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Ah the joys of ” Twitter”. We find out what Labour Councillors really think of their colleagues and constituents.
One Cllr Barnes who represents the Hull Road ward – an area with more students living in it than most – tells us that they are “a bit uppity”
Not “ordinary people“.
Quite so.
Now when you next try to canvass for their vote try telling them that you meant that they were extra-ordinary people – its your only chance!
First are saying that they are suspending their bus stops on Station Rise for 8 weeks due to “road works”.
Interestingly the Council’s expensive new Itravel web site pointedly fails to mention this news.
Strange as these are amongst the busiest bus stops in York!
Labour are to be pressed on when they intend to withdrawn care services from the 184 residents who are assessed to have “moderate” needs.
The residents have been told that it could be as soon as the end of October but have had no official confirmation.
If true, that is going to make it even more difficult for them to arrange alternative care facilities.
New livery for number 4 bus service
…Meanwhile, in a separate development, we understand that one York resident has had his Email address blacklisted by the Council.
His Emails are now rejected by all york.gov.uk addressees (apart from the City Solicitor!).
The resident is a committed critic of the Councils housing and planning policies, but has every right to make his views known.
Just another step towards a Stalinist dictatorship some will say (although James Alexander is a bit cuddlier than Jo? – Ed)
Police are urgently appealing for witnesses following a robbery outside HSBC bank on York Road in Acomb.
Four men wearing balaclavas assaulted a cash delivery man who was taking money to the bank at around 9.45am today.
It is not believed a weapon was used in the incident.
The men then left the scene in a black Vauxhall Zafira which was abandoned at the junction with Celtic Close and Jorvic Close near Beckfield Lane a short time later and set on fire.
The cash box was abandoned on Carr Lane.
Officers are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident, saw the black Zafira travelling between York Road and Beckfield Lane and anyone running away from the vehicle to contact them as soon as possible.
Police would also like to hear from anyone who knows who was responsible for the robbery.
The cash delivery man was uninjured in the incident.
Anyone who can help officers with their enquiries should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101.
Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Explore York Library Learning Centre has been selected for a special visit by children’s author Julia Donaldson (16 October) as part of her national Children’s Laureate library tour.
Explore York Library Learning Centre has been picked from hundreds of applications to be one of only 24 libraries on the English and Welsh leg of the Children’s Laureate Libraries Tour this autumn. As part of her Children’s Laureateship, Julia Donaldson – bestselling author of over 150 books including The Gruffalo (http://www.gruffalo.com/index.html), What the Ladybird Heard and Zog – will tour libraries in England, Wales and Scotland, from John O’Groats to Lands End, over six weeks.
Children from 16 York schools will be attending the invitation-only event, which will see Julia bringing some of her hugely popular stories to life through special dramatisations. They will also be invited to show off their acting skills during a short performance inspired by Julia’s poems which they will present at the event.
Julia Donaldson said: “Libraries are very close to my heart, and so is performance. This tour is my way of bringing the two together, by visiting fantastic libraries all over the country, enjoying children acting and singing, and sharing my own stories with them. I want it to be a huge celebration of libraries and of the benefits they offer to communities and especially to children.”
Following our story earlier in the week, residents have asked us to list which salt bin locations the Council intends to abandon this winter. Although the bins will remain in place they will not be filled with salt.
So far the Council has refused to publish this list on its web site.
It is clear from the list that whole estates will be left without bins while one ward (Heslington) will have all its bins filled.
Opposition Councillors are planning to raise the issue at tonight’s Council meeting. If they are unsuccessful, then a detailed review will be conducted at a meeting which is taking place next Monday. Details of Monday’s meeting agenda can be found by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/Salt-bin-review.
Click here to see the full list (more…)
City of York Council is launching tomorrow (11 October 2012) a consultation on a single Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) which will widen the area in which the police are able to seize alcohol. There are currently 19 DPPOs in operation across the city at locations where anti-social behaviour is linked to alcohol and which have proved to be a successful means of tackling the problem.
However, designating an area as a DPPO often has the effect of displacing the problem to where the legislation does not apply and this results in agencies simply chasing the issues from one area to another.
Last year Safer York Partnership carried out some detailed analysis of the displacement effect of DPPOs and put forward proposals to create a single order covering a wider area of the city. Last year, City of York Council approved a proposal to consult on options for the creation of a single DPPO for the city.
These options included extending the number of DPPOs on an ad hoc basis when requested, creating a single DPPO within the Bar Walls or creating a single DPPO within either the inner or outer ring road. These options were designed to minimise the likelihood of displacement of anti-social behaviour, particularly into residential areas.
The Coalition government has allocated £123,000 to York for a scheme to trial insulation for solid walls as part of its commitment to tackling fuel poverty and climate change.
The three main target areas for the pilot will be around Leeman Road, Lawrence Street and Tang Hall in traditional solid brick terraced homes and former council-owned properties in a variety of construction types, known to be difficult and costly to insulate and expensive to heat.
Householders in these areas will be approached, given expert advice in conjunction with Yorkshire Energy Partnership and other agencies, and up to 50 properties will be fitted with solid wall insulation for the pilot.
At tomorrow’s Full Council meeting Liberal Democrat Councillors will push Labour for answers over their plans for the library service in York.
Last month the Lib Dems revealed that Labour was drawing up proposals to take libraries out of council control and ownership. The plans have seen a City of York Council ‘project board’ set-up which is working on how assets could be transferred and how alternative ownership models could work.
Despite promising a “full and frank” discussion, the six-week public consultation Labour launched last week on the city’s library service, does not include any questions on future ownership or management changes. Liberal Democrats are asking Labour to withdraw the consultation and start a “proper debate”. They are also seeking guarantees that any move away from council control would not see a reduction in staff or services. (more…)
The York Council has admitted, in response to a Freedom of Information request, that there is no guarantee that any new social housing will be provided in the City over the next 3 years.
The Council has failed to follow up on the initiative by the former Liberal Democrat led Council which started work on new Council homes in the Lilbourn Drive area in 2010. The last of the 19 units there has now been completed, but the Council is refusing to build any more.
Labour Councillors claim that this is because the homes would have to be let at a rent set at 80% of the private sector rate (known as “affordable rents”) and that this would be “too high”.
Rather ironic really, with many of the families on the waiting list currently having no option but to rent on the open market while at least one local Labour Councillor is profiting from her booming “buy to let” property portfolio.
So the only hope, for the 4000 on the housing waiting list, are the 59 or so units that Housing Associations are due to build plus any that private developers contribute as S106 contributions.
There is some optimism on the latter as developments like Derwenthorpe are now underway.
The question asked under FOI was;
“How many homes for affordable rent (not including social rent), which have received all necessary approvals, and with financing in place, will be started in each of the next three years in the geographical area under your remit? This includes those being built directly or by housing associations.
The Councils response was;
“there are no schemes with approvals and finance in place that will commence with certainty over the next three years.
Housing associations have received an allocation for 59 homes in York under the 2011-15 National Affordable Homes Programme that will have ‘Affordable Rents’ but the sites have still to have approvals in place”.
On planning gain (s106) sites, the council’s policy remains that these are delivered with no public subsidy and that rents are set at target social rents and not the new ‘Affordable Rents
