House building numbers and sites: “Give residents the full facts” say Lib Dems

Liberal Democrat councillors say that public consultation on controversial housing plans should be delayed until residents are given the full facts.

Green Belt campaign logo

Last year Labour run York Council published its ‘Draft Local Plan’ which outlined proposals to build 22,000 houses on sites across York, including 16,000 in the Green Belt. Last week the Labour Cabinet approved a report for public consultation which earmarked further sites and recommended boundary changes on sites identified last year.

However, the public consultation papers do not include housing numbers either for the new sites or amended housing numbers for the revised sites. Consultation papers last year included housing numbers. Controversially, many of the new sites are on Green Belt land.

The Council have also failed to update their plan numbers to take into account over 1000 homes, which have been granted planning permission for housing during the last year, and which are on sites which were not included when the Draft Local Plan was published 12 months ago.

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Nearly half of planning appeals against York Council decisions are successful

5 of the 12 appeals against York Council decisions on planning applications – considered during the first 3 months of this year – were successful.

At 42% the rate of appeals allowed is above the national annual average of around 33% and higher than the previous quarter figure for York of 18%.

Overall for the last 12 months 27% of appeals were successful.

The Government announced last year that it will use appeals performance in identifying poor performing planning authorities, with a view to the introduction of special measures and direct intervention in planning matters within the worst performing authorities. This is now in place for Planning Authorities where more than 70% of appeals against refusal of permission for major applications are allowed

Most of the successful appeals were against the decisions of Council officials who took them under delegated powers.

A full list of the planning applications which went for appeal can be read here One successful appeal allows the owner of Penn House in St Marys to clean the outside of what is a Listed building!

Blue Bridge hotel

Blue Bridge hotel

The results of appeals on a further 15 refusals of planning permission are awaited. They include plans to erect 102 dwellings on land to the north of Brecks Lane, Strensall.

NB. A meeting taking place next week is being recommended to approve the conversion of the Blue Bridge hotel in Fishergate into 11 flats and one house.  This is another brownfield site not included in Labours Local Plan as suitable for residential accommodation. The application further erodes the cae for building on Green Belt land.

York crime update

Mobile safety camera routes week commencing 30 April 2014

Below are the enforcement locations for North Yorkshire Police’s mobile safety cameras for week commencing Wednesday 30 April 2014.

The safety cameras are now more visible then ever before with each of the three vehicles bearing the same hi-vis livery as North Yorkshire Police’s marked vehicle fleet.

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Disabled busker racially abused in York city centre

York police are appealing for witnesses after a disabled man was racially abused in the city centre.

The victim, an eastern European man aged in his mid to late 20’s who has no legs, was sitting on his skateboard busking on Coney Street when he was approached by a man at around 12pm on Saturday 26 April 2014.

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Poster campaign alerts drivers to cycle safety

A poster and billboard campaign has begun across North Yorkshire urging motorists to drive with the safety of pedal and motor cyclists in mind.

The county council, along with North Yorkshire Police, have launched a new ‘Think! Bike campaign with posters and hoardings displayed in urban areas and along popular cycling and motorbike routes. The first billboard went up in Harrogate this week.

With more cyclists expected to take to the county’s roads in the run-up to the Tour de France, the county council’s road safety team in partnership with the police are running a cyclist and biker awareness campaign aimed at motorists in an attempt to reduce the number of casualties. The purpose is to get motorists to drive with consideration for other road users, especially before turning or changing direction.

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The Chapelfields survey 2014

Preliminary results are available for this year’s public opinion survey which has been undertaken in the Chapelfields area.

Damaged verges a source of complaint

Damaged verges a source of complaint

Over 500 homes have been visited during the last couple of weeks.

The biggest complaint from residents was the lack of car parking space. Many verges have been damaged over the winter.

Asked what the York Councils should do to remedy the problem. most thought that more lay-bys should be provided.

1. Provide lay-bys

25%

2. Provide a new programme of dropped kerbs/verge crossovers

22%

3. Provide matrix style verge protection

20%

4. Provide off street parking in front of blocks of flats

19%

5. Bitmac vulnerable verges

12%

6. Leave things as they are

1%

Residents were also asked when they last saw a PCSOs or Police officer patrolling the estate. Here the results were disappointing with very few saying that they had seen an officer during the last 2 months.

