Tour de France: First bus service changes and camping advice video for visitors

With millions expected to line the route of the Tour de France this weekend, First is putting in place the final preparations for the local bus and Park&Ride network around York on Sunday 6 July.

Bus stuck during previous TdF race

Bus stuck during previous TdF race

Due to road closures some routes will also need to be diverted or altered and customers are encouraged to plan well ahead by visiting firstgroup.com/tourdefrance for all the details. Details of changes to routes, stops and services can also be seen around the city centre on notices at bus stops and information displayed on real time screens.

As a result of the route taken by the race, First’s cross-city services will be split and some will be diverted with buses starting and finishing at one of three bus hubs, Fishergate, Hungate & the Station.

First has worked closely with City of York Council to also provide more Park & Ride journeys with services starting from 6am – three and a half hours earlier than on a normal Sunday. In addition, Askham Bar, Grimston Bar and Rawcliffe Bar Park & Ride sites will open from 4am to allow people to arrive early.

Park&Ride sites provide services every 10 minutes with great value fares (returns costing £2.70 from the terminal to the city centre, with up to 2 children travelling free with each adult). More information is available yorkparkandride.co.uk. Due to the route taken by the race the Poppleton Bar Park&Ride will not be operating on Sunday 6th July..

First is also providing extra buses across the York network on existing routes providing more capacity and allowing for slightly longer journeys in some cases to take into account diversions and additional road traffic. Many services will also start earlier on the morning of Sunday 6 July to accommodate the extra demand.

As well as additional driving roles, First staff will be working across the network and behind the scenes to ensure the event is a success. First is also preparing spare buses ready at key locations across Yorkshire to meet any other transport requirements.

Tour de France camping

Additional late evening services will operate on the Monks Cross Park & Ride on Friday 4th July to cater for the ‘Grand Departy’ concert at Huntington Stadium. The last bus back to the City will depart from Monks Cross Park & Ride site at 11.30pm. Services will run as normal on Saturday 5 July and Monday 7th July.

Customers are encouraged to keep in touch with travel updates over the weekend by using twitter on @YorkTravel

Will Pearson, Business Manager of First in York added: The Tour de France, Grand Depart is a fabulous opportunity to showcase Yorkshire and we’ve worked closely with partners including City of York Council to support our existing bus network and introduce extra services to help transport existing and new customers. There will be some disruption to the bus network but by planning ahead customers can find out what alternatives are available and ensure they enjoy this

Tour de France update

Council frantically planting marigolds on A59 roundabout

The York Council has abandoned any hope of getting the Poppleton Bar Park and Ride site finished before the Tour de France riders pass the site on Sunday morning.

Poppleton Bar park and ride site

Poppleton Bar park and ride site

They are currently desperately planting yellow flowers on the nearby roundabout no doubt to mollify the sponsors who are probably seething at the delays. The work is adding to the high congestion levels on the A1237.

The Council is likely to be asked to publish the minutes of any contract progress meetings that responsible Cabinet members (Merrett and more recently Levene) have held since February when it became clear that the original target completion date of 1st April would not be met.

Elsewhere the Council says that sales of Grand Departy tickets for Fridays concert are “brisk”. However they have reduced the number available from 10,000 to 5000 and now say that you can turn up and pay on the day. There has been no comment from the Cabinet member (Crisp) who is responsible for this particular flop.

Otherwise York residents have been advised to brace themselves for 3 hours of fame and turmoil on Sunday morning.

Where to see it

The timetable of events suggests that the cyclists will leave the racecourse at 11:00am.

The Spectator Hubs are situated at Huntington Stadium, Rowntree Park and the Designer Outlet and all are free and unticketed. Tickets for a fourth Hub at York Racecourse were issued earlier this year and were snapped up within hours. The Hubs will open at 8am (7am at the Racecourse) until approximately 7.30pm and all will have catering, entertainment, a Sports Activation Zone to explore York’s cycling and other sporting opportunities as well as large viewing screens for the sporting action.
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Community hub set to grow in Acomb

City of York Council is starting new drop-in sessions as part of its support for a very successful community-led project being run from a church in Acomb.

Lidget Grove

The sessions will be held at Lidgett Grove Methodist Church which is developing into a community hub. There, council officers will offer information and advice to local people on housing issues, anti-social behaviour or housing-related debt, as well as offering advice and information to anyone wanting to get more involved in the community. These will run on Wednesday mornings between 9.30 and 11.30am from Wednesday 9 July.

 

The church’s work started by setting up a very successful Community Café inspired by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s work on loneliness: what causes it and how to combat it. In Carr the main causes of loneliness were aging, family issues, not knowing neighbours, a lack of community facilities and chances to get involved with the community. Among the solutions identified were establishing a central location where people can find information, meet others and get support and services.

In summer 2013, a community café offering company and activities started up as a pilot scheme. It was so well-supported and popular that it carried on and now runs every Wednesday from 9:30 to 11:30am.
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10 Minute Shake Up comes to York

10minute-shakeup-346

Change4Life and Disney are partnering on a major new campaign – 10 Minute Shake Up – to help encourage the city’s children to get active this summer.

