York road works map
A new web site has been launched which claims to list all current road works taking place in York (and,indeed,the UK).
It includes all statutory undertakings (telephones, water, power etc), not just the Council.
How accurate it will prove to be remains to be seen, but you can check it out at the following web site http://roadworks.org/
Otterwood Lane “jungle”
The recent improved weather has accelerated the rate of growth of grass and weeds. Some hedges are also now blocking public footpaths
In Otterwood Lane the amenity area has still to receive its first cut of the year. While this area has traditionally not been cut until late May to give the daffodils time to die back, the grass has now reached 2 feet high in some places.
As we warned (see right) the Councils policy of reduced grass cutting will affect the appearance of local neighbourhoods.
Leaking salt bin
Also neglected are the salt bins – left out for the second successive year – which are now eyesores, damaged by vandals or full of litter.
Almost everywhere weed growth is now a major problem in street gutters. Left untreated the weeds will eventually damage the surface of roads, footpaths and drains.
By June each year, the Council has usually announced when the first application of weed killer will be applied. There has been no such information issued to residents this year.
Weed growth in gutters
• email, ycc@york.gov.uk,
• telephone (01904) 551550, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm or
• by using the online servicing facility
Overgrown hedges
There are also options which can be used via a smart phone.
Perhaps the best is a “My Council” app. This allows a large range of issues to be raised with the York (and other) Councils. Click here for details. Issues can be reported either “on line” of via a mobile phone app in “real time”
The well established “fix my street” web site also promises that they will have an app available shortly. In the meantime you can report issues by clicking here
After 2 years with virtually no consultation with residents, York is heading towards an overdose this month.
The latest is asking about how the City centre should look and be preserved.
Other consultations taking place at present include:
20 mph city wide speed limit. Deadline for receipt of objections 21st June 2013 www.york20mph.org Alternative view
Local Plan & the Green Belt — Deadline 31st July. www.york.gov.uk/local plan Alternative view
New ward boundaries (Boundary Commission). Deadline 5th August http://tinyurl.com/Wards-June-2013 Alternative view:
The new consultation talks about the importance of having a “fully accessible” City. The consultation runs for eight-weeks until Wednesday 31 July.
30 days hath September, April, June and November all the rest have 31 save February which has 28 and January which has 80 (and rising)
Damaged salt bin Cornlands Road
Residents responding to a survey carried out in the Westfield ward, have criticised the York Councils winter maintenance performance.
57% were disappointed with icy weather arrangements.
An overwhelming 97% felt that the Council should top up all salt bins at the beginning of winter.
This winter – for the first time- the Council only filled some of the local salt bins and had to be forced by public opinion to fill the rest around the middle of January.
Unfortunately the bins had been left out over the summer period and many had been damaged. Lids were missing from some of them while many of the rest had become informal litter bins.
We believe that the Council should recover all the bins this summer and repair them.
Then they should make sure that they are out on the streets again, and full, before the icy winter weather starts.
Coming soon after the Council announced that it would be scrapping the specialist animal welfare (formerly dog warden) officer patrols, it has decided to appoint a “horse bailiff”.
The move comes after numerous complaints about horses straying onto private land and being the cause of several road traffic accidents.
The Cabinet is set to approve a “protocol” next week
The plan will cost Council tax payers £40,000 a year to implement
Vulnerable residents in York could be offered additional grant funding towards their energy bills over the next three years and beyond, if Labour Councillors endorse a Liberal Democrat policy which is being considered by the local “Cabinet” on 2nd April.
We hope that they will.
Hopefully local anti poverty campaigners will also welcome the news (and say so publicly!)
The “Green Deal” fulfils another pledge contained in the Liberal Democrat 2010 election manifesto which said, we will “offer a home energy improvement package … paid for by the savings from lower energy bills”. For background click here.
The Green Deal is one of the Government’s flagship initiatives which will operate by providing energy efficiency and other works at no up-front cost to the householder across all tenures and businesses.
Details can be found by clicking here
The Liberal Democrat campaign to stop Labour introducing a charge for emptying green bins has been successful.
A report to the Councils Cabinet says that there will be no charge for emptying one bin at each property.
However the service will not be available between November and March (when less than 17% of green waste is collected). The Council hopes to save around £67,000 by discontinuing this part of the service.
A survey undertaken by the Council revealed that only 14.5% support a charge. That compares to 96% who responded to our survey in the Westfield area who were opposed to a charge.
There are over 5000 additional green bins in use at properties with large gardens. The Council hopes that around 3500 residents will pay £35 a year to have these second bins emptied.
The majority of respondents to the Councils survey supported having a combined food and green waste collection. In other parts of the country this has reduced landfill volumes by 15% and officers are to look further at how this could be introduced in York.
The Council is also to close the Towthorpe recycling centre on one day a week. It appears that they have still not learnt the lesson that closing the Beckfield Lane centre should have taught them (inconvenience means increased landfill volumes).
The Council claim that their online/telephone survey attracted about 1000 responses.
