Wetherby Road speed limits to change

The Council has today agreed to impose a 40 mph speed limit on Wetherby Road (and Bland Lane) between the A1237 and the built up area. Signage is also to be improved.

It is hoped that the buffer zone will encourage drivers to slow down before they reach the 30 mph limit. A similar buffer zone on Askham Lane has not proved to be very successful 

We have doubts about this plan which will do nothing to control the speed of vehicles leaving the City. An occasional visit by the speed camera van would be more effective as a deterrent.

However the re-election of the old crime commissioner recently means that speed enforcement will continue to be focused on villages and trunk roads. The later produce the bulk of the nearly £1 million income that the North Yorkshire police derive from the camera vans.

Wetherby Road speed limits

Foss barrier control room flooding – Inquiry report published

click to read

click to read

A report on events which led to the raising of the Foss barrier on Boxing Day last year – and the subsequent flooding of hundreds of York properties – has been published.

A copy can be downloaded by clicking here 

It is clear that the potential flooding of the control room was a major factor in the events of that day.

Water entered the supposed watertight building through a service tunnel which had been allowed to subside. The subsidence had caused waterproof seals to fail.

The report concludes with advice on how to prevent a repetition of the problems

“Access openings between the building and the service tunnel should be sealed so that when water enters the service tunnel it cannot rise and flood the building. The drainage could be configured in a way which eliminates the need to pass through the perimeter of the building below flood level ie by having a small pumping system to pump it up and over the flood risk level. After adopting these remedial steps there will always be a residual risk of water entering the building because it is located below extreme river levels. This residual risk can be eliminated by relocating the water sensitive equipment above the flood risk level”.

The report was commissioned by the Environment Agency itself.

It pointedly failed to ask the consultants, who undertook the inquiry, to assess where responsibility for the maintenance failings rested (although it is pretty obvious).

We must now wait for the findings of the City Council appointed review to hold agencies and individuals to account.

 

 

York Council gets fourth new Leader in less than 2 years

Anyone who knows the pressures of Leading the York Council will sympathise with Chris Steward who is stepping down from the post after only 12 months. We hope that he will get over his health problems quickly.

Experience is a vital commodity in any leader and, as James Alexander, Daffydd Williams and now Chris Steward found, pressures are easier to cope with if intuitive reactions are rooted in a good knowledge of the City, its customs and its people.

leadership-clipboardThe Leadership of the York Council is now very much a 24/7 commitment. As we commented 12 months ago, those holding high office in the City will not have time for second jobs.

Here the Conservative’s new choice of Leader (David Carr a Councillor from Copmanthorpe) may have an advantage as he is retired.

However he has only 12 months experience on the Council – far too little to be able to “hit the ground running“.  To this must be added to his poor record with the housing portfolio which he has held since last May. Standards on the estates have declined under his watch and controversial proposals have been launched without proper consultation.

York will expect much better from its new Leader. 

There were two other Councillors in the Tory Group with a long record of service. One wonders why they were passed over?

The need now, though, is for a period of stability

We will understand quickly the calibre of the new leadership team at the Council (a new Chief Executive is also being appointed). Major decisions have to be made on the Green Belt, the community stadium/swimming pool, the future of the Guildhall, financing options for York Central and on many other issues.

The Council will also have to act decisively to address its crumbling reputation on transparency and respect for citizens.

A tall order for the new leadership