The Council has decided to consult users of the service about its plan to change the charging arrangements for the service.

The Council now says that a final decision on the charges for the service will be made in June.

As we reported last week, the Council plans to establish a “social enterprise” organisation which will run the Warden Call service in future.

A report on this proposal has now been put back to a meeting scheduled to be held on 7th May

A York Council report has rather gloriously described Labours approach to the provision of public services.

It says, “The Council is shifting to a commercial generating entrepreneurial business model”.

So now we know!

The comment comes after another “secret” meeting which looked at the options for re-letting the street lighting maintenance contract in the City.

The current contractor is AMEY but their contract expires on 31st March. Why the Council have left consideration of a replacement contactor until 10 days before the existing contract is due to end is anyone’s guess.

But on Thursday the Council decided to take the lighting maintenance contract back “in house”.

One of the reasons quoted was that privatisation had led to the contractor making a “profit”.

Apparently – without a trace of irony and against a backdrop of huge amounts of public service work in the City being outsourced by the Council over the last 2 years -the Cabinet member responsible agreed to de-privatise the lighting maintenance arrangements. He expects the Council to make a £5 “profit” on each £100,000 of turnover!

Worryingly as part of the process the Council will stop routine checking (scouting) for faulty street lighting.

Instead they will rely on members of the public to report faulty lights.

This was tried in the City about 15 years ago but the Council rapidly found that, while some neighbourhoods were very good at reporting faults, in other areas lights were often not working for weeks or months.

Sadly, these days, in some wards, local Councillors fail to undertake routine inspections of public service standards so that safety net is also not available to several communities.

Residents are likely to be less concerned about who manages the lighting maintenance contract, than the delays in repairing cable faults of the type which recently left large parts of the Foxwood estate in darkness.

The other options rejected by the Council were to let a joint maintenance contract with the North Yorkshire Council or simply re-tender on the open market.

New arrangements are expected to be in place in early autumn

A York Council report, discussed yesterday behind closed doors, confirms what most people in the City had already guessed.

Poor weather over winter (and continuing) has taken a heavy toll on the City’s roads and footpaths.

The report says “The severe winter weather condition of recent years including large deposits of snow, extreme low temperatures and the hydraulic pressure of recent flooding has had a detrimental effect on the condition of the highways”.

The deterioration was made worse by the Labour Councils decision to reduced by 1/3 the amount spent on resurfacing during 2012.

This left many road surfaces more vulnerable to the effects of ice.

Highways resurfacing programme click to enlarge

With the cuts set to extend into 2013/14, it is perhaps not surprising that the cabinet member now responsible for the shambles (the third shift in responsibility in less than 2 years) has preferred to allocate the remaining budget at a private meeting.

The report also reveals that a “mobile working” IT system – which linked repair gangs to the company reception system – has failed to produce any efficiency savings. It is to be scrapped and replaced with a new one

The Council has also reduced the number of gangs who fill in potholes from 4 to 2, so repair times will increase.

54% of the money being spent repairing York’s roads is now being borrowed. This borrowing will have to be repaid, of course, leaving a legacy of debt for future generations.

A full list of planned road works can be seen by clicking here

Click on the ward list right to see how many – if any – roads or footpaths have been scheduled for repair in your area over the next year.

The Westfield. Dringhouses and Acomb wards have all fared badly in the allocations. Most funding continues to be concentrated in the City centre.

An important weekend in the calendar of York Minster gives residents and visitors alike an opportunity to witness two unique events.

On Saturday 23rd March there will be a performance of JS Bach’s St John Passion starting at 7:30pm. Click here for details.

Sunday 24th March sees the traditional Palm Sunday procession make its way through the streets of York. The procession starts at 10am from St Helen’s Square Click here for details

The events form part of the Minsters programme which marks the start of Holy Week

Kings Square plans – click to enlarge

Only 200 residents responded to the Councils consultation survey about the future of Kings Square.

The majority of respondents wanted to see little physical change.

Despite the lukewarm response, the Council is set to spend nearly £1/2 million on new paving and street furniture.

Most respondents didn’t want another pavement café but again the Council is set on accommodating one in its plans.

The decision to give priority to Kings Square does mark a major change in policies and priorities for the Council.

The previous Council had intended to pedestrianise part of Fossgate before moving on to improve the Duncombe Place area.

However, these days the feeling of neglect generated in the City’s suburbs continues to grow with the Council’s refusal to back regeneration plans for areas like Acomb Front Street a source of growing friction for many residents.

Liberal Democrats are demanding a guarantee that no Youth Clubs in York will close as a result of budget cuts by the Labour Cabinet.

LibDem Councillor Ann Reid outside Moor Lane Youth Centre

Under Labour’s two year plans, which were approved at last month’s Budget Council, funding for youth services will be cut by £150,000 and a review of resources and premises will be carried out.

This follows a cut of £50,000 last year and has led to growing concerns that clubs will close. Lib Dems will question Labour about the plans at this month’s Full Council and demand a guarantee that the authority will continue to fund and supervise Youth Centres and none will close as a result of the funding reductions.

City of York Council currently runs a range of Youth Clubs for different age groups across York, including in Fulford, Dringhouses and New Earswick.

(more…)