Call for bus fares to be reduced
Liberal Democrats are calling for public transport users to enjoy the benefits of lower fuels prices.
Bus fares have risen steadily over the last 4 years with park and ride charges which were increased by 5% in January.
First buses last increased their single fares in September 2013. Some other fares were restructured in the light of falling customer numbers at the same time.
Since then fuel prices have dropped by 21%.
Taxi fares were last reviewed in April 2014. Another review is due next month. The Council has been asked under Freedom of Information legislation to release details of the cost assumptions made when approving fare increases.
Fuel costs have reduced by 17% since last April.
Public transport providers do, of course, face other costs. These include labour and depreciation costs while maintenance and licensing charges also take a toll. But most of these costs have been stable recently so passengers will be expecting to benefit.
Lower fares may mean a “win win” for operators with increased passenger numbers making up any reduction in income.
“Free station bus service is aimed at visitors”
Yesterday’s announcement that car parking charges would increase in order to fund a fares free bus service form the station to the hospital is attracting a growing level of criticism.
Bus users have pointed out that they will have already purchased a “through” ticket when boarding the bus on the first leg of their journeys. The majority of bus journeys are made by elderly concessionary pass holders anyway, who get “free” travel anyway (the bill is picked up by the government).
It seems that the only real beneficiaries of the new service will be visitors/tourists arriving by rail at the station.
Monkgate to be closed for resurfacing from 9th March
City of York Council is to reconstruct Monkgate carriageway starting on the 9th March 2015.
click to enlarge
The works are programmed to take one week to complete, working Monday to Friday between 7pm and 11pm.
The area affected is shown on the plan right.
To carry out the works safely, the road closure will be in place from 7pm to 11pm Monday to Friday, a signed diversion will be in place.
The Contractor carrying out the work will be Aggregate Industries Ltd
York population growth projections cut again
The latest population projections published by the government show a lower than expected increase in the City’s population in the period up to 2037.
The City’s population is now expected to grow from 195,000 in 2014, to 214,000 in 2030 (the end date of the draft Local Plan).
This represents a growth of 19,000 producing an annual average increase of 1266.
This converts into a demand for an additional 575 homes per year (at an average occupancy level of 2.2 persons per home).
This is the figure that the Council used when it published its first Draft Local Plan in February 2011.
This is less than half the figure kicked about by Labour when they issued their projection figures in 2012. Their “Big City” expansion plans produced outrage across the City and eventually led, in the autumn of last year, to the draft Local Plan being rejected by the newly balanced Council.
The City would be able to identify sites for 600 homes each year on land which already has planning permission and/or which is brownfield (previously developed) land.
There is no justification for building on Green Belt land.
It is unlikely now that a new Draft Local Plan will be agreed before the Council elections take place on May 7th.
Council tax frozen in York
…..as Green Councillors and Tory turncoat vote for massive cuts in public services
The Labour budget was tonight passed as once again the 2 Green Councillors sided with Labour.
On this occasion they were joined by Cllr Watt who was elected in 2011 as a Conservative for the Skelton area. He supported a budget which will cripple public services in the City while continuing to prioritise “vanity” projects paid for by a large increase in borrowing. It was a truly astonishing policy somersault.
The only significant “concession” that the Greens won in return for their votes was a promise to provide a “free” bus service between the station and the hospital. The £150,000 cost will be paid for by another big increase in car parking charges in central York (by 10p per hour).
NB. Bus passengers can currently use the number 1 or 6 to get from the station to the hospital, although the passengers numbers using this link are modest
The Greens rapidly diminishing credibility took another battering as they voted for a cuts package which includes so called “rewiring savings”. These will see basic public services like grass cutting, street sweeping and community centres hit hard.
Labour plan to charge for emptying all green bins and have supported reducing grey bin emptying frequencies to once very 3 or 4 weeks.
The Greens also voted to spend even less than Labour proposed on dealing with icy roads in winter.
The only really original proposal put to the meeting – the plan aimed at regenerating York’s deteriorating housing estates – failed to get majority support.
However there is every chance that after the local elections on May 7th, the new Labour/Green coalition will be thrown out.
This will allow the new Council to rejig the budget if it chooses to do so.
York Music Centre expands
A new weekend session for children and young people has been added by York Music Centre to its programme at Millthorpe School.
York Music Centre, run by York Arts Education and part of City of York Council, will offer a variety of choirs, ensembles, orchestras and tuition sessions each Saturday morning.
The session has moved from Canon Lee School and allows York Music Centre to consolidate provision with its Wednesday evening session at Millthorpe School from the end of February.
From Saturday 28 February, from 9.15am, York Music Centre will offer group music-making opportunities to children and young people aged 3 to 18 of all abilities.
