20’s plenty campaign – private correspondence revealed by Council

Copies of Emails between Councillors and officials in York – exchanged in the run up to the launch of the wide area 20 mph speed limits in west York last year – have been published by the Council.20 mph sign

The exchange of Emails can be viewed by clicking here and here

The project cost £600,000 to implement

The correspondence includes a request from Cllr Anna Semlyen for the use of a police radar speed gun (!)

This was the same Labour Councillor who argued that 20 mph speed limits should be introduced without consultation with residents.

Subsequently, as we now know, the new limits have had no effect on traffic speeds.

York Council tenants show concerns in secret report

Only 49% now satisfied with tenants choice modernisation work

Behind closed doors logo

The annual report into satisfaction with York Council services has shown some growing concerns amongst York Council tenants.

The report was considered at yet another behind closed doors meeting last week

While on most activities performance has been consistent over the years there are areas of growing concern.

  • Tenant’s choice satisfaction with modernisation work was down from 76% to only 49%.
  • Only 44% of tenants who complained said that they were satisfied with the final outcome
  • Satisfaction with the Council “listening to tenant’s views and acting on them” fell from 67% in 2012 to 62% last year
Garage areas neglected

Garage areas neglected

The biggest concern remains the condition of local estates with tenants increasingly critical of the appearance and state of repair of local neighbourhood and communal areas.

Garage areas are poorly maintained, many verges are damaged and gutters are overgrown with weeds.

The Council is apparently going to appoint a private contractor to clean the communal areas of flats leaving the estate workers to concentrate on litter removal and general maintenance. Tenant satisfaction with garden care (also contracted to the private sector) has attracted many complaints this year.

However, overall, there was some good news for the Council with 87% saying they were satisfied with the service provide down only 1% from the previous year,