York could be in line for £693,000 to fund emergency transport improvements

Figures released today suggest that the government could give York an additional £693,000 to fund post COVID sustainable transport schemes in the City.

The money will come from the “emergency active travel fund”. The indicative allocations can be read by clicking here

This would be in addition to the £193,000 already allocated

The North Yorkshire County Council could be in line to receive £1,085,000 from the same fund.

York decided to spend much of its initial allocation on a controversial road closure scheme in The Groves area.

Residents reminded there is just one year left to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme

Tuesday 30th June marked one year until the deadline for applications to the EU Settlement Scheme.

EU citizens’ are our friends, neighbours and work colleagues and we are keen to support them in any way we can. We want everyone to know York is their home and to take action to keep living and working in York.

If you apply to the EU Settlement Scheme successfully, you’ll be able to continue living and working in the UK after 30 June 2021 with either ‘settled status’ or ‘pre-settled’ status.

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Last week, the Home Office announced that there have been more than 3.6 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme, with more than 3.3 million applications concluded.

EU residents can visit GOV.​UK for further information about applying to the EU Settlement Scheme: www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families. Information on the EU Settlement Scheme support in York is available at www.york.gov.uk/EUSettlementScheme

In 2019 the council sent a letter of support to all EU citizens living in the city offering them advice and how to get help with their application should they need it. The Council has also appointed a Community Involvement Officer with a focus on supporting EU residents in the city.

Up to March 2020, 5,380 applications had been concluded in York, of which 3,140 have been granted settled and 2,200 pre-settled status.

The York Register Office are currently unable to offer verification appointments but will look to open up this service again in due course.

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Economic recovery slow in York

A report from the Centre for Cities suggests that the “High Street” in York is below average in the progress it is making with post COVID recovery.

York has an overall “score” of 29 compared to Leeds which scores (a worse) 24.

The best (Basildon) scores 61.

The data comes from an analysis of mobile phone activity.

Traders will be hoping that the further easing of restrictions on Saturday will help to kick start a more significant upturn in economic activity in the City.

Coronavirus York updates; 2nd July 2020

More information leaks out

This graph, which includes Pillar 2 test results, was apparently leaked by the York Council last night to some local journalists. You won’t find it on the Council web site.

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It is shocking that the government suppressed the data for so long. The peaks in late April and in May were matters of public interest.

There is no process in place for publicly updating the information on a daily basis (unlike Pillar 1 test results).

There has been no update on the progress being made in tracing the contacts of those who have recently tested positive.

No information has been provided on the results of Pillar 3 testing (which looks for traces of anti bodies in a victim).

There have been no additional deaths at local hospitals and no additional (Pillar 1) positive lab test results this week.

90 Asylum seekers to be accommodated in York Hotel

A government agency intends to house 90 single asylum seekers in a York hotel. The plan was considered in a “behind closed doors” meeting.

No costs will fall on local taxpayers. It is unclear whether those arriving in the City will be subject to a coronavirus test.

Askham Bar Park and Ride reopening from Sunday

Services linking Askham Bar to the City centre will operate every 15 minutes at weekends and Monday-Friday every 10 minutes during the peak and 15 minutes during the day.

Sunday frequency is also being increased to 15 minutes from the current 30-minute intervals at three other Park & Ride sites: Rawcliffe Bar, Designer Outlet and Monks Cross, with routes to the city centre. This increases further to every 12 minutes on Sundays from July 12.

Latest waste service update York Council

Wednesday 1 July

We were unable to collect all household waste from Acomb due to a vehicle breakdown.

We were unable to collect all recycling waste from parts of Acomb and Dringhouses due to vehicle capacity.

We were unable to collect all garden waste from parts of Holgate due to vehicle breakdowns.

All these will be recollected on Thursday 2 July. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am. 

City of York Council’s Statement of Accounts

City of York Council will open its unaudited accounts for public inspection from Wednesday 1 July to Tuesday 11th August.

The annual inspection gives members of the public and local government electors certain rights in the audit process.

Any person may inspect the accounts of the council for the year ended 31 March 2020 on the City of York Council website at https://www.york.gov.uk/StatementOfAccounts, and on reasonable notice, can request access to certain related documents (comprising books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts) or a printed copy of the accounts.

Application should be made initially to Debbie.Mitchell@york.gov.uk

The council’s accounts are subject to external audit by Mazars LLP. For the same period Wednesday 1st July to Tuesday 11th August electors can question the auditor about, or make objections to, the accounts before they are signed off by the Audit & Governance Committee on 14th September 2020.

Further details of the inspection process, elector rights and contact details can be found in the inspection notice on the council’s website at https://www.york.gov.uk/StatementOfAccounts

Spark set to get government lifeline?

Containers arrived in Sept 2017

The controversial Sparks container village development on Piccadilly looks set to benefit from a government planning decision.

The temporary planning permission for the site – granted 3 years ago- included the following condition

“This (approved) use (of the site) shall cease and all associated structures shall be removed from the site by 1 July 2020; unless prior to that date the consent of the Local Planning Authority has been obtained to extend the period of the permission”

The containers should, therefore, by today have been off the site.

Officials at the Council have – not for the first time – failed to enforce the conditions attached to the planning permission.

They say that on 22nd June, the government issued a press release that stated

“Sites with consent that have an expiry date between the start of lockdown and the end of this year will now see their consent extended to 1 April 2021”.

Officials go on to say, “At the time of writing (the planning report) the associated legislation regarding this is not yet in force (and consequently we do not know the details of this change). It is assumed this legislation will extend the lifetime of the existing permission into next year”.

