The nearest insight a taxpayer could expect to get to day to day service standards is a statement about the number of bins which the Council failed to empty first time round during the last quarter (535)!
Of customer satisfaction levels or speed of response on roads, footpaths, street lighting repairs, weeds, litter etc. there is silence.
This equates to payments of £20.25 per person per year.
The worrying trend is in the net debts level of the Council.
This is forecast to increase from £245 million this year to £285 million in 2018.
This figure which is concerning and reflects the fact that the present Council has yet to scrap some of the more extreme commitments that it inherited from the last Labour administration (e.g. the new swimming pool at Monks Cross, the “in house” development of the Guildhall annex site and the “bridge to nowhere” access for the York central site).
Adverse trends have been evident on the Police real time tracking web site for some months (click to access). The September figures have recently been added.
In West York by far the largest number of incidents reported concern anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences come second and criminal damage/arson third.
A report to a York Council meeting says,
“Significant increases are forecast in violent crime, shoplifting and burglary non-dwelling categories.
Latest benchmarking information show rates of crime at a national level have also risen significantly in Q2, and levels of overall crime in comparable authorities are increasing at greater rates than in York.
Reports of domestic violence are pr
edicted to be 6% greater than those reported during the same time frame in 2014/15”.
A range of river safety measures were recommended by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents last year
Phase one of the work programme includes the introduction of new life buoys, post and chain fencing along the River Foss and improvements to river side tow paths.
Phase two of the work will see new ladders and chains installed to aid exit from the river and replacement post and chain fencing at Wellington Row and Kings Staith.
That means it will have been closed for 47 instead of 27 weeks during its current restoration.
The delay has been caused by the unexpected discovery of archaeology remains including the foundations of the St. Leonards Hospital. Asbestos was also discovered in the back wall of the stalls.
The additional cost of the building works is put at £1/4 million but to this must be added an estimated loss in income of £500,000.
Origonally the restoration had been expected to cost £4.1 million.
The Theatre is hoping to persuade the Arts Council to help to make up the deficit although some subsidy from the York Council is also likely.
The news is a major blow to the Theatre which is one of the gems in York’s cultural crown. It does much to promote the City around the world with the recent “in Fog and Falling Snow” production featuring in a TV documentary only last month. The cast was mainly made up of York residents.
The adaptation for the stage of the Railway Children had its genesis in York. It is currently still running in London at the Kings Cross theatre.
| Location: | Bus 4 St Helen’s Road |
|---|---|
| Cause: | Roadworks |
| Responsibility: | |
| Dates: | 20 Nov 2015 |
St. Helen’s Road Closure Friday 20th November closed 0900-1600
during CYC highways works on the above date.
Service 4 will divert via Chaloner’s Rd, Moor Lane, and Tadcaster Road in both directions.
Stops not served;
all stops on Eason view, St Helens Road
Additional stops served;
all stops on diversion route.
