Heavy rain dumps tree detritus onto roads and footpaths
So, wither natural justice at York Council?
There can’t have been many more publicised processes than the persecution of two York LibDem Councillors over the last 3 years.
It has provided a field day for speculation and prevarication.
It was perhaps inevitable that the process would end this week – not with a statement of innocence and an apology from senior officials – but with a by-line in a report at a low key routine meeting.
The claim against one councillor, finally exonerated this week, was that he leaked confidential information to the media. He was named by a disgruntled former employee who turned whistle blower. Although the journalists who received the confidential reports (one of which concerned irregular payments to contractors) know who their sources were, they have understandable ethical objections to revealing them.
The only evidence offered therefore was circumstantial.
The words used by investigating officials suggest that it was a “case not proven”.
The burden should not be on the accused to prove their innocence.
Now Council information leaks in York are not unknown. For 30 years and more, Councillors have passed on information to journalists. Usually this has been to gain some political advantage. Almost invariably it has stemmed from deep frustration that the York Council is amongst the least transparent in the country.
And that is where reform is urgently needed.
The culture of secrecy needs to be swept away. There will be some information, for example during tendering processes, where the interests of taxpayers need to be protected. But the assumption from now on should be that a matter will only be regarded as confidential in extreme circumstances.
A start could be made by opening up the weekly Staffing Matters & Urgency Committee to the press and public
The Council should go further and ask what information and performance stats residents and the media would wish to see added to the “open data” web site. That would go some way to respect for the authority, its officials and Councillors
As far as “The York 2” are concerned, they deserve to have their reputations restored. The Council should issue a media release immediately to that effect. The Council should also commission a public report on how investigations into allegations of misconduct will be handled in the future. We can see no reason why such investigations should not be resolved within 6 months of an allegation being made.
The two Councillors have suffered financial loss of earnings because of the decision by the then Council Leader to remove them from their jobs. In a just world they would be compensated for that loss.
In the meantime, both Councillors would be wise not to try to use social media to press their case.
Check those drains!
Although surface water flooding is usually associated with winter conditions, issues can arise at this time of year.
We are likely to experience intense rainfall over the next few days.
This means that any blocked drainage channels and gullies will be tested. Residents would be wise to check any public gutters near their properties and report any blockages.
Warm weather brings some good news
Lots of people out and about today tidying up their gardens. Hopefully some of the overgrown trees, hedges and weeds obstructing footpaths will be getting attention.
Nine payphone kiosks to be removed
List of payphones in York which may be removed
BT has applied to remove 9 payphone kiosk from streets in York.
The Copmanthorpe, Strensal, Dringhouses and Westfield areas are affected
None of the iconic “red” K6 kiosks are on the list although there has been criticism recently about the state of repair of some of them. Several of these are “Listed” buildings.
Some of the kiosk listed have been a magnet for drug users, vandalism and anti social behaviour. Their removal is likely to be supported by neighbouring residents.
The use of public payphones has dropped to near zero over the years as mobile phone ownership has increased
York Council promises action on verges and weed growth
A confidential internal memo has been circulated to Councillors reacting to criticism of verge maintenance standards.
It also claims that the weed treatment programme is being brought forward.
A senior official says that verges are cut on 10 occasions each year between March and September. He goes on to say “as the rate of grass growth has slowed down, we are now starting to see improvements in the standard of cut, which will continue to improve as we undertake further cuts”.
Verges in the Foxwood Lane area have been subject to criticism, with one experienced local professional gardener saying that the edges are now so overgrown that they will need to be cut with a rotary cutter or strimmed if they are to recover their appearance.
On weeds, the Council says that they are treated in May/June, July/August & Sept/Oct. with a non-residual weed killer.
“This results in the ‘killing’ of all weeds that are growing at the time of treatment but any that germinate after the spray has passed will continue to grow until the next treatment later in the summer”.
“We are all aware of the issues regarding the amount of weeds visible in certain parts of the city, as previously stated this is due to the weather earlier in the year, we have worked with our contractor on a number of ways to improve the situation, as detailed below:
Our contractor has deployed additional resources at their cost.
We brought the commencement of the second treatment forward.
Our staff were deployed last week to start to strim and remove the very large weeds from the back lanes, as these would look unsightly even when dead”
The Council also says that the first cut of the Bar Walls – during in June – has not taken place because specialist equipment (supplied from Germany) has not yet arrived in the City
There has been no official comment from Executive Councillors about the poor standards evident in some parts of the City.
However one Independent Councillor – Mark Warters from Osbaldwick – Is understood to have told officials that a more professional approach to weed control is needed in the city. He says that the service should be brought back “in house”. Like many other residents, he believes that the weed killer used earlier in the year may have been washed off by rain before it had taken effect.
There is one piece of good news to report though, with several householders having cut back hedges from public footpaths over the weekend. This has reduced the number of obstructions on several streets.
Weather prompting rapid growth in gardens
Good and bad consequences
Building works problems increasing
Residents are hoping that some solutions, to the problems caused by widespread building works in the Westfield area, will emerge from last nights public meeting.
There are acute congestion, parking and noise problems at and near sevral sites.
Litter still blighting suburb
Despite several requests for a root cause analysis of, and action to address, littering hot-spots problems continue to grow. There are particular issues on routes used by some students on their way to and from school (although this may be a coincidence).
Hot-spots include snickets and bus stops.
We believe that the Council should increase its surveillance of such locations and issue penalty charge notices to offenders.
Some progress on local problems in the Westfield area