This is much lower than was recorded 4 years ago.

Asked how they would like the Police to stay in contact, residents gave the following preference order.

1. Leaflets
2. Facebook
3. Meetings
4. Text
5. Telephone
6. Visits
7. Twitter

Residents were keen to see additional events provided at the local community centre. Those most mentioned were – in order –

  1. Youth Activities (primary school age)
  1. Youth Activities (secondary school age)
  1. Pre-school provision

46% said that dog fouling is a problem in their street, while 19%  had found it difficult to contact the Council to raise issues.

14% had found that the higher income tax thresholds introduced by the Coalition government had directly helped them.

Finally residents were asked to give their verdict on several controversial issues. Their responses were:

1. The York Council should take up the governments grant offer and freeze Council Tax levels Agree 79%
Disagree 7%
Unde 15%
2. I support the deployment of more “number plate recognition cameras” in York (a Labour Council plan which could lead to local motorists paying an additional £150,000 a year in fines). Agree 23%
Disagree 57%
Unde 20%
3. The Minster badge residents discount parking scheme should be retained Agree 85%
Disagree 1%
Unde 13%
4. The Council should spend more improving sub-urban and residential areas even if this means spending less on paving projects in the City centre Agree 80%
Disagree 7%
Unde 13%

The survey will be carried out in other parts of the Westfield Ward over forthcoming weeks.

Updated results will be published on this web site periodically

Tour de France local events brochure launched today

cycling band

An new programme which outlines some of the many cycling opportunities and events in York this year will be launched by members of York’s cycling fraternity and cycling residents on Tuesday 29 April.

Brochures have been distributed through schools and can be picked up from leisure centres and libraries. Further information and a copy of the brochure to download is available from www.york.gov.uk/cycling
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Catch the Bus Week: New timetables to be rolled out city wide

 bus-stop1

Bus users will be able to ‘catch the bus’ from this week using a new-look bus timetable, as part of a city wide makeover to improve bus services and waiting facilities in and around York.

New-look timetables will be installed at all stops throughout the city during this week’s Catch the Bus Week (28 April – 4 May) a national campaign lead by Green Journeys.

Following a successful two-month trial along the Hull Road to Dunnington route (number 10 service) last year the new timetables provide a much more accessible format for bus users, compared to the existing timetables which are currently provided by both the council and individual operators in a variety of different designs, shapes and sizes.

The roll out is funded through part of the £3.5 million government Better Bus Area Fund awarded by the coalition government to York  in 2012.

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Drunken sailors return to York?

The York council will soon have spent its £28 million “Economic Investment Fund”.

In a final spending spree, before electors have a chance to give a verdict on the “spend, spend, spend” approach of the Labour Council, over £250,000 is to be spent this year on new projects.

One involves the investment of £175,000 in paving the entrance to Hungate/Peasholme Green.

Peasholme Green

Peasholme Green

The justification for the investment is that it will encourage more “return visitors to the area”.

While the Quilt Museum and Black Swan pub (both of which could suffer because of the Councils decision to close the Haymarket car park) may read this with interest, most commentators will think that the private sector should pay for any improvements to Hungate.

This is, after all, adjacent to the site which the Council sold off for a little over £2 million in the depth of the recession.

The prime City centre site – on which Hiscox hope to build offices – has now more than doubled in value.

The project will, however, have little impact on Hungate even after adding in Section S106 contributions which could increase the budget to circa £250,000.

Nearby £300,000 is being spent on paving a very small section of Fossgate, while the controversial resurfacing of Kings Square is costing taxpayers £500,000.

Most of the Council’s EIF budget comes from borrowing. It will add around £1.6 million a year to the debt charges that taxpayers will have to find.

Meanwhile sub-urban shopping and residential eras continue to suffer a decline in public service standards.

Perhaps the most telling comment on the Hungate scheme comes in the Council report itself.

It virtually admits that they have no idea whether the investment will bring any kind of return for the City.

“With respect to the Hungate public realm project, estimating the exact impact of investment in public realm can be difficult, but estimates provided in this report from respected authorities suggest that the impact provides value for money”.

Quite so!

