concern regarding school children and students trying to get to classes on time was noted and would be raised with WYCA;

·  Discussions will take place with Licensing Colleagues in relation to taxi drivers with a view to exploring the provision of a number of face coverings for passengers who do not have their own.

To receive an update from the Director of City Development on the ongoing response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the city’s recovery plan, such as it relates to the remit of the Board.

The Report of the Director of City Development updated the Scrutiny Board on key activity carried out in the City Development Directorate in relation to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the subsequent recovery plan since the last update to the Scrutiny Board in July 2020.

In attendance at the meeting were:

·  Cllr Lisa Mulherin - Executive Board Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development

·  Martin Farrington – Director of City Development

·  Gary Bartlett – Chief Officer, Highways and Transportation

·  Sue Wynne – Chief Officer, Employment and Skills

·  Eve Roodhouse – Chief Officer, Economic Development

The Board Members were informed of the following points:

• A survey has been undertaken of staff working from home. It was noted that the Council currently has approximately 8000 people working from home. The survey looked at all aspects of staff working from home including wellbeing and consideration of how future working could operate. It was noted that there is a need to rationalise the Council’s portfolio of estate and some buildings may be sold. A report was due to be considered by the Executive Board the following day on this matter;
• Footfall within the City Centre is currently at 67.5% which is an improvement on the period during lockdown, although, this is still down on normal footfall;
• Traffic flow is down 15% with rail travel down 70% compared to March prior to lockdown;
• £153,460,000 had been paid out to business of hospitality and leisure through grants up to 11 September, with £5.8m of discretionary grants assisting 600 businesses. It is hoped that the service will be able to process as many applications as possible before the end of the September deadline;
• There has been a 90% increase in claimants for unemployment payments and the Employment and Skills Service continues to support companies going through redundancy processes. The Service has supported 1,382 people into work between April and July 2020;
• 6 trials are currently running for the School Streets Initiative;
• Proposed Active Travel Measures include more segregation of the cycle lane on the A65 and work is proposed for the A660;
• As part of the Emergency Access Travel Fund, Leeds has received £710,000 of monies and £20,000 of revenue as part of the first phase of works. The DFT has outlined a 12 week delivery time for these works;
• Kirkgate Market has remained operational throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognising the impact of reduced footfall as a result of COVID-19 a series of fee reductions (ranging from 25% through to 100%, reflecting differing levels of continuing Government restrictions in trade) have been implemented for the 3 month period covering 1 July to 30 September 2020. Hardship claims are being considered on a case by case basis. Footfall in the market was down 40% on the previous year but there had been some recovery through July and August. Footfall will continue to be monitored.
• Planning services have remained operational throughout the pandemic.

In response to questions from Members the Board were informed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To consider an update from the Director of City Development about the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme.

The report of the Director of City Development on the LPTIP included spend to date and forecast spend, along with scheme delivery status. It requested Members consideration of the schemes that have dropped out of the LPTIP, are being paused or are being delivered through other funding and delivery mechanisms.

In attendance for this item were:

• Cllr Lisa Mulherin - Executive Board Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainable Development
• Martin Farrington - Director, City Development
• Gary Bartlett – Chief Officer, Highways & Transportation
• Andrew Hall – Chief Officer, Transport Planning
• Sabby Khira - Programme Executive, LPTIP
• David O’Donoghue – Principal Transport Planner

Board Members were informed of the following key points:

• Connecting Leeds is working to tight timescales. The DfT had originally set funding to be spent by March 2021. However, in light of current circumstances relating to Covid-19 there is a degree of greater flexibility and as a result a proportion of money can be transferred into the next financial year if schemes are already underway;
• A trial inclusion of motorcycle access to bus lanes on the A65 LPTIP corridor has been agreed in principle;
• Funding has been secured for the extension to the Temple Green Park and Ride;
• Regular meetings are ongoing with DfT regarding schemes, including those for the next financial year, which are well developed and ‘shovel ready’;
• Contractors are making good progress on the schemes that are going ahead, although bad weather a month ago did impact on the works;
• The team have worked hard to ensure the continuation of the supply chain, which had been impacted by Covid -19;
• Good progress has been made with the city centre changes. Work continued whilst many businesses were closed during lockdown thereby limiting the impact of works on businesses;
• The Lawnswood scheme is no longer part of the LPTIP but there has been progress in developing alternative options and officers are moving towards public engagement. It had been hoped that this could be a blended approach with online engagement and face to face consultation. However, in light of recent changes and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, face to face consultation may not go ahead. 

Responding to questions from the Board the following points were discussed;

• Lawnswood is a priority scheme - however, it remains unfunded. Officers are committed to securing funding for a revised scheme and are therefore continuing to prepare the project so it can be quickly progressed once funding has been identified. The scheme is required principally for road safety but also to keep traffic flowing in this busy area;
• Prior to the trial of motorcycles accessing with flow bus lanes there will be communication to stakeholders and signage will be changed to depict motorcycles and buses;
• The Council has a planning application in progress to look at the expansion of flights and timetable for Leeds and Bradford Airport. The Plans Panel will be considering proposals which include a new environmentally friendly terminal building, hours of flying, and also the impact the proposals may have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2020/21 municipal year.

The report of the Head of Democratic Services requested Board Members consideration of its work schedule for the remainder of the current municipal year.

Members were informed of a Working Group scheduled for Thursday 1 October, at 1:00pm to consider early budget proposals. Members also requested a working group be scheduled to update them on new Government planning proposals and processes.

RESOLVED – To note the content of the report.

The meeting concluded at 12:30pm

The next public meeting of the Board will be 14 October 2020 at 10.30am. Please note that there will be a pre-meet for all Board members at 10.15am.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Board Infrastructure, Investment and Inclusive Growth will be on 14^th October 2020, at 10:30am. There will be a pre-meet for all Board Members at 10:15am.