Now that all the parties have published their election manifestos for the Council polls – due on 2nd May – we’ll be looking to see what each party is offering.
Usually it is not so much what the party leaders say they will do that attracts interest.Rather it is the issues that they are silent on which cause the most anxiety.
There is a certain lack of candour on financial strategy in all four documents.
The Tour de Yorkshire will once again return to the regions roads from 2-5 May.
The first stage, taking riders on a fast and flat route from Doncaster to Selby passes through several villages on the outskirts of York, including Elvington, Wheldrake and Escrick in the late afternoon on Thursday 2 May.
The A19 near Escrick will be closed to traffic when the race passes through the area.No parking will be permitted on the race route during the race period. Details of the route are available on the Tour de Yorkshire website at https://letour.yorkshire.com/tour-de-yorkshire-2019/
To ensure the safety of spectators and riders alike there will be a rolling road closure for most of the race route, this will be managed by the police. This means that the traffic will be stopped at any given point between 10 and 30 minutes ahead of the first cyclist.
When the race, and all the official and team vehicles, have passed the roads will reopen again. The last vehicle in the race group is a lorry with screens on both sides telling people watching that the roads are open again.
Typically the closure is in place for between 20 and 50 minutes depending on the severity of the stage, how far into the stage the race is and the weather.
It’s expected that the race will reach Elvington at approximately 4.46pm, Wheldrake at 4.53pm and Escrick at 5pm. The route joins the A19 at Escrick and turns off again to Stillingfleet. This will mean that the A19 will be closed whilst the race passes through the area affecting travellers.
Bus routes 18, 36, X36, 42, 45, 46, X46 and 415 will all continue to operate, but will be delayed as a result of the race. It is anticipated that the closures and additional race traffic will cause delays in the area. Motorists are advised to plan their journeys to avoid the route during the race period if possible.
For more information visit www.itravelyork.info/buses/bus-routes-and-journey-times/diversion-information
Pedestrian access will be available to polling stations throughout the period. Voters in the wards affected have been notified of the access restrictions.
Primary school admission figures for entry in September 2019 reveal that 95.9% per cent of York children have been given their first preference of school.
City of York Council’s figures published today (16 April 2019) show that 99.1% per cent of pupils got one of their first three preferences.
The percentage of online applications for primary school places has continued to increase, with 99% of parents and carers applying for their child’s school place online.
Parents who applied online will be notified of their child’s place by email at 10am today, letters are being posted today to parents and those with online accounts can log in to the council’s parent portal at www.york.gov.uk/parentportal.
In 2019 all children within the local authority area have secured a primary school place. The majority of children got one of their first three preferences; with the number of children whose preferences were not able to be met reducing from 11 in 2018 to 10 in 2019.
This year’s admissions figures, compared with last year’s are outlined below:
| 2018 | 2019 | |||
| qty | % | qty | % | |
| 1st | 1821 | 94.2% | 1762 | 95.9% |
| 2nd | 92 | 4.8% | 56 | 3.0% |
| 3rd | 8 | 0.4% | 4 | 0.2% |
| 4th | 1 | 0.1% | 5 | 0.3% |
| 5th | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
| Other | 11 | 0.6% | 10 | 0.5% |
| Total | 1933 | 100.0% | 1837 | 100.0% |
| Applied Online | 1826 | 94.5% | 1829 | 99.6% |
The total size of the cohort starting school in September 2019 is 1,836 pupils, compared to 1,933 last year.
