20’s plenty campaign – private correspondence revealed by Council

Copies of Emails between Councillors and officials in York – exchanged in the run up to the launch of the wide area 20 mph speed limits in west York last year – have been published by the Council.20 mph sign

The exchange of Emails can be viewed by clicking here and here

The project cost £600,000 to implement

The correspondence includes a request from Cllr Anna Semlyen for the use of a police radar speed gun (!)

This was the same Labour Councillor who argued that 20 mph speed limits should be introduced without consultation with residents.

Subsequently, as we now know, the new limits have had no effect on traffic speeds.

Dog fouling problems continue in York but……

…..York council only issues 3 penalty notices during last 3 years.dog_warden

Residents responding to our door to door survey told us that they were concerned about the amount of dog fouling in their area.

Overall 35% of respondents said it was an issue in their street.

Now a Freedom of information request has revealed that very little is being done by the Council to enforce dog fouling laws. The number of dog fouling fixed penalty notices issued have been:

2009 – 2010 2 issued

2010 – 2011 0 issued

2011 – 2012 0 issued

2012 – 2013 1 issued

2013 – 2014 2 issued

 

This seems very low to us.

There is a case for bringing back the dedicated dog warden service.

 

Council still spending £30,000 a year on empty elderly persons home

Call to reallocate money to save mid day meals for elderly

Oliver House York

Oliver House – the former old people’s home in Bishophill – is still standing empty.

It has now been empty for 30 months following the closure of the home in April 2012.

A sale would mean that, not only will the Council no longer be responsible for the £30,000 annual maintenance and rates costs, but a substantial capital receipt of over £500,000 could be expected.

In December 2013, the Council finally decided to put the property on the market. With the recession easing it was expected that the prime site would quickly be snapped up by housing developers.

However we understand that it could be another month before offers are finally invited.

Meanwhile the Councils decision to cease the mid day meal services for residents living in some of its sheltered housing units continues to attract criticism.

The council says that it needs to save £50,000 a year on the service.

It seems that it has a ready solution to its budget problems.

However, prompt action is now needed.

York Council tenants show concerns in secret report

Only 49% now satisfied with tenants choice modernisation work

Behind closed doors logo

The annual report into satisfaction with York Council services has shown some growing concerns amongst York Council tenants.

The report was considered at yet another behind closed doors meeting last week

While on most activities performance has been consistent over the years there are areas of growing concern.

  • Tenant’s choice satisfaction with modernisation work was down from 76% to only 49%.
  • Only 44% of tenants who complained said that they were satisfied with the final outcome
  • Satisfaction with the Council “listening to tenant’s views and acting on them” fell from 67% in 2012 to 62% last year
Garage areas neglected

Garage areas neglected

The biggest concern remains the condition of local estates with tenants increasingly critical of the appearance and state of repair of local neighbourhood and communal areas.

Garage areas are poorly maintained, many verges are damaged and gutters are overgrown with weeds.

The Council is apparently going to appoint a private contractor to clean the communal areas of flats leaving the estate workers to concentrate on litter removal and general maintenance. Tenant satisfaction with garden care (also contracted to the private sector) has attracted many complaints this year.

However, overall, there was some good news for the Council with 87% saying they were satisfied with the service provide down only 1% from the previous year,