Bins emptying chaos continues into second week

The chaos on the bin emptying services continues for a second week.

Today the Council are admitting that dozens of more streets have not had their bins emptied.

They say that the following roads have been missed.

Rubbish collection (black bin) –

Dringhouses/Knavesmire area:

◦ Chalfonts

Un-emptied bins on Pulleyn Drive. 5:00pm 16th Sept 2013

Un-emptied bins on Pulleyn Drive. 5:00pm 16th Sept 2013


◦ Nelsons Lane

◦ Goodwood Grove

◦ Hob Moor Terrace

◦ Weddel Close

◦ Lingfield Crescent

◦ Pulleyn Drive

◦ White House Gardens

◦ White House Rise

◦ White House Dale

◦ St George’s Place

◦ Towton Avenue

◦ Moorgarth Avenue

Mount Pleasant Park area (Acaster Malbis) :

◦Lakeside
◦The Willows
◦Oak Avenue
◦The Crescent
◦The Close
◦Cundall Drive
◦Cherry Tree Drive
◦Beech Avenue
◦Lilac Avenue
◦Pleasant Avenue
◦Elm Avenue

The Council says that it will return to these properties to make collections by the end of the next working day. “Please ensure that your bin is out by 7am as the crews will be returning early in the morning”.

House sales in York picking up

There has been an increase in the number of properties sold in York over the last quarter.

In west York, a 1 bedroomed terraced property in Invicta Court sold for £103,000. A 2 bed semi in St Stephens Square fetched £116,000 while a 3 bedroomed semi in Thoresby Road went for £125,000. In Coeside £217,500 bought a 3 bedroomed detached.

Homes currently for sale include:

2 Bedroomed flat Helena Mews £110,000 click for more details

2 Bedroomed flat Helena Mews £110,000 click for more details


• 1 bed flats in Vyner House priced from £95,000

• 2 bed flat on St Stephens Square at £65,000

• 2 bed flat on Foxwood Lane for £110,000

• 2 Bed semi in Minter Close for £144,000

• 3 Bed house on Kingsway West for £135,000

• Those with a very large family might be interested in a £395,000 6/7 bedroomed property in Thanet Road

While at the other end of the price range a new 5 bedroomed property in Dalton Terrace will set you back £595,000

The cheapest property that we could find in York is a 1 Bedroomed flat in Buckingham Street currently advertised for £55,000

To Rent

Baker Street 3 bedroomed house £625 PCM click for more details

Baker Street 3 bedroomed house £625 PCM click for more details

• 2 bed terrace in Hanover Street is advertised at £575 pcm

• 3 bed in Baker Street is advertised at £625 PCM

• 4 Bed in Danebury Drive is advertised at £695

The cheapest (private sector) property available to rent in York at present is a 1 bedroomed end terrace in Eccles Close Rawcliffe available at £300 per month.

195 new apartments for Hungate

A planning application for the next phase of the Hungate development has been submitted to the Council.

Click here for details

Hungate phase 2

The Foss side application – a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroomed flats – is unexceptional save in one respect.

No offer is made of affordable units either on site or off site.

Instead a viability study is being prepared which will indicate “at a later date” what – if any – “affordable units” can be provided.

A precedent for a zero affordable contribution was established by a planning inspector who determined a York planning appeal recently.

The design of the flats proposed suggests that they would not address social housing needs anyway (although most of the waiting list is now made up of residents seeking 1 bedroomed accommodation).

If this means that payment to the Council, in lieu of homes, is planned then that could be a step forward.

As we have pointed out previously, there are many properties for sale in the City for around £100,000.

If the Council was a “cash in hand” purchaser they could buy up some of these and make an immediate impact on the housing waiting list.

The last batch of Hungate properties were relatively expensive (starting at over £200,000 for a small flat).

So the willingness of the developer to proceed with the next stage does provide further evidence that the country’s economic recovery is gaining momentum in York.

Now York Council botches clinical waste collection

Apparently one Holgate resident has been waiting for 10 days for her grey bin to be emptied.

clinical_waste

Although the issue will be familiar to many, given the shambolic reorganisation of bins collections over the last week, this case raises more serious issues.

The home concerned is one that is on the schedule for the collection of clinical waste. This type of waste is collected regularly by the Council prior to incineration.

Despite EIGHT attempts to contact the council, the waste remains on the street.

An appalling state of affairs.

NB. The Council describes its clinical and medical waste service in the following terms.

The council offers a free collection to householders who need to dispose of any clinical waste which arises from treatments at home, for example, sharps (needles) or yellow bagged waste. The collections are usually arranged as a result of referral by a GP, hospital, health visitor, district nurse or home care assistant. Please contact us to arrange either a one-off or a regular collection. Please note that we do not provide replacement empty sharps boxes, you will need to request this from your health care provider.
The council can help you to dispose of other non-hazardous medical waste, for example, dressing and packaging, which may not fit in your bin. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you.

It says that a collection can be arranged by clicking here

Blow for Sports Village hopes. Community Stadium to be delayed?

