Part of Minster East Window

The York Glaziers Trust report that they are about halfway through conserving the Apocalypse panels on the Minsters Great East Window. More details can be found on their web site http://tinyurl.com/York-Glaziers

As part of the Minster’s York Minster Revealed project http://www.yorkminster.org/visiting/york-minster-revealed/ , over the next five years the Apocalypse scenes from this extraordinary window will be studied, conserved and returned with the protective glazing that will secure its future for many generations to come.

Visitors can follow the progress of this work in Bedern Glaziers Studio http://tinyurl.com/Bedern

Only the receipt of a new home bonus of £714,000 prevented the York Council from outurning with a budget deficit during the last financial year. The windfall contribution turned a £365k loss into a £349k surplus.

The new homes bonus, which is intended to encourage local authorities to promote now house building and reduce the number of vacant properties, is calculated each October.

In York the Council Tax base at October 2011 showed an increase of 751 occupied properties compared to the previous years figure.

These included 266 affordable units.

This brought the total number of occupied properties in the City to 85,526.

Only 180 empty homes were recorded.

The Council will continue to receive £714K in annual bonus for the next 6 years. In addition, £1.1m in additional bonus for the current and successive financial years will be payable.

Whatever the present Council may claim, it made little or no contribution towards qualification for the new homes bonus.

Without the bail out, and the benefit of lower borrowing costs, the Council could have been is serious financial difficulty.

The draft accounts also show a massive £1.5 million overspend on care services.

NB. The government web site http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/newhomesbonus/ describes the New Homes Bonus as “a powerful, simple and transparent incentive that means that those local authorities which promote and welcome growth can share in the economic benefits, and build the communities in which people want to live and work.
The Government provides additional funding or a ‘bonus’ for new homes by match funding the additional council tax raised for new homes and empty properties brought back into use, with an additional amount for affordable homes, for the following six years. The New Homes Bonus is based on past increases in housing supply”

City of York Council’s library service is celebrating this week by opening the UK’s first library reading café.

Set in award-winning Rowntree Park, the library will form part of the new reading cafe, an extension of the citywide Explore brand, which places emphasis on providing high quality food, a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere and flexible spaces to host different activities and events. The reading café will be staffed with a small team and the council will recruit two apprentices to work there. Income generated by café sales will fund the facility.

The council’s library services are bucking the national trend by opening a new facility when funding cuts are forcing closures elsewhere. Situated in a newly-renovated Edwardian tea shop in the city’s award-wining Rowntree Park, the 21st century, self-funded reading café with free wi-fi will open on the day the park celebrates its 91st birthday on 14 July 2012 with a traditional party and community fair.

Visitors can choose from an exciting selection of books and can take advantage of a running programme of events and learning opportunities including author events, story sessions and art classes. Spaces in the reading café will be available for hire for birthday parties or family celebrations.

Cath Mortimer from the Friends of Rowntree Park said: “Rowntree Park is a wonderful park and it now has a great café to go with the other facilities. We look forward to continuing to work with the council, in developing the library and community facilities which are the cherries on the cake!”

Rowntree Park was a gift to the city by Messrs Rowntree & Co in 1921 as a memorial to the Cocoa Works staff who served in World War I. Mr Fred Rowntree, the park’s architect, worked with Joseph Rowntree to plan the park with the aim of promoting the health and enjoyment of York citizens.

The lake was not initially included in the plans but was added to give immediate interest when it opened as many of the trees would not be fully grown. A set of listed gates on Terry Avenue were added to the park in memory of those who fell in World War II.

The park keeper’s building included a café on the ground floor, with accommodation in the lodge above. The present Park Keeper Dave Brown has been in residence for over 20 years.

City of York Council is celebrating Rowntree Park’s 91st Birthday on Saturday 14 July with a party in the park that promises to be a great day out for all the family.

The Rowntree Company gave Rowntree Park as a gift to the people of the city 91 years ago on 16 July 1921 in memory of workers who fell during the war. Every summer a ‘birthday party’ is held to remember this event, and a cake will be cut during the celebrations in honour of the park and its origins.

Attractions at the event will include a climbing wall, birds of prey display, live music, face painting, community stalls, food and drinks, ice creams, bouncy castle, street sports, story telling, willow weaving and – new for this year – a fun dog show.

Parking is limited to disabled badge holders only, so other visitors are asked to walk or take public transport. Please note the car park will be closed all day.

The annual summer fair will take place on Saturday 14 July 2012 from 2-5pm.

At a council meeting last night, Labour blocked a Liberal Democrat attempt to restore litter bins recently removed in York.

