Kings Square

The York Council’s Labour “Cabinet” is set to agree an additional £3.3 million increase in spending today. All of the money is to be spent in the City centre. http://tinyurl.com/3-million-York-plan
The programme is part of the Council’s so called “Reinvigorate York” programme which will eventually see the City’s debt increase by an estimated £20 million. Interest and repayments on this loan will leave residents with an extra £1.6 million a year to find. Much of it is expected to come from further cuts to front line services.

The decision comes at a time when the Council is facing a £6 million overspend on this years budget together with heavy criticism over its decision to cut home care support of 184 elderly residents. Ironically the Council will have to find £300,000 to pay for consultants to design the planned improvements. That is similar to the sum that is needed to continue the social care services which are set to be axed.

Graffiti display for tourist on river cruise

For a number of years the Council has (rightly) invested in a rolling programme of works aimed at improving the streetscape of the City. The last project to be completed was the paving of Library Square in 2011 and this was to be followed by improvements to Deangate, as part of the Minster Revealed project. The latter is running a little behind schedule but the next street to be pedestrianised and paved was due to be Fossgate.

Under the new plans Fossgate is pushed back and changes to Kings Square have been substituted. The 6 areas to be addressed over the next 2/3 years are:
1) Parliament Street (including Piccadilly/ Coppergate junction)
2) King’s Square
3) Exhibition Square/ St. Leonard’s Place/ Bootham Bar
4) Fossgate/ Pavement
5) Duncombe Place/ Blake Street
6) Micklegate

No figures have been provided for the costs of individual schemes. Officials acknowledge that work at the Parliament Street junction will be complex and no decision has yet been made on what will replace the old public toilet block (although the quality of street entertainment here has taken an upward step recently – http://youtu.be/s-_Ip_VJrLc)

The additional borrowing results from what should be a 4 or 5 year programme being compressed into just 30 months. An officer’s report on the project fails to produce a convincing business case for the investment. All that are quoted are case studies from wildly dissimilar towns and City’s which sought regeneration from a much lower base (and in most cases – because of unemployment levels – with the benefit of Regional and/or European funding).

With no measurable economic development targets identified, no one will ever know whether the investment was justified.

No money to repair verges in sub-urban York

What is clear is that sub-urban areas are being starved of resources with street level services in decline. Even the City centre environment is under pressure with graffiti on the increase – just the kind of image that will deter people from visiting the City.

So what should the Council do?

The improvement programme in the City centre should continue but at a pace that can be funded without recklessly increasing the City’s debt burden. Borrowing should be restricted to projects which generate a clear additional income stream for the Council and which can then be used to service debt charges.

The sub-urban areas should also receive investment with the aim being to generate pride in the whole of the City not just the area within the Bar Walls.

New guidance on what is acceptable in terms of extensions to properties in York has been published.

Many home extensions are completed under permitted development rights but the guidance will help those who are considering more major adaptations.

The final amended guidance agreed by a Council committee can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/York-Extensions

New rules regulating the sub-division of houses have been published by the Council.

The planning guidance says that sub-divided dwellings must:
* provide adequate internal space;
* are of a suitable layout;
* have acceptable amounts of internal and external storage space;
* have acceptable levels of facilities;
* do not have an adverse impact on the amenity of neighbouring residents;
* have acceptable access; and
* are designed and built to a high standard of sustainability.

The full document can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/sub-divide-York

Karen Maitland talks about her latest book, Falcon of Fire and Ice.

The best-selling author of the medieval thrillers, Company of Liars, Owl-Killers and The Gallows Curse. Karen also writes jointly with other authors for the Medieval Murderers novels. Join us to talk about her latest book Falcon of Fire and Ice amongst others. The medieval period was an age of power, passion, mischief and murder and Karen will be able to share with us some of its dark and wonderful secrets.

Cost £5.00 Book – http://tinyurl.com/Maitland-Evening

Discover over 700 years of history and how the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society was formed to restore York’s only surviving windmill to working condition. Acomb Explore, 5 September 6pm – 7pm.

This illustrated talk centres around Holgate Windmill itself, its history, the technology involved in milling and its subsequent restoration.

Richard Green and Helen Hoult have been involved in the restoration project since the beginning and will use their substantial knowledge of the windmill to explore the windmill’s past with some humour and surprises along the way.

Tickets cost £4, and are available through the Inspire website.

City of York Council and Yorwaste have teamed up to give local residents free compost this spring and summer.

Green fingered gardeners will be able to collect their free compost from Yorwaste’s Harewood Whin site, on Tinker Lane, off Wetherby Road on:

• Sunday 2 September
• Sunday 7 October

Liberal Democrat councillors have raised concerns over a projected £6 million overspend by Labour run City of York Council.

The revelation comes in the 2012-13 Performance and Finance Monitor Report which will be discussed at next week’s Cabinet Meeting. Figures show that the authority missed £1.4 million in savings targets last year while in this financial year £4.5 million of savings are now in doubt. Budget concerns include City and Environmental Services where £1.3 million of savings are slipping, Communities & Neighbourhoods where £963,000 of savings are under pressure, and Adults, Children and Education Services which is currently running £3.6 million over budget. In total the report highlights a current in-year overspend of £5.93 million.

Councillor Carol Runciman, Liberal Democrat Group Leader on City of York Council, commented:
“We are dealing with a Labour Cabinet that appears to have lost control of the Council’s finances. A £5.9 million overspend is deeply worrying. The savings that Labour promised in their February Budget are not being delivered while over £1 million in savings from last year have not yet been achieved. Their Budget made a number of saving assumptions without evidence or detailed plans and we are now seeing the folly of that approach.

“In this context it is frankly astonishing that the Labour Cabinet are still finding money for their pet projects and the Council Leader’s reckless spending. Next week the Cabinet will approve another £3.6 million for his city centre schemes while in our communities money for basic frontline services like bins, social care or potholes can not be found. Labour really do need to get a grip on things.”

The Council have issued a reminder about the new electoral register.

You can only vote in elections if your name is on the register of electors. If you are on the electoral register you can also apply to vote by post. You can apply to be added to the register (or removed from it) at any time. However it takes around 4 weeks for the register to be updated. Continue reading →

If you’re feeling inspired by the Olympics, then the Just 30 Fair is a great chance for you to try new sports and activities for free in York.

City of York Council will be hosting the sport and activities Just 30 Fair at Rowntree Park on Saturday 15 September, starting at 12noon to 5pm. Now in its fifth year the Fair will be bigger and better than ever, with over 30 stalls from local sports and activity clubs, sports demonstrations and family fitness classes.

The fair is a great chance for you and your family to come along and find out about all the excellent sports and health activities that take place in York. There will be a great range of things for you to try from volleyball to yoga, so there will be something for everyone to enjoy.

Continue reading →

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The York Council dealt with 688 reports of fly tipping during the last 6 months.

In addition 750 complaints about cleansing were recorded.

The figures, released by the Council, reveal that about 20% of issues were reported using the new “Smarter York” mobile phone “App”.

The App has been most used by those reporting Graffiti with 145 cases reported this way compare to 135 using more conventional methods such as the telephone.

However there is little evidence that the App has reduced the costs of dealing with complaints. The total number of issues raised is up on previous years. Nor is there any sign that, when reported, the issues are being addressed more quickly.

Indeed reports of graffiti on private land, in our experience, are often outstanding for months.

The investigation into the security of the mobile phone app by the Information Commissioners office is continuing.