The York Council is warning residents to be on their guard after receiving complaints about traders ‘cold calling’ residents, claiming there are problems with these individuals’ Council Tax.

Council officers have been made aware of these new cases just as the York-based Yorkshire and the Humber Trading Standards Group Scambuster team have begun proceedings against five individuals in respect of another alleged Council Tax rebate scam. The first hearing is scheduled for Thursday 27 June 2013 at York Magistrates Court.

This latest scam involves residents being approached and being told that they are entitled to a refund because they are paying too much council tax, while in other cases residents are told that they haven’t paid enough.

Complainants who have received the phone calls say that they were given an appointment and were told that the person who would call at their home would show council identification.

Residents in the YO24 postcode appear to be targeted in particular.

The Council says, “Do not be tempted to call us using a number given to you by the person before you. It’s a well-known trick for scammers to provide a number that goes back to them. Call us on 01904 551550. Do not give any personal information to these callers, especially your banking information.

Anyone who has been contacted in relation to a problem with their council tax is urged to contact the City of York Council’s Trading Standards team via the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) consumer helpline on 08454 040506.

There will be fun for all the family at the Bootham Stray Allotments Open Day on Sunday 23June from 12-2pm

Besides a chance to look round the allotments, there will be a range of stalls including crafts, tombola, raffle, cakes and refreshments, all based at the new community area, a fantastic green space at the heart of the area of new plots created by recent funding.

The open day will showcase the work of the BIG Lottery-funded Fresh Start Project which has transformed Bootham Stray over the last two years. In July 2011 Bootham Stray Allotments Association was awarded a £50,260 grant from the BIG Lottery fund plus an additional £4,530 from the BIG Supporting Change initiative, to rejuvenate the allotments and create a new community area.

The grant has enabled the Allotments Association to make some major improvements to the condition of the allotments. These include making the site more secure with a perimeter fence and hedge as well as improving the drainage by installing new land drains. The grant has also allowed for the creation of 22 extra plots in the area.

Parking on the site (just off Wigginton Road) is very limited so visitors are encouraged to use public transport, walk or cycle. The site can also be accessed from the end of Burton Stone Lane and Burton Green.

The York Council has decided to charge a licence fee of £2700 to Churches who wish to perform Civil Partnership ceremonies. This compares to the actual costs incurred by the Council in issuing the license of around £500.

North Yorkshire charge a £1375 fee.

The licence for secular premises lasts for 3 years; it is the same charge for renewal and review. The couples pay the fee for attendance by the superintendent registrar or registrar.

There are currently 26 secular licensed premises. These are predominantly businesses like hotels who ‘sell’ the ceremony to their customers as part of a ‘wedding package’ thereby making the licensing of these premises a “business” decision rather than an ethical one.

So far there has been one expression of interest (from the Quaker Group) who wish to offer this service.

The scale of the Council fee makes it unlikely other churches will apply to conduct such ceremonies.

The Council has decided not to close Westminster Road to through traffic.

There were no public speakers at a decision meeting earlier this week and local Councillors appear to have dropped their support for the closure.

Evidence suggests that evening traffic levels on the road are higher than when the controversial cycle lane was in operation at Clifton Green traffic lights.

Traffic in the Clifton Green area is likely to increase significantly when the closure of Lendal Bridge is introduced in August.

The York Council has confirmed that it received the section 106 contribution towards the costs of building the new Community Stadium and other facilities 4 WEEKS ago.

It is now in the Council’s bank account.

In total, that is around £15 million.

The Council Leader has claimed that the Councils contribution to the stadium project is capped at £2 million (plus the value of the stadium land).

There has still been no satisfactory explanation from the Council about the delays to the stadium project. It will not be brought into use before the start of the 2016/17 football season.

Meanwhile the Council has handed over £25,000 to the Arts Barge project.

Apparently the barge that they are thinking of buying is now larger than anticipated.

The organisers still have upwards of £200,000 to raise to get the project launched!

Foxwood Residents will be having a Teddy Bears’ picnic at the Foxwood Community Centre summer fair on Saturday 22 June from 11am to 3pm.

The first 18 children who come along with a teddy bear will get a free goody bag.

There will also be the opportunity to adopt a bear from the teddy bear orphanage and a tombola for the adults.

If you can help on the day, then please contact Shirley on 793437.

The Foxwood Community centre is located on Cranfield Place just off Bellhouse Way

Residents have only got until 5:00pm today (Friday 21st June) to record a formal objection to the plan to impose a wide area 20 mph speed limit in west York.

This can be done by Emailing highway.regulation@york.gov.uk or 20mph@york.gov.uk

The LibDem campaign to scrap the speed limit proposal, and replace it with targeted measures aimed at reducing accident levels, gained widespread support earlier in the week when it was publicised in the local media.

Shelter are reporting that it could take a couple 12 years to save up enough to climb onto the housing ladder in York. This is in line with the average for the whole country.

It compares to 11.3 years in other parts of North Yorkshire.

Elsewhere in the country the shortest time is in Durham (7.5 years) while in Cornwall the time to save is over 16 years.

In London you could wait 29 years in Camden before being able to buy.

The shelter data can be accessed by clicking here.

In York, following a housing price peak in 2008, average prices have fallen while average wages have risen.

In the City at the moment, there are several 1 bedroomed “starter” flats advertised at around £120,000. The average wage is about £24,000 a year in the City. Most mortgage agencies are now requiring a 20% deposit.

If the current Local Plan for York is implemented then house prices AND THE VALUE OF EXISTING PROPERTY could fall by around 10%. With around 10% of homeowners already in negative equity (their home is worth less than their outstanding mortgage) 100’s more could be plunged into this debt trap.

Falling house prices could lead mortgage companies to demand higher deposits as they seek to ensure that their loans are secured by the property value.

So what are house prices like in the real world in York? (Shelter uses average values and average wages to make their comparisons)

In March a 2 bedroomed house in Moss Street was sold for £135,000 while a 1 bedroomed terraced house in St Pauls Terrace fetched £125,000

Amongst those currently on offer are a 2 bedroomed flat in St Stephens Square for £70,000 and a 2 bedroomed house in Kingsway West at £85,000.

A 3 bedroomed house in Spurr Court is advertised for £125,000.

On the private rental market, £400 a month secures a 1 bedroomed flat in Holgate Road

2 bedroomed flats start at £495 pcm in Front Street

However, the cheapest 3 bedroomed property is in Beagle Ridge Drive (£795 pcm)

The average value of property in the YO24 area is £173,000. This is less than the national average (£188,000)

(Source http://www.mouseprice.com/area-guide/yo24)