So who will win the York Council elections on 2nd May

Rural West and Strensall wards reviewed

Strensall Ward

The Strensall ward is home to 8,334 residents. Average incomes are higher than the City average. 80% of residents own their home. 13% rent privately and 6% are social tenants. There are no Council homes in the area. 1.4% are out of work. Crime levels are below average. 84.2% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (York average 88.6%). 21.1% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2). Source

Elections

Rural West was held by the Liberal Democrats in the last decade. The Tories have gradually increased their share of the vote since then and in 2015 secured both seats.

Retiring Councillor Helen Douglas is standing down, Helen Douglas has had a short but colourful career in local government having started off representing Clifton for Labour before making the long walk across the Council chamber to join the Tories. She is replaced as a candidate by an equally controversial choice in Sian Wiseman who represented the ward following the 2011 elections. However, she was another who left the Conservative Group preferring to sit as an Independent following a controversy involving her, family owned, development land which might have been affected by an emerging Local Plan. After sitting out the last 4 years she returns to the the Tory fold.. Sian Wiseman is well known locally but whether local electors have forgotten and forgiven her dalliance remains to be seen. The other retiring Tory Councillor Paul Doughty is seeking re-election. He also lives in the ward.

The main challenge will come from well know local LibDem candidate Tony Fisher. He is a former Councillor for the area and polled strongly when contesting the ward in 2015. He is a trenchant supporter of the Green Belt and is likely to garner a few extra votes this time round.

Prediction

1 LibDem 1 Tory

Rural West Ward

The Rural West ward is home to 7,963 residents. Average incomes are higher than the City average. 86% of residents own their home. 7% rent privately and 5% are social tenants. There are 154 Council homes in the area. 1.4% are out of work. Crime levels are below average. 86.3% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (York average 88.6%). 16.7% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2). Source

Elections

Ward boundary changes mean that voting trends need to be viewed with caution.

Rural West was held by the Liberal Democrats in the last decade. The Tories have gradually increased their share of the vote since then and in 2015 secured both seats. One is held by the retiring Council Leader Ian Gillies, who is standing down after 12 years. He is replaced by an even older candidate in Robin Garland who was a feature of the local, political scene until about 30 years ago. The other seat is held by arch Brexiteer Chris Steward who lives some distance away in the Micklegate ward.

An Independent did win one seat in the ward briefly over 12 years ago. There are no Independent candidates standing this year.

The challengers will be the LibDems. Their main hope will rest with Ann Hook who lives locally. The second LibDem candidates (James Barker) holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only one of the party’s candidates who declined to say on his nomination form whether he lived in the ward..

If the predicted meltdown in Tory support actually happens, then the beneficiary is likely to be a LibDem candidate,

Prediction

1 LibDem 1 Tory

Call for action to address local issues

Problems with litter, potholes and vandalism

Hopefully the new Council, to be elected on Thursday will tackle outstanding public service issues with renewed enthusiasm.

Litter on snickets like Tithe Close is a recurring problem

Despite winter being over, there are still too many potholes on our roads. They are particularly dangerous for cyclists.

Vandalism has also reared its head again. The York Council needs to respond more quickly to damage reports.

Foxwood Lane snicket fencing damaged in March, still not secured

…and it is about time that areas which are littered on an almost weekly basis are tackled. The Council promised mobile CCTV surveillance of problem areas but there has been little evidence of improvement.

Councils, of all political persuasions, often say that their priorities are to improve basic public servce service standards. Hopefully there will be evidence of this after Thursday’s poll.

Latest planning application for the Westfield Ward

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Westfield ward.

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference

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Dryfix Preservation Ltd The Yard Tudor Road York YO24 3AY

Proposal Display of non-illuminated gate mounted sign measuring 1.85m by 1.75m (retrospective).

Reference 19/00761/ADV

——

Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning on line web site. http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

So who will win the York Council elections

Osbaldwick/Derwent and Rawcliffe wards reviewed

Osbaldwick and Derwent Ward

The Osbaldwick and Derwent ward is home to 8,114 residents. Average incomes are higher than the City average. 83% of residents own their home. 9% rent privately and 6% are social tenants. There are 79 Council homes in the area. 1.3% are out of work. Crime levels are significantly below average. 90.91% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (York average 88.6%). 9.09% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2). Source

Elections

Ward boundary changes mean that voting trends need to be viewed with caution. In the early part of the last decade redoubtable LibDem Campaigner Janet Greenwood held the Dunnington Ward while Jonathan Morley represented Osbaldwick. Jonathan Morley has now moved on to be the LibDem candidate in Heworth.

At the last election the ward was split between a Conservative – who lived in the Dunnington part of the ward – and Osbaldwick Independent Mark Walters, who had the smallest majority in any ward at that time.

The Conservative Jennie Brooks is standing down to be replaced on the ballot paper by Martin Rowley (who doesn’t live in the ward) and one John Zimnoch. The latter apparently made some injudicious comments on social media a few years ago which appeared to condone drink driving. His chances of election seem slim

The ward on its present boundaries has never elected candidates who don’t live in the ward.

The LibDems, who had consistently put forward Dunnington based candidates in the past, have this time inexplicably nominated someone who lives on the other side of the river Ouse. Their second candidate (Ian Eiloart) does however live in Osbaldwick.

Independent Mark Walters makes a return. He has been a principal opponent of development in the area fighting a losing battle against the Rowntree Derwenthorpe estate. His views are right wing and populist but he has been effective in asking questions which the political establishment would rather not answer. He has a good chance of re-election.

Who will join him is anyone’s guess but the Tories will expect to retain their seat.

Prediction

1 Independent 1 Tory.

Rawcliffe Ward

The Rawcliffe ward is home to 11,946 residents. Average incomes are higher than the City average. 80% of residents own their home. 10% rent privately and 8% are social tenants. There are 164 Council homes in the area. 1.7% are out of work. Crime levels are about average. 88.9% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (York average 88.6%). 25.9% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2). Source

Elections

Ward boundary changes mean that voting trends need to be viewed with caution.

The Rawcliffe area was strongly LibDem for many years with first – two time Lord Mayor – Irene Waudby and later her son, Mark, representing the ward.

Labour surprisingly won the seats in 2011 only to be replaced by three Tories in 2015.

The LibDems will be looking to complete their comeback in the area and have managed to nominate a Waudby as a candidate. It is however Sam – wife of Mark – who is one of their flag bearers. Rather surprisingly Mark is contesting the neighbouring Clifton ward in which they both now live. The LibDems have, however, managed to nominate two other candidates who do live in Rawcliffe and this may prove to be decisive, when electors cast their ballots.

Of the 3 existing Conservative Councillors, two are seeking re-election in the ward. Peter Dew, who currently holds the transport policy portfolio for the coalition, also lives in the ward. His “Lendal Bridge” moment relates to a lamentable lack of effective action to repair roads in the City.

He is joined once again by Stuart Rawlings who does not live in the ward. He is understood to have ambitions to be the next Tory Council Group Leader.

The third Tory Councillor Sam Lisle will try his luck in the distant Westfield Ward on 2nd May

Labour support declined substantially in 2015. Somewhat surprisingly, they have imported as a candidate the controversial Dave Merrett, from Micklegate. We doubt that Dave Merrett will ever recover politically from his stubborn support for levying fines on motorists using Lendal Bridge and Coppergate when he was the transport chief.

Prediction

2 LibDem 1 Tory