The Council is planning to introduce new restrictions which will affect the following roads

• Field View/Haughton Road,

• 48-54 Clifton.

Details of the plan can be found by clicking here.

Traffic orders will now be published and residents will have a limited period to record any formal objections to the changes.

The Council Leader James Alexander has been quoted in a radio interview as saying that one of the objectives of the new Local Plan building allocations (1090 new houses per year) is to “stabilise house valuations in York”.

We have news for him.

House values have been “stable” in York for over 4 years now.

In the last 5 years prices in the YO1 post code area have actually fallen by 14%.

They are down by 1% during the last 12 months.

One St Stephens Road property – bought for £135,000 on 15th August 2012 – sold on 13th Feb 2013 for only £120,000. A drop in value of 11% in less than a year. Click here for more examples

Indeed, immediately after the Labour government presided over the collapse of the UK economy, many York home owners saw the value of their property decrease.

House price trends in York

It means that those who bought in the middle of the last decade are already in a position where their homes are worth less than they paid for them.

Around 10% owe more on their mortgages than the current value of their homes. They are effectively trapped in what is known as “negative equity”.

Labours plan is to unleash a glut of cheap(er) new property on the market. That means a further tumble in the value of existing homes. It means more people being unable to move because they cannot pay off their existing mortgages.

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Ann Reid is supporting a Liberal Democrat petition against plans to use draft green belt land to build 22,0000 houses on in York. It can be found here: www.yorklibdems.org.uk/saveourgreenbelt.

The plans, first announced last week, would see almost 22,000 new houses built over the next 15 years, including on draft green belt sites across the City. The 1,090 house-a-year expansion would see a projected population growth of 40,000, almost 650 hectares of land developed on 62 sites and a new 5,500 ’Holme Hill’ development between Heslington Village and Elvington.

The ‘Save Our Green Belt’ petition was launched in Dunnington over the weekend. The village is earmarked for three major developments of nearly 150 houses.

Further information can be found here: http://www.york.gov.uk/info/200396/planning_policy/795/new_local_plan_for_york

The coalition government has implemented its ban on excessive surcharges for credit and debit card payments. The ban comes following a Which? campaign for an end to ‘rip off’ surcharges.

If consumers find examples of excessive surcharges, Which? asks that they report the companies in question via its quick and simple tool.

Charges for paying by debit card should not be anymore than around 20 pence – and should ideally be free.

Credit card charges should be no more than around 2%.

Any companies found breaking the rules will be reported to Trading Standards.

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Nearly £22 million will be spent on improving transport in the City over the next 12 months.

The vast majority of the funding will come from central government and includes the work at 2 new park and ride sites.

Another government funded programme is aimed at helping cyclists and pedestrians, while the area bus fund could see more “off bus” ticket sales.

There is no mention in the programme of any contribution towards cashless ticketing on public transport in the City.

The full programme can be seen by clicking here

The plan does little to help suburban areas and even aging bus stop infrastructure faces further neglect.

However another £430,000 is to be spent on what seems to be an endless reorganisation of bus stops at the railway station.

£300,000 is allocated for the introduction of the unnecessary 20 mph speed limit in west York. Over 80% of residents in the area continue to oppose this plan.

Meanwhile road safety improvement expenditure is at an all time low of £150,000.

Labour Councillors will reveal the changes that they intend to make to local speed limits at a public meeting which will take place at Dringhouses Primary School on Thursday, May 2.

The meeting starts at 7:30pm

The Police revealed recently that they would expect any 20 mph limit to be “self enforcing”.

Planners are being asked on Thursday to approve the use of part of little Stonegate for an outdoor café.

It follows a decision to convert 3 Little Stonegate into a “drinking establishment/restaurant”.

There are cafes/bars to each side of the application site which already have permission for pavement cafes (Bobo Lobo and Kennedys).

For details of the proposal click here

Hopefully the applicants know something more about our likely summer weather than the rest of the population

The Council Leader has now confirmed in writing that the “toy bus” is continuing its programme of visits around the City!

The answer to a question, tabled at the last Council meeting, has now been published.

To the Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Young People from Cllr Aspden:
“Labour’s Budget included plans to scrap the Toy Library Bus in 2014/15. In a recent letter to the Council concerned parents said that “To lose this wonderful resource would be to the detriment of young learners’ creative development in the York area.” Will the Cabinet Member listen to these concerns and rethink this cut?”

Cllr Alexander
“We are consulting with users of the Toy Library after Easter about ways of continuing to provide the service in the light of the Bus itself no longer being fit to continue in service for much longer. It is possible that we could provide the service through Children’s Centres – which now have a much wider reach than when the Toy Bus was originally commissioned. We are open to other ideas and suggestions and will listen to views, but the costs of replacing the actual bus are prohibitive. While consultations take place the Toy Bus will continue while we consider other options.”

The answer will come as a surprise to several mothers who queued expectantly at the usual Toy Bus destination stop in Westfield earlier in the month.

It was nowhere to be seen.

The Council has now belatedly updated its web site. Click here to see the latest Toy Bus timetable which is reinstated from 15thApril (for 2 weeks only)

No visits to the Westfield, Acomb or Dringhouses wards are included in the programme.

The Councils Health Board is set to agree a Health Strategy document for the City next Wednesday.

The Health and Wellbeing Strategy focuses on the following five priorities:

1. Making York a great place for older people to live
2. Reducing health inequalities
3. Improving mental health and intervening early
4. Enabling all children and young people to have the best start in life
5. Creating a financially sustainable local health and wellbeing system

A copy of the strategy can be read by clicking here.

click to enlarge

Details are beginning to emerge of Labours attack on the (draft) York Green belt boundaries.

The full reports can be read by clicking here

We forecast this possibility last week but never guessed at the the scale of the attack.

They have revived their idea of building on the land which lies next to Moor Lane.

Apparently they plan to build on 640 hectares of land; much of this will be at green field sites.

They have quoted a (laughable) figure of 1090 new homes built each year with a total new build of 22,000.

That is twice the size of Huntington and Haxby combined or 20 times the size of Copmanthorpe!

Annual house building rates in York are currently below 300 a year.

This isn’t because of a limited supply of building land.

Thousands of potential homes could be built at previously developed sites like British Sugar, York Central, Nestle South and Terry’s not to mention other sites with planning permission such as Germany Beck and Derwenthorpe.

It has more to do with mortgage availability and onerous planning conditions.

The release of huge amounts of green belt land for building is likely to depress land values but it will also depress the value of existing homes leaving many ordinary people with “negative equity” problems.

And the effect on public services would be devastating. The City’s roads are already crumbling. Flooding and poor drainage cause chaos in the City. Many schools have limited spare space. The health service is under pressure.

Nor would it do much to help the affordable housing problem. The Council would be fortunate to get a 25% “affordable” contribution from these (privately owned) new sites .

There are over 4500 people on the housing waiting list although most are living in overcrowded accommodation (so they would free up a property for a smaller family when they move on).

A huge indiscriminate increase in the availability of empty houses would simply mean the City would – towards the end of the 15 year plan period – have to accommodate more inward migration.

It could become a dormitory town for Leeds.

But perhaps that is part of Labours real plan.

Over the next few days we will publish an analysis of the Labours building proposals and impact that they could have on our City and on local communities.