A £1.6 million Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant will create a new home for the internationally-important city archive.

The ‘Gateway to History’ project will refurbish the first floor of York Explore Library Learning Centre into the new home for York’s archives, including a new archive storage vault built to 21st century conservation standards.

The project will reach out to communities across the city to get them involved in adding their stories to the 850 years of documents already preserved in the archive which records all aspects of the city’s history from complaints about mediaeval prostitutes, the city’s reaction to the death of Richard III, the growing influence of railways and the Rowntree family on the Victorian city to the defence of York in the Second World War.

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In addition to free City centre car parking, 3 of the City’s park and ride sites will be operating on Boxing Day

Three Park & Ride services will operate on Boxing Day, including:

• Askham Bar (route 3) – First bus at 7am from the site, last bus back from Tower Street at 6.42pm
• Designer Outlet (route 7) – First bus at 7am from the site, last bus back from Rougier Street at 6.42pm
• Monks Cross (route 9) – First bus at 7am from the site, last bus back from Rougier Street at 6.43pm

All three services will operate at a 15 minute frequency throughout the day and will be FREE for all passengers (and will stop at all usual stops along the route).

For more information about Park & Rides over Christmas and New Year visit www.york.gov.uk/transport or www.itravelyork.info

Police are warning that they are prepared to arrest more motorists than ever before during this year’s festive drink and drug drive campaign as people continue to ignore warnings.

Officers have arrested 43 people since the Christmas crackdown began on 1 December, despite repeated warnings about the potential dangers and possible repercussions linked to drink and drug driving.

Police have been out in force on the roads of North Yorkshire and the City of York since the campaign began and have breathalysed 1597 motorists.

Of the 43 motorists arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving so far, 21 have been charged and face losing their licences before the year is out.

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North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 12 December and Tuesday 18 December 2012.

•A64 east-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•B1228 Main Street, Elvington, York
•B1228 Dunnington Lodge, Elvington, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•A64 west-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•A64 Malton by-pass Malton east and west-bound
•A64 Seamer by-pass Scarborough
•A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough
•A64 Between Whitwell Hill and Barton Hill
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The Planning committee scheduled for 20th December is being recommended to give permission for 86 new homes to be built at Huntington on land near Brecks Lane.

The proposed development consists of 13 two-bedroom houses, 40 three bedroom houses, and 34 four-bedroom houses. This contains a mix of detached, semi-detached and short rows of terraced housing.

The majority of houses are two storey in height with six houses being two and a half storey with rooms in the roof space.

Of the 87 houses proposed the applicant is offering for 30 of these to be “affordable”. The tenure split is 19 for affordable rent and 11 for discounted sale

Full details here: http://tinyurl.com/Planning-20th-Dec

The Council has to respect the legislation passed by the last government. One of the rights it gives is for Councillors to ask questions of those holding Cabinet/Executive responsibilities.

So at Thursday’s Council meeting around 50 questions have been tabled. Although some are mundane, others could provide information which could be of interest to residents. Some examples:

• EMPTY SHOPS “What proportion of retail and office space is currently empty in each of the City’s sub-urban wards and how does this compare to the City Centre? How much of the “Innovation & Delivery Fund” and the “Economic Infrastructure Fund” does the Cabinet Leader intend to allocate to regeneration initiatives in sub-urban employment centres such as Acomb Front Street?”

• COUNCIL HQ COSTS “Why is the Council purchasing 2405 new seats for the new Council offices when fewer than 1000 staff and visitors are likely to be in the building at any one time?” “What proportion of the furniture at the new HQ will be reused units from the existing offices?”

• CHARGES FOR SPORTS “Following the latest Cabinet decisions, the level of concessionary charges for pensioners playing bowls on public greens will have doubled since Labour took over the leadership of the Council 18 months ago. How many concessionary tickets for this activity have been sold in each of the last 2 years, how much income has this produced for the Council and what are the forecast sales for 2013?”

• CHARGES FOR SPORTS “In September the Cabinet promised to build on the legacy of the Olympics and improve sports participation in York. How does this fit with the plans to increase tennis court charges by 16.7% and 33% for concessions?”

• CARE VILLAGE DELAYS “The Cabinet agreed an April 2014 completion date for the new ‘Care Village’ which is to be built on the former Lowfields School site. When does the Cabinet Member now expect the new Lowfields Care Village will be completed and available for occupation? What are the reasons for any delay?”

• HOUSING WAITING LIST “How many people were registered on the housing waiting list in York when:
– The Cabinet Member took up post
– At the end of November 2012
How many additional social housing units have been occupied, and how many “new starts” on affordable housing units have been made, over the same period of time?”

• WONDERLAND “Following 2012’s ‘Illuminating York’ debacle, will the Cabinet Member assure the council that the 2013 event will revert to its previous successful format?”

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The Stop Loan Sharks Project, which is supported by City of York Council, is cracking down on illegal doorstep lending this Christmas. Through enforcement action, education and raising awareness the scheme aims to put an end to this crime and encourage the public to celebrate the season without turning to an illegal money lender.

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Tang Hall area has been selected as a Big Local Area to have £1 million over ten years being allocated by the Big Lottery Fund.
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Energise – the leisure centre on Cornlands Road – would like to set up an ‘Energise Customer Forum’ which will allow Energise customers to have an input into the daily operations of Energise.

The idea is to discuss key areas of the building and sessions that will allow Energise to continually improve its service and facilities.

If you are interested in getting involved please email energise@york.gov.uk to register your interest.

York Police have published a statement saying, “We are pleased to announce the launch of a Police Community Support Officer recruitment campaign.

Salary: £18,721 – £20,734 plus shift and weekend working allowance

As one of our PCSOs you will make a real difference to your local community and contribute to making North Yorkshire a safer place for everyone.

As a member of the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team, you will work closely with local residents and businesses, being visible, engaging and proactive in tackling those issues that matter to our communities.

You will be self motivated, committed to delivering excellent customer service and a team player who can work effectively in teams within North Yorkshire Police as well as with partners and community groups.

We are seeking people who are first class communicators, proven problem solvers with high levels of personal resilience and a desire to make a difference in local communities. Successful candidates will receive ongoing training and support.

We are looking for community focused people to join us at North Yorkshire Police and would welcome applications from all members of the community. Posts are available in forcewide locations, however we are in particular seeking recruits for Scarborough and the East Coast.

To apply, complete the PCSO online application form. http://tinyurl.com/PCSO-application The closing date is 4pm on Monday 31 December 2012.

Join in with the web chat on Wednesday 12 December 2012 from 6pm to 7pm to find out more information about the role of a PCSO, the recruitment and training process.

http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/pcso