Scale of Council’s Lendal bridge confusion revealed

Council’s legal costs total £6,900 and rising

A freedom of Information request has revealed that the amount of money spent on legal advice in connection with Lendal Bridge, following a recent adjudicator decision, is £6,900 and rising.

This is in addition to the £350,000 in capital and running cost already incurred by the Council.

Originally the Council said that the trial would cost less than £100,000 (and be paid for by appropriating monies provided by central government for improvements to public transport in the City)

If the fine income has to be repaid to drivers, then the costs of the trial will become a heavy burden on York Council Taxpayers

Lendal Bridge sign

Meanwhile the long awaited analysis of the successes and failures of the Lendal Bridge trial has been published.

The absence of the report was used by Labour at the last Council meeting on 27th March to avoid making an early decision on scrapping the restrictions. Labour subsequently wilted under sustained criticism from residents when it became clearly that nearly £2 million in fines income (Coppergate and Lendal Bridge combined) had been levied unlawfully.

It is the appeal against the adjudicator’s decision on the latter which has led to escalating legal costs.

The report makes it clear that the imperative for bringing forward the Lendal Bridge access restrictions from 2025 – the target date included in the current Local Transport Plan (LTP3) – was the Labour Councils proposal to increase the size of the City by 25% over the next 15 years. Most commentators have already condemned such growth as irresponsible with likely catastrophic consequences for the environment in general and transport systems in particular. The report says that such growth would lead to a 41% increase in traffic across the City.

The main objectives of the trial were always unclear. They are now retrospectively claimed to be to

  • reduce congestion in the city centre and on the route between the Station and Gillygate/Clarence Street in particular;
  • create a bus corridor that provides improvements in bus reliability and journey times, thus encouraging greater use of public transport and
  • Improve the public realm at the north end of the city centre by reducing the impact of traffic.

Even with benefit of hindsight, and manipulating data to fit a required outcome, the trial fails 2 of these 3 criteria. There was less traffic on Lendal Bridge but overall the number of car journeys was the same, congestion (which is not high between 10:30am and 5:00pm anyway) simply transferred to other roads and emissions impacted on the air quality at different locations – it did not reduce.Over 70% of respondents to the Council surveys felt that the restrictions had adversely affected them. This compares to 79% who responded to surveys in west York saying that the Lendal Bridge trial had not been successful.

Objective Council verdict The reality
Accommodation Occupancy Levels in City Increase Hotels – not affected by the trial have also shown increased use. It is linked to an improving economy, good weather and special events held in the City. It has not been influenced by the Lendal bridge restrictions. York hotelier groups were opposed to the restrictions
Footfall (Parliament Street) Increase Footfall in Parliament Street showed a substantial fall in the early part of the trial. It recovered in the run up to Christmas. Again it reflects changing economic times. Many retailers report lower sales over the 6 month trial period. The longer term reputational damage caused by the high level of fines has yet to be felt by the City.
Parking in City Centre Car Parks Static The council is forecasting that it will have a lower income from car parking in 2013/14 than it budgeted for.
Citywide Traffic Counts Static The same amount of traffic, just using different routes.
Journey Times Increases/Decreases In the main, the mileage covered – and subsequent longer journey times for those who otherwise would have used Lendal Bridge – were significantly higher. The Council have failed to analyse this cost.
Bus Journey Times Increases/Decreases The report fails to list the journey time and passenger number impacts on a route by route basis. Without that information, no conclusions on public transport can be drawn. The Council has failed to isolate cause and effect. If bus patronage is up 7% how much of that is down to economic factors, how much to the fare/routes changes introduced in September etc.?

The data reveals that between September and December 2013 there were 2 serious accidents on Lendal Bridge (compared to none during the same period in the previous year).

The number of “slight” accidents did however reduce.

So where now?

Labour are promoting an all party “traffic congestion Commission”. Apparently to be independently chaired, the body would be doomed before it started if it was asked to provide transport solutions for the journey demands that would be generated by a 25% increase in the City’s size.

That is mission impossible.

It is made worse by the Labour Councils reliance on the development of Green Belt land – which generally has poorer public transport options than the brownfield alternative which is closer to the City centre.

The real choice will be for residents to make at the 2015 Council elections.

The Liberal Democrats will be offering a policy of sustainable growth.

It remains to be seen what other options are tabled.