Discussion starts on grant funding of Community Centres in York

 

The report on how part of the grants for local Community Centres could be reinstated has been published.
Sanderson House community centre

Sanderson House community centre

The centres affected are located in Foxwood, Chapelfields, Bell Farm and Heworth.

A fifth – the Burton Stone Centre – was to have been sold off to a third party operator but this has fallen through. It continues – at least for the moment – to be run by Council employees, but without a volunteer user committee.

The Community Centres running cost grants (which totalled £140,000 in 2013) were stopped last year by the then Labour run Council.

It had been hoped that the new Council, having made £70,000 available to support the centres when it met in July, would allow for the reinstatement of some caretaker roles.

In turn this would have allowed the centres – which otherwise depend entirely on volunteers –  to increase their opening hours.

A report to a meeting taking place next week offers three choices for the use of the funding.  They are:

  1. The Council could retain the £70k budget with no direct grant funding to the voluntary management committees. The budget would be used to maintain the condition of the five premises enabling funds to be directed to those buildings which have the greatest identified repair and maintenance requirements.
  2. The Council could split the £70k equally across the five centres, offering them a £14k direct grant each.
  3. A combination of options A and B to provide some direct grants, whilst retaining some of the budget for the Council to contribute to the repair and maintenance liabilities. A sinking fund would also be established to allow a planned approach to asset replacement.

Option (c) would reinstate only a £4000 a year grant to each of the five centres. See below for details

Foxwood Community Centre propsed grants

The rest would be syphoned off to pay for maintenance work at the buildings which are still owned by the Council.  As landlord the Council would be responsible for these repairs anyway.

There is a suggestion that an “apprentice” be appointed   – at a cost of £10,000 – to monitor the project.

Some people already feel that there has been too much interfering by Council officials in the work of the voluntary committees which work tirelessly to run the centres. Officials seem to want to weigh volunteers down with “service level agreements” and commitments which are simply too onerous for spare time volunteers to feel comfortable with.

We hope that “no strings” grants of at least £20,000 a year can be agreed for each centre. To allow for forward planning they should be guaranteed for the duration of at least the present Council (i.e. until 2019)

A decision on the grants will be taken at a meeting on Thursday, 3rd December, 2015 4.30 pm at West Offices. Residents may make written representations to the meeting and/or may register to attend in person and speak. (Telephone – (01904) 552062 Email laura.bootland@york.gov.uk)

Delay over Community Centre funding plans

One of the key policies of the new coalition Council was the restoration of grants to Council owned Community Centres.
Foxwood Community Centre

Foxwood Community Centre

The centres (Foxwood, Chapelfields, Bell Farm, Heworth and Burton Stone/Clifton) lost their grants under the last Labour administration and there were fears that some would close.

In July the new Council identified £70,000 to help underpin the centres. The voluntary groups currently running the centres have managed to kept them open until now.

The Council had been expected to allocate the total budget to individual centres on 14th September but unexplained delays have dogged the process since then.

Now it appears that the Councils Environment Executive member (Andrew Waller) has been debarred from making the decision which had been scheduled to be taken in November.

Instead Deputy Council Leader Keith Aspden will agree the allocations on 3rd December.

The is still hoped is that enough money will be made available to allow a part time caretaker to be appointed at both the Foxwood and Chapelfields centres.

Children disappointed as “Make it York” bans Christmas rides

Members of the public ride a carousel adjacent to the 'St Nicholas Fair' Christmas market in the city centre of York, Northern England on December 3, 2014. AFP PHOTO / OLI SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)The traditional children’s Carousel has not been provided in the City centre St Nicholas Fair this year.

Despite assurances from the organisers “Make it York“ (MIY) – who banned the long standing Warringtons ride  from St Sampson’s Square – that a ride would be provided on the “Eye of York”, no such alternative has emerged.

The QUANGO claimed that the Carousels space was needed for stalls shuffled along Parliament Street to accommodate an outdoor bar labeled a “TiPi”.

It appears that the organisers didn’t seriously pursue the plan to extend the Fair onto areas like Duncombe Place. This would have had the added advantage of reducing the congestion which can sometimes be evident on Parliament Street where space for shoppers is limited.

With the St. Nicholas Fair only a couple of days old (it runs until 23rd December) further concerns are emerging about the management of the event (which we understand has been sub-contracted by MIY)

  • Yesterday road closures planned for Church Street and St Sampson’s Place had not been signposted.
Tipi bar

Tipi bar

  • As expected evening ban on traffic in Davygate – where several food outlets are located – was not being enforced.
  • Reports are also emerging of a disturbance in the “TiPi” bringing into further doubt the wisdom of putting more alcohol on the city’s streets.

There will be some serious questions to answer about where the money raised by rents from stalls (understood to range from £4000 to £20,000 for the duration of the Fair) will actually end up.

It seems unlikely that the vapid oversight arrangements that the York Council – which wholly owns the MIY organisation – has introduced will successfully lift the veil of secrecy which seems to permanently surround the activities of this organisation.

