Where the skips are on Saturday

The skips below are funded by your local residents association using their Estate Improvement Grant. The skips are removed once they are full so please make sure you arrive in good time if you intend to make use of them.

1. Please remember to take your waste to the site only on the dates advertised

2. If the skip is full or not on the site, please do not leave your waste. This is classed as fly tipping and is illegal

3. Bulky items including furniture, fridges and freezers are not accepted. To arrange disposal of Bulky items including furniture, fridges and freezers are not accepted. To arrange disposal of one of these items please ring York (01904) 551551.

Click the following links for more information

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Initial York highways resurfacing programme for next year published

The York Council has published it initial programme of resurfacing works for the forthcoming financial year.

Click to enlarge

The carriageway programme can be seen by clicking here The footpath programme can be viewed here

Alternatively click on the graphic right to see a ward by ward analysis.

Not a lot of work is scheduled for the west of the city although the bulk of the programme will not be revealed until the Council has completed its budget for next year in February. The current £2 million programme would normally be supplemented by another £4 million worth of schemes when the dust has settled.

Nevertheless there are some worrying omissions.

In the Westfield ward only a tiny footpath resurfacing scheme in Kempton Close is included.

Most residents expect major highways repairs to be necessary on the Kingsway West/Windsor Garth loop following damaged caused by vehicles accessing the new Our Lady’s redevelopment site. There is no sign of such a commitment

Residents living in the terraced area around Gladstone Street will also be disappointed to have been missed from the initial list. The streets are long overdue for resurfacing. They really need to be sorted out as part of a regeneration scheme for the whole of that part of Acomb.

IVF treatment re-introduced in York

In Vitro Fertilisation services in the Vale of York

On Thursday 4 December 2104, NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) Governing Body formally confirmed the go ahead for plans to provide IVF to couples in the Vale of York. To read more about the CCG’s Governing Body’s decision click here.

The Governing Body agreed to implement a policy of immediate access to one cycle of IVF for individuals that meet the following criteria.
•Female age: 23 – 39 years old (at the time of treatment);
•Female BMI: 19 to 29 female for six months prior to a referral;
•Smoking status: Non-smoking couple for six months prior to a referral;
•Existing children: To not have living or adopted children;
•Relationship: To be in a stable relationship for at least two years;
•Other criteria:
•To have had regular unprotected intercourse (attempts to conceive) for at least two years prior to referral within the same stable relationship;
•Based upon previous treatment history.

The policy reflects the latest guidelines from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

Careful consideration will be given to previously eligible couples currently seeking IVF services. To ensure this process is fair and as effective as possible, the CCG is working closely with local Assisted Conception Units to develop a pathway into services.

No new approach from Labour in York

Those looking for a change of approach from the “new” Labour leadership on the York Council will be disappointed by the content of reports being circulated with next weeks Council agendas.

Having already broken the long standing convention that no party political opinions should be published in Council documentation, both the outgoing Leader and Deputy Leader have produced reports which criticise their opponents or seeking to blame the Coalition for all the ills of the world.

So much then for any attempt at making a fresh start or reaching consensus. Some at least want to continue the confrontational approach which was rejected so comprehensively by electors in the October by-election

Overgrown garage area

One report even seeks to blame the government for a reduction in the number of people registered to vote in the City!

More significantly it continues to turn a blind eye to the deteriorating condition of the infrastructure (right) on many Council estates in the City.

Cllr Alexander sadly has written his own epitaph by claiming “Liberal Democrats want no Local Plan or one that would fail Government requirements” In reality, a Local Plan agreed in 2011 which Labour tinkered with and then withdraw.

Liberal Democrats want a Local Plan which respects both the priorities of the City’s population and which seeks to preserve the unique qualities of the City. Labour’s plan to expand the size of the City by over 20% during the next 15 years satisfied neither of the tests.

Failure to produce a Local Plan which could attract the support of both the Council and the people of the City is a poor legacy to leave to your successor.

How many Labour Councillors does it take to change a light bulb?

Two Cabinet members are to be summoned to a meeting on 11^th December to decide whether to include the Punch Bowl in on a list of properties subject to an article 4 direction.

A meeting in October rejected the request even though designation would only require any proposed change of use to be subject to a formal planning application.

The Cabinet members for Planning and for Finance are now being asked to remove permitted development rights by CAMRA who are backed by a 1200 signature petition.

Bus service cuts – no consultation planned

Residents will have to wait until early January before finding out which local bus services Labour plan to cut. A decision meeting would have aired the issue was to have taken place on 11^th December.

The issue has now been referred to a Cabinet meeting scheduled for 6^th January 2015.

The Council has made it clear that they are not proposing to consult with passengers likely to be affected by any cuts.