Lendal Bodge – the unanswered questions

Lendal bridge - always been busy at 5;00pm

Lendal bridge – always been busy at 5;00pm

No matter how much Labour may spin their decision to scrap the access restrictions on Lendal bridge they still have a lot of questions to answer.

Around 80,000 motorists want to know when their unlawfully imposed fines will now be refunded?

Residents will want to know why the ANPR cameras were not turned off at the end of the trial period (28th February) ?

Why has there has been no announcement on the future of the Coppergate restrictions?

Who will take responsibility for the mistakes?

The Lendal Bridge restrictions will be removed this weekend.

Labour Councillors have made the decision tonight based on a report that has so far not been made public.

An all party inquiry into the shambles is promised.

It is also worth remembering the warnings that were given last summer and which Labour chose to ignore.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Keith Aspden commented;

“Labour were left with no choice but to reopen Lendal Bridge after the ruling from the Government Adjudicator last week. Even so this is an embarrassing U-Turn from a Labour Cabinet which has insisted all along that the closure is lawful and the restrictions were working.

 “It was a botched trial from the start which has made congestion worse and damaged local businesses. It is now time for the Cabinet Member and Leader to take responsibility and resign.

 “We also need urgent answers over whether the council will continue to use taxpayers money to fund its legal battle and whether it plans to repay the 53,000 plus motorists who were fined unlawfully.”

 

York Police update

Police appeal for witnesses after Marygate car park incident

York police are offering reassurance and appealing for information after two suspicious incidents in the city.

Incident 3

They occurred at around 5pm on Monday 7 April 2014, in the area of Marygate car park when two men claimed to be police officers.

They approached a woman and held her by the arm and told her that she was under arrest. When they were challenged by a passing member of the public, they let her go and headed towards Bootham. At around the same time the men approached a man and again claimed to be police officers.

More

Cyclist attacked in York

Police are appealing for witnesses after a cyclist was assaulted in York.

Incident 4

The victim, a 28-year-old local man, was cycling along Malton Road towards the junction with Muncastergate at around 8.40pm on Saturday 5 April 2014, when he spotted another cyclist coming towards him pulling wheelies.

The victim blew his horn as a warning to the other cyclist who came back and kicked his bike twice, knocking him to the ground, before riding of towards Heworth Green.

The victim suffered minor cuts in the incident.

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York speed camera locations

Mobile safety camera routes week commencing 9 April 2014

Below are the enforcement locations for North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety cameras for week commencing Wednesday 9 April 2014.

Safety camera van

The safety cameras are now more visible then ever before with each of the three vehicles bearing the same hi-vis livery as North Yorkshire Police’s marked vehicle fleet.

All safety camera locations are published on the force website along with an explanation of the various route types.

You can view the results of the safety camera enforcement activity on our web page Deployment and results. Up to date data for the previous  week is uploaded every Tuesday and can be interrogated by route and date ranges.

The mobile safety cameras will be in operation at the following sites at various times over the coming week. Cameras will not be in use all day, every day. The locations were accurate when this news release was produced.

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Lendal Bridge/Coppergate latest

 

Behind closed doors logo

The media are reporting that Labour Councillors will decide tonight whether or not to scrap the access restrictions on Lendal Bridge.

This may be so. They have to find a way out of the mess before they get embroiled in expensive legal proceedings and before the government is asked to step in and take action.

Labour operate a strict “whip” system. That means that whatever the majority of the Group decides everyone subsequently votes for the party line at committee and Council meetings. It also means that electors never actually find out what their representatives actually think of proposals!

There is talk of having a “Special Council Meeting” to discuss and determine the issue at some time over the next week.

Lovers of the theatre might appreciate such an event, but it is not strictly necessary.

The Lendal Bridge restrictions, at least, can be suspended immediately (as they should have been on 28th February) with a proposal to formally revoke the traffic order being approved at the next Cabinet meeting.

Coppergate

Coppergate

It was, after all, the cabinet that approved Dave Merrett’s report and proposal at its May 2013 meeting.

But getting to the bottom of what really went wrong will require a detailed, almost forensic, examination.

