Night time road closure near Poppleton

City of York Council will be carrying out overnight works in the area surrounding the A59 in preparation for the new Poppleton Bar Park & Ride site.

The works will take place in two phases from Monday 31 March until Thursday 17 April and from Tuesday 6 May until Friday 23 May.

To allow the council to undertake overnight works temporary traffic signals or, in the second phase, overnight closures will be in place. The working hours will take place generally between 7pm until 6am, although some operations will be shorter than this.
(more…)

Latest Planning applications Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward.

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference

——————-

Location:       234 Tadcaster Road York YO24 1ES

Proposal:       First floor extension to side

Ref No: 14/00540/FUL

Applicant:      Mr J Bilsby     Contact Mr Neil Conway  Consultation Expiry Date        21 April 2014 Case Officer:   Carolyn Howarth Expected Decision Level DEL

——————

Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning on line web site.  http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received.

Leeds taking over York?

Those celebrating the first meeting of this authority – which includes York albeit with limited powers – may wonder about openness and accountability.

Labour leaders 2 west Yorks combined authority

The shadow authority last met in March

But very little information has been published about the new authority – which the Labour Leadership claims will donate over £40 million towards solving some of York’s transport problems.

The papers for the first meeting (taking place tomorrow) have now been published.

Residents will have no time to read the background to what could be far reaching decisions.

WYCA

The highly paid Labour Council Leaders – incongruously photographed with head protection (above) presumably in case they meet up with angry Council Taxpayers – will have to be content with their £30,000 local authority pay.

York will have no vote on “budget and levy setting” which will be done by the West Yorkshire Authorities.

But the papers reveal that other Councillors who are “co-opted” onto the “Transport Committee” stand to get as much as £29,000 on top of what they are paid by their Local Authority.

It is likely that the members of the Authorities sub committees will all be Labour Councillors – the need for political balance having been jettisoned.

The names of the Councillors nominated have not been released ahead of the meeting.

No doubt the potential chair of the Transport Committee will be viewing the meeting in the same way that many watch for the results of the Friday evening Euro millions draw.

Lost for words in York

The Council have released their “official” attendance figures for the meetings set up to improve communications between its “Cabinet” and residents.

As expected, the numbers attending the meetings have been low, reflecting a general cynicism about the sincerity of the Council leadership.

The number of residents attending – according to the Council – was:

1. Haxby and Wigginton – 61 (including 20 or so children)
2. Westfield – 15
3. Hull Road – 26
4. Clifton – 16

The meetings replaced the quarterly Ward Committee meetings which had a higher attendance level.

The cost of the “community conversations” so far is put at £772.25.

The new Council, when it is elected in 2015, will need to be much more sensitive to public opinion if it is to regain the trust of York residents.

Tour de France prices in York

It seems that some local businesses are taking the Councils advice seriously and are trying to make the most of the weekend of the Tour De France Grand Depart.

On Thursdays the Council Leader said that “our main objectives are to ensure local businesses benefit hugely”.

merchandise_promo

So how much can visitors expect to pay for their trip to Yorkshire on 5th and 6th July? (comparative prices for other summer weekends taken from trip advisor)

  • Cedar Court £302 per night (£243)
  • Park Inn £170 pn (£169)
  • Hotel Noir £236 pn (£161)
  • Royal York £983 pn (£983)
  • Elmbank £123 pn (£117)

Many other York hotels are now fully booked. However many are also fully for most weekends during the summer period!

So there is little evidence to suggest that the kind of excessive price hikes, seen at other major sporting events world wide, are taking place in York

What about camping?

Monk Stray is the only long term (9 days) option still being advertised by Visit York

  • Monk stray will cost £24 a night for a 4 person tent.
  • Parking for a motorhome will cost you £31 a night.
  • The Millennium Bridge site is a little more at £26 a night
  • 5 nights at the Designer outlet will cost £175

Parking is now advertised at £8 per day.

You can buy a Tour T shirt for £13.

 

 

£1.9 million for Council house sales unused in York

The Council has been forced to reveal, in a response to a Freedom of Information request, how much it has received in income from “right to buy” Council housesales

Over the last 2 years the Council has received over £4 million from sales.