 

 

 

What’s on: Willow weaving at the Castle

Sat 21 Nov : 10.00am – 3.00pm

Castle MuseumAn introduction to willow weaving and how you can use this versatile material.

Create your own willow Christmas decorations – angels, Christmas trees and stars to impress family and friends this Christmas.

£35.00 per person, plus £5 for materials on the day , includes museum admission.

To book please visit www.yortime.org.uk, call 01904 552806 or e-mail york.learning@york.gov.uk.  

This activity is part of the Adult Learning Programme at York Museums Trust

York Theatre Royal reopening delays to cost £3/4 million

The Theatre Royal will not reopen until 22nd April.

That means it will have been closed for 47 instead of 27 weeks during its current restoration.

Theatre Royal restoration scaffoldingThe delay has been caused by the unexpected discovery of archaeology remains including the foundations of the St. Leonards Hospital. Asbestos was also discovered in the back wall of the stalls.

The additional cost of the building works is put at £1/4 million but to this must be added an estimated loss in income of £500,000.

Origonally the restoration had been expected to cost £4.1 million.

The Theatre is hoping to persuade the Arts Council to help to make up the deficit although some subsidy from the York Council is also likely.

The news is a major blow to the Theatre which is one of the gems in York’s cultural crown. It does much to promote the City around the world with the recent “in Fog and Falling Snow” production featuring in a TV documentary only last month.  The cast was mainly made up of York residents.

The adaptation for the stage of the Railway Children had its genesis in York. It is currently still running in London at the Kings Cross theatre.

What’s on: Explore Your Archives at York Explore

Memory web:

Memory Web

Sat 14 Nov : 10.00am – 3.00pm – drop in to help weave a memory web with Mary Passeri. Suitable for all ages, no need to book.

 

Archi’ve Curated

Archive CuratedSun 15 Nov : 11.00am – 3.00pm – Drop in and find out more about our amazing collections and then help us create an online exhibition.

Suitable for ages 11-16, no need to book.

A very fishy story and play

Story And Play (2)Mon 16 Nov : 10.00am – 10.45am –

our usual story and play session but with a very fishy theme. Enjoy a story and decorate a fish to swim on our Ouse map.

Suitable for under 5s and their carers. No need to book.

Paper Doll storytime

Story TimeTue 17 Nov : 10.0am – 11.00am –

hear the story of the Paper Dolls, remember all the fun things you liked to so, and make your own paper dolls.

Suitable for under 5s and their carers. No need to book.

Reading the past – teen reading group

Teen Reading GroupTue 17 Nov : 4.30pm – 5.30pm –

criminal histories, local legends, wartime letters – they’re all here in our archives – great if you are interested in reading or history!

Suitable for 12 – 16 years. No need to book.

Chatterbooks : stories, crafts and strange things from the past

ChatterbooksThu 19 Nov : 4.00pm – 5.00pm – have fun with our storyteller for a special story time and craft session .

Suitable for ages 6 plus. no need to book.

Archive Explorer

Archive ExplorerSat 21 and Sun 22 : 11.00am – 3.00pm both days

Pick up a copy of our archive trail and see if you can complete the archive challenge.

Suitable for ages 8 plus. No need to book.

 

These events are all part of the national Explore Your Archives 2015 for a full programme of events across the country  click here. www.exploreyourarchive.org

What’s on: Art explorations?

art-gallery

Date: Sat 14 and Sun 15 Nov
Time: 10.30 am start Sat; 12.30 start Sun
Venue: York Art Gallery
Cost: £60

This 2-day (8 hrs) workshop will allow you to explore the use of mixed media techniques in creating effective fur and feather textures in your artworks.

Drawing inspiration from the collection of the York Museum Trust & the taxidermy in the exhibition: The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures, curated by York artist Mark Hearld, we will explore and apply a variety of drawing and painting techniques using: watercolours, water-soluble crayons, pen and ink, and other colour media e.g. colour pencils, pastels etc in our bid to visually evoke the “feel of fur n’ feather”!

In addition, we will use more contemporary approaches such as gesso, and   texturing mediums with our paints/ paper, as well as basic printing methods   to further experiment with textural techniques.

Please bring drawing/paint media you wish to use (& any referred to in the course description above if you have them)

Also paper (cartridge / watercolour as appropriate), sketchbook, brushes, palette, water pot, and a sharp craft knife.
N.B. Some media and tools will be available for learners to use, however, it is suggested that learners bring a range of media with them, so that they can experiment on the day.
If learners wish to attend without any materials, a charge of £3 – £5 will be made for the use of tutor’s media.

Photographic resources of animals may also be used if you wish to bring them.

Refreshments will be available to purchase; a packed lunch would be advisable.

Also at the Art Gallery

Date: Wed 18 Nov : 12.30 – 1.30pm
The Lumber Room, free talk by Mark Hearld. No need to book. Admission fees apply.

Date: Fri 27 Nov : 2.00pm – 3.00pm
The Collector’s eye, free talk by collector Anthony Shaw. No need to book. Admission fees apply.