York BID project manager heads for Bournemouth

Councillors appointed to BID Board as £50,000 loan approved.

Steve Hughes who managed the York Business Improvement District campaign has left the City to take up a similar post in Bournemouth.

At today’s Council Executive meeting, senior members agreed to loan the BID organisation £50,000 while at the same time appointing two of their number (Cllrs Steward and Aspden) to the new organisations Board.

It appears that the BID organisation will have a completely separate governance structure from “Make it York” (MIY) which is also responsible for stimulating the prosperity of the City Centre.

It is to be hoped that the York BID will have a more refined set of Key Performance Indicators on which progress can be monitored.

MIY has struggled for credibility with many interest groups in and around the City.

Floods update – last minute report considered by Council’s Executive

“You’r on your own!”

It appears that the Council’s senior Councillors were finally shamed into receiving a report on the recent flooding at their meeting today.

The report (which can be read by clicking here) was delayed to the point where it would be virtually impossible for any resident to know about it before the meeting started.

Much less chance that anyone would have the opportunity to register to speak on the item.

The report seeks only to approve the terms of reference of the promised “Inquiry”.

The Inquiry could take over 6 months to complete so the hope and expectation had been that the Councils own responsibilities – including communications and recovery operations – would by now have been subject to an internal review.

It appears not.

Poppleton trampoline centre set to get planning go ahead

Mega jump trampoline

A warehouse on the York’s Business Park at Nether Poppleton is set to become a trampoline centre with a café.

The site is located on Rose Way. It is was last occupied by US tech company Nanometrics which abandoned the site over a year ago.

The maximum number of trampoline users at one time would be 75, most sessions would be 1 to 1.5 hours in length and sessions would start every 15 mins. The proposed development would create 20 – 25 full time positions and 35 – 55 part time positions. There would also be a re-organisation of the car park to create 75 spaces.

The development is understood to be backed by David Lloyd who already runs a successful fitness centre in the City.

Trampoline parks have proved to be a massive success story in the US, which had about 40 such attractions in 2011. The number there has since ballooned to an estimated 300 either in operation or under construction.

The planning application is recommended for approval at a meeting taking place next Thursday

Action in York to reduce number of suicides

Support for people having suicidal thoughts or who have been affected by a sudden death

City of York Council is raising awareness of support available for people with thoughts of suicide and those who are concerned about someone else as part of its continuing work to improve mental health in the city.

The “Stay Alive” app, which is free to download, is part of the Grassroots Suicide Prevention work which looks to teach suicide alertness and intervention skills to community members and professionals.
(more…)