Vital road link resurfaced as wind brings down branches in parts of Westfield

The Council has finished resurfacing the carriageway linking Askham Lane and The Green. The road had become badly potholed with the road humps posing a particular threat for cyclists. The Council completed the resurfacing work this week

In the same area, residents continue to complain about vehicles parked on the bend. They obstruct traffic and cause sight line problems. The Council will be asked to consider introducing restrictions on this section of road.

Recent winds have brought down several branches from trees in the Wetherby Road and Askham Lane areas. The problems has been exacerbated by lack of routine maintenance to highways trees in recent years. In some cases branches are fouling over head communications cables while in others public footpaths have been obstructed. It is hoped that some maintenance work will take place this winter.

Deadline for York secondary school applications approaches

 

Parents of children currently in Year 6 are being reminded that applications for secondary schools places for September 2018 should be made before midnight on Tuesday 31 October 2017.

For pupils in Year 6 – the last year of primary school – parents should apply for a maximum of five schools and we recommend that one preference should be the catchment school

Applications can be made online at www.york.gov.uk/schooladmissions.

All details and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at www.york.gov.uk/guideforparents. This guide contains information on school admissions and appeals processes as well as information on admissions statistics, oversubscription criteria and other information for parents and carers.

Any parents eligible and who may not already have applied for free school meals are urged to do so at the same time. This means that whether or not the meal is taken, the pupil premium of £900 per year per eligible secondary school pupil will follow the young person throughout their time at school to benefit their education.

For more detailed information, please email: education@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551 554.

Council meeting moves to Citadel as spending plans consultation starts

Council debates may be inspired by Citadel moto

York’s next full Council meeting will be held at the Citadel later this month (26 October) rather than in its usual home of York’s Guildhall.

The temporary venue – formerly the home of York’s Salvation Army and now owned by York City Church – will be used for full meetings of the Council for up to two years while the Guildhall is closed for construction work.

The Guildhall has been used for meetings since the 15th Century and the current council chamber dates back to 1891.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the full council meeting at the Citadel at 6.30pm on Thursday 26 October.

Have your say on York’s spending plans
 Meanwhile York’s residents and businesses can have their say on the council’s future spending plans over the next few weeks.

The results of the 2018 citywide budget consultation will help set the council’s financial priorities for the forthcoming year.

Despite already achieving savings of over £100m in the last decade through a combination of efficiency savings and reviewing the services it provides, the authority needs to make further savings of £6.1m in 2018/19 and £4.2m in 2019/20 to meet its budget.

Against this tough financial backdrop, demand for services continues to rise; mainly due to demographic changes and more people living longer. At the same time the financial support received from central government has been reduced.

The central government grant accounted for 40 per cent of the council’s income in 2012/13 but fell to just seven per cent last year.  By 2020, York will receive no government grant. That means the services the council provides will have to be funded from a share of business rates, from the council tax and through any fees and costs it charges.

Council leaders hope that the responses to the questionnaire will help guide future spending decisions, particularly whether the authority should ‘balance its books’ by:

  • Reducing the number of services it provides, or stop providing them altogether.
  • Finding ways of providing services more efficiently by working differently.
  • Charging more for services.
  • Increasing the amount of council tax.

People can put forward their views:

  • Online at www.york.gov.uk/consultations
  • By completing the survey in the council’s publication Our City [which is being distributed over the course of the next two weeks].
  • By popping along to one of four drop-in sessions, at Huntington Library on Wednesday 1 November; Archbishop Holgate’s School on Thursday 2 November; Acomb Explore Library on Tuesday 7 November or West Offices on Wednesday 8 November, all between 4.30pm and 6.30pm.

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Cyclists urged to light up and be seen in York

 City of York Council is reminding cyclists in York to light up and be seen as the nights draw in ahead of the clocks changing at the end of the month.

The ‘light up be seen’ project will see cyclists at the University of York, York St John University, York College and Askham Bryan College receive free high-vis equipment and lights alongside safety advice from North Yorkshire Police. The high-vis and lights will be distributed on 17 and 19 October, from 4-6pm.

Cyclists will be advised on the importance of being visible and safe when travelling during darker hours, as well the potential legal implications of not having lights and dangerous cycling.

The campaign is now in its fourth year at the University of York and will be rolled out city-wide for the first time this year.

The four universities and college’s are part of the council’s ‘Travel2Campus’ project, which encourages students and staff to be safe and consider all modes of transport when travelling around York.

For more information visit www.itravelyork.info/for-schools/travel2campus-project

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