The Council has belatedly published its strategy for managing the needs of the Traveller community in the City.

The report will be discussed at a meeting being held on 4th June.

The Council is now deeply mired in controversy over the way that it allocated land for new caravan pitches at 3 sites around the City and for the “Showman’s” layover site near Knapton.

Two of the sites are on land confirmed as Green Belt in 2011. The expectation is that landowners will take the opportunity, of the land being removed from the Green Belt, to propose more potentially lucrative uses for it (retail or residential).

This will mean that the Council will have failed in its quest to find traveller pitches which meet its own estimates of demand (last updated in 2008).

Like the secret ARUP report, which Labour Councillors claim justifies the need for an additional 22,000 homes in the City, the supporting papers for the Local Plan do not include up to date assessments of demand for either gypsy or showman’s sites.

The Council report says that Gypsies and Travellers are one of the largest distinct ethnic groups in York and their traditions and history can be traced across hundreds of years in the City. There are approximately 350 families in York, living on traveller sites, in housing and in caravans on the roadside.

The report suggest a range of actions that need to be taken

It notably fails to suggest ways in which mutual respect and tolerance between this minority and the general community can be improved.

There is a lot to be commended in the Councils list of proposed actions.

Had the strategy been published 6 months ago, it might have helped to set the scene for the difficult planning decisions which lie ahead.

Instead the Council’s immature political blundering means that it has been launched into a potentially hostile atmosphere.

York police are appealing for witnesses after a pedestrian was hit by a car at Monks Cross.

The pedestrian, a 67-year-old local man, sustained a knee injury when he was struck by a light blue car in the pick up area outside Asda at around 10am on Saturday 18 May 2013.
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Young people can make the most of this half-term and all future bus trips by travelling for less in York with a new All York Young Person’s Day ticket.

The new ticket, launching tomorrow (25 May) means young people between the ages of 11-16 can now enjoy a day’s travel on participating bus companies throughout the city for only £2.30. The ticket will be valid from 9am on weekdays and all day on weekends and bank holidays.

The first ‘All York’ bus tickets for adults were launched last July. However the success of the ticket has been criticised as the York Council has refused to say how many – if any – York residents have actually purchased the ticket.

Tickets are valid on services run by:

· Arriva Yorkshire

· Coastliner (including Transdev York)

· ConnexionsBuses ( Harrogate Coach Travel)

· East Yorkshire Motor Services

· Eddie Brown

· First

· Reliance

· Stephenson’s

· Utopia

For more information visit www.york.gov.uk/allyork

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The Council is claiming that consultation leaflets on the proposed introduction of a 20 mph speed limit are new being delivered in west York.

However they are only being sent to the 13,000 homes that will have the limit applied to the highway outside their front doors.

This is a desperate attempt to bias the response. More people are likely to say they want low vehicle speeds outside their homes. Even then, most are likely to regard the £600,000 cost of the project as outrageous (the Council accepts that only a 3% reduction in vehicles speeds may result while the police have said that they will not enforce the new limit)

But it is an issue affecting nearly 25,000 homes or around 50,000 residents.

Everyone deserves to have a say.

You can Email your views to the Councillor responsible cllr.dmerrett@york.gov.uk with a request that they be drawn to the attention the meeting that will make a final decision on the proposals.

The majority of comments on the Councils pro 20 mph Facebook site are hostile to the proposed limit https://www.facebook.com/York20mph

Our survey in the Westfield Ward revealed that 85% of residents are opposed to a Citywide 20 mph speed limit.

North Yorkshire Police is joining forces with City of York Council, Bell Farm Management committee and the North Yorkshire and York Community Payback Team to spring clean

Residents are invited to come and take part in a litter pick in the Bull Ring and South Beck areas on 25th May as part of the Smarter York spring clean scheme.

For more information please visit www.york.gov.uk/smarteryork or follow@SmarterYork on Twitter. Residents can nominate an area they think is in need of a spring clean by calling 01904 551551 or emailing ycc@york.gov.uk or download the Smarter York mobile phone application from all app stores.

Litter pickers, refuse sacks and high visibility vests are available to volunteers on the day.

The Council has spent £2.7 million moving into its new HQ at West Offices.

By far the largest sums went on furniture (£1.4 million) and ICT infrastructure (£800,000). The latter figure does not include the cabling undertaken by the builders.

A detailed list of removal costs is:

• Furniture £1,419,000

• Audio Visual £72,974

• Signage £103,060

• White Goods (Fridges, Dishwashers & Microwaves) £13,329

• Thin Terminals (Qty 398) £74,028

• Monitors (Qty 626) £50,080

• Telephones (Qty 480) £63,480

• ICT Infrastructure at West Offices – Cisco Data Network (core and edge), Firewall/DMZ Solution, Cisco Wireless Network £695,510

• ICT Cabling costs £19,973

• Datacentre Environment £24,284

• Telephony and Data Connectivity £71,359

• Removal costs £97,000

Total £2,704,077

As previously reported no income has been received by the Council for the sale of redundant equipment and furniture.

They say that the “works to clearing the old buildings is continuing. Any monies received by the clearance contractors for the sale of goods is offset against the invoiced costs of labour, transport, skip hire, and recycling costs”.

The West Offices are now full.

Tenants include the Citizens Advice Bureau (whoa re paying £15,000 a year in rent) and the NHS (£18,500).

“Free” accommodation is being made available to Veritau and the South Yorkshire Credit Union

A brand new visitor attraction is set to open at York Minster on Saturday 25 May 2013, the largest set within a cathedral in the UK. ‘Revealing York Minster’ tells the story of the last 2000 years at the historic site, from the Romans to its modern day custodians.

The contemporary chambers of the Undercroft are built in a space created in emergency excavations during the 1970s which uncovered a hidden history of the site, including the remains of a Roman barracks, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and the foundations of the Norman Minster – the forerunner of the present cathedral. The new attraction weaves the story revealed by these discoveries into an immersive and interactive journey through two millennia of York’s history, featuring artefacts never before on public display. Visitors will be able to see, touch and hear 2000 years of history.

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Police in York are seeking help to identify a man and woman they would like to speak to following the theft of bedding from Dunelm Mill in York.

Officers have issued CCTV images (click here) following the theft which occurred at the Clifton Moor store at around 6.15pm on Friday 22 March 2013.

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York prepares to be amazed as six professional street performers have been chosen to wow audiences at Buskival in York on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May.

Following the success of last year’s festival, some of the world’s best performers have been asked to perform at the event alongside local buskers.

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The Liberal Democrat Group have announced their new Shadow Cabinet for the 2013/14 Civic Year.

Earlier this month, Cllr Keith Aspden was chosen as the new Leader of the Lib Dems taking over from Cllr Carol Runciman and last week Westfield Councillor Lynn Jeffries joined the Group. The Lib Dems will now have the same number of councillors – nine – as the Conservatives, the official City of York Council opposition since 2011.

Lynn Jeffries will lead for the Group on Communities, Housing and Equalities; Carol Runciman will return to the Children and Education brief where she was Executive Member between 2003 and 2011; and Ian Cuthbertson will lead for the Group on Public Health.

Cllr Keith Aspden, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, commented:

“I am delighted to announce such a strong Shadow Cabinet team for the forthcoming Civic Year. The experience and expertise we have will enable us to constructively hold the ruling Labour Group to account. With Lynn joining the Group we now have the same number of councillors as the Conservatives and in the coming months we will cement our position as the real alternative in York.”

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