Part of this has to be returned to central government but £2.5 million was available for the Council to spend on replacement properties.

Right to buy sales in York

Right to buy sales in York

It has so far only committed to invest £520,624 on new properties (Mainly those scheduled for sites like Beckfield Lane).

The information was released only a day after the Council Leader had been forced to agree to consider whether some of the £13 million surplus on the housing account could be used to purchase properties on the open market.

Liberal Democrat Councillors have pointed out for months that, with the majority of applicants on the housing waiting list seeking single bedroomed accommodation, the quickest way to address their needs would be to purchase empty homes from the open market.

Instead of using the considerable resources available to the Council to provide additional social housing, the Councils Leadership have engaged in an ultimately pointless ramble about introducing a cap on private sector rent levels.

Such a “cap” would require Parliamentary approval and would not ultimately be of much help to the less well off, who have at least part of their rent paid through housing benefit

Lower rent levels could, therefore, reduce government expenditure on benefit payments but would also drive many “buy to let” landlords from the market (as they would be unable to repay their mortgages)

The Council Leader has also claimed that house prices have increased in York.

Although there are “hot spots” in the City and some growth in house prices over recent months, as the graph shows, prices have still not returned to their 2008 peak.

House price trends in York area

House price trends in York area

New Tour de France “app” launched

TdF app

Amidst growing concern about the escalating cost of staging the Tour de France start in York, the Council has launched a new mobile phone “app”.

It is called Cycle Yorkshire Ride The Routes.

Enabling cyclists to experience the Tour de France route from their mobile, the app is designed around the Yorkshire stages of the Grand Départ and encompasses information on the routes, hints and tips on how to cycle specific sections and general rural cycling road safety advice.

The information is presented in short videos on the app and text (for areas where mobile signal is limited). The film clips show Jamie Sharp (Semi pro rider for Team Hope) cycling each section with Jonathan Cowap (BBC York Radio Presentator) providing the advice and information in the voice over.

The app has been created as part of an ongoing Regional Safer Cycling Project that is the work of a Partnership Team, made up of representatives of every Yorkshire & Humber Road Safety Partnership.

Lead by City of York Council on behalf of the region. Kathryn Mackay, Road Safety Project Officer at City of York Council, said, “The app is aimed at all those cyclists and groups who are coming  to Yorkshire to ride all or part of the Grand Départ routes like their professional heroes.

(more…)

Green bin emptying restarting in York

Charges for extra bins also introduced

“Look out for your new sticker” say Council

Garden Waste bin stickers

Garden Waste bin stickers

City of York Council’s garden waste collections will start again from next week, with fortnightly green bin collections through ‘till the end of October.

The Council says, “From Monday 31 March, all eligible households will continue to have one garden waste bin emptied free of charge. To enable crews to identify these easily all households have been sent a new garden waste sticker to place on the lid of their bin.

Residents will be given a period of time to ensure the sticker is placed on their bin because from 5 May those bins which are not displaying the sticker will not be emptied.

In addition to this, any households who would like to have more than one garden waste bin collected between April and October 2014 still have time to subscribe to the additional green bin scheme before the collection service starts up again at the end of this month.

These households will receive a separate and unique ‘garden waste scheme sticker’ as part of signing up.

Residents can join the scheme at any time, but those who subscribe before the start of April will benefit from around 16 collections during the 2014 collection period – which equates to less than £2.50 per collection (£35 per year)”.

To join the scheme simply call 01904 551551 or ‘apply for it’ via our secure website at https://www.york.gov.uk/DoItOnline/

To find out more about the new stickers or the garden waste subscription scheme visit www.york.gov.uk/recycling

Residents are also able to take additional garden waste to Hazel Court and Towthorpe Household Waste Recycling Centres free of charge in a car. Residents using larger vehicles or trailers will need to apply for permits to use the site.

Home composting is also a great way to manage waste at home and provide nutrient rich compost for gardens. Visit http://www.getcomposting.com/ for further information or to purchase a reduced price home compost bin to get started.

Follow @CYCWaste on Twitter, or like CYCWaste on Facebook.