£159k funding to give domestic abuse victims 24/7 support

Nearly £160,000 of Government funding will  round-the-clock support for people experiencing domestic abuse in York.

The Independent Domestic Abuse Service (IDAS) will use the £159,064 award in York and Harrogate to fund extended and better-quality provision, backed by The North Yorkshire and York Domestic Abuse Partnership, and by Safer York Partnership.

The funding will pay for extending the IDAS helpline for emergency support and advice to a 24-hour, seven days a week service, and it will allow for 24/7 staffing at the refuges. It will also allow for more staff training to better assess the needs of those requesting help and to support them, as well as training for refuge users to build resilience and to prepare for successful resettling.

Sarah Hill, Director of IDAS in York, said: “Domestic violence affects up to one in four women and is not a nine-to-five problem. I’m delighted that this extra funding is going to let us deliver 24-hour services, weekend cover and community provision so that we can provide a better quality and safer service to families when they need it.”

Cornlands Park entrance to be secured

One of the entrances to the Cornlands Park (from the snicket) is to be gated.

Entrance to be gated

Entrance to be gated

The change has been on the cards for several years following problems with anti social behaviour.

Originally the intention had been to make the park capable of being locked at nightfall.  However the present Council wants to keep the two other entrances open.

The park has had increased usage since new play equipment was installed last year. Litter has however become a growing problem.

The sub station entrance has on occasions been used as an “escape route” by criminals.

The decision to install a locked gate was taken at a private meeting held last week which heard that “Crime and ASB statistics produced by Safer York Partnership covering a period from November 2012 to October 2013 for the 68 properties adjacent to the park, show that there were 8 reported incidents of crime and 8 reported incidents of ASB.

For the period November 2013 to November 2014, there were 5 reported incidents of crime and 4 reported incidents of ASB (Annex 3: Crime & ASB Statistics).

This may be considered to be a high number of incidents for 68 properties”

Residents with properties adjacent to the gate will be given a key.

Further consultation is promised in May.

Wilton Rise/St Pauls Square gating proposal withdrawn

Meanwhile a similar plan to gate the alleyway linking Wilton Rise and St Pauls Square has been withdrawn. Residents had objected on the grounds that the plan would have had an impact on waste collection arrangements.

There had been 14 incidents of crime in the area in recent years.

York Council set to close large number of back lanes

Dozens of new parking restrictions also being rushed through before Council election called

Behind closed doors logo

Behind closed doors decisions were taken last week to close seven back lanes and alleyways in the City.

In addition new parking restrictions were proposed for sixteen streets across a wide area

They include (click for details)

  1. Proposal to restrict public rights over alleyways between Curzon Terrace and Albemarle Road, and Knavesmire Crescent and Curzon Terrace (Micklegate Ward) None of the Ward Councillors responded to consultation on this plan which attracted a large number of objections
  2. Proposal to restrict public rights over alleyway between Brunswick Street/South Bank Avenue, (Micklegate Ward)
  3. Proposal to restrict public rights over alleyway between Kyme Street, Baile Hill Terrace and Newton Terrace, (Micklegate Ward)
  4. Proposal to restrict public rights over alleyways between Barbican Road/Willis Street, Willis Street/Gordon Street and Gordon Street/Wolsley Street, (Fishergate Ward)
  5. Residents’ Priority Parking Area in Abbey Street Director overruled a large number of objections including a request for a public decision meeting
  6. A19 South Transport Corridor – Phase 1
  7. Fishergate Hartoff Street parking restrictions
  8. Guildhall George Street & Park Grove Parking restrictions
  9. Haxby South Lane Parking restrictions
  10. Heworth Second/Main Avenue, St John’s Walk. Wood Street & Dodsworth Ave parking restrictions
  11. Holgate Poplar Street (rejected), Northcote Avenue, Yarburgh Grove Parking restrictions
  12. Hull Road Milton Street Parking restrictions (rejected)
  13. Huntington Willow Glade, Darwin Close & Brandsby Grove Parking restrictions
  14. Osbaldwick Hull Road Parking (Deferred for 1 year) restrictions
  15. Skelton Armstong Way Parking restrictions
  16. Strensall The Village Parking restrictions
  17. Westfield Kingsthorpe Parking restrictions
  18. Summary Annual Review of Traffic Regulation Order Requests
  19. Temporary staff for Trading Standards

Property marking events in York today (Saturday)

Don’t miss out on a chance to get you property registered and marked free of charge

North Yorkshire Police

On  21st March starting at 10 a.m.  there will be a property marking event.

Members of York City Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team will be in attendance.

These will be held at both,  Your Bike Shed on Micklegate and City of York Library Museum Street.

