It looks like a worrying 3 months for users of the number 12 (and 3a) bus service with the Council set to continue to agonise about their future.
A“behind closed doors” decision was taken to extend the current temporary contract. The report does, however, say that the cost of continuing to provide the services exceeds the available budget so a difficult decision may be faced in April.
The indecision about continuing the service comes at a time when the Council is being urged to subsidise more bus services in an attempt to counter the “climate emergency”.
If established services like these are under threat, then there is little hope that more funding will be found to provide more frequent services and fill in other gaps in the network.
It became clear as early as June that something was sadly amiss.
It later turned out that many roads had been omitted from the contract.
Even those roads that were included rapidly became overgrown with weeds.
In the end local residents were forced to clear vegetation from locations where it posed a hazard. Later Council staff also joined in a clean up operation.
We only hope that any new contract includes both an input and an output specification and that it is properly supervised.
An investigation carried out by City of York Council has uncovered and successfully prosecuted a case of Blue Badge fraud in York city centre.
Christopher Wilson (aged 46 of Fox Howe, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough) was found misusing a family member’s Blue Badge in York.
Mr Wilson was seen by a Civil Enforcement Officer, parked on Duncombe Place, near York Minster in August 2019.
During the course of the investigation, conducted by Veritau, the council’s fraud investigation service, Mr Wilson was interviewed under caution and admitted that he was the driver of the vehicle displaying the Blue Badge.
He confirmed that the badge holder was not present at any point of the journey and was at home in Middlesbrough. Mr Wilson and his wife had driven to York that day for a social occasion and were running late for a restaurant reservation, when he decided to use the Blue Bade to park on yellow lines.
Mr Wilson was sentenced by York Magistrates on 28 January 2020 after pleading guilty by post and apologising for his actions. He received a fine and was ordered to pay court costs and victim surcharge, totaling £701.
The Council’s Executive will be asked to approve permanent measures to better protect York’s busy city centre from hostile vehicle terror attacks when they meet on Thursday 13 February.
Executive Members will be asked to approve the installation of sliding and fixed bollards, which will replace the temporary measures that were introduced ahead of the 2019 festive period. The previous measures were introduced following police and counter terrorism advice to combat the threat of ‘vehicle as weapon attacks’, like those seen in Toronto, London and Nice.
Executive previously gave approval for officers to start the procurement process for the permanent measures when they met in August 2019. The permanent measures will see vehicle access restricted to the city centre during footstreet hours by using a sliding bollard system. The measures will restrict access to Parliament Street, St Sampson’s Square, High Ousegate and Spurriergate, Coney Street, Davygate, St Sampson’s Square and Church Street during footstreet hours (10.30am -5pm).
To ensure there is still an appropriate level of blue badge parking in the city centre, it is also proposed that the loading bay and taxi rank on Piccadilly will be changed to blue badge parking. The change to the Traffic Regulation Order will be considered by the Executive Member for Transport at a decision session on 20 February.
The bollards will cost over £100,000 a year to maintain.
Councillor Andy D’Agorne, deputy leader and executive member for transport, said:
“However small the risk of terror attacks may be, the safety of everyone in York is our highest priority. That is why we have acted upon police and counter-terrorism unit advice to ensure appropriate measures are in place to protect residents and visitors in the city centre.”
“We are aware that permanent measures need to strike the correct balance between providing an appropriate level of security, whilst respecting York’s heritage and access for people with disabilities, which is why these measures include new provision for Blue Badge parking.”
Members will be asked to:
Approve the final location of the static and sliding bollards
Note the requirement for additional capital funding
Note the ongoing staffing and maintenance cost
Approve the procurement process for engaging with businesses to supply, install and maintain the bollards
Instruct officers to work with Make It York on the planning for security measures for Christmas 2020
An investigation carried out by City of York Council has uncovered and successfully prosecuted a case of Blue Badge fraud in York city centre.
