Thanet Road closed on Sunday

The Council have issued a statement today saying that Thanet Road will be closed fro several hours on Sunday

This is apparently connected to the current work undergoing to install road humps and renew pedestrian crossing equipment.

The short notice of the closure is unusual. The Council have failed to even issue a media release to alert residents. No word either on the iTravel twitter feed @iTravelYork or @york_travel

The number 4 bus service is being diverted via Bellhouse Way and Moor Lane.

The road between Foxwood Lane and Lidl will close at 8:00am and will reopen by 4:00pm (depending on how quickly the works are completed)

 

Labour Councillor told to remove propaganda from Council noticeboard

A Labour Councillor in York has been told to remove party political literature from a Council owned noticeboard in Front Street.

The Acomb Councillor had posted a leaflet, on the publicly funded board, attacking LibDem and Conservative Councillors over the siting of a new park in the Boroughbridge Road area.

The leaflet says, “The Tory and Liberal Democrat coalition in charge of the Council has completely ignored the petition (collected by Cllr Barnes asking for a public park at the old Manor school site) riding roughshod over the views of local people and trying to shoehorn ever more housing into an area that they know already has a shortage of open space” etc.

The leaflet goes on to advertise a public meeting at which the local Labour MP will be present.

A Code of Conduct governs how local Councillors are expected to behave. The Code specifically states ” When you use or authorise the use by others of the resources of the Council you must ensure that such resources are not used improperly for political purposes (including party political purposes)”

Now Cllr Barnes has been ordered to remove the leaflet by lunchtime today (Friday).

The issue of where the new park, planned for the Sugar Works development on Boroughbridge Road, should be located has engaged residents for  over 5 years.  Ironically the preference for a central location emerged following consultations by the then Labour controlled Council in 2012.

In 2013, the Council sold the old Manor School site to developers. No conditions were placed on the sale but the expectation was – and remains – that an access road would bisect the field.

The history of the site seems to have largely escaped the notice of several current Council members.

The first opportunity to consider Cllr Barnes petition will come next Wednesday when the Planning Committee will decide on its reaction to plans tabled by the developers.

In the meantime, Councillors are being urged to make sure that public noticeboards contain only factual information. Some are also being encouraged to use a little soap and water to keep the boards clean!

 

 

Crime levels on rise as residents seek meeting with police

Concerns about arson attacks in run up to “bonfire night”

The Foxwood Residents Association has written to local Police Chiefs asking for a meeting to discuss an increase in anti social behaviour problems in the area.

The requests comes as figures reveal that there has been  a  13% increase in crime nationally over the last year.

However the figures also confirm that North Yorkshire continues to have the lowest crime rate in England.

It shows there were a total of 37,359 crimes in North Yorkshire during the 12-month period, giving a crime rate of 45.9 per 1,000 of the population. This reflects a one percent increase in crime in comparison to the same period the previous year.

Broken down into the main crime categories, the ONS figures for North Yorkshire show:
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“Save our Libraries” say LibDem Councillors

York Council to debate Lib Dem motion to protect city’s libraries

Acomb Explore Library

The Full Council meeting on 26 October is set to debate a Liberal Democrat motion seeking to prevent a reduction in the total number of staffed libraries across the city.

The future of the library service has recently come under the spotlight with the current five year contract with York Explore due to expire on 30 March 2019. The Executive needs to agree the specification for the new contract in March 2018 to allow the council to run a tender process.

There are sixteen libraries in York, in addition to the archives and the mobile library service. The Liberal Democrat motion seeks to ensure that any re-procurement exercise does not lead to a loss of community facilities.

According to figures from Unison, 478 libraries have closed since 2010 and over 8,000 library workers have lost their jobs.

A LibDem spokesman said, “York’s libraries are popular and well-used by residents – in terms of visits by library users the service is in the top 5% of authorities nationally. This is a position we need to maintain, and if possible improve on, for the benefit of residents.

We have supported the transformation of the library service in recent years, and would like to see even more innovation. For example, options could be explored to forge more links with other public services and community groups so that residents gain more from their library visits.

We hope that councillors from all parties will support this motion and send the strongest possible message that York’s libraries are valued and should be protected.”

The full text of the Liberal Democrat motion:
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