Waste disposal policy consultation starts

 

People across York and North Yorkshire are being given the chance to have a say on planning policies covering major issues such as quarrying, mineral and gas extraction, and waste disposal.

North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council, and the North York Moors National Park Authority, are working together to produce a Minerals and Waste Joint Plan. It will contain policies and guidelines to help take decisions on planning applications covering the period up to 2030. It will also identify suitable sites for such developments.

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More on York transport decisions – Monkton Road, Campleshon Road, Strensal.

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Monkton Road bus clearway

Bus clearway outside 31 – 35 Monkton Road as proposed

No waiting on Campleshon Road at the Lorne Street junction

Implement a shorter length of restrictions with the addition of an advisory disabled parking bay adjacent to 30 & 32 Campleshon Road

Strensal public footpath diversion

Public Rights of Way Strensall No 4 – Proposed diversion (part)

Alley closed, parking restrictions, ResPark etc – Summary of recent Council decisions

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Nunmill Street Bishopthorpe Road

Introduction of alley gate

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Osbaldwick Lane (school  entrance)

Enforcement action on parking on zig zag lines

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Malton Avenue and Irwin Avenue

Proposal to introduce a Residents Parking Scheme

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Newborough Street

Introduction of no waiting at any time restrictions on Newborough Street associated with the Burton Green Development.

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Nunthorpe Drive, Nunthorpe Crescent, Nunthorpe Gardens and Nunthorpe View

Introduction of a Resident Parking scheme

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Huntington Road

Action to prevent parking on the footway adjacent to the zebra crossing at 197 – 215 Huntington Road. Option A – Agreed to advertise a proposal to prohibit waiting on the verge/footway for the full length of the zig-zag carriageway marking with limited parking for the lay-by area.

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Labour highways maintenance scam revealed.

Labour are planning a “surprise” announcement next month, when they will “reveal” that they will spend an additional £2 million on highways resurfacing during the next financial year.

Highways expenditure Click to enlarge

Highways expenditure Click to enlarge

The announcement will be in response to the pressure, put on them by residents and the Liberal Democrats, who have criticised the cuts made in road and footpath repairs budgets over the last 2 years.

In total, £4 million has been cut from the repairs budget in an attempt to find funding for schemes like the repaving of Kings Square and the, largely unnecessary, £1 million street lamppost replacement programme.

Now Labour – for one year only – hope to return the budget to the £5.5 million level that they inherited from the last LibDem administration.

However, they intend to pay for the programme by borrowing more money. Already residents are facing over £1 million a year extra in interest payments – making Council Tax rises inevitable.

The figures also reveal that investment on de-icing roads and footpaths has fallen by more than half since Labour took over. Fortunately we have – so far – had a mild winter but we may not be so lucky in future years.

York “rewiring” plan; Cliff Richard, Fred Smith Electrical or City of York Council?

The York Council has said it will spend £10 million over the next 5 years on IT equipment. Their intention is to force residents to use electronic communications to communicate with the Council.

Cliff Richard – rewired for sound

Cliff Richard – rewired for sound

They promise (or threaten) that each local resident will have their own web page account.

The move comes following our revelation that the number contacting the Council by telephone or through a personal visit has spiralled since their move to the “West Offices”.

They have dubbed the scheme as service “rewiring” – a piece of jargon guaranteed to pass over the heads of most residents.

A report, nodded through by the Labour leadership on Tuesday, fails to make any kind of business case for the huge expenditure.

The report is riddled with management jargon and hyperbole plus much conjecture about what residents want.

Attached to the report is the 6 monthly review of service quality.

This revealed that many targets are already being missed by the Council with recycling rates reducing and the numbers using the bus service in sharp decline since Labour meddled with the services when they took office.

Confidence in the Councils ability to deal with reports and complaints has already been damaged.

Rewiring

The “app” launched to allow smart phone reporting of issues has flopped, some reports made using proprietary web tools were lost by the Council while frustrated residents – seeking information through Freedom of Information requests -frequently do not attract answers within legal target times.

But the main concern will be the implications for residents if the Council and its officials hide behind an electronic defensive barricade.

The plan will mean more outsourcing and local jobs will be lost as techno bureaucrats take over.

Public services will become DIY as residents are forced to fill in the gaps left by a retreating public sector.

………..and the march of more CCTV surveillance will continue in the background!

Poor use of electric vehicle charging points in York

The York Council has confirmed that its 6 electric vehicles charging points were use only 60 times (in total) last year.

The charging points cost £30,000 to install.

The Council has been criticised for not running – in conjunction with the trade – an effective campaign promoting the use of electric vehicles.

Indeed its latest budget proposals could see the parking charge discounts, currently available for low emission vehicles, further eroded.

Lendal Bridge/Coppergate camera fine victims now exceed 60,000.

Lendal bridge notice60,414 drivers have been issued with penalty notices for driving on Lendal Bridge and Coppergate since new restrictions were introduced in August.

Of these 46,323 were caught by cameras on Lendal Bridge while 14,091 were photographed on Coppergate.

The numbers being caught in both locations increased towards the end of January.

The complete figures can be downloaded by clicking here.

Meanwhile the media are reporting that the Council has received £1.3 in fine income.

As suggested on this site some months ago, it appears that the Council lacks the resources – and perhaps the will – to resist many of the appeals that have been lodged.

The Lendal Bridge 5 monthly monitoring report has also now been published. Click here.

With less traffic in January, Park and Ride buses show little change in their journey times.

Traffic volumes are, however, up on Foss Islands Road, Water End, Shipton Road and Fulford Road.

The Lendal Bridge trial is scheduled to conclude at the end of February.

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Labour Councillors agreed tonight (Tuesday) to extend the use of the ANPR cameras to other routes including bus lanes.

It expects to bring in an additional £150,000 a year in fine income.

Mobile safety (speed) camera routes week commencing 12 February 2014

Below are the enforcement locations for North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety cameras for week commencing Wednesday 12 February 2014.

Safety camera van

The safety cameras are now more visible then ever before with each of the three vehicles bearing the same hi-vis livery as North Yorkshire Police’s marked vehicle fleet.

All safety camera locations are published on the force website along with an explanation of the various route types.

Click for list