• Football City v Burton 1st Jan Bootham Cres

• Robin Hood & his Merry Mam 1st Jan/2nd Feb Theatre Royal

• Sleeping Beauty 2nd/6th Jan Grand Opera House

• Winter Health Walks Jan – Mar Various http://www.york.gov.uk/healthwalks

• Football City v Exeter 5th Jan Bootham Cres

• Singamajigs 8th Jan 10:15 am Theatre Royal

• Storymakers 9th Jan 10:15 am Theatre Royal

• Holocaust Memorial events 10th Jan – 23rd Jan Various http://yortime.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/building-better-and-safer-future.html

• Brighouse & Rastrick BB 12th Jan 7:30pm Barbican

• Rugby League Knights v Crusaders 13th Jan Sun 3:00pm Huntington Stadium

• Get stuck in Mon 14th Jan 1:00pm Clifton Backies We will be working to uncover some of the remains of the old airfield. The heavy work was completed last year but since then some of the plants have regrown and leaves have fallen on the remains. We would like to clear this back so they don’t disappear into the undergrowth again. contact Jenny Cairns on 07833 436832

• HUGE 19th Jan Grand Opera House

• Football City v Aldershot 19th Jan Bootham Cres

• Rugby League Knights v Hunslet 20th Jan Sun 3:00pm Huntington Stadium

• Motowns greatest hits 22nd Jan Tues Grand Opera House

• Classic rock show 23rd Jan Grand Opera House

• Photography course 25th Jan – 15th Feb Rawcliffe Country Park Please contact Michael Rothwell by email: michael.rothwell@york.gov.uk By phone: 07951 497205

• Comedy Night 25th Jan Fri Racecourse

• MAYHEM 26th Jan Grand Opera House

• Burns Night Ceilidh 26th Jan De Grey Rooms

• Moving on from 1212 26th Jan Sat 2:00pm York Explore Library 100 years after 1212 York was briefly the capital of England during Scotland’s Wars of Independence. This lecture will explore the impact of the wars on the city

• Behind the scenes at the archives 26th Jane Sat 9:30am Art Gallery Work starts on a new £1.6m Heritage Lottery funded City Archive in 2013. This is your last chance to see behind the scenes at the old Archive before it closes. Pre booking essential Tel. 01904 552828

• York Residents Festival 26th/27th Jan Various A chance for York citizens to enjoy free and discounted entry into some of York’s world class attractions

• New Council HQ preview 26th/27th Jan Toft Green look round the newly refurbished building which will house the council offices.

• Rugby League Knights v Hull 27th Jab Sun Huntington Stadium

• York Dance Works 27th Jan Sun 3:00pm Barbican

• Get stuck in Mon 28th Jan 1:00pm West Bank Park This task is to check the condition of the nest boxes in West Bank Park and to repair those that can be repaired. We will also be able to make some new ones and install them in time for nesting season.contact Jenny Cairns on 07833 436832

• Stand Up York 31st Jan Thurs 6:30pm Barbican

For more information on events in York please visit the following web sites

1. Barbican http://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/ tel. 0844 854 2757

2. Early Music Centre http://www.ncem.co.uk/?idno=152
tel. 01904 658338

3. Grand Opera House http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/grand-opera-house-york/
tel. 0844 847 2322

4. Minster http://www.yorkminster.org/whats-on.html
tel. 0844 939 0015

5. Racecourse http://www.yorkracecourse.co.uk/
tel. 01904 620911

6. Theatre Royal https://www.yorktheatreroyal.purchase-tickets-online.co.uk/public
tel (01904) 623568

7. Visit York http://www.visityork.org/ tel. 01904 550099

8. Yortime https://www.yortime.org.uk/eCommunityEvents/yortime/Default.aspx

9. York City Football Club http://www.yorkcityfootballclub.co.uk/
tel. 01904 624447

10. York Knights RLFC http://www.yorkcityknights.co.uk/york-city-knights-fixture-list-2013
tel. 01904 767404

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We’ve had over 292,000 visits to this site during the last year. That represents a 182% increase on the 2011 total of 103,616.

Thank you!

Most popular story in 2012 was one that gave details of the location of the Queens Jubilee Beacon on Bachelor Hill on 2nd June. (The media had failed to identify the site).

A lot of visitors arrived looking for details of the Olympic Flame route on 19th June.

