Poppleton “dig” announced

City of York Council is offering residents an opportunity to take part in an archaeological dig on the site of York’s newest Park & Ride.

Part of the Planning Approval for the construction of the proposed Park & Ride facility off the A59, was that the land should be assessed in detail to understand its archaeological significance.

So, from Monday 24 September experienced and novice community archaeologists will be able to work alongside professionals on the site of Poppleton Bar adjacent to the A59 and Northfields Lane.. (more…)

Guildhall future: fears grow

York Guildhall

Launch of international design competition to influence the future of York’s historic Guildhall and riverside

The Council have provided more details of the “design competition” that they hope will determine the future of the Guildhall when administrative staff leave the building early next year. In a press release they say,

“City of York Council will be launching a competition seeking nationally and internationally renowned architects to submit their design proposals which clearly demonstrate potential future uses for York’s historic Guildhall and riverside complex.

Registered architects are invited to develop their ideas for the Guildhall, the associated office accommodation, river frontage and boat yard, as part of an ‘Open Ideas’ competition, run by The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Entries will be sought from architects putting forward innovative ideas on how the potential of the Guildhall site and riverside could be maximised for the benefit of the city and its residents”.

Labour’s plan has been criticised for failing to guarantee the buildings future as the civic hub of the City and for glossing over the costs of, and timescales involved in undertaking, a major remodelling project. The concern is that the building – will be empty for a long period of time and will become a blot on the streetscape of a very sensitive part of the City Centre.

Labour MPs £4,500 “hospitality” admission

According to media reports, York’s Labour MP Hugh Bayley accepted £4500 of hospitality at an Olympics games event on 6th August. The gift has been declared the House of Commons register and apparently came from Nestle.

The revelation comes only a few days after local Labour Councillors in York were criticised for accepting hospitality, worth around £1000, from lobbyists and commercial organisations.

York will pay £3.3 million in Landfill Tax penalties

click to enlarge

It has now been confirmed by the Council that the Landfill Tax penalties, that will have to be made by Council Taxpayers, are set to increase by nearly £400,000 this year.

More commercial waste is going to landfill and the amount that residents are composting was down in the early part of the year.

The closure of the Beckfield Lane recycling centre in April will save the Council only £40,000 a year (10% of the extra Landfill Tax bill that we now face).

The Council have confirmed that Labour’s Green Bin Tax plan will not be published for consultation until 2013. Instead there will be “a review into working patterns and shifts as well as a move away from same day collections for refuse and recycling”.

Labour have also threatened to privatise the waste collection service next year.

Labour’s green bin tax: decision put back to December

Against a background of escalating landfill tax payments and with York slipping down the recycling league tables, the Labour led Council has put off making a potentially controversial decision about the introduction of charges for emptying green wheelie bins.

The Labour controlled Sheffield Council led the way with a £57.60 charge which it introduced earlier in the year.

Now the latest Council performance figures, released since the Beckfield Lane recycling centre was closed, show that, for the first time in a decade, York households are sending more waste to landfill than the regional average.

Waste going to landfill click to enlarge

The data from waste collections indicates that waste recycled, reused or composted is currently forecast this year to be 46.58% compared to a target of 47.61% and the percentage of waste land filled is forecast to be higher than its target of 51.83% for 2012/13, remaining static at just over 52.9%.

This means that the Council’s budget could be overspent by around £160,000.

Labours green bin emptying tax would be hugely unpopular and this may be the reason why the promised public consultation exercise scheduled for August was abandoned.

Now the Council will not even debate the proposal until December. Even if the plan is agreed, the saving of £50,000 to this year’s budget is unlikely to be achieved. The majority of the hoped for income (£200,000) was, however, scheduled to arrive in 2013/14. Evidence of resistance to the charges, where they have been introduced elsewhere in the country, suggests that this figure is also optimistic.

What may happened though is that green bin emptying in winter could be abandoned altogether, while the rationalisation of bin rounds (saving £300,000) may be also pushed through.

This would mean recycling collections on different days of the week with the resulting confusion likely to increase the amount of waste sent to landfill (and hence the amount of landfill tax that residents will have to find) .

Well fancy that

Freedom of information response August 2012 by York Council to enquiry reference Y5844

Question: What support (financial or otherwise) has City of York Council provided to Leeds Bradford Airport and/or British Airways in connection with the airline commencing flights from Leeds Bradford Airport to Heathrow?

Answer “Nil”

Extract from report by Cllr J Gunnell to Cabinet 4th September

“16. The Council played an important part in the successful bid by Leeds- Bradford Airport to re-instate four flights a day from London Heathrow”.

Westfield parking restrictions approved

Additional parking restrictions have been agreed by the Council which will affect the Westfield Ward.

They differ slightly in some cases from the proposals advertised earlier in the year (see http://stevegalloway.mycouncillor.org.uk/2012/04/01/new-parking-restrictions-proposed-in-westfield-part-of-york-4/) in an attempt to meet some of the objections registered by residents.

Grange Lane 4 to 10 Click to enlarge

Askham Grove Click to enlarge

Kingsway West click to enlarge

• In Gladstone Street, parking restriction will apply only to the raised table at the junction.

• In Askham Grove, the restrictions will apply only to the mouth of the cul de sac. The proposed restrictions opposite (on the west of Askham Lane) have been abandoned.

• The advertised proposals for Kingsway West were agreed and will see parking restrictions imposed outside number 111.

• The advertised restrictions at the junction of St Stephens Mews and The Green did not attract any objections and will be implemented without amendment.

A couple of objectors complained that they would be unable to park their vehicles unless the decision, to stop the verge cross over programme, was reversed (see http://tinyurl.com/York-dropped-kerbs )