Stonebow bus stop relocation

Stonebow is closed today (Sun 2nd) until 7pm. Diversion in operation via Foss Islands and buses will serve stops on Clifford Street

Due to the ongoing redevelopment of Stonebow House bus stops in the nearby area have been relocated for the duration of the works.

The Monks Cross Park&Ride service which currently uses stop SA will now stop outside Marks & Spencer. Services stopping at SB and SC including those provided by First, Coastliner, and Harrogate Coach Travel will move further along Stonebow towards Peaseholme Green.

It’s estimated that the work to Stonebow House will be completed by the end of the year at which point the bus stops will revert back to their original positions.

Bus wardens will be on hand during to advise residents and visitors of the changes. For more information about travelling in and around York visit www.itravelyork.info

£224k funding boost for York Central

York Central

City of York Council has been awarded £224,000 to help accelerate the development of York Central – a 72 hectare site situated in the heart of the city.

This was the maximum amount of funding the council could be awarded from the Department for Communities and Local Government, which will help speed up the delivery on York’s largest brownfield site.

The fund is part of a £16.5m pot of money called the ‘capacity funding’, which will support house building by providing extra resources to resolve planning issues and other delays.

 

The council applied for the funding in November 2016, with the Homes and Communities Agency receiving 180 bids. Of those, 98 English local authorities successfully received funding.

It is hoped the cash could aid the building of up to 800,000 new homes on sites of 1,500-plus units and in priority Housing Zones across England. York Central was allocated a Housing Zone in 2015.

To find out more about York Central, visit www.york.gov.uk/yorkcentral

Background information:

York Central is  a collaborative development partnership which includes City of York Council, Network Rail, the National Railway Museum and the Homes and Communities Agency to progress investment and delivery for the site.

The site has been designated a Housing Zone as well as an Enterprise Zone and public investment is planned to deliver key infrastructure with a view to de-risk and accelerate this project.

£15,457 penalties for Blue Badge on-line scammer

The conviction follows an investigation by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team

A man and his company who misled disabled people into paying £49 a time for Blue Badge parking permits was sentenced to financial penalties totalling £15,457.35 yesterday (30 March 2017) at York Magistrates’ Court.

Ramiro Rohan Depass, aged 23 of Thameshill Avenue, Romford, Essex, pleaded guilty to misleading consumers by using copycat websites to sell Blue Badge parking permits, contrary to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.  He was fined £1,230, ordered to pay £5,139.98 compensation to 102 of his victims, and pay prosecution costs of £4,847.37 and a victim surcharge to the Court of £120.  His company, Impetus Solutions Limited, was fined £4,000 and pay a victim surcharge of £120.

Depass’s activities came to light after over 100 complaints were made to the Citizens Advice  and Action Fraud helplines over an eight-month period in 2015/16, triggering an investigation by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team.

Depass’s scheme worked by diverting those searching online for Blue Badges to apply via his own website, meaning that badges were never issued. Disabled drivers were charged £49 for these non-existent badges, which are normally bought from the local council for £10.

In April 2016 officers from the National Trading Standards eCrime Team (NTSeCT) raided a house in Romford and found documents linking Depass to the scam. He presented himself to police later that week.

Councillor Nigel Ayre, Executive Member with responsibility for Trading Standards at City of York Council, said: “This profiteering is despicable and shows a casual disregard for the law alongside a willingness to exploit vulnerable people genuinely eligible to hold a Blue Badge. I applaud our expert investigators for unveiling and successfully prosecuting another ecrime which impersonates legitimate, at cost local authority services.”
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Uber taxi driver fined £546 for illegally plying for trade

Following action to enforce taxi regulations by the council, a driver was yesterday (29 March) ordered to pay a total £546 by York Magistrates Court for illegally plying for fares in the city.

Council officers investigated complaints from fellow members of the taxi trade that Mohammed Nawaz, aged 25 of Cark Road, Keighley, had been seen plying for hire in the early hours of 9 October 2016 on George Hudson Street.

Video evidence showed him accept a fare that was not pre-booked and which contravenes the terms of his license.

Following the council investigation with the full co-operation of private hire operator Uber, for whom Nawaz was driving at the time, he pleaded guilty to the offence at York Magistrates Court.

The court sentenced him yesterday to a fine of £79, a court surcharge of £30 and full prosecution costs of £427.

Evidence from the investigation included Uber’s confirmation that as a result of this incident it permanently closed Nawaz’s account with them on 1 November 2016. The conviction will also be reported to Rossendale Borough Council, the driver’s licensing authority.

Cllr Sam Lisle, executive member for housing and safer neighbourhoods at City of York Council, said: “While we are lobbying for greater clarity over aspects of private hire legislation, it is very clear that the law does not permit drivers licensed for private hire to pick up passengers on the street who haven’t pre-booked a journey.

“Thanks to the co-operation of the operator, members of the trade and our taxi enforcement team, this verdict sends a clear message to the trade to abide by the law.”