Latest on waste collection in York

City of York Council Waste Services

Important service update

Today crews have collected all scheduled household, recycling and garden waste and also collected the remaining garden waste bins in Middlethorpe

We have been able to access and clear all waste from Westwood Terrace today. We were not able to get into Jennifer Grove again (because of badly parked cars) and will re visit on Saturday.

We hope to collect any remaining garden waste towards the end of the week and continue into Saturday. If your bin has not been collected please leave it in place and we will collect it as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience.

York Council set to punish “good tenants”?

The York Council is aiming to quit the North Yorkshire Home Choice service (NTHC). The scheme provides a boundary free geographical area in North Yorkshire for which prospective social housing tenants can register their interest. It allows, for example, Selby residents to register an interest in moving to York, while York applicants can register to move to Scarborough.

Most respondents to a council survey disagreed with the York plan to leave the organisation, although most did agree with a range of changes which would tighten up the how social housing allocations are made.

These include plans to crack down on fraudulent applications and ways to reduce the period during which bids for housing must be lodged.

The full new York allocations policy can be found by clicking here

Hidden in the proposed changes is a plan to scrap the “Good Tenants” system which allows existing tenants, with a good rent payment and behaviour record, to participate in the bid process for vacant properties in other parts of the City.

It was introduced about 15 years ago to help those tenants who, through no fault of their own, ended up being housed in a neighbourhood remote for their job, family or friends.

This could happen when new tenants were given no choice of location when allocations were made.

In some cases, neighbour problems prompted requests for transfers.They often found it impossible to agree anl exchange, particularly if they lived in a street or block with a poor reputation.

When considering the “good tenant” scheme several councillors, at the time, argued that a mis-allocation should not be a “life sentence”. Some tenants found it impossible to find a mutual exchange partner and “management transfers” were hard to get.

Including transfer requests in the letting process does not reduce the number of vacancies available. It may add a few days into the cycle as the first tenant moves to their new home. Their old tenancy though becomes immediately available for letting.

The only real argument in favour of the restriction offered by officials is administrative convenience.

Peoples well being should have a higher priority.

Interestingly this proposal was not included in the survey of opinion that the Council undertook with local tenant representative organisations.

Separately, the Council has said in response to a Freedom of information request that it cannot provide figures giving the number of applicants on the housing waiting list divided between those applying because of overcrowding and those existing tenants who are seeking to downsize.

They say only that the numbers on the waiting list by band currently are:

Bronze 408
Silver 866
Gold 206
Total 1480

Historical trend information is also not available.

We are slightly sceptical about the response.

If the authority does not have an accurate picture of the size of homes which are in greatest demand, then it can hardly justify spending tens of millions of pounds on its new Council house building programme.

Fossbank skatepark privatised

“In an innovative move, City of York Council has entered into an agreement with a social enterprise to breathe new life into Zoo Skatepark as it’s to be known – and local skaters are invited to come and try it out.

The park, located under Sainsbury’s car park on Foss Bank, is to be taken over by Zoo Skatepark Ltd.

The agreement has ensured that the skatepark will stay open to young people and skate sport enthusiasts from across York. (more…)

Call for increase in neighbourhood police profile in York

The next York Council meeting will discuss four motions put forward by the political groups represented on the authority.

Liberal Democrat Ashley Mason is asking for more funding for neighbourhood policing. He will get a lot of support for his proposal with PCSO patrols now distinctly thin on the ground in much of the City. 41% of respondents to a recent survey thought that policing in the City was “poor”.

Many highlighted issues with drugs and moped gangs as increasing areas of concern.

The York Council has no direct powers over policing policy (that rests with the Harrogate based Police and Crime Commissioner) but it can be more active in using its powers of scrutiny.

The motion also opposes any reduction in Fire cover. The service has recently been taken over by the PCC.

A Labour Councillor wants to close the outbound traffic lane which currently runs under Micklegate Bar. The actual amount of traffic using this route is already regulated with “green” periods at the adjacent traffic lights already relatively short. However, the main criticism of this proposal is that it is being made without any consultation with local businesses or residents. Local road junctions are already congested at peak times so the consequences could be significant. The plan comes from the Lendal bridge closure school of transport planning. Proposals like these need to be considered as part of the next update to the Local Transport Plan. (NB. The Council video, outlining plans to improve the railway station frontage, portray an, almost miraculously, traffic free inner ring road in this part of the City!)
The Conservative Councillors have gone to the trouble of restating that they are in favour of free green bin emptying. Many residents would settle, currently, for just having their present green bin emptied.
……& finally, the Green party has come out against, what they term as, “food poverty”. It will probably be difficult to find anyone who thinks hunger is a good thing. The Greens disingenuously suggest that Council officials should write a report saying how the issue can be resolved. Sadly, this is another problem where most of the levers are well outside the control of a local Council.

Council meetings these days are sterile and predictable affairs with all sides posturing and the real issues, that affect street level public service standards, rarely being highlighted.

This can party be traced back to a decision by the last Council which withdrew the option for Councillors to submit written questions (and get a written response).

A limited amount of time is reserved for verbal questions, but these rarely uncover any new facts.

Answers to verbal questions are not recorded in the meeting minutes. The minutes are, in any event, published several weeks – or months – later.

By then the issue has usually moved on.

What’s on in York: Summer Reading Challenge Launch

York Explore Library

Sat 14 Jul

10.30am – 4.30pm

Free

Start: Sign Up 10.30 Finish: Sign Up 4.30

Drop in Activities 12.00 Drop in Activities 4.00

Mask Making bookable 1.00 & 2.30 Mask Making bookable 2.00 & 3.30

Everyone welcome!

Sign up for the Summer Reading challenge. Book onto one of our 2 sessions Mask Making Mischief with Kathryn Richardson. Why not drop in and take part in a Map Attack and build York out of Lego and visit our Mischief Maker Space and try out Bloxels, stop-motion animation apps, Minecraft and more.

If you can’t get to this event you can still sign up for the Challenge at any Explore York Library between 14^th July and 15^th September.

Book in person at any library or call (01904) 552828