This enables people to bring along one  item such as a cycle, mobile phone, tablets etc. to create their own Immobilise account and further enable them to register anything of value within the family home that has a serial number, totally free of charge.

This helps with any property that is stolen, lost pr recovered and enables property to be returned to their rightful owners. Just bring along one item to create your own account.

Over 34 million items have been registered so far.

Groves alcohol issue set to be discussed next week

Area could get City’s first Public Space Protection Order

Following a petition organised by local residents the Council, is to discuss next week the action that it needs to take to address anti social behaviour activities in the Groves area.

The Council says that it is “currently working on the process for the PSPO of which public consultation is an important part. Public meetings are planned to take place which will including the local residents association”.

The governments, public spaces protection orders are intended to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a particular area that is detrimental to the local community’s qualify of life, by imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone. The order could also be used to deal with likely future problems.
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Street drinking and green waste collection petitions to be considered by Council

The Council has announced the dates on which two petitions from residents will be considered.

A petition asking for action to control street drinking in The Groves area is slated for consideration on  17th March

A petition opposing the reduction on winter green bin emptying frequencies will be considered on 18th March

Meanwhile opposition to Labour’s plans to reduce grey bin emptying frequencies to 3 or 4 weekly is growing.

Many residents have also emailed us to say that they believe that the £35 a year charge that Labour have agreed for emptying any green bin, will lead to more hedgerow dumping.

 

Region’s first tenancy fraud conference to be held in York

Ways to tackle tenancy fraud will be top of the agenda at the region’s first tenancy fraud conference, hosted by Veritau, City of York Council’s fraud investigation service at West Offices, York on Tuesday 10 March 2015.

There, 32 social landlords will be attending the Tenancy Fraud Conference, organised on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humberside Tenancy Fraud Forum.
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Vigilance urged as thieves target Land Rovers near York

Police are urging owners of Land Rover Defenders to be on their guard against vehicle thieves, particularly in rural areas.

Land Rover Defender (file image)

The warning comes after a number of thefts and attempted thefts involving the vehicles in North Yorkshire.

·         An attempted theft of a Land Rover was reported in Gargrave, overnight 26 / 27 February. The vehicle was found down the street, having been stopped by an immobiliser.

·         A twin cab green Land Rover, registration number YC62 WTG, was stolen from Ickornshaw, near Cowling, in the early hours of 23 February. Anyone with information on its whereabouts should call 101 and ask for PC James Dykes, quoting reference number 12150029982.

·         There have also been attempted thefts just over the border in other police force areas.

Police are appealing to owners to be vigilant around keeping these types of vehicles as safe and secure as possible, and are also asking members of the public to report any suspicious activity involving Land Rovers.

PC Clare Mayes, of Thirsk and Easingwold Police, said: “I am urging Land Rover owners to be on their guard, and ensure they have adequate security measures in place – and of course this advice applies to any make of vehicle.

“Land Rovers should always be locked and alarmed. Park in a locked garage or other locked secure area, or in a well-lit open space or where there is passive lighting. Don’t leave keys in the ignition or near the front door at home.

“Consider also fitting a transponder-based security marking system and tracker device, and etching all windows with your vehicle identification number. In addition, if your Land Rover is over ten years old, fit an alarm and either fit an immobiliser or use a steering wheel lock.”

Public services in York getting worse this year – official

Little attention has been given to a report to tomorrows Cabinet meeting which shows a marked decline in the quality of some public services in York

Graffiti taking longer to remove

Graffiti taking longer to remove

It is taking the Council between 2 and 3 days to clean graffiti now – almost double the time taken two years ago

The number of York residents on the housing waiting list has increase from 1344 to 1439 over recent months It is still low compared to historical levels (because many applicants were struck off the list last year by the Council)

Only 62% of tenants are satisfied now with the Council as a landlord. To a degree this reflects the lack of investment in the Council estates across the City (a LibDem regeneration plan was voted down last week by the Labour/Green coalition)

Customer satisfaction with the quality of streets and public places has slipped below 50% as has satisfaction with green spaces.

Only 48% think that the Council is tackling anti social behaviour well.

Fewer residents (12%) are now “volunteering”

The number of people aged over 65 admitted to residential and nursing care homes had risen to 767 (per 100k population) by the end of last year. Numbers are increasing again this year.

By December 27 residents were victims of delayed discharges from hospital. Of these 15 were down to York Council care failings.

Waste going to landfill increasing

Waste going to landfill increasing

The Council is failing its waste management targets. Consequently taxpayers will foot an increased £3.7million landfill tax bill.

Stage carriage bus use in the City is stable.  The Council refuses to publish monthly figures indicating the number of buses running on time (was 84% last year according to DoT figures)