The media are reporting that a former employee has been arrested following investigations into fraud at the North Yorkshire Credit Union. The Union collapsed last week.

Separately, a decision by the Labour Cabinet has been “called in” for scrutiny. They were proposing to grant £50,000 (plus help in kind) to another Credit Union that wishes to open a branch in York.

The proposal has been called in to permit full consideration of the reasons behind the North Yorkshire Credit Union collapse.

The York Council stands to lose up to £100,000 of the loan it made to the York Credit Union in January 2009.

The minutes of meetings around that time reveal that Labour had proposed that £150,000 should be loaned on a unsecured “sub-ordinate” basis.

This proposal was rejected by the then LibDem controlled Executive and the York Council unanimously agreed on 22nd Jan 2009 to loan £52,000 (the maximum permitted) as a “preferential loan” with the remainder classified as a “sub-ordinate” loan (which has less protection in the event of a financial failure).

The Council also agreed that “That Council maintain a check on the financial position of the York Credit Union by such means as are acceptable to the Director of Resources”

It is the way that the latter condition has been exercised over the last 18 months – during which time the Credit union slipped into financial difficulties – that should form part of the scrutiny review.

Details of the historic decisions made can be found on the Councils web site

Executive meeting 23rd Dec 2008 http://tinyurl.com/Exec-23rd-Dec-08

Labour alternative proposals 23rd Dec 2008 http://tinyurl.com/Lab-23rd-Dec-08

Council minutes 22nd Jan 2009 http://tinyurl.com/Council-22nd-Jan-09

A biker caught speeding at 144mph has today, Thursday 8 November, been banned from driving for six months .

He was also fined £500 plus court costs of £45 and a victim surcharge of £50.

Gary Dobson, 40, of Old Lee Bank, Halifax was caught on the A63 near South Milford on 7 October 2012 riding a BMW RR 1000 in a 70mph limit.

Dobson pleaded guilty by post at Selby Magistrates’ Court on 1 November 2012 and was sentenced today.

144mph is the highest speed detected so far by North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety camera which was introduced in July 2011.

In first 12 months of the safety camera’s operation (July 11 to June 12 inc) the following offences have been detected:

Total Violations 16,055

Not Proceeded With 625

Mobile camera footage here: http://youtu.be/jjjtphLQr58

Inspector Dave Brown of North Yorkshire Police’s Strategic Roads Policing Group, said: “Mr Dobson has shown shocking disregard for his own safety and that of other road users. He should consider himself lucky to be only facing a driving ban and a hole in his bank balance and not something much more serious.

“Hopefully the ban will give him time to reflect on his actions and also send a clear warning to others of what faces them if they believe the law does not apply to them.

“The safety camera has proved to be a very successful tool in influencing driver behaviour and it will continue to be deployed on roads where we know speeding is an issue. The simple answer is if you don’t speed, you won’t be caught.”

North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following routes between Wednesday 7 November and Tuesday 13 November 2012.

•A64 east-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•Strensall Road, Huntington, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•The Village, Stockton-on-the-Forest, York
•A1036 Malton Road, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•York Road, Haxby, York
•A64 west-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•Broadway, Fulford, York
•Murton Way, Murton, York
•Fordlands Road, Fulford York
(more…)

York police are appealing for witnesses after a cyclist narrowly avoided injury when she was clipped by a car.

The cyclist an, 18-year-old local woman, was riding across the roundabout at the junction with Beckfield Lane and Ridgeway at around 5.10pm on Tuesday 6 November 2012, when a red sports car sped across the roundabout and onto Wetherby Road.

The car, which had a registration plate of YJ01, clipped the cyclist on the way past, nearly knocking her from her bike.

Officers are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.

(more…)

Vigilance urged as thieves target Land Rover Defenders

North Yorkshire Police are urging owners of Land Rover Defenders to be on their guard against thieves.

The warning comes after the theft of one vehicle and the attempted theft of another in the York area.

A “N” registered Land Rover Defender was stolen from a property in Haxby near York and then used in a suspicious incident at a property in Rawcliffe where officers believe the suspects were targeting another Land Rover. The stolen vehicle was later found abandoned in Foss Way.

(more…)

Come and treat yourself or pick up some special seasonal gifts at Christmas craft fairs held at two Explore Library Learning Centres this month.

