Deaths and test results
There have been no more COVID deaths at York hospitals. There have also been no more positive lab test results.
Latest waste service update from York Council
Thursday 18 June
All scheduled household waste has been collected as usual.
We were unable to collect recycling from some areas in Wigginton, Haxby and Strensall due to vehicle breakdowns.
This recycling will be collected on the evening of Thursday 18 June or on Friday 12 June. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.
We were unable to collect garden waste from Strensall and Wigginton due to a vehicle breakdown.
This garden waste will be collected on the evening of Thursday 18 June. Please leave your containers out for collection.
We’ve collected outstanding recycling from Acomb and Dringhouses.
Gale Lane reopens to traffic
Yorkshire Water have completed their water mains repair on Gale Lane which has now reopened to traffic.
Tudor Road is still closed and will be for at least another 2 weeks. Still no provision has been made for cyclists. No doubt if this was a street located in the City Centre such neglect would bring a chorus of disapproval!
Sleeping sickness new threat to City’s health?
Anyone hoping that the Councils post COVID strategy document would be a stimulating read may be disappointed.
A series of papers have now been published which are long on hyperbole but very short on tangible actions
Those hoping for a series of initiatives, incorporating measurable deliverables and with specific key milestones, will search in vain amongst the papers for the Executive meeting which is taking place on 25th June.
The expectation was that clear actions would be identified to take the City through the next 3 months at least. Only the half-hearted free parking initiative fits into that narrative.
Nor has any more up to date information been provided on the nature of the Councils financial crisis. The papers simply continue to wave the shroud of an £24 million – largely unspecified – shortfall.
Additional spending is proposed on;
- Supporting local businesses including the tourism sector (£100,000),
- “Communities Recovery” (£250,000),
- Creating places in which visitors can safely return to the City (£530,000),
- Changing building access and deep cleaning (£50,000) and
- ICT equipment to allow continued remote working (£500,000).
There is no mention of a freeze on new expenditure.
The report merely reports windfall savings on climate change, waste services, northern forest and local transport plan. All are the result of (unavoidable) delays caused by the lock-down.
The Council says that its capital investment programme is being “reviewed”. That means that the Council is continuing to slip further and further into debt.
The Council promises that it will have a “Big Conversation” with residents over the next 12 months.
Residents may choose to opt for something a little more robust.
Nearly 2000 tonnes of green waste collected by York Council in a fortnight
A response to a Freedom of Information request has revealed that, during the first fortnight of green bin emptying in the city, nearly 2000 tonnes of garden waste was collected by the York Council.
The collections during the last two weeks in May were the first since last November. Crews sometimes struggled to deal with the accumulated volumes
The figures also reveal that the overall volume of waste produced in the City was fairly stable.
Typically around 330 tonnes is being presented for recycling each week
After the usual post Christmas peak, residual (grey bin) volumes have also been stable at around 890 tonnes a week.
59% of the waste produced in the City is now either recycled or composted. The comparable figure for the first quarter (April – June) of last year was 56%.
Businesses reminded to apply for small and micro grant scheme
City of York Council is reminding eligible businesses that there is still time to apply for the upgraded small and micro grant scheme, which has been created to support local businesses.
Payments have already been made to 121 businesses, with more being paid each week. Businesses have until 30 June to apply for the scheme.
Grants payments between £1,000 and £10,000 will support small businesses, including those in shared offices and flexible work spaces, science parks and incubators, regular market traders without a business rates assessment, nurseries, B&Bs paying council tax instead of business rates, and charity properties which missed out under previous schemes are now eligible.
| Small business and childcare nurseries | up to £10,000 |
| Micro business | up to £5000 |
| B&Bs and market traders who live in York | up to £2,500 |
| Self-employed with fixed property costs | up to £1,000 |
To apply, businesses must have been trading before 11 March 2020, have a rateable value or annual mortgage of below £51,000, and demonstrate both an ongoing fixed property cost and significant financial impact of the coronavirus. It is not available to any business eligible for any other government COVID grant.
Grant payments are being processed in batches, with the first batch paid on Friday 5 June. The council is also telling businesses that have applied not to worry if they don’t receive their payment this weekend – there will be further payments every Friday over the next three weeks.
Businesses can check eligibility and apply at www.york.gov.uk/COVIDMicroGrant .”
The council is using an additional £2.2m discretionary government fund to expand its own small and micros grant scheme, which has already supported over 3,000 local businesses affected by coronavirus.
The council acted quickly to distribute £110m of grants and rates relief to over 4000 York businesses, and created its own £1m grant scheme to support over 1000 more businesses which did not qualify for government support.
Under the discretionary fund, local authorities have been given an additional 5% of the total value of grants already distributed in York, together with some government rules and outline guidance on which businesses should benefit. However, this means councils have to use local knowledge to decide how to fairly distribute the money, as to benefit as many businesses as possible in the city.
Companies that are in financial difficulties because they fall outside the Government set limits are asked to contact Make it York to discuss their options. They can email business@makeityork.com