Contractor was paid £238,000 to help enforce York traffic and parking restrictions

Lendal Bridge closure Nov 2013The York Council has paid a private company over £1/4 million over the last two years to help to enforce traffic regulations in York.

The Bristol based  ICES company specialises in IT software solutions and helped to administer the ill fated Lendal Bridge & Coppergate road closures in 2013.  Files  registered with Companies House reveal that the ICES made a profit of over £778,000 in 2015.

A different company is responsible for supplying and maintaining the four bus lane (ANPR) cameras which are still located in the City.

The York Council has not revealed the net costs of the Lendal Bridge fiasco although it is believed that a large number of motorists, who  were entitled to a refund, never actually claimed their money back.

The Council is currently consulting on plans to switch the ANPR cameras on Coppergate back on.

Record number of new homes built in York last year

Student units account for 52% of 1121 total

Housing compl,etions 2006 to 2016

2015/16 saw the largest number of new homes provided in York since 2006.  1121 units were provided of which 908 were new build, 218 a “change of use” with one conversion. Six homes were demolished.

 579 dwellings for students were provide mainly on sites in Lawrence Street and Walmgate.

Figures released by the York Council suggest that a significant part of the surge in provision (over 100 units) resulted from a legal relaxation which makes it easier to convert offices into residential accommodation. The change, allowing for the office to residential conversions (together with certain retail, financial services and existing agricultural buildings) without the need to apply for full planning permission, has now become permanent.

 Significant numbers of new homes were provided at:

  • Derwenthorpe, Osbaldwick (Phases II, III & IV) provided a total of 100 completions,
  • Sessions Former Print Works (18)
  • the Former Civic Amenity Site Beckfield Lane (18),
  • Burnholme Social Club (22)
  • Fox and Hounds 39 Top Lane Copmanthorpe (28) and
  • the first homes at the Windy Ridge/Brecks Lane Huntington Site (24)

The figures will strengthen the case for including a significant allowance for homes provided on windfall sites in any Local Plan calculations. Of the completions last year, over 100 (20% of non-student developments) were built on small sites that could not be separately identified in a Local Plan.  Housing planning consents 2006 to 2016

Planning permission for 680 additional homes was granted during the year.  

Of these 166 were for off campus student accommodation. Many of the others were for office to residential consents, the largest (58) being on the Land Registry site on James Street

The average annual number of planning consents over the last decade is 785.

This is broadly in line with the assumptions being made in the latest version of the Local Plan.