Holgate Lodge to be “made safe” 15 months after arson attack.

Its taken a  long time, but the Council has now agreed to step in and make the West Bank Park Lodge (14 New Lane) safe.

The lodge was damaged in an arson attack in 2016.

The derelict building has stood as an unwelcome monument to disorder since then.

A meeting earlier in the week heard that before and after the fire

“the West Bank Park Heritage Group have had a keen interest in the building as a possible local heritage centre celebrating the origins and history of the park. The building is currently in an unsafe condition and therefore needs partial demolition to make it safe.
To assist this project access has been requested for specialist surveyors to record the layout and condition of the building. This can be facilitated as part of the making safe process”

As part of the demolition process any reclaimable building materials identified as having architectural heritage value will be taken into safe storage for possible reuse in any future rebuild in the park.

The Council has agreed that a further decision on the future of the bsite will be taken upon completion of making the building safe.

No arrests have yet been made by Police investigating the arson attack

 

Residents and staff at Morrell House to be consulted on closure plans

Morrell House, Burton Stone Lane

Residents, their relatives and staff at one of City of York Council’s older people’s homes – Morrell House – are being consulted on the option to close the home, as part of plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city.

The plans look to address the needs of York’s growing and ageing older population, by providing modern facilities which allow high quality care and quality of life, but also increasing the quantity of accommodation available.

It also aims to make the best use of the city’s existing extra care housing, making it more accessible for people with higher care needs by increasing the support available at each venue and by replacing out-dated older people’s homes, with more modern accommodation.

Significant progress is being made to deliver over 900 new units of accommodation with care for older people across York with both private and public sector investment.

This progress includes the £4m extension of Glen Lodge, providing 27 new homes, which was completed last year and work being done to build a care home at the Burnholme health and wellbeing campus.

This and plans to extend Marjorie Waite Court with 33 new homes are just some of the schemes taking place across the city which will bring much needed improved accommodation for older people to the city.

Martin Farran, corporate director for health, housing and adult social care at City of York Council, said:

“Whilst residents, their families and staff at Morrell House are rightly proud of their home, we recognise that there is a need for more modern accommodation for older people.

“We understand that this consultation process can be an unsettling one and will be working closely with the residents, their families and staff to make sure they have the support and advice they need.

“Our focus remains on supporting our residents. The actions we take now will ensure that they – and future generations – will have the best possible quality of life, with greater access to modern accommodation across the city.”

Residents, their relatives and staff have already been informed of the proposals. Over the next six weeks residents and relatives will be consulted on their views and any preferences they have about where they would like to move to should the home be closed.

The results of the consultations will be presented to the Executive on Thursday 26 April.

Some encouraging comparisons for York in new City study

York now has the highest employment rate of any City in the north of England or Scotland. It also has one of the lowest claimant (benefit) rates.

York has a relatively small proportion of jobs in employment sectors which are expected to shrink in size over the next few years.

These include sales assistants and retail cashiers,other administrative occupations, customer service occupations, administrative occupations: finance and elementary storage occupations. A century ago the most vulnerable occupations were forecast (correctly) to be domestic indoor servants.

Th news is contained in a new report published by the “Centre for Cities”.

The report can be read by clicking here. 

York tends to be average to better than average on most tests applied by the study.

It fares well on the number of residents with high level qualifications having 42.7% compared to the UK average of  38.0%

Perhaps more surprisingly York does’t yet feature in the top 10 of City’s with ultra fast broadband access while housing remains more affordable than in many southern cities.

 

Check on vulnerable neighbours this winter

With cold weather forecast over the coming days City of York Council is reminding residents to stay well this winter and to look out for vulnerable neighbours and relatives.

Winter is here. The cold weather can have a significant impact on people’s health and with the cold and icy conditions vulnerable people can tend to stay at home.

Top tips for supporting older vulnerable neighbours, friends and relatives, include:

  • Make sure they’re warm enough – the temperature in  their home should be at least 18oC, particularly if they are not mobile, have long term illness or are 65 or over, and they may need to  wear several layers of clothes to stay warm.
  • Make sure they are well stocked up on food, drink and medicines they may need.
  • Try to make sure they have regular hot meals and drinks throughout the day.
  • Information about social groups and activities for older people is available through www.connecttosupport.org/york  or by contacting Age UK York on 01904 627995.
  • For more information about Age UK’s national Spread the Warmth campaign visit www.ageuk.org.uk or see www.york.gov.uk/winter   more information about keeping well during winter

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