The Liberal Democrat Group on City of York Council proposed a motion at the Full Council meeting, asking for the 349 litter and dog bins recently cut by the authority to be returned. The motion suggested that the £40,000 cost be funded by reducing the Labour Cabinet from 8 members to 6 members. All opposition Lib Dem, Conservative, Green and Independent councillors voted in favour, but it was voted down by Labour councillors.

Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environmental Services who moved the motion, commented:

“It is disappointing that Labour prioritised their own pay packets over frontline services. Across the city people have been annoyed and concerned by the removal of 349 litter and dog bins without any consultation. Our motion simply asked Labour to recognise this and put back all bins where there was demand to do so.

“It was astonishing that Labour did not even try to defend or justify their decision. These cuts are not about government funding reductions; they are about the spending decisions that Labour are making on the ground here in York and their attempt to blame the government is just not correct. It is not a matter of enforced cuts just Labour’s spending priorities. Frontline services have been axed in favour of pay increases for councillors.

“Removing bins will lead to more litter and a general deterioration in the look and feel of our streets. We believe these cuts are wrong and unnecessary and we have now launched a city-wide petition to try to get Labour to listen to residents and get the bins back.”

The Liberal Democrat petition on litter bin cuts can be found at: http://yorklibdems.org.uk

City of York Council is calling all children to sign up to this year’s Summer Reading Challenge, which launches at Rowntree Park on 14 July at 2pm.

The library service will be at the park’s 91st birthday party, signing people up to the annual challenge, which this year has the Storylab theme.

The Storylab theme aims to be a celebration of story and the imagination, with all books, including joke books and poetry books, counting as part of the challenge.

The Summer Reading Challenge sets out to challenge children to read up to six books over the summer holidays. For each book read they will receive prizes and incentives, and those who complete the challenge will receive a medal and certificate.

The challenge coincides with the launch of York’s first ever Children’s Book Awards, where children under the age of 14 are being invited to vote for their favourite book of all time, with both ending on 16 September. For ideas on books to read, children can look at the shortlist for the awards.

Children can sign up at any of York’s 14 libraries and Explore Centres or at the launch at Rowntree Park. For more information visit: www.york.gov.uk/leisure/Libraries/

The Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Keith Hyman will take part in the parade and ceremony when 1st Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment exercise their Freedom of Entry to the city on Friday 13 July

The Lord Mayor will welcome the regiment and grant them permission to exercise their right of freedom of entry to the city. He will review the parade with The Sheriff, Councillor Paul Firth.

The Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Keith Hyman said: “I am looking forward to taking part in this parade, and joining residents and tourists in celebrating the service that they provide.”

The regiment will be formed up on Duncombe Place from 11.30am, for the arrival of the civic party, before marching through the city centre on Blake Street, Davygate, Parliament Street, High Ousegate, and Coney Street. The Lord Mayor will then take the salute from the steps of The Mansion House.

Freedom of entry to the city, gives the regiment the right, privilege, honour and distinction to march through the streets on all ceremonial occasions with colours flying, swords drawn and bayonets fixed, drums beating, bugles sounding and bands playing.

Join Harry’s Game author and former TV journalist Gerald Seymour as he chats about his extraordinary life and work at 7pm on Wednesday 18 July at York Explore Library Learning Centre.

Gerald Seymour was a reporter at ITN for fifteen years where his first assignment was covering the Great Train Robbery in 1963. He later moved on to reporting international events in Vietnam, Borneo, Aden, the Munich Olympics, Israel and Northern Ireland.

A full-time writer since 1978, Seymour’s first novel was the acclaimed thriller Harry’s Game, set in Belfast and which became an instant bestseller and later a television series. Six of his thrillers have now been adapted and filmed for television in the UK and United States.

On 18 July, he will be in conversation with Gillian Holmes about his life, his work and his latest novel, The Outsiders, a pacy thriller set in the Costa Del Sol.

Tickets are priced £5 and can be collected from York Explore or ordered on (01904) 552828.

North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 11 and Tuesday 17 July 2012.

•A64 Malton by-pass Malton east and west-bound
•A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough
•A64 Between Whitwell Hill and Barton Hill
•A64 Between Barton-le-Willows and Jinnah
•A64 Seamer by-pass Scarborough
•A64 west-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster

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It’s a blooming exciting forecast for York on Wednesday 11 July when the Yorkshire in Bloom Judges arrive to assess the city as part of the RHS Britain in Bloom competition.

Yorkshire in Bloom Judges Chris Beard and David Elcock will tour the city to decide whether York meets the Gold standard in terms of floral displays, green spaces, the look of our local neighbourhoods and street environment as well as levels of community involvement in ongoing plans.

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