We’ve had over 101,200 visits to this site during the last year.

That represents a 508% increase on the 2011 total of 16,640!

Thank you!

The Council has published a list of incentives that it will offer to encourage tenants to move from properties that are too large for them. There are several smaller homes available in the City while demand for family housing continues to grow.

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The Council currently has 732 tenants (claiming housing benefit) identified as under occupied (unused bedrooms). These tenants (excluding pensioners who are not affected) will lose some of their entitlement to housing benefit in April.

The Council stays that, “There are a number of reasons why customers may have not considered downsizing or initially be unwilling or unable to move to a smaller home. These are often, financial (can’t afford to move), emotional (family home of many years) and practical (find it difficult to organise a move) whilst at the same time living in a home that they do not make full use of, find hard to keep on top of or expensive to heat”.

Where there is a financial constraint preventing a tenant moving the Council is suggesting several initiatives to help. These include:
• Incentive payments based on rooms freed up
• Cover cost of moving appliances, carpets and other associated costs.
• Practical and financial help in arranging and doing a move
• Practical and financial help with decoration.
• Purchase of white goods where these do not exist.

Where tenants are incapable of organising a move themselves practical help would be offered.

Similar schemes have cost around £400 per “mover” to run.
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The Council has now published details of their plan to turn the operation of York’s libraries and archives over to “social enterprise in the form of a community benefit society”. The hand over is likely to start in June 2013.

The change is driven by a wish to cut Council expenditure (library budgets are being cut by £ ¼ million next year) and the service will have an emphasis on the use of “volunteers” to work in the libraries.
By 2010 York libraries were rated amongst the top 10% in the country providing outstanding value for money against a background of major innovation such as the York “Explore” modernisation programme, which almost doubled the numbers visiting libraries in the city.

Over half the population in York uses libraries – the highest rate in the region.

A public consultation exercise found that 81% of respondents wanted to see libraries stay in their current buildings. 72% wanted to keep the opening hours at the current level and 55% wanted more books to be bought.

The report concludes that a “community benefit society” is appropriate to running a libraries and archive service in York.
“This is an industrial and provident society which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority and whose governance is based on the Rules of the society. A key advantage is the ability to give a wide membership, including the community and employees, a stake in the organisation and a say in management and other affairs. Officers have also concluded that obtaining charitable status is essential as it brings a variety of tax relief and other benefits”.

The Council estimates that – if the go ahead is given at a meeting being held on 8th January – setting up costs of over £100,000 will be incurred although this might be deferred by the Cabinet Office.

Although users would be able to become a “member” of the society (for £1) residents would effectively lose any democratic control. Decisions would be made by the Chief Executive and an 11 person “Board”.

So why not?
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There are NO rubbish or recycling collections on Tuesday 1 January 2013 (New Year’s Day).

The Council have issued a statement saying; “we will be collecting this waste later that week.

If your rubbish or recycling is normally collected on a Tuesday please search here http://tinyurl.com/York-waste-Jan-2012 for your street and check which type(s) of collection you will have and the revised collection date(s)

Streets may appear twice on the list, if collection dates for rubbish and recycling are different, so please check the list carefully

We will make every effort to collect waste on the scheduled day but, due to the amount of rubbish generated at this time of the year, some delays to the schedule may occur

Please make full use of the kerbside recycling service, local bring recycling sites or the recycling facilities at the Household Waste Recycling Centres to prevent unnecessary waste going to landfill

The re-scheduled collection information is also summarised in the table below”.

Area Collection type When we will collect it
Acomb (including Chapelfields) Rubbish Friday 4 January
Askham Bryan Rubbish Friday 4 January
Askham Richard Rubbish Friday 4 January
Dunnington Recycling Wednesday 2 January
Dunnington Rubbish Thursday 3 January
Dunnington – Stamford Bridge Road Recycling Thursday 3 January
Foxwood Recycling Thursday 3 January
Foxwood Rubbish Thursday 3 January
Groves Recycling Friday 4 January
Groves (flats) Rubbish Friday 4 January
Groves Rubbish Thursday 3 and Friday 4 January – check list for your day
Holtby Rubbish Friday 4 January
Holtby Recycling Thursday 3 January
Murton Rubbish Friday 4 January
Murton Recycling Thursday 3 January
Osbaldwick (Beckett Drive, Galligap Lane, Moat Field, Osbaldwick Village, Yew Tree Mews) Rubbish Friday 4 January
Osbaldwick – all other streets Rubbish Wednesday 2 January
Osbaldwick Recycling Wednesday 2 January
Osbaldwick – Derwenthorpe estate only Recycling
Rubbish Friday 4 January
Wednesday 2 January
Tang Hall Rubbish Wednesday 2 January
Woodthorpe Recycling Thursday 3 January
Woodthorpe Rubbish Thursday 3 January

Collections return to normal from Monday 7 January.

There haven’t been many significant planning applications for work in the Dringhouses ward over the last few months. Most were for domestic house extensions. There were also several applications for work to be permitted on trees covered by preservation orders.

A new 15metre high monopole was approved at the Acomb Wood pub site. It replaces the existing pole there. It was one of several applications in west York for new mobile phone masts.

In total 40 planning applications have been submitted since August 2012.

Details of all planning applications (and decisions) can be accessed here: http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

The number of drivers found to have excess alcohol in their bodies in York and North Yorkshire has reached 103 during December.

This compares to 100 in December 2011.

Additional dates when residents can get their cycles security marked have been announced.

Outside The Minister by Duncombe Place 4/1/13 0930 – 1130 hours

St Helens Square 30/1/13 1100 – 1300 hours

Parliament Street 26/2/13 1000 – 1200 hours

St Andrewgate 7/3/13 0900 – 1100 hours

For more information on Operation Spoke click http://www.saferyork.org/operation-spoke.html

Residents are being urged to suport a hard-hitting “stop smoking” campaign launched by the Department of Health.

The campaign warns smokers that just 15 cigarettes cause a mutation that can lead to cancerous tumours. The publicity features a tumour growing on a cigarette as it is smoked and aims to encourage people to quit over health concerns, by making the invisible damage visible.

Presenting smokers with the shocking truth behind cigarettes, the campaign encourages those trying to quit to pick up a free Quit Kit from their local pharmacy to help them along their journey.

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The Council has admitted that modernisation work at the crematorium on Bishopthorpe Road is 3 months behind schedule.

The contract is also likely to be overspent by £50,000.

Trading Standards are advising consumers to be cautious of websites that lead them to believe that they are buying from a UK based company, after the number of complaints has risen in recent months.

Scambusters is issuing the warning following the National Trading Standards eCrime Centre (NTSeCC) were made aware of complaints about childrens’ dresses sold online which have either not arrived, or have not been of the quality the consumer has expected. When customers tried to return items they were unsuccessful as the company turned out to be based in China.

Attached is an example of one dress which a customer believed to be misdescribed and of poor quality, but which they have been unable to return, resulting in a loss of around £80.
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