City of York Council is urging local residents to help change a child’s life in 2019 by fostering.
With around 150 children and young people being supported by foster carers in York at any time, the authority is always looking for new foster carers to join the team.
Fostering involves looking after children in a safe and secure environment when they can’t live with their own families.
And as James Lee, from the council’s Fostering Team, explains, they’re not looking for just one type of carer:
“The children and young people who need our care are from a wide range of backgrounds and have very differing needs, so we need foster carers with different experiences and skills to help them. Many people consider fostering when their own children have left home and they have a bit more time and space, while others foster young people alongside their own children. If you have experience of living or working with children and young people, either in a work setting or at home, and think you might be able to help then please do get in touch.”
To find out more about how you can help local children by fostering call 01904 555678 or visit www.york.gov.uk/fostering
An investigation by City of York Council has uncovered and prosecuted a serious case of fly-tipping in the city, as part of Operation Eyeball a multi-agency campaign to tackle illegal waste disposal.
Haizhou Zhou (aged 46 of Outgang Lane, Osbaldwick, York) appeared yesterday [7 May 2019] at York Magistrates, where he pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and a related waste disposal offence.
Mr Zhou and two unknown male accomplices were caught on CCTV arriving at Ocean Corals and Reptiles, Clifton Moor, York, on 26 May 2018.
The three men discarded waste from a hire van into a skip next to the business. The waste included black waste bags, a wooden pallet, strips of plastic, cardboard, and wooden boards.
City of York Council officers noted that some of the waste recovered from the site belonged to Pegasus Textiles, registered as Pegasus World Ltd, Outgang Lane, York, for which Mr Zhou is the company director.
The incident cost the owners of Ocean Corals and Reptiles £228 for an additional skip to get rid of the extra waste.
York Magistrates fined Pegasus Textiles Ltd £13,200 yesterday [7 May 2019], he was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £170 and costs of £1012.64 as well as repayment of the waste costs.
Mr Zhou was fined £3938, ordered to pay a surcharge of £170 and costs of £500, as well as £228 compensation to Ocean Corals and Reptiles.
The council is working with North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Crime team and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to lead on the development of the Operation Eyeball (cross-county work to reduce fly-tipping).
Together, this campaign aims to support communities to find alternative ways to recycle and reuse their waste, rather than resulting to fly-tipping.
Residents can take waste to our household waste recycling centres – see www.york.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling – or can arrange for the council to collect it via www.york.gov.uk/BulkyWaste. Up to ten items can be taken so why not join together with neighbours?
Bus passengers in York are calling on the Council to review its bus shelter policies for suburban areas.
A lot of money has been spent on the bus stops on the York City centre in recent years. Hundreds of thousands more will be spent as the area outside the station is remodelled.
but there has been little progress made in providing “next bus due” real time information on most of the network. Even busy routes with inter -urban services like Tadcaster Road lack passenger information (and shelter)
Mobile device systems have been developed but they are not user friendly and often revert to providing just when the timetabled service should arrive.
In Leeds, bus arrival time signs are integrated into shelters.
Some bus shelters are redundant following changes to bus routes which took place several years ago. The shelter below on Tudor Road is an example. The local number 4 service only serves the opposite side of the road on its clockwise route round Acomb. Now all the shelter does is attract anti social behaviour
As a consequence there is a large amount of litter on the near by verge while ponding on the adjacent footpath has never been properly addressed.
Litter next to Tudor Road bus shelter
It is an issue that the various public transport pressure groups in the City have failed to get to grips with.
Notices have appeared warning motorists that they face a £100 fine if they use the shoppers car park at Woodthorpe shops for longer than 2 hours. The notices say that ANPR (spy) cameras will be used to enforce the new restrictions.
Woodthorpe shops
We can understand that the owners of the car park which is privately owned may wish to discourage commuter and overnight parking. They have, after all, to pick up the bill for repairs and maintenance. Spaces are intended to be used by shoppers and those visiting the dentist and doctors surgery.
Maintenance standards on the surface of the shopping area and adjacent parking areas does need to be improved. Fortunately, following voluntary efforts, the amount of litter and weeds has been reduced while the flower beds are much tidier.
Camera enforcement seems a little over the top if they are to be used routinely. The last thing that the local community would want to see is more “on street” parking on busy local roads .
NB. There are also concerns about the future of the Post Office which is located in one of the shops.
When the list of streets which will be resurfaced this year was published a few weeks ago, it prompted disappointment in many areas.
For example the Herman Walk access road to Spurr Court had been scheduled to be resurfaced 4 years ago, but mysteriously disappeared for the programme before work could start. The carriageway has now almost worn away with the base layer increasingly vulnerable to ice damage.
Carriageway near Spurr Court breaking up
Not surprisingly other roads in the same area – which were laid at the same time – are also showing signs of wear and tear. Resurfacing now would avoid more expensive repairs in later years. (NB. The Council was allocated additional monies to cover carriageway repairs earlier in the year)
Potholes on the Foxwood estate are getting bigger each week
Highway defects represent a particular hazard for cyclists. We’ve reported several over the last few days that require prompt attention. The last systematic programme of cycle margin resurfacing works in York took place over 10 years ago.
Howe Street needs resurfacing
…as does Lowfields Drive
Some concrete surfaces are now breaking up. Heavy vehicles, accessing sites on Windsor Garth, are wrecking the Kingsway West highway. This is likely to get worse as work commences on the Ascot Way redevelopment plan
Concrete bays on Kingsway West are fracturedA resurfacing programme for back lanes is also required.
