The Council has released details of its, preposterously, labelled “BIG” York Survey http://tinyurl.com/York-Council-big-survey. The survey, undertaken with a small sample of residents in the spring, replaced the 6 monthly “Talkabout” panel.

The Council received only 1117 replies. This contrasts with over 30,000 responses which were received following a door to door survey undertaken by the Liberal Democrats in 2009.

The biggest flaw in the Council’s survey of resident’s views was the absence of any attempt to test public opinion on controversial areas of policy.

So there were no questions about Council Tax levels and the amount of borrowing that residents felt it might be prudent for the Council to take on.

Also missing was any attempt to find out how much residents value the existing Green Belt boundaries (the top issue revealed by many surveys in the past) while another area of concern – facilities for teenagers – was also neglected.

Residents did, however, get the chance to give a verdict on the 60% cut in highways maintenance introduced by the Labour controlled Council earlier this year.

Repair of roads and footpaths was the second highest priority of the services listed coming narrowly behind dealing with traffic congestion.

One of the most important items, for making York a nice place to live, were clean streets while litter and dumping were the most mentioned issue in the crime section of the survey.

The survey was undertaken only days before York abandoned many of its street litter bins.

The Council is planning a big asset sell off.

Dressed up as an attempt to stimulate the building industry, a report being considered next week (http://tinyurl.com/York-big-sell-off) effectively suggests the same sort of discount sales policy which recently saw the Hungate site sold off for less than half of its value.

York Guildhall

Now Burnholme School, the former Manor School and the Guildhall are lined up for sale, with more of the City’s historic wealth – accumulated over centuries – set to go under the hammer over the next couple of years.

In some cases buildings with major maintenance liabilities will be offered to community groups, in the hope of getting them off the Councils books. However there is only so much that the voluntary sector can do. Many charitable organisations are very shrewd and are reluctant to comply when asked to pick up the bill for other peoples problems.

The lack of assets will mean the Council will be poorly placed to influence the economic prosperity of the City in the medium to long term.

No doubt by then the present Council Leadership will be hoping that they have secured employment elsewhere in the country….. leaving long term York residents to pick up the pieces of their extravagant policies.

Another bill for tens of thousands is on its way! The Council will employ consultants to undertake the big sell off.

We are asking householders to review their home security now that dark nights are with us once again.

The warning comes following a spate of burglaries including three in the Harrogate area, two in the Hambleton District and one in York in the last few days.

Detective Chief Inspector Heather Pearson who leads the force’s dedicated burglary team under Operation Haven, said: “With the dark nights now with us, it’s important that your security is as robust as possible. Before the cold weather sets in, there is still time to get outside and give your property a security overhaul to ensure your home, outbuildings and boundaries are as secure as possible.

“We see an increase in burglaries at this time of year and have introduced a dedicated team to help prevent and detect these crimes. However, we need householders to be security conscious and make sure they make life as hard as possible for criminals.”

Crime prevention measures range from the most basic and cost free to more expensive items such as tracking devices and alarm systems. Making sure you take even the most basic measures is essential.

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York is opening a new chapter in its housing services with its first ever guide for older people who are considering their housing options.

‘Positive Ageing – Housing Choices: the Older Person’s Guide to Housing Options’ aims to inspire and inform older people in the city about the range of housing options available to them.

The launch will take place as part of City of York Councils’ first ever Housing Week which aims to share best practice and promote innovation to meet the city’s housing challenges. It will take place on Friday 9 November 2012 from 10am – 1pm at Auden House, a sheltered accommodation scheme with extra care managed by York Housing Association and built at the heart of a £20 million project to replace nearly 100 post-war pre-fab bungalows with almost 200 high-quality mixed tenure homes constructed with partners including York Housing, City of York Council and Fabrick.
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