The Council has announced that it will no longer be funding an athletics track at the Sports Village on Hull Road.

The facility was to have opened this year.

The proposal to establish a sports village – which also includes swimming pools, 3G football pitches, a fitness suite, a outdoor cycling circuit and spa facilities – was agreed over 3 years ago and most of the facilities are now in use.

Athletics stadium Sept 2013

However, the provision of a new £2 million athletics stadium was to be the final jewel in the crown.

The intention had been to maximise the use of shared facilities such as the refreshment area, physiotherapy, spa and changing rooms.

Now the Council has decided to refurbish the University of York running track on Heslington Lane which is nearly 2 miles away from the Sports Village. The Heslington/Fulford area already suffers from traffic and parking issues

The implications for the running costs of both facilities remain unclear as does the financial commitment of the Council to the whole Community Stadium project.

A spokesperson for the Labour run council has claimed that the new site will be “cheaper”.

However, the athletes are claiming that the Council has agreed to subsidise the York Athletic Club for “5 years”.

Who has agreed such a subsidy, with what restrictions and for how much remains a mystery?

Behind closed doors logo

This major change in policy was taken at another behind closed doors meeting, so taxpayers are being kept in the dark

Moving the athletics track from the Huntington Stadium was an essential precursor to work on the new stadium starting.

It now seems that athletes will leave Huntington in late 2014 prior to occupying the refurbished University track in 2015.

Completion of the Community Stadium has already been put back to 2016 and further delays cannot be ruled out.

York archive modernisation project enters next phase

A £1.77 million transformation of the city’s Archive has moved a step closer. An invitation to tender to create new public spaces and build a state-of-the-art store at York Explore Library Learning Centre has now been issued.

york_gateway_history

Six builders have been shortlisted to date following a pre-qualification competition. The contractors have until 27 September to submit their bids to City of York Council for evaluation. The successful firm will start work at the library in late November this year.

The scheme is part of the Gateway to History project, made possible by a £1.6 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The first floor of the Grade II listed library will be refurbished to provide dedicated spaces for the Archives and Local and Family History. A climate-controlled extension will be built to house the city’s unique records.

(more…)

Allerton Park waste project deadline extended.

The York Council has today agreed to extend the deadline by which planning permission for the new waste disposal facility at Allerton Park must be achieved.

The agreement with the contractors AmeyCespa was due to expire today but a last ditch agreement has extended the agreement until at least the “Cabinet” meeting on 1st October.

Propsed waste disposal facility at Allerton park

Propsed waste disposal facility at Allerton park

The granting of planning permission had been held up following a move by a Parish Council which asked for a judicial review of the terms of the planning permission.

This is still being considered by the Court of Appeal

The North Yorkshire County Council also has to agree a way forward.

If the contract were terminated at this stage, then a payment of £3 million could be due to the contractor.

It is unclear why the York Council was forced into making a decision today with minimal notice. The terms of the contract have been known for over 2 years.

Friday 13th – Looking unlucky for York Council as problems with traffic congestion and un-emptied waste bins grow.

The Council’s web site crashed for a short time as problems with traffic congestion and un-emptied waste bins mount.

Click to update

Click to update

A combination of the Lendal Bridge closure, poor weather and high traffic volumes is causing mounting delays on the northern by pass and the inner ring road.

Further congestion is expected tomorrow as the City hosts the “skyride”.

Meanwhile the backlog in emptying waste bins shows little sign of subsiding. There is talk of working on Saturday to address the backlog but how residents will be made aware of such a decision remains a mystery.

The local media have been strangely reluctant to report the scale of the problem pausing only to remind residents to put their bin out by 0700 hours – pretty much futile if the bins aren’t cleared for over 24 hours.

The Council is now saying “ on Friday 13th September some properties in the following streets did not have their garden waste collected as scheduled:

Poppleton – Streets and all streets off

• Station Road
• Longridge Lane
• Black Dykes Lane
• Main Street
• Ebor Way
• Montague Road
• Millfield Lane
• Beech Grove
• Westfield Close
• Willow Croft
• Hodgeson Lane
• The Green

Clifton – Streets and all streets off• Shipton Road
• Malton Way
• Brompton Road
• Rawcliffe Lane (part)
• Surray Way
• Filingsdale Road
• Eastholme Drive
• Northolme Drive
• Southolme Drive
• Westholme Drive
• Grasmere Grove
• Borrowdale Drive
• Westmore Drive
• Alwyne Drive
• Alwyne Grove
• Westholme Drive
• Potterdale Drive

Rawcliffe – Streets and all streets off• Bowness Drive
• Furness Drive
• Howard Drive
• Troutsdale Avenue
• Stainsdale Close
• St Marks Grove
• Bilsdale Close
• Manor Park Road
• Manor Way
• Rawcliffe Croft
• Eva Avenue
• Manor Lane
• Cobham Way
• Armstrong Way
• Conningham Avenue
• Village Street

We will return to these properties to make collections on Saturday 14th September. Please ensure that your bin is out by 7am as the crews will be returning early in the morning.