The Council rounded up 54 stray dogs in the 13 months leading up to September 2014.
Of these, 45 were successfully returned to their owners
Owners pay an initial fee of £60 once the dog is picked up and then £9.75 for each successive day before it is reclaimed.
A consultation questionnaire is available to complete online from this week. Alternatively, paper copies are available from libraries and Explore Centres across York, or the council’s West Offices building. Feedback can also be submitted to FRM@york.gov.uk .
To read the full strategy, FAQs and an information leaflet visit: www.york.gov.uk/floodriskstrategy
The development of the strategy follows severe floods in 2007 across the UK, including York, which affected over 55,000 homes and businesses causing over £3billion worth of damage across the UK.
City of York Council is investing over £100,000 to protect and preserve York’s historical Walmgate Bar Walls which date back to the medieval period.
Walmgate Bar is the most complete of the four medieval gateways in York and the walls themselves are the best example of medieval city walls still standing in England today, which over a million people walk across every year.
Originally built as defences, the focus is now on conservation and the council is working with English Heritage to carry out a number of improvements to Walmgate Bar this month to help preserve over 1,900 years of history.
The Council is to re-examine its contracts which cover spraying weeds on public highways.
The move, announced at the last Council meeting, comes in the wake of unprecedented levels of complaints about weed infested streets particularly in the west of the City.
At one point, even prominent City centre structures like Ouse Bridge were under attack.
Ouse Bridge 7th August 2014
It now appears that several streets – scheduled to be treated in a second wave of spraying – were missed.
During early October the Councils contractors walked the whole of the City spraying areas that needed attention.
They are also spraying round street furniture, poles etc.
The last Council meeting was told that the authority is considering letting a new spraying contract next year in conjunction with neighbouring authorities.
The Cabinet member was unable to explain why supervisory checks had not revealed – and remedied –the problem this summer.
Ouse bridge weeds 25th September 2014
Bed dumped in field off Askham Lane
At the moment residents can take items to the “tip” free of charge.
The proposed charge – unlikely to be admitted by Labour until the Westfield by election is out of the way – follow on from the closure of the Beckfield Lane household waste recycling site and an 13% increase in the cost of having up to 10 bulky items removed by the Council.
Bulky waste removal now costs £36.75p
Second green waste bins are now charged for and Labour are understood to be on the on the brink of introducing charges for emptying all green bins
Residents responding to our door to door survey told us that they were concerned about the amount of dog fouling in their area.
Overall 35% of respondents said it was an issue in their street.
Now a Freedom of information request has revealed that very little is being done by the Council to enforce dog fouling laws. The number of dog fouling fixed penalty notices issued have been:
2009 – 2010 2 issued
2010 – 2011 0 issued
2011 – 2012 0 issued
2012 – 2013 1 issued
2013 – 2014 2 issued
This seems very low to us.
He has sought an assurance that ruling Labour councillors have no plans to introduce a charge covering all green bin collections. At present, residents are charged £35 annually for the collection of a second green bin.
Local Liberal Democrats have highlighted a fall in recycling rates, which has been linked to the scrapping of green waste collections between November and March, and the closure of the well-used Beckfield Lane recycling centre. The tip’s closure in 2012 was ordered by Westfield Labour councillor Dafydd Williams when he was the Cabinet member for Environment.
Andrew Waller commented:
“Local residents are rightly angry that the council spent £13,000 on leaflets and stickers telling them that green bin collections are free, when we already knew that because it’s what we pay our council tax for. It would be an outrage if Labour were to now perform a u-turn and introduce charges for all green bin collection.
“Many people I have met in recent months are fed up with the green bin collections stopping before the leaves fall, especially now that they don’t have the option of going to Beckfield Lane tip. People who swept up leaves in public areas were doing the council and public a service by dealing with them before they became a slip hazard – but now their green bins are full from the end of October until March.
“I am concerned that any new charge brought in would lead to a further increase in fly-tipping, which of course costs money to clean up.
“People will not put up with any more decisions being made behind closed doors and so I am challenging James Alexander’s Cabinet to rule it out now. They have taken a service which was part of York’s strength as a green city, and trashed it.”
Work is taking place on Hob Moor to install a new drain. The system will serve the new development on the former Our Lady’s school site.
It is understood that the work has forced a farmer to remove his cattle from the moor.
The development has always been unpopular with many as it was almost twice the size originally envisaged.
In addition the impact on traffic in the area is expected to be significant with many fearing that lack of parking space could cripple the estate. Already narrow roads like Ashford Place and Ascot Way are bearing the brunt of noise and vibration. from construction traffic.
However concerns about the Hob Moor nature reserve have been ignored by the Labour dominated planning committee when the developer has come back with several requests for modifications to their plans.
We understand that concerns have been raised with English Nature
Inadequate drainage in the area was one concern which led to a significant change to the site height about a month ago
New Newbury development site layout, Click for large maps
A new layout plan for the controversial 9 flat development on the garage area off Newbury Avenue has been published.
It is unlikely that many residents will have seen the plan as objectors have not been alerted to the changes.
The new layout increases the number of parking spaces to be provided to 16 with an additional 5 to be located on vacant land at the Newbury Drive/Windsor Garth junction.
This is the junction which is subject to ponding after heavy rain.
Unfortunately at the same time the Council has said that it won’t be acting quickly to deal with the lack of proper parking opposite Carlton House. Vehicles parking on the bend have caused the bus to mount the footpath on several occasions. It had been hoped that individual driveways for the house would have been provided across the green area with more parking for residents being constructed to the rear of the flats.
Poor drainage already a problem in Windsor Garth
There is no news on where the occupants of the garages will park in future. It had been suggested that the Council should provide dropped kerbs/verge crossovers where the 24 garage occupants wanted to construct an alternative parking space in their gardens. This idea has not yet been taken forward.
The background papers for the development can be accessed by clicking here
The 3 storey buildings will prove eight 2 bedroomed flats and one single bedroomed unit. Access to each will be by an external walkway.
There are some big questions on drainage arrangements which are yet to be satisfactorily answered.
A report from the Councils protection unit concluded “Therefore, there is a plausible possibility that residual contaminants may be present onsite”. This arises from its former use as a waste disposal site in the 1950’s.
In a later objection the Unit expresses concern about methane gas levels in the area and says,
“The soil sampling results identified elevated levels of lead, PAHs, arsenic and vanadium. Remedial work is therefore required, in order to ensure that the site is safe and suitable for its proposed use, and a remediation scheme must be submitted for our approval in due course”.
The ground conditions mean that piling will be required in the construction process.
It is expected that the application will be determined at a meeting which is scheduled to take place on 8th October.