That is where the Councils all party scrutiny committees should be involved.

That would leave the tricky problem of Coppergate.

Although access restrictions are never popular with everyone, general traffic has been excluded from Coppergate for nearly two decades.

What Labour did a year ago was to extend the hours of operation of the ban and install ANPR cameras to enforce the new restrictions.

As we pointed out yesterday, Council officials had raised concerns in early 2013 about the plan but the changes were made anyway.

We doubt if the majority of residents would want to return to a day time  free for all on a narrow street like Coppergate, which lies in the heart of the central shopping area.

We suspect most citizens would however like to be consulted on options.

In the meantime the Council had better concentrate on finding ways of addressing the issues raised by the traffic adjudicator.

Free compost

The Council have published the following information on their web site.

We think that  the event on 6th July will be postponed for a week as it coincides with the Tour De France start.

“Compost Giveaway dates  2014

City of York Council and Yorwaste Ltd are giving away compost for free again this year.

2014 dates are confirmed as:

  • Sunday 1st June
  • Sunday 6th July (possibly postponed until 13th July)
  • Sunday 3rd August

The site will be open from 8am – 3pm on collection days. Please bring a shovel and suitable container to put the soil improver in.

Location: Harewood Whin (Yorwaste’s waste management site) Tinker Lane, off Wetherby Road, Rufforth

Directions: From Acomb, the site is located on the B1224 on the right hand side, just before you enter Rufforth Village.

If you need any further information please contact us on 01904 551551″

NB. The Council has been asked to confirm whether everyone who is supposed to have a green bins sticker has now received one. Some Council officials are saying that the stickers are only required  for “paid for” second bins while other say that every green bin needs a sticker if it is to be emptied. Apparently bins without a sticker won’t be emptied after the beginning of May.

So far 750 residents have paid £35 to have a second green bin placed on the emptying list.

Enjoy Farm Visits Safely

City of York Council’s Public Health Team has worked with Public Health England (PHE) to produce a factsheet that is being sent to all schools and Children’s Centres in York offering advice on good hand hygiene when visiting farm attractions.

All of the bacteria that can cause illnesses, including Salmonella and E. coli, live in the gut of the animals so people can get infected within the farm setting mainly in two ways – either by touching animals in the petting and feeding areas or by coming into contact with animal droppings on contaminated surfaces around the farm.

These harmful bacteria can get accidentally passed to your mouth by putting hands on faces or fingers in mouths before washing them thoroughly.

It only takes a small number of the bacteria to cause infection.

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Adoption Information Event

adoption

City of York Council is hosting one of its regular Information Events for anyone interested in finding out more about adoption next week (Monday 14 April).

The information events, which are help jointly with North Yorkshire County Council and East Riding Council, provide an informal opportunity to anyone interested in adoption to find out more about what’s involved.

The next information session will be held in York on Monday 14 April between 6.30 and 8.30pm. To book a place please call 01904 553525or email adoption@york.gov.uk

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Latest Planning applications Acomb and Westfield Wards

 Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Acomb Ward. No applications  for the  Westfield Ward were received  last week

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference

Acomb

Location:       18 Carr Lane York YO26 5HU

Proposal:       Two storey side and single storey rear extension

Ref No: 14/00691/FUL

Applicant:      Mr Sam Akers    Contact:        Miss Kate Fewson        Consultation Expiry Date:       28 April 2014Case Officer:   Carolyn Howarth Expected Decision Level:        DEL

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Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning on line web site.  http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

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

Lendal Bridge – Council appeal could take over 3 months to be determined

Lendal bridge notice

Sources within the Council have admitted that it is unlikely that the result of their appeal against the ruling of the Traffic Adjudicator on Lendal Bridge and Coppergate will be known for over 3 months.

This means that if a decision is – as planned – taken at the May cabinet meeting, on whether to make the restrictions on Lendal Bridge permanent, then Councillors will not know whether they could be legally enforced.

It also means that anyone driving on the roads at present – and for several weeks into the future – could not have PCNs enforced against them because they would be outside the 28 days time limit.