Land Rover Defender owners visited in droves as North Yorkshire police reported a spate of thefts of this type of vehicle in November.

On the political front, a lot of visitors wanted to know more about Rebecca Taylor as she replaced Diana Wallace (27th Jan) as one of our local MEPs.

Most popular humorous article involved the Councils Leaders views on beer.

The latest traffic news was a popular choice amongst visitors with flooding news dominating the rest of the top 10
1. Flood-warning-in-York 5th Nov
2. A19-Fulford-Road-now-open 29th Sept
3. More-York-floods-photos-watersports-on-the-Knavesmire 30th Sept
4. Floods-in-york//2012/09/25/ 25th Sept
5. Elderly-care-costs-in-York-–-a-suitable-case-for-scrutiny 20th Sept
6. Flooding-update-–-York-open-for-“business-as-usual” 26th Sept
7. PCC-election-result-in-North-Yorkshire 16th Nov
8. Floods-update 27th Sept
9. Energise-pool-success 2nd Oct 2010
10. Derwenthorpe-–-“most-advanced-housing-development-in-York-for-over-a-century” 24th Apr

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of visitors came from York with many others accessing the site from Leeds, London and Newcastle.

Those from further afield included residents in the USA, Australia and Spain. We had only 1 visitor from Vietnam and none at all from Greenland (!)

Source Google Analytics

The Council has published a list of incentives that it will offer to encourage tenants to move from properties that are too large for them. There are several smaller homes available in the City while demand for family housing continues to grow.

The Council currently has 732 tenants (claiming housing benefit) identified as under occupied (unused bedrooms). These tenants (excluding pensioners who are not affected) will lose some of their entitlement to housing benefit in April.

The Council stays that, “There are a number of reasons why customers may have not considered downsizing or initially be unwilling or unable to move to a smaller home. These are often, financial (can’t afford to move), emotional (family home of many years) and practical (find it difficult to organise a move) whilst at the same time living in a home that they do not make full use of, find hard to keep on top of or expensive to heat”.

Where there is a financial constraint preventing a tenant moving the Council is suggesting several initiatives to help. These include:
• Incentive payments based on rooms freed up
• Cover cost of moving appliances, carpets and other associated costs.
• Practical and financial help in arranging and doing a move
• Practical and financial help with decoration.
• Purchase of white goods where these do not exist.

Where tenants are incapable of organising a move themselves practical help would be offered.

Similar schemes have cost around £400 per “mover” to run.
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The Council has now published details of their plan to turn the operation of York’s libraries and archives over to “social enterprise in the form of a community benefit society”. The hand over is likely to start in June 2013.

The change is driven by a wish to cut Council expenditure (library budgets are being cut by £ ¼ million next year) and the service will have an emphasis on the use of “volunteers” to work in the libraries.
By 2010 York libraries were rated amongst the top 10% in the country providing outstanding value for money against a background of major innovation such as the York “Explore” modernisation programme, which almost doubled the numbers visiting libraries in the city.

Over half the population in York uses libraries – the highest rate in the region.

A public consultation exercise found that 81% of respondents wanted to see libraries stay in their current buildings. 72% wanted to keep the opening hours at the current level and 55% wanted more books to be bought.

The report concludes that a “community benefit society” is appropriate to running a libraries and archive service in York.
“This is an industrial and provident society which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority and whose governance is based on the Rules of the society. A key advantage is the ability to give a wide membership, including the community and employees, a stake in the organisation and a say in management and other affairs. Officers have also concluded that obtaining charitable status is essential as it brings a variety of tax relief and other benefits”.

The Council estimates that – if the go ahead is given at a meeting being held on 8th January – setting up costs of over £100,000 will be incurred although this might be deferred by the Cabinet Office.

Although users would be able to become a “member” of the society (for £1) residents would effectively lose any democratic control. Decisions would be made by the Chief Executive and an 11 person “Board”.

So why not?
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There are NO rubbish or recycling collections on Tuesday 1 January 2013 (New Year’s Day).

The Council have issued a statement saying; “we will be collecting this waste later that week.

If your rubbish or recycling is normally collected on a Tuesday please search here http://tinyurl.com/York-waste-Jan-2012 for your street and check which type(s) of collection you will have and the revised collection date(s)

Streets may appear twice on the list, if collection dates for rubbish and recycling are different, so please check the list carefully

We will make every effort to collect waste on the scheduled day but, due to the amount of rubbish generated at this time of the year, some delays to the schedule may occur

Please make full use of the kerbside recycling service, local bring recycling sites or the recycling facilities at the Household Waste Recycling Centres to prevent unnecessary waste going to landfill

The re-scheduled collection information is also summarised in the table below”.

