The Council’s ruling Labour “Cabinet” have tonight agreed to impose a £35 a year annual charge on residents who have a second green – garden waste – bin.

They have also decided to cut the hours of operation of the Towthorpe recycling site

A large petition was collected opposing the charging plan.

It is unclear how long it will be before the bills start to arrive through the letterboxes of the 3500 customers who together have around 5000 “additional” green bins.

Many could choose to give up the extra bins and use their grey bins instead.

As we saw with the closure of the Beckfield Lane site, everyone loses if the Council is faced with higher landfill charges.

To this should be added the 2370 tones of green waste generated in the winter months which will also not now be collected.

The Council’s “Cabinet” agreed to the plan to cut back on resident participation in decision making, as we predicted earlier today

Funding will continue to be available for major adaptations that help more people stay independent and safe in their own homes for longer.

£615,000 will be available over the next year to offer discretionary assistance for disabled customers who need financial help to adapt their home.

Grants are generally means tested – exceptions are made for families with disabled children– meaning that support and advice is offered to the most vulnerable residents.

The funding will benefit disabled people who live in homes they own or rent privately, by improving facilities to support their independence.

This includes installing home adaptations such as level access showers and home access ramps of which the City funds over 170 a year across the city.

The continuation of funding shows a commitment to supporting vulnerable residents across the city and the effect of these adaptations.

Recent feedback showed that 100% of people who had them installed said that the aids met their needs and improved their quality of life.

The funding complement s other schemes which enable the provision of minor adaptations such as grabrails and handrails – of which between 1,800 and 2,000 are installed every year – and which are quick and easy to fit and help disabled people feel safer.

Another private meeting has been added to the Councils web site.

Below is the latest list of planning applications received by the York Council for the Westfield area. Full details can be found by quoting the application reference on the “planning portal” web site. Click here.

Representations can also be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the planning portal.

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received.

Ref No: 13/00661/FUL Location: 11 Thornwood Covert York YO24 3LF Proposal: Two storey side extension with dormers to front and rear (resubmission) Applicant: Mr Mark Kelly Contact M T S Architectural Services Consultation Expiry Date 23 April 2013 Case Officer: Heather Fairy (Mon – Wed) Expected Decision DEL

Meanwhile the planning decisions taken by officers and Councillors in York are being increasingly criticised when appeals are considered.

Click to enlarge

The table (left) shows that between 1st January and 31st March 2013, a total of 16 appeals relating to CYC decisions were determined by the Inspectorate.

Of those, 6 were allowed. At 37.5%, the rate of appeals is higher than the 33% national annual average.

By comparison, for the same period last year, 4 out of 17 appeals were allowed, i.e. 23.53%

For the full year between 1st April 2012 and 31st March 2013, CYC performance was 43.55% allowed, higher than the previously reported 12 month period of 39.60%

A list of appeal decisions can be found by clicking here

A list of outstanding appeals can be found by clicking here.

£19,000 was allocated to be spent during the last financial year by the Council in “deprived” wards.

The Council’s web site describes the fund as being;

“ designed to be used to commission new services, either from within the Council or from other partners / sectors, to deliver on priorities identified in wards with the highest levels of deprivation. In line with the Financial Inclusion Strategy the credits pot has been distributed to Acomb, Clifton, Heworth, Hull Road and Westfield to supplement the ward budgets”.

No one has any idea what this money was spent on.

No residents were consulted about its use.

The Council is likely to abandon today one of the key opportunities available for local residents to influence their communities.

Ward Committee meetings are likely to be consigned to history. Instead residents who wish to question the Councils policies at local level will have only an annual forum meeting to attend.

Vandalised cycle stands in Front Street

The agendas for these meetings will not have a “have your say” section. As a result resident participation will be so restricted it is unlikely that anyone will bother to attend.

Although ward committee meeting attendance numbers have varied, the election of Labour Councillors in some wards has led a bizarre range of meeting times and venues – more or less guaranteeing that there would be low participation levels. The next meeting in the Westfield ward for example is scheduled for a 10:00am start. The last meeting took place nearly 6 months ago on a Thursday afternoon.

Litter in local snickets

The lack of meetings is likely to be of less concern than the loss of the Ward Committee budgets which were used to address priorities voted on by local residents. The annual ballot has been scrapped. A very small budget (only 15% of the amount budgeted in 2010) will be available although it will be allocated by local Councillors without a ballot of residents views.

Rather than being spent directly on tangible improvements (such as off street car parking) “local voluntary groups” will be commissioned to do the work. If there are no local bodies with the skills or capacity to complete projects then they simply won’t get done.

There are hidden threats in the new process. The Council talks about local groups “taking on” local assets. This means the Council abandoning its responsibilities and handing community centres and other public facilities over to local volunteers. It is a cost cutting exercise, which is likely to result in the closure of facilities.

The decision to scrap ward committees is due to be taken at a meeting later today

Overgrown hedges ignored by Council

The new process involves a refresh of “community contracts” which have been in place in York for the last 15 years. They are largely anodyne documents which are too inflexible to address the real concerns of local residents. They notably fail to include objective measures by which service quality and performance can be judged.

Ironically, a separate Council committee also meets this week called the “community engagement task group”.

Set up to consider ways of involving residents in the democratic process, its interim report praises the participation of residents in setting local budgets

Ironically it is that resident participation which is now being jettisoned by the Council’s “Cabinet”