The Council will decide on Tuesday 4th December whether or not to reinstate the 320 litter bins that it removed from York’s streets in the summer.

Petitions collected by the Liberal Democrats and residents living in Dunnington have prompted the review.

Papers for the meeting (click here http://tinyurl.com/York-Litter-4th-Dec-12 ) suggest that the Labour Councillor who will make the decision does not view avoiding litter as a major concern.

He is pictured left pretending to road test a new £10,000 street sweeper made necessary by the increasing amounts of rubbish being dropped on City centre streets.

Front Street litter

The situation is worse in sub-urban areas like Front Street and Dijon Avenue.

The Council says that it has reinstated or relocated 17 bins but that is a drop in the ocean compared to the demand for improvements.

The 4 changes in the Dringhouses Ward affect St Helens Road, Tadcaster Road and Eason View.

See following table for details of the changes that have been agreed.

List of changes made to bin provision

City of York Council is advising pedestrians and cyclists that there will be restricted access alongside York Minster from next week.

As part of the York Minster Revealed restoration and conservation project, in partnership with City of York Council, restricted access will be in place in the vicinity of the South Transept/Minster Gates from Monday 26 November to end of January 2013.

Deangate works starting

The council is supporting the restoration works, which is the largest restoration and conservation project of its kind in the UK. The project will transform York Minster as a visitor attraction whilst conserving its world-class stonework and stained glass for generations to come.

The five-year project is generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and is scheduled for completion in early summer 2016.

Temporary traffic management, including signage, will be in place from Monday to advise pedestrians and cyclists that there will be restricted access on Deangate.

The project ties into the Reinvigorate York initiative to improve and enhance the quality of the city’s public spaces.

For more information visit www.yorkminsterrevealed.org

Come and treat yourself or pick up some special seasonal gifts at a Christmas craft fair.

Acomb Explore Library Learning Centre will be holding a Christmas craft fair on Saturday 24 November from 9am until 2:00pm.

At both events, there will be a wide range of stallholders selling all kinds of handmade items, such as knitted, felt and wooden crafts, paintings, jewellery and greetings cards.

After a spot of shopping the cafes at both centres will be offering with a ten per cent discount on a wide selection of freshly-cooked food.

A national campaign launched yesterday warns UK investors they risk falling victim to thousands of pounds worth of fraud if they fail to take simple steps to check who they’re investing with.

A national campaign launched today warns UK investors they risk falling victim to thousands of pounds worth of fraud if they fail to take simple steps to check who they’re investing with.

The campaign, led by Action Fraud, the national fraud and internet crime reporting centre estimates that £1.2 billion is lost nationally to investment fraud every year.

Figures collected as part of the nationwide campaign show that almost half (49%) of the men surveyed aged 36+ (a group most likely to have made investments), admit to having given out personal details before checking the credentials of the person who contacted them and only 57% are confident they can tell the difference between fraudulent and genuine offers.

More here: http://tinyurl.com/Fraud-in-York

National distribution of cuts

A study by the Newcastle Council has revealed that York has fared relatively well over the last 2 years when comparing reductions in government grant support it receives.

York suffered a £42.58 per head of population reduction compared to the national average of £60.90.

The largest cut was in Hackney which lost £266.17 per person.

The Guardian has undertaken an independent review of the data http://tinyurl.com/York-grant-data

The results of the assessment tend to support the view that it is the local Council Leadership in York that is mainly to blame for the decline in local public services.

Their concentration on “vanity” projects and PR stunts, rather than investing in street level public services, is the most contentious issue between the political parties in the City.

Cut in grant to York Council

York’s nationally important city archives, curated by City of York Council, will be moving to York Explore Library Learning Centre in 2013.

Ahead of that, the archives must relocate from their current stores in the City Art Gallery to allow for the Gallery’s major redevelopment by York Museums Trust. The archives will be temporarily relocated to secure off-site storage to protect them from the damage which would occur if they remained in the Art Gallery during its refurbishment. This will unfortunately require a temporary suspension of public access to the original archives from 1 February 2013. However, whilst the archives are in storage, the existing local history library service at York Explore will still be available, including copies of some of the archives on microfilm and in published form.

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City of York Council and First have been shortlisted for a national award, with the chance of winning thousands of pounds to support sustainable travel in the city.

The list of candidates shortlisted in the 2013 Eurostar Ashden Awards for Sustainable Travel was announced yesterday.

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An electronic petition is being collected in support of a return to annual elections for the York Council. It can be found here http://tinyurl.com/Annual-elections-petition

In support of the petition the organisers point out that until 1995, annual Council elections took place in York.

One third of the Council was elected each year.

Each Councillor served for 4 years (County Council elections took place on the fourth year; although that would no longer apply to York as it is now a Unitary – all purpose – Authority).

This system continues in use in many Councils up and down the country.

The advantages of annual elections include:

• The ability of the electorate to hold to account, on a regular basis, those who spend taxpayers money

• Avoiding dramatic changes to the political make up of the Council avoiding periods of indecision as large numbers of new Councillors build up experience

• Acting as a pressure on the Councils leadership to be sensitive to public opinion on an ongoing basis

The Boundary Commission is asking for views on the reintroduction of annual elections as part of its current review of Ward Boundaries in the City which is scheduled to be completed by 14th January 2013.

This petition asks the current York Council to support the reintroduction of annual elections.

Representations on election frequency and ward boundaries can also be made direct to the Boundary Commission by clicking here: http://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/yorkshire-and-humberside/north-yorkshire/city-of-york-fer

North Yorkshire Police haven’t published a list of mobile speed camera locations this week. Ironically, perhaps, they say that they are however supporting a road safety week organised by a speed reduction charity.

“The 95 Alive York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership is supporting this year’s Brake Road Safety Week, from 19th to 25th November 2012. This year’s theme is “Slower Speeds = Happy People!”

By easing off the accelerator, drivers can give themselves that extra few seconds to see other road users and plenty of time to react if needed.

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A key council committee that scrutinises policies on the elderly, disabled, and vulnerable is being “effectively abolished” according to Liberal Democrat Councillors.

Council Leader downgrades vulnerable groups status

Under changes being introduced by the Labour Cabinet, the ‘Equality Advisory Group’ will see informal meetings replace regular formal committees and opposition councillors will be banned from sitting on the body. The EAG’s role is to advise the Labour Cabinet on policies affecting vulnerable groups and on equality and diversity issues. The EAG is made up of councillors and representatives from groups including the York Older People’s Assembly and the York Racial Equality Network. The changes were rubber-stamped by the Labour Cabinet earlier this month and are scheduled to come into effect in January.

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