Acomb Wood Drive footpath repairs start on Monday

Acomb Wood drive. click to enlarge

Residents will have a rare opportunity to see a footpath being reconstructed when work starts on Acomb Wood Drive on 7th May (see right).

The work consists of excavating the current surfacing and replacing with two new layers of tarmac.

The Contractor carrying out the work will be City of York Council’s Highways department which will be working between 8.00am and 4.00pm Monday to Friday.

It is the only street in the Westfield Ward which is likely to be reconstructed this year following the Labour Councils decision to cut the road repairs budget by 56%.

North Yorkshire Police mobile safety (speed) camera routes 2 – 8 May 2012

North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 2 May and Tuesday 8 May 2012.

•A64 east-bound carriageway Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•A64 west-bound carriageway, Bowbridge Farm, Tadcaster
•Broadway, Fulford, York
•Murton Way, Muton, York
•Fordlands Road, Fulford, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•B1222 Naburn lane, York
•B1228 Main Street, Elvington, York
•B1228 Dunnington Lodge, Elvington, York
•A64 Malton by-pass Malton east and westbound
•A64 Seamer by-pass, Scarborough
•A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough
(more…)

NHS Direct telephone number to change to 111 next year

NHS 111 is a new telephone based service for patients that will be available throughout the country no later than 1st April 2013.

Plans are in place to ensure that NHS 111 will be available in North Yorkshire and York, along with other areas of the country, no later than 1 April 2013.

The service is being introduced to support access to urgent and emergency healthcare and ensure patients are seen by a service most appropriate for their needs.

It will replace the existing NHS Direct telephone number.

(more…)

Lib Dems question information given over Beckfield Lane Closure

Towthorpe Recycling centre steps

The fallout from the closure of the Beckfield Lane Waste and Recycling Centre continues as the Liberal Democrats question information given by Labour Cabinet Member, Dafydd Williams.

At last week’s Extraordinary Council, Labour justified the unpopular axing of Beckfield Lane by arguing it was earmarked for closure because it was less accessible (for people with disabilities) than the two other sites in York, Towthorpe and Hazel Court.

Coun Williams, Labour Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhood Services, lauded the accessibility of the Towthorpe site by claiming that it only had steps leading to one skip, the landfill skip. In fact as pictures below show, there are steps leading to other skips at the site including for wood and garden waste. Liberal Democrat Councillors are today demanding that Coun Williams clarifies and if necessary withdraws his remarks.

Coun Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Communities and Neighbourhood, commented:

“It is clear that the Labour Cabinet Member gave misleading and inaccurate information during the debate on the closure of the Beckfield Lane site. A key pillar of Labour’s argument was that Beckfield should close because it was not accessible due to steps leading to the skips. Coun Williams compared it to the other sites in York and claimed Towthorpe was accessible and should stay open because there were only steps to one skip at the site. This simply isn’t true and undermines Labour’s argument for closure.

“I am writing to Coun Williams to ask him to clarify and if necessary withdrawal his remarks; however, there is a wider point. If a Cabinet Member has misled, deliberately or not, councillors during a debate should the subsequent vote stand? Clearly, Labour members voted through this proposal based on false information.”