The 10 Minute Shake Up campaign uses a bit of Disney magic to inspire children to reach the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day, with fun, manageable 10 minute bursts of exercise with an aim of getting children across the country moving for an extra 100 million minutes this summer.
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Latest Planning applications Acomb and Westfield Wards

Hob Moor development site – third request for changes to planning conditions

Yet more changes to the planning permission granted for the erection of houses on the former Our Lady’s school site on Hob Moor have been submitted. It is the third change, to the conditions imposed by the Planning Committee, requested by the developers in little over 1 month. The letters issued to neighbours who objected to the original – very controversial – plan are opaque with only a very limited time available in which to raise objections. All in all, it is not a satisfactory way of dealing with genuine concerns.

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Acomb Ward.  There were no applicatiosn last week in the Westfield Ward

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference

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Acomb

Location:       33 The Green Acomb York YO26 5LL

Proposal:       Various Tree Works to Leylandii, Holly and Laurel,Trees in The Conservation Area

Ref No: 14/01483/TCA

Contact:        Douglas Monaghan   Consultation Expiry Date:       21 July 2014 Case Officer:   Esther Priestley        Expected Decision Level:        DEL

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Westfield

Location:       Our Ladys R C Primary School Windsor Garth York YO24 4QW

Proposal:       Variation of conditions 2 and 10 of permitted application 13/02892/FULM to alter drainage

Ref No: 14/01037/FULM and AOD/14/00210

Applicant:      Mr Ben Lysiak   Contact Mr Mark Skeels  Consultation  Expiry Date        14 July 2014 Case Officer:   Erik Matthews   Expected Decision Level DEL

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Location:       Hargraves Pharmacy 67 Front Street York YO24 3BR

Proposal:       Display of 1no. internally illuminated fasica sign and 1no. internally illuminated projecting sign

Ref No: 14/01264/ADV

Applicant:      Lloyds Pharmacy  Contact Mrs Deborah Pitt      Consultation Expiry Date        14 July 2014 Case Officer:   Victoria Bell   Expected Decision Level DEL

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Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning on line web site.  http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received.

Marygate car park gets barrier

The new equipment for Marygate has apparently has cost £100,000.

The reliability record of this type of system is also patchy

There are some big questions to be answered about value for money with residents discount Minster Badges now costing £20. .

Apparently the facility to pay by charge/credit card (or phone) will be withdrawn. Not clear whether it is a “no change given” machine. Assume it will accept notes!!

NB. Will charges apply in the evening? How will badge holders exit without paying?

Media reports Ebay sales of “free” Tour de France event tickets….

………But Council still to explain missing 5000 tickets

As reported three weeks ago, 5000 tickets for the “free” Knavesmire launch event on 6th July were being held back by the Council as “prizes in competitions”.

Tickets are now reported to be changing hands on the black market at £30 each.

The recipients of the 40 “VIP” tickets that that the Council reserved for the Tour de France start event at the racecourse have not been disclosed nor have the beneficiaries of the additional 200 exclusive tickets which were retained “for a specific viewing area”

The York Council is using £1.6 million of York taxpayers money to subsidise events connected with the Tour De France

Acomb Library events.

With the central library now closed until the autumn for refurbishing, the opening hours of the Acomb Front Street Branch have been extended.

It is additionally opening on Wednesdays (9am to 5pm), Saturday opening will be extended to 4pm while on Sundays the doors will be open between 11am to 3pm

Big York Council Departmental overspends in 2013/14

Council took £1.8 million in spy camera fines which may have to be refunded

Social care budgets were over spent by £1.3 million last year with Environmental Services (mainly waste collection)   clocking up a £443,000 and Children’s Services/Education a £309,000 loss.

man_reading_newspaper_clip_art_19616

Overall York Council  Departments spent £1.7 million more than had been budgeted.

The budget broke even only because of a £2 million surplus on “centrally administered” budgets.

The figures are revealed in a report  to be considered by the Councils “Cabinet” tomorrow (Tuesday)

As previously reported, the biggest problems arise in Social Care where the Council reveals overspends on community support (£236k) due to a higher number of customers than forecast, a continued increase above forecast level in the number of customers taking up Direct Payments (£129k), increased use of external placements for emergency and short term breaks (£252k) and a higher than budgeted number of customers in residential nursing placements (£718k).

The Councils financial position was saved only because it continued to enjoy the benefits of low interest rates on its borrowing (equivalent to a £990,000 budget saving).

It achieved only 73% of its planned capital investment programme storing up a massive £83 million backlog in work which it says it will try to address during the current financial year.

The government gave the City an extra £732,000 to reduce the Rate burden on small businesses although there has been a slow take up on this important concession.

The position is also masked by £1.765 million in fines income received from spy camera use in the Lendal Bridge and Coppergate.

The Council has now admitted that the trials cost a whopping £718,000 to implement. £1.047 million has been put in a reserve account which will presumably be used to refund fines imposed unlawfully.

The balance would have to come from Council taxpayers (the equivalent of a 1% rise in Council Tax levels).

The spy cameras on Lendal Bridge have been removed while those on Coppergate were switched off on 1st April.

The housing revenue account (Council house rents income) showed a £12.1 million surplus at the end of the year.

 The report to the Cabinet pointedly fails to contain performance data on the quality of public services being provided to York residents.

NB As at April 1st  2014, 6717 York Council Taxpayers had arrears of £ 4,769,989.36