The York Council has fallen behind with litter and poop scoop bin emptying this week.
The failures are put down to staff sickness.
Many bins in the west of the City are now full to overflowing.
City of York Council will make it easier for members of the city’s Deaf community to access services from today (5 July 2017).
A new video interpreting service – called ‘InterpretersLive!’ – is being launched.
It means Deaf customers, who communicate using British Sign Language (BSL), will be able to contact the council through a BSL Sign Language interpreter.
Visitors to York’s customer services centre at West Offices will have immediate access to an interpreter with no prior appointment required.
People who do not wish, or are unable to, travel will be able to use the service face-to-face from the comfort of their own home, using a video relay system.
The new interpretation service means Deaf customers will have the same access to customer services as a hearing person would.
The council says it hopes the addition of a BSL interpreter will make life easier for people who traditionally may have struggled to get help and support.
Anyone who isn’t a BSL user will be offered alternative communication support.
Members of the Deaf community are invited to attend an event at West Offices on 20 July between 11.00 am and 1.00 pm. Attendees will have the opportunity to see how this service will work and, to celebrate the launch of the service. There will also be the opportunity for users to help inform future improvements to the way the service is delivered.The quickest and easiest way to register for the event is by signing up using this Eventbrite link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/british-sign-language-video-relay-interpretation-service-tickets-35533901857 . If this is not possible, users should visit West Offices to register their interest.We advise booking early to avoid disappointment as spaces are limited.
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Labour’s Local Plan proposals 2013
York councillors are to be presented with an update on progress with technical work on the Local Plan when they meet next week.
A report will be considered by the Local Plan Working Group on Monday 10 July before it is taken to the Executive on Thursday 13 July.
Councillors will be asked to approve the production of a comprehensive draft plan over the summer, ready for public consultation in September.
This will lead towards the publication of a final plan early next year.
Since the last major update, work has been ongoing to assess the impact of the release of three Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites in York which are to be sold off.
Councillors will be advised the MOD land at Imphal and Queen Elizabeth Barracks could be suitable for future housing development, potentially providing 769 and 623 dwellings respectively. Labour have already said that they oppose providing additional homes on these sites preferring to build on Green Belt land (see left)
The third MOD site, Towthorpe Lines, is not deemed suitable for housing but could be considered for employment use instead.
The Local Plan Working Group and Executive will consider issues associated with how land might be provided in the future for both new housing and employment development as well as setting a long-term green belt boundary for York.
Housing numbers. click to enlarge
The council has already consulted on the local plan ‘preferred sites’. This happened for a ten-week period in 2016. Over 2,250 responses were received from individuals, housing developers and stakeholders.
The next step is to produce a full draft plan. Councillors will be asked to approve this.
It is expected that further consultation take place in September. Pre-publicity would start in August when details of the proposals would be sent to residents in a special, York-wide, edition of the ‘Our City’ council newspaper.
The results of the consultation will be shared with the working group and Executive in January before a final version of the Local Plan is prepared. It is anticipated this would be subject to final formal consultation in February 2018 and could be submitted to government in spring 2018.
