Accident figures from the Department of Transport

The number of people killed on York’s roads almost doubled last year.

The figures have been released by the Department of Transport (http://tinyurl.com/Road-accidents) and show that there were 7 fatalities on York’s roads in 2011 compared to only 4 in 2010.

The overall number of killed and seriously injured (KSI) shows a small increase although the total number of injury accidents (including “slight”) did reduce from 559 to 552.

Surprisingly the York Council has so far failed to debate the new figures which suggest that a fresh initiative is required if the downward trend in accident numbers (KSI stood at 160 in 2006) is to be sustained.

There is no item in the Council forward programme which would allow the issue to be debated during the next 4 months.

The DpT report also makes gloomy reading for those who believe that 20 mph speed limits may be the solution to the problem. The biggest increase in accident numbers nationally occurred in 20 mph zones where there were 25% more accidents than in 2010.

All other built up areas – with speed limits of 30 and 40 mph – showed a small fall in accident rates.

City of York Council and Yorwaste have teamed up to give local residents free compost this spring and summer.

Green fingered gardeners will be able to collect their free compost from Yorwaste’s Harewood Whin site, on Tinker Lane, off Wetherby Road on:
• Sunday 8 July
• Sunday 5 August
• Sunday 2 September
• Sunday 7 October

The compost will be available from 9.30am until 2.30pm each day and residents are asked to bring a shovel and bags or containers to take the compost home in.

In 1200, King John became involved in a long-drawn out war with France. This war was expensive and John was forced to introduce new taxes to pay for his army. This created a great deal of resentment in England, and John’s position was not helped when, in 1205, the king’s army lost control of Normandy, Brittany, Anjou and Maine.

Today we face a referendum on our continued participation in the EU.

In 1215, King John made another desperate attempt to gain control of his lost territory in France. Once again he was defeated and was forced to pay £40,000 to obtain a truce. When John tried to obtain this money by imposing yet another tax, the barons rebelled.

Today we complain about a North South divide in the way that our taxes are spent.

The king was obliged to sign a Magna Carta. In this charter the king made a long list of promises, including no new taxes without the support of his barons, a reduction in the power of his sheriffs and the right of a fair trial for all freemen.

Today everyone enjoys the right to a fair trial (other, possibly , than bankers, politicians and failed football club managers).

It was King John himself who gave York the chance of self-government. The disastrous and expensive military campaigns left him sorely in need of funds, and one way to raise them was to allow a town’s citizens to buy the right to rule themselves. York’s charter came in 1212, when King John allowed York’s citizens, rather than the Sheriff, to collect and pay the annual tax to the Crown, to hold their own courts and to appoint a mayor.

From then on, until local government reorganisation in 1974, York was a self-governing city under its own mayors.

In 1996 it threw off he yoke of Northallerton and once again became a prosperous and independent City.

Swift justice for misery makers

A man and a woman who were banned from the Sandcroft Road area of York because of their antisocial behaviour have been sentenced for breaching an order preventing them from entering part of the Dringhouses area.

(more…)

The risk of flooding in the City has eased with thousands expected to participate in York800 celebrations over the weekend.

Check out the current river level position on this Kings Staithe web cam http://www.farsondigitalwatercams.com/live-webcams/north/Ouse/York/#

Visit the Environment Agency web site at this address for more information on flood risks in the region http://tinyurl.com/flood-warnings-York

The Dragon Boat race (Sunday) and York 800 “flotilla” (Saturday) events have been cancelled because of the torrential rain.

York is expecting very heavy rainfall today. Here are some tips on driving in potentially flooded areas. You can register to receive flood warnings from the Environment Agency here https://fwd.environment-agency.gov.uk/app/olr/home

Eight things to think about…
•Flash floods can come rapidly and unexpectedly. In the UK they are usually cause when rivers break their banks.
•You may not have warning that a flash flood is approaching.
•Never attempt to drive through a flood that you couldn’t walk through and be aware that water hides dips in the road. Worse still, there may be no road at all under the water. Flooding can wash away the entire road surface and a significant amount of ground beneath.
•Just six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars; this depth can cause loss of control or possible stalling as water is sucked into the exhaust or washes into the air intake.
•If negotiating a flooded section of road, drive in the middle where the water will be at its shallowest.
•Consider other drivers – pass through flooded sections one car at a time, don’t drive through water against approaching vehicles.