It’s not just the political future of he York Council which is up in the air.
With the defeat of Keith Myers in the Acomb poll on Thursday, the City is desperately seeking a replacement to be the next Lord Mayor.
George Hudson was Lord Mayor of York
It is still the Conservatives turn to nominate. However, They
are down to only two remaining members. To become Lord Mayor a Councillor must
have at least 4 years service on the Authority. Many former post holders will feel
that many more years of experience are required if someone is to make a success
of the office.
.. and there is the first problem. Only Tory Paul Doughty
from Strensall qualifies. He may, or may not, want to take on the exacting full-time
role. If he does, then he will face the decision whether to nominate his partner
as his consort or find another volunteer.
The Sherriff of York – nominated by the Lord Mayor – also forms
part of the Civic Party. The holder does not have to be a Councillor. Given his
interests in conservation, this might be an ideal role for Keith Myers, if he
can get over his disappointment in not achieving the top job.
But suppose the Tories turn down the post. What happens then?
This has happened in the past. Groups unwilling, or unable,
to nominate lose their accumulated qualification points.
Qualification points?
Points totals are reported to a meeting which takes place each November
The Council uses a points system which allocates each group
on the Council a point for each Councillor that they have (at the end of May
each year). The group with the largest number of points nominates the Lord
Mayor for the following year. When a party nominates, they lose 47 points (equivalent
to total the number of Council seats) and must start to accumulate points again.
The system has worked well. In non election years the likely incumbent has had plenty of time to prepare for the office, while smaller groups do qualify to provide the city’s figurehead. The Green party nominated the Lord Mayor for the first time a couple of years ago.
So, if the Tories turn it down, what happens then?
The Group with the next highest points total would be asked
to nominate. That means someone will get only 3 weeks to prepare to take on the
role from 23rd May. Many dates will already be in the prospective
Lord Mayors diary .
The Labour group have the next highest points total. However
only one of their number – their current Leader Janet Looker, who is also a
previous Lord Mayor – has over 4 years experience. There are others who may
qualify under a rule change agreed last year which allows those who have served
for 4 years and who were re-elected on 2nd May to be nominated. However, that means an inexperienced
Councillor being thrust into a new role with minimal time to prepare.
The task might be less daunting if the nomination goes to a
former Lord Mayor.
All should become clear when the invitations to attend Lord Mayors Day are issued.
Good luck to whoever is passed the chains of office.
The LibDems emerged from Thursday’s elections with the most seats. …..but they are short of an overall majority.
The York Council HQ at West Offices
The onus will be on their Leader Keith Aspden to negotiate a programme which will guide the City through, what are likely to be, 4 challenging years.
He would be wise to pause for thought. The immediate aftermath
of a successful election – and the hyperbole that surrounds it – doesn’t always
provide the best environment for considered decision making.
There is, however, an element of urgency. Towards the end of
the last coalition administration growing tensions were evident. They weren’t restricted
to the, rapidly disintegrating, Tory group members. Decisions were put on the back
burner while some long held LibDem polices were jettisoned.
That needs to change quickly.
If a coalition arrangement is to continue, then the only two
groups which could together commend a majority in the Council chamber are the LibDems
and the Green Party.
The latter are not
famous for their tight discipline and consistency. But it could work if a policy
programme could be agreed. If they are to negotiate, then the Greens must not
overplay their hand. They remain a small party with limited electoral appeal. They
need to identify a small number of policy areas where tangible change – and improvement
– is deliverable. It will mean some realism about what is possible given the financial
constraints placed on the Council.
There are two areas where there may be common ground between
the two parties.
The first relates to the way in which the Council does its business.
The “Strong Leader” executive model may
work efficiently where there is a party with an overall majority. It is markedly
less successful where the Council is “balanced”. It reached its nadir when, two
years ago, the then Tory Council Leader summarily sacked two (LibDem) members of
the Executive. It later turned out that the justification for doing so was
entirely bogus.
A return to the committee system may be a potential area of
agreement. The system allows for all members of the Council to participate
directly in the decision-making process. No party, after all, has a monopoly on wisdom
The Committee system might also help to address the second
major failing of the Council – a lack of transparency. The Greens said in their
manifesto that there should be a presumption in favour of disclosure (of
information).
They were right.
At the moment the Council hides behind an opaque wall of silence.
Freedom of Information requests flourish. The costs of answering them are
greater than would have been the expense of voluntarily publishing information routinely.
With openness people would come to trust the Council more.
There are other more specific policies which would signal that
change had taken place.
Public service standards in the poorer wards continue to decline. Life expectancy is lower there and obesity levels – and lack of attractive active leisure facilities – are higher.
The LibDems could
address their growing “Middle England” image by prioritising a programme
focusing on improving public services in the poorer neighbourhoods
The voting patterns on Thursday revealed that the electoral turnout was as much as 15 points down in neglected wards when compared to the leafy suburbs and villages.
That can’t be good for democracy and may explain why some extreme politicians have seen success over recent years. Extremism feeds on disillusion and neglect.
Action now may be the best way for the politicians of the centre
to consolidate their influence on the reins of power in the future.
Of course, it takes two to tango and there may not be a majority for discursive decision making on the new Council.
If so, the LibDems may try to establish a minority administration.
If they do, they would be wise to spread power around the Council chamber as far as they are able. Scrutiny committees should be chaired by opposition Councillors, as should the influential Audit committee.
There are experienced independent Councillors who could contribute by taking senior roles in the planning process.
Whatever happens an early statement of intent will be expected
by the residents of York.
