Road (Pavement) closed between Stonebow and Coppergate from Sunday

From Sunday 15 September the connecting road between Stonebow and Coppergate, will be closed for four weeks, to enable Northern Gas Networks to carry out important upgrades in the area.

Pavement will be closed to all vehicular traffic until 13 October 2013, which will mean that bus routes serving Stonebow will also be diverted and revised timetables will be in place.

Bus routes that are not diverted may still experience delays so passengers are advised to allow extra time for their journey.

At the same time bus stops at Stonebow with be upgraded as part of the £3.5 million Better Bus Area Fund, awarded by the Department of Transport in 2012.

Please check http://www.itravelyork.info/ for details of the bus diversions.

For further information, please contact BusInfo on 01904 551400 or visit the Bus Point located in the Travel Centre at York Rail Station.

Road closures for tomorrow’s (Saturday) Sky Ride York

On September 14 Sky Ride York will take to the historic streets of York. Due to the size and scale of the event there will be some temporary traffic and transport changes to ensure the safety of everyone taking part.

click for more details

click for more details

Residents and visitors are urged to make use of the city’s extensive Park and Ride network on the day, particularly by using the Park and Pedal facilities at the Designer Outlet, Grimston Bar, Rawcliffe Bar and Monks Cross.

If people are unsure on which route to take to join the Sky Ride there are two Sky Ride social rides leading into the city centre setting off from Rawcliffe Bar Park and Ride and The York Sport Village (behind Grimston Bar P&R) at 9am and 9.30am respectively. These rides will be lead by trained Sky Ride local ride leaders. For more info on the rides go to: http://www.goskyride.com/Search/
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Festival of cycling 14th Sep 2013 – 15th Sep 2013

Get ready for the York Festival of Cycling, Rowntree Park. Browse the many different types of bikes there are, and try a few out to see how different they can be!

Every day

Location: Rowntree park, York, YO23 1JQ

Cost: FREE

Get ready for the world of bikes and cycling that will be held in Rowntree Park for the York Festival of Cycling. Browse the many different types of bikes there are, and try a few out to see how different they can be!

Watch stunts by show riders, Join a free guided ride on a bicycle, a KMX Kart or a rickshaw tricycle along scenic routes within rowntree park and york.

Rubbish skips this weekend Saturday 14th September

Although the Council has cut back on the number of amenity skips it provides, several residents associations continue to run programmes aimed at making it easier for tenants to get rid of unwanted items.

The skips are only in place for a few minutes and residents must ensure that they put any rubbish into the skips and do not leave it on the path or highway.

1 Viking Rd 08:30 09:30
2 Woodlea Ave 10:30 11:30

4 Oldman Court 08:30 09:30

5 Spur Court 10:30 11:30

6 Bellhouse Way 12:30 13:30

7 Hewley Ave 08:30 09:30
8 Hadrian Ave 10:30 11:30

9 Windsor Garth 12:30 13:30

Green bins in Strensall, Haxby and Wigginton not emptied

The chaos on bin emptying continued today with the Council admitting that green waste collections did not take place across large parts of Strensall, Haxby and Wigginton today.

Cllr Levene attempting to master a street sweeper. Coming to street near you? Probably not!

Cllr Levene attempting to master a street sweeper. Coming to street near you? Probably not!

It is the latest failure in an apparently unending saga of mistakes arising out of new bin emptying schedules.

Earlier in the week the Labour councillor responsible for the blunders (Cllr Levene) told people to “calm down”.

He told the media “Though the Council has written directly to the small number of properties that will see a significant change to their collections, there will inevitably be the odd issue to iron out when moving to a new system. We would ask residents to ensure they put their waste and recycling out before 7am on their collection days“.

Unfortunately many of the failures have been at properties where there was no planned change to the day of collection. So many did not receive a letter and the Council has effectively sought to bury the bad news deep in their web site

The failures were described as “bedding in” problems

Their web site says

Whilst the new collection rounds are settling down there will be instances when some properties are missed. We are sorry that on Thursday 12th September some properties in the following areas did not have their collection on the scheduled day:

• Rubbish collection (black bin) – None
• Garden waste (green bin):

◦WalmerCarr,Wigginton

◦WindsorDrive,Wigginton

◦OakenGrove,Wigginton

◦TheVillage,Wigginton,

◦MillLane,Wigginton

◦CornerClose,Wigginton,

◦HelmsleyGrove,Wigginton

◦StrensallPark,Strensall

◦AlexanderRoad,Strensall

◦YorkRoad,Strensall

◦BarleyRise,Strensall

◦PortishamPlace,Strensall

◦LongFurrow,Haxby

◦Mancroft,Haxby

◦Wheatfieldlane,Haxby

◦Greendyke,Haxby

◦LundClose,Wigginton

◦BellClose,Wigginton

◦StoopClose,Wigginton

◦ManorGarth,Wigginton

◦ForestClose,Wigginton

◦Middlebanks,Wigginton

◦PlantationWay,Wigginton

We will return to these properties to make collections by the end of the next working day

Lendal Bridge – the unanswered questions

The Council claim to have published on their web site a complete list of answers given to question raised during their “twitter” Q & A session last week.

Problem is – they haven’t!

Amongst those still not answered are:

Council jettison more Acomb services

We understand that the Council is planning to stop the weekly housing benefit advice sessions that they had been running at the Chapelfields Community centre.

Acomb Council Office - closed in February 2012.

Acomb Council Office – closed in February 2012.

The service was one of those introduced to replace the “face to face” adv ice service which was lost when the Council’s Acomb Office closed 18 months ago.

Each Thursday morning the Council promised a “Housing advice, Council Tax Support and Housing Benefits service: 9am – 12 noon

It was one of five advice points were established last year, but now only the one at the Gateway centre (the most popular) will continue in Acomb.

Ironically this building is within 50 yards of the former Acomb Office.

Originally the intention had been to locate advice, and headquarter estate managers and community workers, at the Acomb Explore Library but this plan was scrapped when Labour took control of the Council in 2011.

Now Acomb residents face a long trek to the Council HQ in Toft Green. A telephone link may continue to be available at the Community Centre, but as many callers know, such services are inaccessible for some. We understand that the estate manager will still be present at the centre on Thursday mornings

NB. Callers to the main Council switchboard this week are reporting delays of up to 10 minutes before connection.

Flyball on the Knavesmire 13th Sep 2013

Flyball is the most unique and exciting dog sport invented, it is fast, colourful and thrilling!

Location: Knavesmire Racecourse, York, YO23 1EX

Cost: £35 per entry

Flyball is the most unique and exciting dog sport invented, it is fast, colourful and thrilling!

Come to the Knavesmire Racecourse, York and enjoy a fantastic day watching a number of different races, see your favourite dogs, place a bet if you wish and enjoy the Racecourse food and drink on a thrilling family day out.

For more information, go to the British Flyball Association websit http://www.flyball.org.uk/

Further fall in unemployment in York

The number of people claiming Jobs Seekers Allowance (JSA) in York has again fallen, representing the lowest August figure since 2008.

City of York Council has today welcomed news that the number of people claiming Jobs Seekers Allowance (JSA) in York has again fallen, representing the lowest August figure since 2008.

The Office for National Statistics have released figures today stating that there are 2451 claimants in York, a decrease of 39 from last month and of 802 from August 2012.

The claimant count represents 1.8% of the working population and contrasts to the regional average which stands at 4.3%. The figures are also much lower than the national average which stands at 3%.

A jobs fare was taking place at Acomb Explore Library today