•Many cars will start to float in as little as one foot of water – this can be extremely dangerous because as the wheels lose grip, you lose control.
•Two feet of flowing water can sweep away most vehicles — including large four-wheel drive cars. Don’t try driving through fast-moving water, for example approaching a flooded bridge – your car could easily be swept away.

Negotiating floods

(more…)

Charter Weekend – celebrating exactly 800 years since York was granted its Royal Charter by King John on 9 July 1212 – is here. There are many special events in York from Saturday 7 to Monday 9 July for residents and visitors alike.

These are the details of the weekend programme:

Saturday 7 July

Ebor Vox taster session at 1:30pm in Deans park (behind Minster)

• ‘Flash’ choirs will be springing up in the city centre at cafes, shops and visitor attractions between 2 and 5 pm

• MOR Music Festival: Parliament Street : 800 minutes of live music of many different types, from 10.30 am to midnight. Full details of the schedule are on www.mormusic.co.uk

• Meet the King: Clifford’s Tower : meet King John in full regalia, ready to receive his subjects and anyone who wishes to petition him. 11am -5pm. Normal admission charges apply.

• York Minster: tower trips from 9.30am to 5pm, and the York Minster 8 Wonders Tour : 2.30 pm.

Sunday 8 July

• Simply Vintage Market: Parliament Street : from jewellery to furniture, from vinyl to hair makeovers, clothing and more, plus vintage lambrettas : 10am to 5pm.

• Choral evensong: York Minster : a special evensong to celebrate York 800 : 4pm.

Monday 9 July

• York 800 market: Parliament Street : specially decorated stalls and traders in celebratory attire: 10am to 6.15 pm.

• York 800 cake giveaway: Parliament Street : a free treat of tea and cake made by students at York College : 3pm until they’re gone!

• Clifford’s Tower: late opening until 9pm. Normal admission prices apply.

• Ebor Vox (the voice of York) present ‘This York’: choirs will process from York Minster (leaving at 6pm) to the Eye of York (near Clifford’s Tower), accompanied by drummers. The city centre streets will be alive with music. Hundreds of singers will reach the Eye of York at 6.30pm, joined by hundreds of schoolchildren, giant puppets, dancers and the Shepherd Group Brass Band. They will perform ‘This York’, written by Benjamin Till and directed by Stephen Burke. The evening will finish at approximately 8pm.

Full details of the weekend’s events are on www.york800.com

Kimberley Reavley

LATER: MISSING WOMAN FOUND AT YORK RAILWAY STATION

Search for missing Scarborough woman moves to Acomb

Police searching for missing Scarborough woman, Kimberley Reavley, have moved the focus of their enquiries to York.

Officers have been making numerous enquiries and now strongly believe that Kimberley is in the Acomb area of the city.

Kimberley is 25, white with a stocky build and shoulder length brown hair. She has blue and black dots and lines tattooed on her left hand and a smoking hippo on her left ankle.

(more…)

Concern over residents’ details being put online

Opposition councillors are demanding answers after it was revealed that residents’ personal details are being published on a council website.

Cllr Nigel Ayre, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Heworth Without, is calling on the Council Leader to give assurances about the confidentiality of residents’ personal details after it was revealed that City of York Council’s online ‘Smarter York’ system allows the public to view all incidents reported and the name of who reported them.

The Council launched the new ‘app’ in March through the Smarter York website. It allows anybody with a smart phone to take a picture of issues on the streets such as littering or graffiti and send it, together with details of the location, to the authority.

Cllr Ayre commented:

“The consequences of putting the name of residents reporting issues into the public domain are obvious. If a resident contacts the Council about graffiti or littering, the perpetrator of that graffiti or littering can easily see who has reported them. Imagine a resident complaining about a gang of kids causing trouble outside their house, only for that gang to be able to go home and see who has reported them.

“We have no issue with the person reporting the problem getting access to and being able to track the information, but there are serious data protection issues in anyone else seeing that information. Residents should feel they can contact the Council in confidence without their details and the nature of their complaint being published on a website. It is wrong and it terms of data protection law could well be illegal as the data is being disclosed to other parties without the apparent consent of the individual”.

(more…)