Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Becky Atherton (0113 37 88642) Email: Becky.atherton@leeds.gov.uk
Link: to View Meeting Recording
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Election of Chair Minutes: Due to the absence of Councillor A Marshall-Katung, a nomination was sought for a Chair for the meeting. A nomination had been made on behalf of Councillor J Garvani.
RESOLVED – That Councillor J Garvani be elected as Chair for the meeting.
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APPEALS AGAINST REFUSAL OF INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 25 of the Access to Information Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded) Minutes: There were no appeals.
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Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public 1 To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.
2 To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.
3 If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-
RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:-
Minutes: There was no exempt information.
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Late Items To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.
(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.) Minutes: There were no late items.
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Declarations of Interests To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’. Minutes: There were no declarations.
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Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitutes To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.
Minutes: Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors A Hussain, A Marshall-Katung, N Sharpe and M Millar.
Councillors E Flint, J Heselwood, E Thomson and O Edwards were in attendance as substitutes.
Apologies from Councillor H Hayden (Executive Member) and Gary Bartlett (Chief Officer, Transportation and Highways) were noted.
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Call in Briefing paper To consider a report from the Head of Democratic Services advising the Scrutiny Board on the procedural aspects of Calling In the decision. Minutes: The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report advising the Scrutiny Board on the procedural aspects of Calling In the decision.
Members were advised that the Call In is specific to the key decision in question, and issues outside of the decision, including other related decisions, were not to be considered as part of the Board’s decision regarding the outcome of the Call In.
Members were also advised that the options available to the Scrutiny Board in respect of this particular called in decision were as follows:
Option 1- Release the decision for implementation
Having reviewed this decision, the Scrutiny Board may decide to release it for implementation. If the Scrutiny Board chooses this option, the decision will be immediately released for implementation and the decision may not be called in again.
Option 2 - Recommend that the decision be reconsidered
The Scrutiny Board may decide to recommend to the decision maker that the decision be reconsidered. If the Scrutiny Board chooses this option a report will be submitted to the decision maker.
In the case of this officer decision, the report of the Scrutiny Board will be prepared within three working days of the Scrutiny Board meeting and submitted to the relevant Director.
In reconsidering the decision and associated Scrutiny Board report, the Director may vary the decision or confirm the original decision. In either case, this will form the basis of the final decision and will not be subject to any further Call In.
Failure to agree one of the above options
If the Scrutiny Board, for any reason, does not agree one of the above courses of action at this meeting, then Option 1 will be adopted by default, i.e. the decision will be released for implementation with no further recourse to Call In.
RESOLVED – That the report outlining the Call In procedures be noted.
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To consider a report from the Head of Democratic Services, which presents background information relating to a key decision that has been ‘called in’ in accordance with procedures set out within the Council’s Constitution.
The original delegated decision was taken by the Director of City Development on 11 December 2023 and relates to Lawnswood Roundabout Improvement Scheme - Approval to Proceed with Further Development and Delivery. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report that presented background papers to a key decision made by the Director of City Development, which had been Called-In in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.
The decision had been called in for review by Councillors Andrew Carter, Barry Anderson, Caroline Anderson, Billy Flynn, Neil Buckley, Lyn Buckley and Amanda Carter.
The Scrutiny Board considered the following written information:
· Copy of the completed Call In request form. · Copy of the Delegated Decision Notice of the Director of City Development - ‘Lawnswood Roundabout Improvement Scheme – approval to proceed with further development’ – dated 1st December 2023 · Copy of the report of Transport Strategy to the Chief Officer (Highways & Transportation) - ‘Lawnswood Roundabout Improvement Scheme – approval to proceed with further development’ dated 1st November 2023 associated with the key decision.
The following were in attendance:
- Councillor Andrew Carter – Lead signatory to the call-in - Councillor James Lewis – Leader of the Council - Councillor Peter Carlill – Lead Member for Active Travel and Deputy Chair of WYCA Transport Committee - Martin Farrington – Director of City Development - Kate Morris – Head of Transport Planning - Morgan Tatchell-Evans – Project Manager - Mark Philpott – Transport Planning Manager - Nikki Deol – Section Head, Property & Development
Councillor Carter addressed the Board as lead signatory to the call-in. He set out his reasons for requesting a call in, citing value for money, proportionality and the nature of the consultation process.
Concerns highlighted by Cllr Carter included:
· The funding for this would deprive other areas of potential funding. · The accident record at other junctions exceeded this one. · The proposals would lead to more congestion, and consequentially ‘rat running’ and a reduction in air quality for those living near the roundabout. · Latest modelling shows that there would be an increase in journey times, the impact of which would be disproportionate given the associated environmental impacts. · The benefit to costs ratio shows the proposal as poor value for money. · The embedded carbon in construction of the scheme would outweigh any carbon savings associated with the scheme. · Consultation – there were 607 responses and just over half were in favour. 35% were unhappy and made negative comments. Given the number of vehicle movements on the roundabout the response rate appeared low. There was no information with regards to the postcodes of the respondents. · Road safety – KSI figures have been falling since 2013 and there has not been any pedestrian injuries at the junction in recent years. Targeting improvements in other locations could deliver more benefits for road safety than this scheme.
Councillor Lewis addressed the Board, highlighting the following:
· The project is funded by the Government via West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Funding the scheme would not therefore be detrimental to Council spending on any other services. · The costs involved are comparable with other schemes being delivered across the city. · The main benefits of this scheme relate to road safety. In line with the ... view the full minutes text for item 71. |
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Outcome of the Call In To determine whether to release the decision for implementation or recommend to the decisionmaker that the decision should be reconsidered. Minutes: The Scrutiny Board considered whether or not to release the decision for implementation. A vote was subsequently held and the Scrutiny Board agreed (by majority decision) that the decision be released.
RESOLVED – That the decision be released for implementation.
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Date and Time of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Scrutiny Board (Infrastructure, Investment & Inclusive Growth) will take place on 10 January 2024 at 10.30am. There will be a pre-meeting for Board Members at 10.15am. Minutes: Wednesday 10 January 2024 at 10.30 a.m. Pre-meeting for all Board Members at 10.15 a.m.
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