It was attacked as misleading as it failed to explain that changes to the current arrangements would have been unnecessary if the Council had decided to scrap some of its more extravagant plans like establishing an “arts barge” on the Ouse.
Cuts to street level services click to enlarge
Labour’s hopelessly misjudged Council budget proposals are set to be approved tonight. Cuts to all front line public services are planned yet
Labour also intend to retain a £1 million a year “slush fund” which is used to pay for a range of inessential “vanity” projects.
The £1 million this year has been used to pay for lighting and firework displays, free WiFi access in the City centre, a plan to open the Bonding warehouse as a “digital media hub”, building design competitions, an “innovation catalyst” programme; not to mention the occasional foreign travel trip.
More waste is evident in the Councils capital programme where commitments to introducing an unnecessary Citywide 20 mph speed limit and the purchase of a barge for use as an arts centre have seen interest payments, on borrowed money, double since Labour took control of the Council.
Abandoning these “vanity” projects and making good use of the reduced running costs (down by £375,000) of its new HQ would allow the Council to restore many of the most damaging cuts.
Labour’s key proposals would see:
• A 1.9% hike in Council tax levels (despite central government offering to underwrite the costs of a freeze)
• Privatisation or outsourcing of leisure/swimming pool management the Warden Call service and the “Sheltered housing with extra care” service. Even the Mansion House will be commercialised
• Grants to Museums Trust cut by £100,000, the Theatre Royal by £101,000 with similar % cuts other voluntary sector bodies
• At a time when people are rightly worried following revelations about meat quality, trading standards faces a £42,000 cut, while there will be less air quality monitoring.
• There will be less for job training as Future Prospects loses £150,000
• The closure of elderly persons homes will be brought forward meaning that some residents face double moves before new accommodation is completed. In 2014 pensioners will face a 90p charge when using their passes on Park and Ride services
• Disabled facilities at Greenworks and Brunswick Nursery cut by £50,000 Supported employment budget cut by £200,000 forcing disabled people into “mainstream employment”
• Social Service clients with personal budgets will lose out from a £500,000 budget cut
• Looked after children – basically those with foster parents – face a £700,000 cut with another £400,000 to come off in 2014.
• Respite services get a £50,000 reduction.
• Children’s centres face a £128,000 cut in 2014
• The toy library bus will scrapped in 2014
Some reductions in expenditure were inevitable.
Labour have simply chosen to economise on the wrong services.
Meanwhile there are some concerns about the likely quality of tonights Council debate
York’s Labour Council are proposing changes to the Towthorpe Recycling Centre that could include reducing regular opening hours or even closing the site completely over the winter.
York Liberal Democrats believe the current opening hours and service levels should be maintained.
To show your support please sign our petition here
York Liberal Democrats have launched a petition against Labour’s plans to introduce charging for green bin collections. It can be found here
The Council is asking residents to complete an “on line” questionaire. Click here to find it.
Remember though that it is the Labour Council that has decided to “save” £250,000 from the waste collection budget. They could – and in our view should – have looked to make the savings from other budgets such as abandoning the provision of “free” WiFi services in the City centre and cancelling the the introduction of the unnecessary 20 city wide speed limit
The background information papers pointedly fail to tell residents how much additional Landfill Tax the Authority will have to pay if, as expected, the amount of green waste put in grey bins increases. Any increased landfill payments would be passed on to all Council Taxpayers – not just those with gardens.
At last week’s Cabinet meeting the ruling Labour Group agreed to bring forward plans that could involve charging for garden waste collections (either all year round or between March and November), charges for additional garden bins, or stopping all winter collections.
City of York Council has refused to confirm how much the fees will be or what the impact will be on recycling rates and Landfill Tax. After the controversial closure of Beckfield Lane Tip last year, the Council is missing recycling targets and a report last week admitted that the authority was “underperforming” slipping to 260th in recent recycling performance tables for England. Meanwhile, missed targets mean Landfill Tax is due to reach a record £3 million this year.
In Derby, the Labour run Council are planning to charge residents £40 per year to have a garden waste bin and £20 for each additional bin, while in Newcastle 40,000 residents returned their bins after the Council introduced fees.
Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environmental Services, commented:
“We fear that introducing a charge for green bins will further increase Landfill Tax charges and fly-tipping while recycling rates will fall. Labour are focussed on the short-term income generated from charging residents, but have made no budget provision for paying more Landfill Tax or for clearing up more fly-tipping.
“The move also breaks a promise to residents. When alternate weekly collections were rolled out the Council entered into a contract with residents. In exchange for a reduced grey waste collection residents would be encouraged to recycle and provided with a suitable collection regime and containers to do so. This meant that under the Lib Dem administration recycling rates increased from 12% to 43%. Charging for green waste breaks this contract and is effectively an extra tax on residents who want to do the right thing and recycle.”
NB. The Council is also planning to reduce the operating hours of the Towthorpe recycling centre and to ask all those using the Hazel Court and Towthorpe facilities to produce proof of being a York resident before being allowed free access to the sites!
