York Labour Councillors reveal cunning plan?

Site capacity for new homes - draft Local Plan. click to enlarge

Site capacity for new homes – draft Local Plan. click to enlarge

Labour Councillor Dave Merrett seems to have overstepped accepted guidelines when welcoming a planning application for the Our Lady’s school site.

He was quoted in the local paper as supporting a plan to build 56 homes on the site – almost double the number allocated in the Local Plan that Cllr Merrett approved in the spring.

If approved at the meeting on 21st November, the proposal would mean that the green space, school nature reserve and children’s playground will all be lost.

Normally executive Councillors avoid commenting publicly on planning applications once they have been submitted. They allow normal consultation with residents to take place before a cross party planning committee meeting decides on the merits of each proposal.

A public intervention by an executive Councillor could be deemed to be putting undue pressure on the planning officers who work in his department and who will author reports recommending approval or rejection of an application.

Officials are understood to have said already that the density on the development – at 82 homes per hectare based on the existing built footprint- is in excess of what would normally be permitted in a sub-urban location.

Meanwhile the Council Leader is also interfering in the planning processes.

Following on from his public opposition to converting unused shops into residential accommodation, he told the last Council meeting, when questioned about the higher number of housing units coming forward on brownfield sites that,

sessions site

sessions site

“the important distinction between the positions of the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservatives it has to be said, is that the other parties believe those living in central wards should have housing built on any spare piece of land anywhere near them and outer wards should continue to enjoy protection against any development anywhere near them”.

“The truth is housing should be built in both central and outer areas where it can be shown to contribute to tackling the city’s housing crisis at the same time as protecting residents’ local amenity”.

In fact over recent months it is central area sites that are seeing high densities proposed with Our Lady’s school only the latest in a long line which includes the former Press offices in Walmgate, the Burnholme club and several dozen others.

The Council Leader may, however, be confused about what constitutes “central wards”.

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NB. The Planning committee will consider next week a proposal to build 59 homes on the former Sessions site on Huntington Road. Of these 20% will be “affordable”

The density of the proposed development is just over 32 dwellings per hectare, and would be more densely developed than the surrounding residential areas. However this figure appears to be in conflict with the figures shown in the draft Local Plan.

The draft Local plan showed only 17 homes being built on this (0.47 hectare) site

Council tenants unhappy with York Council as performance slips

Tenant satisfaction with the way that the Council runs its housing operation has fallen over the last year.

A report, produced by the newly-formed “Tenant Scrutiny Panel”, looks at how the council has performed in the previous 12 months.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

On most measures the Councils performance has declined.

• The number of tenants satisfied with repairs and maintenance fell from 85% to 82% while satisfaction with “the general condition of their home” fell from 83% to 81%.

• Only 55% of tenant adaptations were completed on time compared to 85% the previous year.

• Tenants satisfied with the standard of their new homes fell from 66% to 60%.

• There was an improvement in the time taken to relet empty properties although at 25 days this was worse than is achieved by several other Councils.

• Tenants satisfied with ”involvement in management & decisions” fell from 53% to 51%

• Tenants satisfied with” the outcome of their complaint” was only 34% compared to a target of 70%

• It took longer to remove graffiti.

• Nine out of 10 tenants responding to the Tenant Satisfaction Survey were satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live.

The results mirror the growing dissatisfaction levels revealed by the Councils more general “big survey” the results of which were revealed last month.

To view the full report click here

Late night economy consultation

City of York Council is inviting residents and visitors to share their experience of and thoughts on York’s evening and night time economy to support plans to improve its quality and long-term future.

This single consultation will feed into three cross-party council Overview and Scrutiny Committees and, as such, is the first to cover such a broad sweep of interests from leisure to business and the public realm. It will inform work to develop a vision of what the evening and night time economy in York might look like in five years time – to be called Yorkafter5.

Feedback will also add to that gathered from an earlier consultation on proposals for a late night levy and the impact of alcohol on the late night economy.

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Latest planning applications Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward. Full details can be found by clicking the application reference

Location: 3 Bannisdale York YO24 2YA

Proposal: Replacement roof to garage (Application to extend time period for implementation of permission 10/01813/FUL)

Ref No: 13/03277/FUL

Applicant: Brian Richardson Consultation Expiry Date 4 November 2013 Case Officer: Elizabeth Potter Expected Decision Level DEL
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Location: 27 Acomb Wood Close York YO24 2SN

Proposal: Crown lift to approx. 4m, Crown clean and Crown reduce OAK, (T1), Tree Protected by Tree Preservation Order No CYC81

Ref No: 13/03323/TPO

Applicant: Mrs D Horner Contact Jonathan Slight Consultation Expiry Date 4 November 2013 Case Officer: Esther Priestley Expected Decision Level D
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Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning on line web site. http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received.

£16 million owed to York Council

The Council has published a list of the outstanding amounts owed to it in each of the last 3 years.
Uncollected debts
The size of the debt shows an upward trend which could lead to cash flow problems if not reversed.

Although many of the debts will eventually be recovered, some will not.

There have been significant increases in the amounts owed on business rates, former tenant arrears and sundry debts.

In total the amounts owed have increased from £12 million to £16 million over a 3 year period.

Attendance at Dringhouses library falls

Overall use of York’s libraries fell by over 3000 last year.

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click to enlarge

However just over 1 million visits were recorded which is still above the average for City’s of a similar size.

Every Library in the City except Fulford showed a reduction.

The overall fall would have been even greater had it not been for the newly opened Rowntree Park library which attracted nearly 50,000 users. However the new library depended on a large number of special events to attract visitors and it is too early to judge its long term attractiveness.

Acomb Explore Library

Acomb Explore Library

It appears that the Council has taken its eye off the ball recently with the controversial plan to privatise the library service having apparently affected staff morale while at the same time monopolising senior management time.

Even Labour Party supporters are unhappy with this plan with one member taking the opportunity to speak against the proposals at the last Council meeting.

The concern is that Labour are trying to distance themselves from the library service before reducing the subsidy available (and thereby forcing closures).

The largest drop in numbers was at the Acomb Library. This may be because special events – such as evenings with prominent authors – have been fewer in number recently.

A plan to locate Council customer facing staff from the housing and neighbourhood teams at the library was scrapped by Labour when they took office in 2011. This made it more difficult for the building to become the “hub” for activities in the Acomb area.