Project costs for the Community stadium are set to increase from £750,000 to £1.2 million according to a report being considered by the Council next week http://tinyurl.com/York-stadium-update.

The Council is also abandoning the “all party” committee which was driving the project forward with overall responsibility now resting with a single Labour Cabinet member (Cllr Crisp). With many decision meetings now being held in private (Cllr Crisp hasn’t taken a decision in public since 8th May) once again it seems that the Council has something to hide.

The Council has confirmed that it will invest £4 million in the project (on top of the value of the stadium site and ongoing salary costs) but with the latest business case failing to show how this expenditure will be recovered.

With the Council now seeking to privatise the running of all its sports and swimming facilities, the current operator of the Waterworld/Huntington Stadium complex (GLL which is a “social enterprise” company) has given notice to terminate its management contract with effect from 1st April 2013.

The Council are hoping to negotiate a new reduced rental for the facility which currently brings in around £260,000 to the Councils coffers each year. They are hoping to keep secret what the reduced rental charge will be.

The Council has released details of its, preposterously, labelled “BIG” York Survey http://tinyurl.com/York-Council-big-survey. The survey, undertaken with a small sample of residents in the spring, replaced the 6 monthly “Talkabout” panel.

The Council received only 1117 replies. This contrasts with over 30,000 responses which were received following a door to door survey undertaken by the Liberal Democrats in 2009.

The biggest flaw in the Council’s survey of resident’s views was the absence of any attempt to test public opinion on controversial areas of policy.

So there were no questions about Council Tax levels and the amount of borrowing that residents felt it might be prudent for the Council to take on.

Also missing was any attempt to find out how much residents value the existing Green Belt boundaries (the top issue revealed by many surveys in the past) while another area of concern – facilities for teenagers – was also neglected.

Residents did, however, get the chance to give a verdict on the 60% cut in highways maintenance introduced by the Labour controlled Council earlier this year.

Repair of roads and footpaths was the second highest priority of the services listed coming narrowly behind dealing with traffic congestion.

One of the most important items, for making York a nice place to live, were clean streets while litter and dumping were the most mentioned issue in the crime section of the survey.

The survey was undertaken only days before York abandoned many of its street litter bins.

The Council is planning a big asset sell off.

Dressed up as an attempt to stimulate the building industry, a report being considered next week (http://tinyurl.com/York-big-sell-off) effectively suggests the same sort of discount sales policy which recently saw the Hungate site sold off for less than half of its value.

York Guildhall

Now Burnholme School, the former Manor School and the Guildhall are lined up for sale, with more of the City’s historic wealth – accumulated over centuries – set to go under the hammer over the next couple of years.

In some cases buildings with major maintenance liabilities will be offered to community groups, in the hope of getting them off the Councils books. However there is only so much that the voluntary sector can do. Many charitable organisations are very shrewd and are reluctant to comply when asked to pick up the bill for other peoples problems.

The lack of assets will mean the Council will be poorly placed to influence the economic prosperity of the City in the medium to long term.

No doubt by then the present Council Leadership will be hoping that they have secured employment elsewhere in the country….. leaving long term York residents to pick up the pieces of their extravagant policies.

Another bill for tens of thousands is on its way! The Council will employ consultants to undertake the big sell off.

We are asking householders to review their home security now that dark nights are with us once again.

The warning comes following a spate of burglaries including three in the Harrogate area, two in the Hambleton District and one in York in the last few days.

Detective Chief Inspector Heather Pearson who leads the force’s dedicated burglary team under Operation Haven, said: “With the dark nights now with us, it’s important that your security is as robust as possible. Before the cold weather sets in, there is still time to get outside and give your property a security overhaul to ensure your home, outbuildings and boundaries are as secure as possible.

“We see an increase in burglaries at this time of year and have introduced a dedicated team to help prevent and detect these crimes. However, we need householders to be security conscious and make sure they make life as hard as possible for criminals.”

Crime prevention measures range from the most basic and cost free to more expensive items such as tracking devices and alarm systems. Making sure you take even the most basic measures is essential.

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York is opening a new chapter in its housing services with its first ever guide for older people who are considering their housing options.

‘Positive Ageing – Housing Choices: the Older Person’s Guide to Housing Options’ aims to inspire and inform older people in the city about the range of housing options available to them.

The launch will take place as part of City of York Councils’ first ever Housing Week which aims to share best practice and promote innovation to meet the city’s housing challenges. It will take place on Friday 9 November 2012 from 10am – 1pm at Auden House, a sheltered accommodation scheme with extra care managed by York Housing Association and built at the heart of a £20 million project to replace nearly 100 post-war pre-fab bungalows with almost 200 high-quality mixed tenure homes constructed with partners including York Housing, City of York Council and Fabrick.
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North Yorkshire Police mobile safety (speed) camera routes 31 October – 6 November 2012

North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 31 October and Tuesday 6 November 2012.