Explore York Library Learning Centre at Library Square will be hosting a craft fair on Saturday 17 November from 9am until 4:30pm.

While Acomb Explore Library Learning Centre will be holding another on Saturday 24 November from 9am until 2:00pm.

At both events, there will be a wide range of stallholders selling all kinds of handmade items, such as knitted, felt and wooden crafts, paintings, jewellery and greetings cards.

After a spot of shopping the cafes at both centres will be offering with a ten per cent discount on a wide selection of freshly-cooked food.

City of York Council will be carrying out essential works next week to construct a new bus lane on Boroughbridge Road in Acomb.

Works will begin on Monday (12 November) and will involve the construction of a bus lane along the inbound side of Boroughbridge Road between Plantation Drive and Princess Drive.

The majority of the works will be carried out on weekdays between the hours of 9.15am and 4.30pm. More complex works, such as road re-surfacing may be carried outside of these hours during periods of low traffic flow with occasional weekend working if required. The duration of the work will be in the region of three months, with completion scheduled for January 2013.

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Traffic lights are to be installed at the busy junction of the A19 with the southern by pass near the Designer Outlet.

New 40 mph limits. click to enlarge

As part of the scheme the 40 mph speed limit is to be extended (see right).

A report to the York Council says, “Speed surveys found that the mean speed of northbound traffic to be just below 40mph, suggesting a reduced speed limit could be considered. They found the 85th percentile speed of the same traffic flow to be approximately 45mph indicating that there are a number of drivers who currently approach the junctions at speeds which could be considered excessive. They therefore suggest that a reduced speed limit could be introduced at the start of street lighting on the approach to the interchange from the Selby direction”

The proposal is now to be advertised and any objections raised will be considered by the Council.

In August York’s Leisure chief Cllr Sonja Crisp promised “As the birthplace of Guy Fawkes, we pledged last year that York would commemorate November 5, 2012, in style”. “We’ve been working hard with partners to ensure this happens, and it’s going to be a night to remember.”

Enthusiasm in August

She ignored warnings about previous events that had been held at the Knavesmire including one near disaster in the 1990s where a lack of security led to safety fears as almost 40,000 clambered to get into a “free” fireworks display.

It is a problem venue to manage at night with large crowds being difficult to control because of the open layout of much of the area. Unless adequate temporary lighting is installed, it can be chaotic.

Now the verdicts are coming in on yesterday’s event and it is clear that it will indeed be a night to remember for many of the 10,000 who attended. For many though it will be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Reality in November click to enlarge

On the positive side, the fireworks event at The Maze seems to have been another success. So perhaps smaller venues are the place to stage events of this sort.

Coming so soon after the Museum Gardens fiasco, questions will be asked about whether the York Council bit off more than it could chew.

The Council have bowed to public pressure, led by Liberal Democrats, and have published details of the North Yorkshire Credit Union crash and their proposed response. http://tinyurl.com/Credit-union-6th-Nov

The report confirms that the York Council is set to lose its £100,000 loan to the Credit Union while North Yorkshire will lose £200,000.

The report reveals that secret discussions aimed at getting a South Yorkshire Credit Union to open branches in York and Scarborough have been underway for several months.

The report proposes that the York Council will contribute £50,000 to the South Yorkshire organisation with a further £30,000 coming from the North Yorkshire County Council and £20,000 for Scarborough Council.

The Council are not required to give permission for a Credit Union to operate in their area so the South Yorkshire organisation is free to do so. However, as well as the £50,000 grant, the Council is offering “help in kind” – assumed to be office space at its new HQ.

At its closure, the North Yorkshire Credit Union had 5,762 members of whom 2,093 lived in York. Around £1.1 million was loaned to members, with £1.9 million invested.

The report gives no real insight into what went wrong with the Union. It quotes the reasons for the collapse as:
1. A high level of bad debts on loans made to customers
2. Relatively high overheads
3. Over dependence on a number of non-recurring grants.

Our view is that the Council needs to understand more fully what went wrong with the North Yorkshire Credit Union before it commits large sums of money to any replacement organisation. The 3 reasons for the collapse suggest major management failings which need to be remedied as conditions for any new support offered from hard pressed local taxpayers.

Otherwise the Council may be seen to be throwing good money after bad.

A Public Inquiry is essential if public confidence is to be restored.

NB. The North Yorkshire Credit Union web site has still not been updated to provide its members with any information about its collapse.