“Great British Spring Clean” coming to Westfield on 2nd – 4th March. Wildflower planting scheme also announced

Local Community Groups will again be participating in the Great British Spring Clean (GBSC) in 2018

On the weekend of the 2-4 March 2018, GBSC want you to get outdoors, get active and help clear up the rubbish that lies around us.

Another clean up day is being organised in the Foxwood area

Join the growing army of #LitterHeroes who have had enough of other people’s litter and are willing to do something about it.

Register today for the Great British Spring Clean 2018 and together we can make a difference.

Click to register

Click for details

Separately another opportunity to improve the local environment has been announced.

Grow Wild: Funding from Kew for community groups to plant wildflowers.

There is a lot of scope in the west of the City for more wildflower beds.

One volunteer hopes to d some planning in either the Foxwood or Tedder Road parks.

Let us know if you plan to do anything in your area and we will give it some publicity.

NB. Next years Foxwood garden competition is offering a special prize for the gardener who grows the best flower bed aimed at encouraging bee activity.

Police tax level consultation starts in York

Click to take survey

The Police and Crime Commissioner is asking residents to complete an online survey.

Little background information is provided on the options available which are essentially a freeze (which would cut the police budget in real terms) or a 1.99% increase (the maximum that the government will allow unless a ridiculously expensive referendum is held)

If you opt for a referendum, then you are offered a choice of paying £5 year more, between £5 and £10 and over £10 a year.

There are only limited opportunity on the survey to mention crime concerns although one of the response boxes does allow you to write in that you think your additional contribution should be ringfenced to address, for example, anti-social behaviour issues.

Uber and out

….or not as the case may now be in York!

The council decided last night that – because of data protection issues and complaint  levels – Uber’s York private hire license would not be renewed.

Whether it will make much difference remains to be seen.

The committee heard that the vast majority of Uber drivers in the City do not live in York anyway.

The company has a right to appeal.

Whatever people views might be about this particular company, many customers these days clearly do want to use an “App” to summon private hire vehicles. Knowing in advance the likely cost of a journey, and when the vehicle is likely will arrive, are viewed as advantages. Automatic billing is another plus point as is the opportunity for drivers and passengers to record their views on the quality of their journey experience. .

There seems to be a window of opportunity for an enterprising local company to set up a service using one of the rival IT platforms. Hopefully this would guarantee at least some “tech savvy” local drivers would have the opportunity to benefit from any growth in demand for private hire cars in York.

Currently the City has around 800 licensed private hire and taxi drivers. Of these, 10 locally registered Uber drivers.