•A64 east-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•A64 west-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•Temple Lane, Copmanthorpe, York
•A1036 Tadcaster Road, Acomb, York
•Strensall Road, Huntington, York
•The Village, Stockton-on-the-Forest, York
•A1036 Malton Road, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•York Road, Haxby, York
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More income from Council Tax is expected as a result of a range of revised charges which are likely to be introduced by the York Council.

The changes come as a result of the Coalition governments “localism” policy which allows local authorities more flexibility in managing their financial arrangements.

The changes include:

1. Levying full Council Tax on second homes – Currently these properties enjoy a 10% discount. Homes tied to jobs would not be affected. The chance could bring in an additional £100,000

2. Replacing Council Tax exemption Classes A (homes needing structural repairs) and C (property empty between lets) with a discount limited to 1 year. In York the discount would be 50% and together these changes could bring in around £600,000 in Council Tax.

3. abolishing Class L (Mortgage defaults) exemptions, and making mortgagees in possession of empty dwellings liable to council tax in respect of them;. Introduction of this is being deferred to allow for more discussion with mortgage companies.

4. allowing billing authorities to levy an ‘empty homes premium’ in respect of dwellings which have been left empty for two years or more. In York it is estimated that this 50% premium could bring in around £64,000 from the 154 long term empty homes in the City.

5. setting a default assumption that payment of Council Tax by instalments will be over 10 months The Council however must inform the council tax payer that they have a legal right to pay by 12 instalments.

6. allowing authorities to publish online the ‘Information to be supplied with demand notices’, (but with a duty to supply it in hardcopy to any council tax payer requesting it) as an efficiency measure, and to encourage the take-up of electronic billing;

7. changes to eliminate potential tax complications from arrangements involving third party suppliers where solar panels are placed on the roofs of dwellings without coming into the paramount control of the residents. The Government is proposing that where these are fitted to domestic properties by a third party for profit they are classed as part of the property. This will not increase the value of the property (For Council Tax purposes) but will avoid a complex case by case review by the valuation office for non-domestic rates. The Government have adopted this proposal with a cap at 10kW.

A detailed report can be found by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/York-tax-changes

Although the Council’s forecast budget overspend this year has halved compared to earlier forecasts, it is still around £2.5 million. This assumes that the whole of the £600,000 contingency reserve will be spent.

The biggest problem is the amount being spent on adult social care and this despite an additional £2 million being put into this year’s budget to help with the care of the elderly.
Of particular concern is that the cost per client which has almost doubled in the last year. Spend on our home care contracts has increased from £54k a week in July 2011 to £80k a week in July 2012. This results in a forecast overspend of £2.531M.

Most of the expenditure is influenced by wage rates although the increasing number of people aged over 85 – who have greater needs – will also add to the Councils costs.

The number of looked after children are also increasing, resulting in higher Council costs.

Predictably, promised savings in waste round rationalisation, Household Waste Recycling Centre policy and garden waste collections have failed to deliver the promised savings of around £380,000

Car parking income is down by £167,000.

The overspends are partly being funded by some “windfall” gains with lower interest rates and a Landfill Tax rebate (payments made over a number of years) clawing back around £850,000.

Meanwhile the Councils capital programme is being increased by £2.2 million which it will spend on buying new refuse collection vehicles (it previously leased them) and £248,000 upgrading premises in Nursery Drive which will become a children’s centre (the building has not been used by the Council for several years and was scheduled to be sold to help pay off debts).

£618,000 is to be spent remodelling offices at Hazel Court.

The Council are also proposing to spend £1.6 million modernising the market.

A raft of new planning applications have been received by the Council. Those that affect the Westfield Ward include:

• Renewal of planning permission for a further 5 years for the portacabin which is located next to Acomb (Explore) Library. The cabin is used by the ambulance service (ref 12/03240/FUL)

• The provision of a replacement telecommunications pole next to The Quaker Wood pub on Acomb Wood Drive (ref: 12/03267/TCMAS. It will be 15 metres high. Applicant is Telephonica and residents have until 19th November 2012.

• Another pole is set to be erected near 11 Front Street (ref 12/03264/TCMAS) also by Telephonica.

• Two applications to covert dwellings into a “House in Multiple Occupation”. Effectively this means several people living in the building share amenities. The properties affected are the flats above 2 Front Street where up to 6 people live (ref 12/03255/CLU) and 32 Marston Crescent (ref 12/03071/FUL) which has 4 bedrooms. It is likely that more applications of this sort will be received by the Council since a change o f policy which now requires planning permission if properties are occupied by 3 or more non related occupants. The Policy change was introduced following claims (mainly on the east of the City) that family housing was being replaced by student lets.

Details of all planning applications can be found here: http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/