York Council petitions update

The York Council is to consider an update on 10 petitions received from residents at a meeting taking place on 12^th January.

They concern:

Burton Stone community centre future unclear

Speeding on Peter Hill Drive
Future of Burton Stone Community Centre (2)
Installation of speed humps on South Bank Avenue
Objections to development site H30 (Local Plan)
Need for 20 mph speed limit on Walmgate/Navigation Road
Future on York Deaf Society
Future of Youth Advice Centre in Castlegate
Winter Green Waste collection
Future of Groves Chapel
Objections to plans to build on Earswick Green Belt (Local Plan)
Request for Residents Only parking in Nunthorpe Grove
Road safety in Strensall
Future of Yearsley Pool
Travellers site fees

For more details click here

Petitioners are able to attend the meeting and speak in support of their petition.

The Council has changed the way that it now deals with residents petitions.

The new system involves reports being made to a public Council scrutiny committee.

It is much more transparent than the old system where petitions handed to Council often disappeared from public view for months and sometimes years.

Yearsley Pool – decision on way forward scheduled for 12th January

A Council scrutiny committee will decide on 12^th January whether to undertake a public review of Labour’s plan to withdraw the Yearsley Pool’s £250,000 a year subsidy.

Yearsley Pool

LibDem councillors have proposed that a review begin straight away giving managers the maximum time possible to find alternative sources of income and savings prior to the summer 2016 cut off date.

The early review has the backing of the Yearsley Pool Action Group which has submitted a 4,500 signature petition supporting the retention of the pool.

Although the Council had agreed to hold talks in early 2016 about the future of the pool, these would be held in private. They would also have presumed that no ongoing subsidy would be available.

One of the factors bedevilling the process is that with Council elections in May, it is likely that the majority of existing Councillors will not be re-elected to the new authority (many have said that they are standing down).

As the decisions of the present Council cannot bind the new one, priorities are likely to change.

Both LibDem and Tory Councillors have said that they want to move resources away from prestige projects preferring instead to improve funding for basic public services. These would include existing leisure facilities.

In 2007, the last LibDem Council invested over £1 million in upgrades to the Yearsley pool. It was expected that this would give the pool a life of over 20 years before additional investment was required.

In January 2011, before coming to power, Labour began to question the future of the facility.

Stop the rot: new campaign highlights how cigarettes ‘rot’ the body from the inside

City of York Council is backing a powerful new campaign that has been launched this week to highlight how smoking damages the body and causes a slow and steady decline in a process akin to rotting.

It follows a new expert review that highlights the multiple impacts that toxic ingredients in cigarettes can have on your body.

Whilst many smokers know that smoking causes cancer and harms the lungs and heart, the new report highlights how it also damages:

Bones and muscles – Smoking causes progressive harm to the musculoskeletal system, and has a negative impact on bone mineral density. Harms include:
25% increased risk of any fracture and a 40% increase in the risk of hip fractures among men
Slower healing after injury
Increased risk of back and neck pain, leading to a 79% increase in chronic back pain and a 114% increase in disabling lower back pain
Significant cause of rheumatoid arthritis and can reduce the impact of treatment
Brain – Current smokers are 53% more likely to develop cognitive impairment than non-smokers and 59% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease
Teeth – Smoking increases the likelihood of tooth loss and decay
Eyes – Smoking damages sight by increasing the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 78%-358% and increasing the risk of age-related cataracts

With New Year’s resolutions approaching and two thirds of smokers saying they want to quit, new adverts are being used to graphically illustrate the degeneration that smoking causes.
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Council seeks volunteer for key committee position

City of York Council is inviting residents – and individuals with a connection to the city – to apply to be an independent member of its audit and governance committee.

The committee is responsible for overseeing the effectiveness of the council’s corporate governance arrangements, including internal audit; external audit; financial management and reporting; risk management; information governance; treasury management; and counter-fraud.

The council’s audit and governance committee consists of elected councillors and appoints up to two independent (not affiliated with any political party) members.

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