Council planning officials go on to say,

“However should this legislation not be in force by the time of committee, the recommendation will be approval subject to the legislation coming into force to automatically extend permissions that have expired during lockdown”

The meeting is taking place (remotely) on 9th July. Background papers can be viewed by clicking this link

There are continuing concerns from neighbours about noise at the site while objections about the appearance of the  development also continue to be lodged.

Whether the managers of the site will be able to satisfy the conditions placed on an extended lease – which include financial sureties – remains to be seen.

Much of Sparks incomes derives from alcohol sales. The hospitality sector in York, and elsewhere, is facing a difficult 12 months.

Some sources speculate that as many as 40% of city centre cafes and bars may close unless there is an sustained (and unlikely) increase in visitor numbers.

We may, therefore, yet see the site become available for early redevelopment although major investments are going to be difficult to broker in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and the expected economic recession.

NB. The meeting is also being recommended to approve plans for a 168 bedroomed hotel on the other side of Piccadilly. Click

£5 million Tadcaster Road repairs budget?

The government announced yesterday an allocation of £5 million for road maintenance on Tadcaster Road York. The local LibDem leadership promptly issued a statement saying that the money would be spent on “repairs”.

“There will be £5m each for plans to make the key route network in Liverpool more resilient, to begin further maintenance on the Swanswell Viaduct in Coventry, and for road maintenance on the Tadcaster Road in York“. – Boris Johnson

This will come as a surprise to many. Tadcaster Road (between Middlethorpe Drive and Knavesmire Gates) was resurfaced last month at a cost to local taxpayers of £600,000. This brought over a mile of carriageway up to standard.

That left a ½ mile stretch between Middlethorpe Drive and Sim Balk Lane to complete. Even taking into account the Tesco roundabout and adjacent off road cycle track (which does need to be reconstructed because of tree root damage) we wouldn’t expect resurfacing this section to cost more than £300,000.

There are many other carriageways in York which are in a much worse condition.

We hope that the Council will move quickly to confirm that the funding is intended to deal with the congestion black spot near the College entrance. There are unnecessary tail backs along Tadcaster Road at peak times as a result of large numbers of people leaving the college and using the pelican crossing.

College pelican crossing on Tadcaster Road

This is compounded by on carriageway bus stops and traffic lights at the Sim Balk Lane junction.

Even the provision of a footbridge would look like an expensive solution to this problem (and not necessarily a facility that everyone would choose to use).

So some further explanation is needed.

Mystery deepens as Poppleton COVID 19 test results leaked to media

As recently as 21st June the York Council said that it hadn’t been given the results of COVID 19 tests carried out at the Poppleton Park and Ride testing centre.

The centre had opened on 24th April.  Almost immediately there were claims that the test results for local centres “were disappearing into a black hole”. Around 5000 tests were carried out during the first 10 days of operation of the new centre. Officials remained tight lipped about the outcomes. Local MPs were urged to lift the blanket of confidentiality and some local reporters also lobbied for more openness

Yesterday, the local York Director of Health confirmed to the media that they had received the figures.

She revealed that as of June 27 there were 424 positive coronavirus tests confirmed through, what is known as, the “Pillar 2” testing programme. Added to the lab test reports already published, that meant that there had been a total of 887 cases in the City.

Significantly there were nine positive test results recorded through Pillar 2 data in the past week.

The Council didn’t say how well its contact tracing service was performing.

The Financial Times has said that Pillar 2 results now comprise the largest proportion of positive tests across the country

This is the latest in a series of communications failures by central and local government. It was several weeks into to crisis before  daily updates were provided on deaths and test results (Pillar 1) . Both sets of stats are now updated at Council/Hospital Trust level each day.

The absence of  data from the commercial test sites and home testing means that residents still have only a partial picture.

It is not surprising that there were many positive results at Poppleton. The centre initially started out testing key workers and then moved on to test those who were suffering from COVID symptoms.

What is extraordinary is that it has taken so long for a glimpse of the results to leak out.

We have seen a copy of an email in which a Council official had yesterday  said to a resident

“Although we now have access to pillar 2 data, as a council we are not allowed to publish it. It is to be used for internal planning purposes only”.

A couple of hours later, the Council was forced to release a comment after the figures were leaked.

Some other Councils are believed to be routinely publishing the information while MPs are now also being briefed. They may be the source of the leaked information

Whatever the source, the time has come for the Council leadership to allay growing concerns that the secrecy covering this issue has a sinister motive.

The infection rate in York is below the regional and national averages. That is good news which should be shared

The Council must agree to update residents on the progress being made in tracing the contacts of the recently revealed cases.

They must also ensure that local daily briefings on all test results (Pillars 1,2,3 and 4) are made public  and quickly.

Council post COVID opinion survey launched

Our Big Conversation

The York Council has launched a survey which it claims is aimed at finding out residents views on how well the health crisis has been handled and what should happen next.

Some of the questions are a little “leading” and seem to be aimed at getting a pat on the head for decisions already taken.

There is no opportunity to rate controversial schemes like the Bishopthorpe Road closure, reduced car parking provision or restrictions on car access in The Groves area.

The Council also fails to test opinion on emerging issues like anti social behaviour.

Respondents will look in vain for questions about the Councils democratic accountability since it adopted a “behind closed doors” decision making process.

Nor is there any opportunity to comment on the Councils financial strategy (if indeed it now has such a strategy) .

Economic regeneration seems to begin and end with putting restaurant tables onto open spaces.

Details, of what the Council is describing as a “Big Conversation”, can be found by clicking this link

Unfortunately, as with any survey taken against a rapidly changing background, some of the questions already look a little dated.