Appeal for witnesses to serious collision on Jewbury, near Monkbar in York

Police are appealing to anyone who witnessed a serious collision involving multiple vehicles on St Maurice’s Road, Jewbury near the Monkbar Hotel in York to contact them.

The collision occurred at around 9.15pm on Thursday 1 October and involved a blue Toyota MR2, a white Toyota Hiace campervan and a blue Taishan moped.

Police and Ambulance were both in attendance.

The rider of the moped, a 49 year-old woman from York sustained serious injuries and was taken to Leeds General Infirmary, where she remains in a serious condition. No further injuries were reported.

The driver of the MR2, a 27-year-old man from York was arrested at the scene. He has been released on bail, pending further enquiries.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and select option 2 and ask to speak to PC Dave Seavers. Alternatively you can email Dave.Seavers@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Please quote ref 12150173899.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Poor deal for York taxpayers

The new owners of the Haymarket car park site have announced the name of the hotel which will be built there. Vastinct Hospitality has bought part of the site from Hiscox and will build a 120 bedroomed economy “Moxy” hotel there.

Hiscox new York HQ. Ready for occupation before the end of the year

No financial details of the deal have been revealed but it is bound to reignite the indignation felt by many taxpayers in 2012 when the Council sold off the site on the cheap. Then, in the depth of the recession, the Labour Council accepted an offer of a little over £2 million for the site – far below the current £5 million valuation.

Critically the Council failed to include a condition in the sale agreement which would have seen Council taxpayers benefit from any subsequent increase in the sites value. As well as the Haymarket car park (which produced an income of £300,000 a year for the Council) the site included the Peasholme hostel and adjacent ambulance station.

York police station empty and boarded up

Now existing hotels in the City face competition from a new arrival which may have benefited from slack Council accounting 3 years ago.

The new Council and its auditors should review the 2012 deal and ensure that no further errors are made.

There is a lesson for the public sector more generally here.

Some vacant sites are an eyesore. The old Fire station on Clifford Street and the adjacent police station need to be brought back into use quickly.

There is a boom in the residential market at present and City Centre sites are fetching high prices. While the adjacent magistrates court building is listed, this should not prevent the reuse of the rest of the site.

It is the optimum time to market empty City centre properties.

In respect of these two properties the public authorities concerned should get a move on.

Public urged to be vigilant against Cybercrime

North Yorkshire Police (NYP) has launched a campaign in the fight against Cybercrime.

The campaign, which will run throughout October, aims to raise awareness of the threat of this complex type of crime and encourage people to be more vigilant.

Information about the most common online threats and scams in North Yorkshire will be published via social media channels, along with prevention advice.

Modern technology such as mobile devices and international computer gaming is now a part of everyday modern society.
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