Area Collection type When we will collect it
Acomb (including Chapelfields) Rubbish Friday 4 January
Askham Bryan Rubbish Friday 4 January
Askham Richard Rubbish Friday 4 January
Dunnington Recycling Wednesday 2 January
Dunnington Rubbish Thursday 3 January
Dunnington – Stamford Bridge Road Recycling Thursday 3 January
Foxwood Recycling Thursday 3 January
Foxwood Rubbish Thursday 3 January
Groves Recycling Friday 4 January
Groves (flats) Rubbish Friday 4 January
Groves Rubbish Thursday 3 and Friday 4 January – check list for your day
Holtby Rubbish Friday 4 January
Holtby Recycling Thursday 3 January
Murton Rubbish Friday 4 January
Murton Recycling Thursday 3 January
Osbaldwick (Beckett Drive, Galligap Lane, Moat Field, Osbaldwick Village, Yew Tree Mews) Rubbish Friday 4 January
Osbaldwick – all other streets Rubbish Wednesday 2 January
Osbaldwick Recycling Wednesday 2 January
Osbaldwick – Derwenthorpe estate only Recycling
Rubbish Friday 4 January
Wednesday 2 January
Tang Hall Rubbish Wednesday 2 January
Woodthorpe Recycling Thursday 3 January
Woodthorpe Rubbish Thursday 3 January

Collections return to normal from Monday 7 January.

There haven’t been many planning applications received for the Westfield area over the last 6 months. The applicant withdrew their plan to build a single dwelling at 42A The Green although an application to demolish the garages on the site is still outstanding.

Agreement was given to extend the use for a further 5 year of a portacabin at the Acomb Library as an ambulance stand

In the neighbouring Acomb Park area a new 15 metre high mobile phone monopole was approved at the Acomb Wood pub site. It replaces the existing pole there.

Three very recent applications received by the Council are:

• Erection of two-storey end of terrace house 53 Windsor Garth Ref No: 12/03757/FUL Consultation Expiry Date 14 January 2013

• Erection of mast to rear 36 Green Lane Acomb Ref No: 12/03781/CLD Consultation Expiry Date 14 January 2013

• Replacement of existing telecommunications pole with a 15m high dual user telecommunications pole radio base station and 2no. equipment cabinets Telecommunications Equipment Fronting Acorn ARL Sports And Social Club Thanet Road York Ref No: 12/03804/TCMAS Consultation Expiry Date 14 January 2013

Details of all planning applications (and decisions) can be accessed here: http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

Additional dates when residents can get their cycles security marked have been announced.

Outside The Minister by Duncombe Place 4/1/13 0930 – 1130 hours

St Helens Square 30/1/13 1100 – 1300 hours

Parliament Street 26/2/13 1000 – 1200 hours

St Andrewgate 7/3/13 0900 – 1100 hours

For more information on Operation Spoke click http://www.saferyork.org/operation-spoke.html

The number of drivers found by police to have excess alcohol in their bodies in York and North Yorkshire has reached 103 during December.

This compares to 100 in December 2011.

Residents are being urged to suport a hard-hitting “stop smoking” campaign launched by the Department of Health.

The campaign warns smokers that just 15 cigarettes cause a mutation that can lead to cancerous tumours. The publicity features a tumour growing on a cigarette as it is smoked and aims to encourage people to quit over health concerns, by making the invisible damage visible.

Presenting smokers with the shocking truth behind cigarettes, the campaign encourages those trying to quit to pick up a free Quit Kit from their local pharmacy to help them along their journey.

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Trading Standards are advising consumers to be cautious of websites that lead them to believe that they are buying from a UK based company, after the number of complaints has risen in recent months.

Scambusters is issuing the warning following the National Trading Standards eCrime Centre (NTSeCC) were made aware of complaints about childrens’ dresses sold online which have either not arrived, or have not been of the quality the consumer has expected. When customers tried to return items they were unsuccessful as the company turned out to be based in China.

Attached is an example of one dress which a customer believed to be misdescribed and of poor quality, but which they have been unable to return, resulting in a loss of around £80.
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