These include top level ensembles such as Concert Band, Big Band and the Symphony Orchestra, entry level groups like Overture (for 3-5 year olds), WOW Band (for any instrumental beginners), Young Voices which helps develop singing and listening skills and World of Rhythm, run by Billy Hickling from the internationally acclaimed STOMP!
An adult choir is also available for parents and friends who don’t want to miss out on the fun.
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Smokers are 70% more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety
On the build up to this year’s No Smoking Day (March 11th) new research has been published that shows that smokers have a 70% increased risk of anxiety and depression when compared with non-smokers, despite the commonly held perception that lighting up is a stress reliever.
Interestingly, levels of anxiety and depression reported by long-term ex-smokers were indistinguishable from people who have never smoked and much lower than current smokers. This suggests that quitting smoking could help people combat anxiety and depression and improve mental health.
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World book day – “flash retelling” planned for York
Around 750 pupils from City of York Council schools will be taking part in a ‘flash retelling’ to help mark World Book Day on Thursday 5 March.
Pupils across the city will be retelling a traditional tale they have learnt off by heart at 10.30am.
The pupils have used the ‘Talk for Writing’ approach to help them learn the tale. This involves them using actions and a visual story map to learn the tale. Learning stories off by heart gives children the story language and text structures to be able to create their own stories.
Pie Corbett who developed the Talk for Writing approach, said: “The great City of York will ring together the bells of a thousand voices, telling and celebrating the joy of a story. Stories lie at the heart of every culture. Without them, education is dry as dust. They bind us together as one people helping us to understand ourselves and each other. Stories make us a stronger and better people. Let the story spread across the city and stay in the heart of every teller and every listener.”
World Book Day is a worldwide celebration of books and reading, marked in over 100 countries all over the world. For more information on libraries in the city visit www.exploreyork.org.uk
Lib Dems call for an extra £500,000 to be spent on York’s estate regeneration
Liberal Democrats are calling for an extra £500,000 to be spent improving the condition of housing estates in York.
Restoring pride in Council estate environment
The extra funding will be focused on tidying-up communal areas, repairs, improvements to car parking facilities, and a re-launched programme to replace draughty windows.
The move follows concerns from council tenants, falling satisfaction levels with many estate services, and missed performance targets by Labour run City of York Council.
The proposals are part of the Liberal Democrat budget amendment, which will be debated at today’s full Council meeting.
The Lib Dems are calling for an extra £3 million to be put into frontline services such as road repairs, community centres and green bin collections.
The Lib Dem housing move is funded from the council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) – a ring-fenced housing account which currently has a surplus of £15 million and is split from the main council budget. Rents are being increased by 2% from April.
Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Housing, commented:
Dealing with parking issues
“Residents have contacted us concerned about issues such as overgrown weeds, damaged fencing, broken streetlights, littering and dog fouling. Basic services have suffered since 2011 and show Labour’s continued neglect and under-investment in the city’s estates.
“We want to put an extra £500,000 in from the Housing Revenue Account to tackle these issues. This budget is raised from council rent and charges and is there to be used for tenants. There is a substantial surplus and instead of storing money away in reserves the council should be spending more on estate improvements.”
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The Lib Dems would spend £250,000 ‘capital’ from the HRA on improvements to:
a) draughty windows and
b) improved car parking facilities (dropped kerbs/verge crossovers/matrix verge protection outside tenants homes and better car parking facilities in communal areas) and the resurfacing of some car parks.
plus £250,000 ‘revenue’ from the HRA on council house and estate regeneration including the following schemes:
- removal of weeds,
- cutting back overgrown trees and hedges,
- repairs to communal areas and signs (e.g. dog fouling, no ball games),
- audit and repair of fencing.
The full Lib Dem amendment will be tabled and debated at Thursday’s Budget Council.
Last July, it was revealed that tenants were less satisfied with where they live and the estate services they receive from the council while key performance targets were missed: www.yorklibdems.org.uk/en/article/2014/0879798/york-tenants-less-satisfied-with-where-they-live-says-new-report
Cheaper energy bulk buy scheme extended to 9th March
After an extremely successful auction which saw a tariff secured by iChoosr that could save residents on average £243, City of York Council is urging residents to sign up to the Big Community Energy Switch before 9 March.
People will join together with over 400 other residents from York in the switch, which could help them save on their gas and electricity bills.
A drop-in event will be held at City of York Council’s West Office on 2 March from 10am – 3pm. Residents can take their offer letter if they have any questions.
People can also sign up to the switch if they take a recent fuel bill.
The council and iChoosr held their first scheme between December 2013 and February 2014. A total of 751 York residents signed up, along with 36,000 people across the UK.
Supported by York’s Citizens Advice Bureau and Age UK York – the Save Money by Switching Energy campaign launched in December 2013. The scheme enables York residents to register for the assisted scheme through these four easy steps that can result in them being offered potentially cheaper alternative tariffs to consider switching to.
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