Tudor Road footpath reconstruction starts on 24th November

Tudor Road footpath repairs November 2014 click to enlarge

The City of York Council will start work week commencing 24th November 2014 to reconstruct the footway shown on the plan above.

The short section of footpath affected is that leading to the old entrance to Lowfields school and numbers 32 – 42

This scheme is programmed to take 1 week, weather permitting.

The works consists of fully excavating the footway and reconstructing from the ground up in tarmac new road kerbs are to be installed.

The Contractor carrying out the work will be City of York Council’s Highways department who are responsible for your safety and for providing access while the work is ongoing. (Please be patient with the contractor when facilitating your access). The contractor will be working between 8:00am and 4:00pm Monday to Thursday, and 8:00am to 12:30pm on Fridays.

Council Tax in York – value of exemptions published

Student accommodation costs taxpayers £18 million over 5 years.

The York Council has published a table showing the amount of Council Tax not collected over the last 5 years because of approved “exemptions”.

The amount not collected totals £34 million.

By far the largest proportion of this is accounted for by student occupied accommodation. This accounts for around £18 million of the total. Central government claims that this is recognised in the grant distribution formulae which is aimed at equalising resources between different Councils (and is effectively funded from income tax). However the precise make up of individual central government council support grants is largely opaque.

The figure is likely to re-energise the claims of those who feel that student accommodation should attract either Council Tax or Business Rates payments.

Other reasons why properties did not attract Council Tax liability included:

Empty and unfurnished property (£4.5 million)
Awaiting probate (£1.9 million)
Student halls of residence (£1.7 million)
Occupation by members of the armed forces (£2.9 million)
Property occupied by people with a mental handicap (£2.3 million)

Council Tax exemptions click to access

Footnote
There are three main reform options for Student flat exemptions

1. Charge each student Council Tax with benefits (rebate) available to those on low incomes. This is essentially the position at non-student occupied private sector lettings. OR

2. Levy Business Rates on exempt student occupied properties. Some private landlords might qualify for small business rate relief. OR

3. Make the additional grant, that central government says it pays Councils with a high student population, entirely transparent. Residents should be able to understand and audit the assumptions behind the figures. OR

4. Leave things as they are which means that some residents – who may have no more income than many students – may pay more for local public services subsidising, not students, but private landlords.

There is a good argument for 3 above given that most landlords do pay tax on their incomes and it is a system that should be easy to implement.

Foreign trips – delay in publishing information criticised

Following our story yesterday some correspondents have criticised the Council for failing to keep its “transparency” web site up to date.

The web site is aimed, apparently, at telling taxpayers what expenses are being incurred.

Council officials foreign travel expenses are now published on their web site. There have been no entries made since May 2014 Click here
Senior officers expenses – including the cost of air travel but not destination and journey purpose information – are published separately although there have been no updates since June. Click here
Summaries of Councillors expenses are now only published annually.

The York Council seems to be struggling to publish information that it is required by law to provide click

Have your say on York’s Flood Risk Management Strategy

Working with key partners including the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water, City of York Council has created a draft Local Flood Risk Management strategy which will go out to a six-week consultation from Wednesday 5 November until Wednesday 17 December at www.york.gov.uk/consultations

A consultation questionnaire is available to complete online from this week. Alternatively, paper copies are available from libraries and Explore Centres across York, or the council’s West Offices building. Feedback can also be submitted to FRM@york.gov.uk .

To read the full strategy, FAQs and an information leaflet visit: www.york.gov.uk/floodriskstrategy

The development of the strategy follows severe floods in 2007 across the UK, including York, which affected over 55,000 homes and businesses causing over £3billion worth of damage across the UK.

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Unleash your creativity with 3D Printing at Explore Acomb Library

On Saturday 6 December, Explore Acomb Library will be hosting two 3D Printing events.

During these three-hour events, experts will train learners in 3D design using the latest technology, and each learner will be given the opportunity to print their design to take home with them – this could include 3D jewellery, ornaments, model trains, toys, utensils and much more.

And as the events occur in early December, this could be the perfect opportunity to design and create a unique Christmas gift for that special someone.

Customers have a choice of a morning or afternoon session:

Saturday 6 December, 9.30am – 12.30pm

Saturday 6 December, 13.30pm – 16.30pm.

Spaces are limited, so booking is essential. Please call Explore Acomb Library on 01904 552651 to reserve a place. Tickets are priced at £30 per person which includes design training, model creation and refreshments. The events are open to all ages.

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Investing to protect York’s medieval Bar Walls

City of York Council is investing over £100,000 to protect and preserve York’s historical Walmgate Bar Walls which date back to the medieval period.

Walmgate Bar is the most complete of the four medieval gateways in York and the walls themselves are the best example of medieval city walls still standing in England today, which over a million people walk across every year.

Originally built as defences, the focus is now on conservation and the council is working with English Heritage to carry out a number of improvements to Walmgate Bar this month to help preserve over 1,900 years of history.

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Where the skips are on Saturday

The skips below are funded by your local residents association using their Estate Improvement Grant. The skips are removed once they are full so please make sure you arrive in good time if you intend to make use of them.

1. Please remember to take your waste to the site only on the dates advertised

2. If the skip is full or not on the site, please do not leave your waste. This is classed as fly tipping and is illegal

3. Bulky items including furniture, fridges and freezers are not accepted. To arrange disposal of Bulky items including furniture, fridges and freezers are not accepted. To arrange disposal of one of these items please ring York (01904) 551551.

click to enlarge

Click the following links for more information

Road works on The Mount next week

City of York Council will carry out essential resurfacing works on three junctions on The Mount. Work will take place on the junctions of Dalton Terrace, Albemarle Road, and Scarcroft Road from Monday 10 November.

The work is programmed to last five days and will take place between 7pm-11pm.

In order to carry out these works safely, temporary road closures of the junctions The Mount/Dalton Terrace, The Mount/Albemarle Rd and The Mount/Scarcroft Rd will be in place. Traffic on The Mount will be managed using two way temporary traffic lights. Work will not be carried out on weekends.

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New 2014/15 waste and recycling calendars

City of York Council is sending households in York a new waste and recycling calendar for 2014/15.

From this week households across the city will start to receive their new calendar which outlines when collections are taking place between December 2014 and November 2015, including collections over the Christmas and New Year period.

The new calendars also provide tips and advice on what items can and can’t be recycled including paper/cardboard, glass, plastic bottles, cans/tins and if applicable garden waste.

The council also recently announced its decision to add a further garden waste collection in January to pick up out of season garden waste – to collect any remaining autumn waste and Christmas trees.

Flats, rural properties and city centre properties serviced by St Nicks recycling team will receive collection information in December. For any queries about the St Nicks recycling service in the city centre please go to http://www.stnicks.org.uk/ or telephone 01904 411821.

Residents are asked to ensure their bins or boxes are presented by 7am on the day of their collection, but no earlier than 7pm the evening before.

For more information on waste and recycling visit please visit www.york.gov.uk/recycling .Or follow on @CYCWaste on Twitter or ‘like’ CYCWaste on Facebook.

“Salt bins being checked, repaired and filled” – York Council

Salt bins filled with rubbish

Following our story of a few days ago, the Council has said that it is checking all salt bins.

Where necessary they are being repaired before being filled with salt.

Hopefully they will also remove the accumulated rubbish and update the salt bin map displayed on their web site.

Andrew Waller is actively pressing for some of the salt bins in the Westfield area – axed 2 years ago by Labour – to be reinstated,.