Following heavy rainfall on Thursday river levels on the River Ouse are continuing to rise. The current level at York city centre is 3.25 metres which is 10 feet and 8 inches. This is forecast to peak at 3.6 metres which is 11 feet and 10 inches between 4:30pm and 7:30pm today. Further showers are expected today. 8:00 on 11 May 2012 http://tinyurl.com/Flood-Warnings-York

A web cam can be found at http://www.farsondigitalwatercams.com/live-webcams/north/Ouse/York/# for anyone wishing to monitor river levels from their home.

The Department for Education and Arts Council England announced this month that York Arts Education – part of City of York Council’s Arts and Culture Service – will be one of the 122 new Music Education Hubs to receive extra funding.

The Music Education Hub will receive funding to allow it to play a key role in getting more children involved in music nationwide. This year York’s Music Hub will receive £388K for this work. (more…)

Detectives in York are appealing for the public’s help following a robbery in the city.
It occurred at 11.15pm on Tuesday 8 May 2012, at the Gold Mine on Haxby Road after two men entered the shop.

One of the men stood near the door as the second man threatened the woman, who was serving behind the counter, with a large knife. The suspect demanded that she open the till before grabbing the notes. It is not known where the men headed after leaving the shop. (more…)

North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 9 May and Tuesday 15 May 2012.
•A64 east-bound carriageway Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•A64 west-bound carriageway, Bowbridge Farm, Tadcaster
•Millfield Lane, Poppleton, York
•Beckfield Lane, York
•Green lane, Acomb, York
•Ryecroft Avenue, Acomb, York
•Temple Lane, Copmanthorpe, York
•A1036 Tadcaster Road, York (more…)

Cycling Escort for Olympic Torch

Wheeling in an extra dimension to the Olympic Torch Relay, City of York Council is selecting some 200 cyclists from the community to escort the Torch on 19 June.

The route includes Tadcaster Road

York is only one of two hosting authorities to be granted permission to add a cycle escort to the relay by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) – the other is Cambridge.

The cycle escort will be stewarded by council cycle trainers, and will pedal behind the main Torch convoy along Tadcaster Road before splitting away from it at Micklegate Bar.

The cyclists will then pedal to the Knavesmire to enjoy the fantastic evening event from 5pm starring singer Katy B which follows an afternoon of free sports and activities from 2pm including sports demonstrations and interactive stands offering tasters of activities such as basketball, cheer-leading, table tennis and equestrian activities.

Working with the police and partners at York College and local cycling groups, this escort promises to add another wow-factor to the relay which aims to reach as many people in the UK as possible. It also means that the Torch’s journey in York will involve bikes, horses and trains: important aspects of the city’s culture.

Members of the escort will be selected from local cycling clubs or groups and will be awarded as prizes for the York Cycle Challenge.

Apparently the York Council’s “Cabinet” are refusing to discuss in public a report on how £200,000 – of the £28 million “Reinvigorate York” slush fund – may be spent.

Originally scheduled for a 15th May meeting discussion, it now appears that the plan to “maintain and improve public spaces including the refurbishment of street lights, floodlights, bollards, bins and street seating together with widening and repaving the footpath on Station Rise” has been withdrawn from the agenda.

Hopes that the money might instead be invested in replacing public services cut by Labour in the Acomb area are probably doomed to be dashed.

The Council is being asked to agree that the private sector design and manage the new Lowfields Care Village in Acomb

A lot of interest was expressed in the plan which was first announced when the Council was under Liberal Democrat control in 2010. The aspiration then was to produce something like the Hartrigg Oaks development on the other side of the City which is run by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. (see http://tinyurl.com/Hartrigg-Oaks)

The accommodation and facilities will be designed in such a way as to encourage a two way interaction between the care village and the wider community. Care Village residents will access the wide range of services and facilities nearby (e.g. local shops, Acomb Explore Library, Energise Leisure Centre) and, likewise, while the wider community will be encouraged to access the care village site (e.g. for a community cafe, community garden/allotments).

(more…)

The folly of failing to maintain basic items of street furniture is increasingly obvious to those using the Hob Moor cycle path.

While most of the cycle barriers – installed to prevent access by motorcyclists – are galvanised and require little maintenance, some require regular painting.

They include this one near the former Our Lady’s school which is now heavily corroded. A few pounds spent now on paint would mean £100’s saved in a few years time.

Until recently problems like this were picked up by regular inspections and funding for minor improvements was readily available through local street environment budgets. But arbitrary cuts have now left a void that isn’t even being filled by community payback type schemes.

All very short sighted.

Changes to Ward Committee funding threatens salt bin provision in the Ward reports Lib Dem Councillor Ann Reid.

“Ward Committees are no longer able to fund salt bin provision but no one seems to know what will happen to them in the future.” In order to save money the salt bins are being left out all year but no one has made a decision about refilling them with salt come the winter.

“The 180 bins funded by the Highways Department will continue to be filled and Residents Associations can also decide to fund bins” says Ann “but the 25 funded by the Ward Committee in Dringhouses and Woodthorpe might well remain empty because no one thought about the consequences of cutting Ward Budgets.”