Night time closure of A1237 northern by pass and Wetherby Road starts on 19th November

Work on Wetherby Road roundabout Overnight closures for 10 days

City of York Council will be carrying out surfacing works at the above said location commencing on Monday 19th November 2018 for a period of 10 days including Saturday and Sunday (weather permitting).

The works will be carried out between 8.00pm – 6.00am. The roads will remain open as normal outside the above hours.

There will be further works following on from this period but these will be carried out under lane closures and temporary signals with the A1237 and Wetherby Rd remaining open.

In order to carry out the works safely the use of a temporary road closure on the A1237 from the roundabout at A59 to the roundabout at Askham Lane and the closure of Wetherby Road from the junction of Beckfield Lane to the junction of Grange Lane (rural) will be necessary whilst works are taking place.

See plan below for location of closed off area which is shown in red.

Outside of working hours the road will remain open as normal.

Clearly signed diversion routes will be set out for local and through traffic . The closure is to ensure that adequate Health and Safety is maintained for both local residents, the travelling public and the Contractor. Site staff will be on hand to advise and assist residents about the access restrictions once the works are ongoing. Your assistance will be much appreciated.

Emergency services will be permitted through the works in any situation. Cyclists will be subject to the same traffic management as other road user vehicles.

What’s on in York: Renaming of Tedder Road park after WW1 veteran

The Lord Mayor of York will officially name a park in recognition of one of the pioneers of the RAF today.

The RAF celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. 2018 is also the centenary of the end of World Ward 1.

The park on Tedder Road will officially be known as “Dickson Park” from 12:00 noon when the Lord Mayor will unveil an interpretation board. The board tells the story of Sir William Forster Dickson who was one of the early aviators during WW1 and who became one of the founders of the RAF. A road in Foxwood was named after him but the connection was lost some 20 years ago when the road disappeared during redevelopment work.

The link is being reestablished today.

The Civic party will also travel to the Foxwood Community Centre where they will joining in with activities at the weekly residents “hub”.

The interpretation board has been funded by voluntary donations with support from Indigo Greens estate agents.

. It forms one of a range of events taking place on the west of the City over the next couple of weeks. On 10th November volunteers will be cleaning WW1 gravestones in St Stephens churchyard while on 11th November a newly refurbished Acomb War Memorial will host a special Remembrance Day service.

Over £576,000 owed in rates by York businesses

So which firms owe the York Council money?

It has taken long time, but we now know which companies haven’t paid their NNDR (business rates) in York during the last 3 years.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Council has listed 138 traders who have arrears of over £100.

Some have gone into administration while others have decided to repay debts gradually. In some cases, the bailiffs are being sent in

…and it must be said that no business is guaranteed to be a success. Times change, tastes vary and sometimes business do go under. Propriators can be taken ill, some even die.

That is the way life works so there will always be some bad debt.

….. but the total outstanding debt is now over £576,803 and other taxpayers must make up that deficit if public services are to be maintained.

So it is also important that lists of long term debtors are made public.

This allows residents to provide information on the whereabouts of business people and taxpayers who may have absconded. For many years the York Council did this routinely with some useful leads providing a way for money to be reclaimed from those who were seeking to evade their responsibilities.

In some cases, unscrupulous individuals were found to have amassed large arrears before going into administration and then setting up a new company with a similar name and providing much the same service. Often, they operated out of the same premises.

Now a new barrier to transparency has emerged.

The Council is refusing to divulge the names of companies where this may lead to an individual being identified. In some cases, these may be single traders operating under their own name.

The Council says, “some of the business names are names of individual’s and have been withheld as they are exempt under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (2000), as they constitute personal information under the Data Protection Act (1998)”.

Hmm!

The names of some companies have, however, been revealed. This means that the names of their directors can be found simply be searching records at Company’s House (which can now be done “on line”)

The Councils position doesn’t entirely add up.

Debtor information like this was published as recently as 2013 by the Council.

They also take legal action to recover debts (essential before bailiffs can be used) and these preceding are not taken “in camera”. The information is in the public domain.

In this case we think that the public interest outweighs any right to anonymity and we will appeal against the Council’s refusal to provide the names of business owners.

In the meantime, the list of those debtors owing more than £100 is provided here.

No doubt the Councils finance department would appreciate any information about the whereabouts of any who may have absconded.