Council Tax frozen in York

…..as Green Councillors and Tory turncoat vote through massive cuts in public services

The Labour budget was tonight passed as once again the 2 Green Councillors sided with Labour. 

On this occasion they were joined by Cllr Watt who was elected in 2011 as a Conservative for the Skelton area. He supported a budget which will cripple public services in the City while continuing to prioritise “vanity” projects paid for by a large increase in borrowing. It was a truly astonishing policy somersault.

The only significant “concession” that the Greens won in return for their votes was a promise to provide a “free” bus service between the station and the hospital. The £150,000 cost will be paid for by another big increase in car parking charges in central York (by 10p per hour).

NB. Bus passengers can currently use the number 1 or 6 to get from the station to the hospital, although the passengers numbers using this link are modest

The Greens rapidly diminishing credibility took another battering as they voted for a cuts package which includes so called “rewiring savings”. These will see basic public services like grass cutting, street sweeping and community centres hit hard.

Labour plan to charge for emptying all green bins and  have supported reducing grey bin emptying frequencies to once very 3 or 4 weeks.

The Greens also voted to spend even less than Labour proposed on dealing with icy roads in winter.

The only really original proposal put to the meeting – the plan aimed at regenerating York’s deteriorating housing estates – failed to get majority support.

However there is every chance that after the local elections on May 7th, the new Labour/Green coalition will be thrown out.

This will allow the new Council to rejig the budget if it chooses to do so.

 

 

 

Latest “behind closed doors” decisions by York Council

Behind closed doors logoHolgate Road cycle lane

Parking is to be removed and cycle lanes installed on the uphills section of Holgate Road between Poppleton Road and Watson Street.

Some currently unrestricted carriageway will become Respark spaces.

Click here for diagram showing the proposals

Osbaldwick Lane – extension of 20 mph zone with traffic calming

Click here for map of (revised at annex B) plans

Millthorpe Secondary School – School Keep Clear

Making an Order will allow enforcement of the existing School Keep Clear zig-zag markings, to prevent dangerous parking by the entrance at school times and therefore improve safety for pupils.

Click here for a copy of the plan

Archbishop Holgate’s School – Proposed School Keep Clear and No Waiting At Any Time Traffic Regulation Orders

Click here for copy of plan (annex B)

Pinch Point Scheme, A19 South Transport Corridor – Phase 1 (Designer Outlet/Fulford area)

Click  here for proposed revised layout

 

York Music Centre expands

A new weekend session for children and young people has been added by York Music Centre to its programme at Millthorpe School.

York Music Centre, run by York Arts Education and part of City of York Council, will offer a variety of choirs, ensembles, orchestras and tuition sessions each Saturday morning.

The session has moved from Canon Lee School and allows York Music Centre to consolidate provision with its Wednesday evening session at Millthorpe School from the end of February.

From Saturday 28 February, from 9.15am, York Music Centre will offer group music-making opportunities to children and young people aged 3 to 18 of all abilities.
These include top level ensembles such as Concert Band, Big Band and the Symphony Orchestra, entry level groups like Overture (for 3-5 year olds), WOW Band (for any instrumental beginners), Young Voices which helps develop singing and listening skills and World of Rhythm, run by Billy Hickling from the internationally acclaimed STOMP!
An adult choir is also available for parents and friends who don’t want to miss out on the fun.
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Surprisng research results into smoking published

In the build up to this year’s No Smoking Day (March 11th) new research has been published that shows that smokers have a 70% increased risk of anxiety and depression when compared with non-smokers, despite the commonly held perception that lighting up is a stress reliever.

Image result for No smoking day photos

Interestingly, levels of anxiety and depression reported by long-term ex-smokers were indistinguishable from people who have never smoked and much lower than current smokers. This suggests that quitting smoking could help people combat anxiety and depression and improve mental health.
(more…)

“Flash retelling” on World Book Day

Around 750 pupils from City of York Council schools will be taking part in a ‘flash retelling’ to help mark World Book Day on Thursday 5 March.

Pupils across the city will be retelling a traditional tale they have learnt off by heart at 10.30am.

The pupils have used the ‘Talk for Writing’ approach to help them learn the tale. This involves them using actions and a visual story map to learn the tale. Learning stories off by heart gives children the story language and text structures to be able to create their own stories.

Pie Corbett who developed the Talk for Writing approach, said: “The great City of York will ring together the bells of a thousand voices, telling and celebrating the joy of a story. Stories lie at the heart of every culture. Without them, education is dry as dust. They bind us together as one people helping us to understand ourselves and each other. Stories make us a stronger and better people. Let the story spread across the city and stay in the heart of every teller and every listener.”

World Book Day is a worldwide celebration of books and reading, marked in over 100 countries all over the world. For more information on libraries in the city visit www.exploreyork.org.uk

Lib Dems call for an extra £500,000 to be spent on York’s estate regeneration

Liberal Democrats are calling for an extra £500,000 to be spent improving the condition of housing estates in York.

Fly tipping little Green Lane garage area

Restoring pride in Council estate environment

The extra funding will be focused on tidying-up communal areas, repairs, improvements to car parking facilities, and a re-launched programme to replace draughty windows.

The move follows concerns from council tenants, falling satisfaction levels with many estate services, and missed performance targets by Labour run City of York Council.

The proposals are part of the Liberal Democrat budget amendment, which will be debated at today’s full Council meeting.

The Lib Dems are calling for an extra £3 million to be put into frontline services such as road repairs, community centres and green bin collections.

The Lib Dem housing move is funded from the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) – a ring-fenced housing account which currently has a surplus of £15 million and is split from the main council budget. Rents are being increased by 2% from April.

Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Housing, commented:

Verge damage Bramham Road

Dealing with parking issues

“Residents have contacted us concerned about issues such as overgrown weeds, damaged fencing, broken streetlights, littering and dog fouling. Basic services have suffered since 2011 and show Labour’s continued neglect and under-investment in the city’s estates.
“We want to put an extra £500,000 in from the Housing Revenue Account to tackle these issues. This budget is raised from council rent and charges and is there to be used for tenants. There is a substantial surplus and instead of storing money away in reserves the council should be spending more on estate improvements.”

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The Lib Dems would spend £250,000 ‘capital’ from the HRA on improvements to:

a) draughty windows and

b) improved car parking facilities (dropped kerbs/verge crossovers/matrix verge protection outside tenants homes and better car parking facilities in communal areas) and the resurfacing of some car parks.

plus £250,000 ‘revenue’ from the HRA on council house and estate regeneration including the following schemes: 

  • removal of weeds,
  • cutting back overgrown trees and hedges,
  • repairs to communal areas and signs (e.g. dog fouling, no ball games),
  • audit and repair of fencing.

The full Lib Dem amendment will be tabled and debated at Thursday’s Budget Council.

Last July, it was revealed that tenants were less satisfied with where they live and the estate services they receive from the council while key performance targets were missed: