Businesses are open during Poppleton highways works

12th April 2012 Poppleton revised layout

‘Businesses are open’, is the message City of York Council is emphasising whilst contractors complete overnight highways works in the North of the city.

Works to improve the area surrounding the A59/A1237 junction in preparation for the opening of the new Poppleton Bar Park&Ride site have been extended because of unforeseen circumstances.

The period of night time working is being extended due to a number of unexpected utility services and difficult ground conditions that have been encountered. The works will continue to take place overnight to minimise overall disruption during peak travel times.

Access is available to all businesses and properties during these periods but drivers may need to follow diversions.

The overnight works are taking place as follows:

A59: May 22 – June 15 2014 (not including Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays). Nightshifts controlled by temporary traffic signals. No access to A1237 from A59 during overnight works (May 22 to June 6)

A1237: May 22 – June 6 2014 (not including Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays). Nightshifts under temporary closure from Wetherby Road (B1224) to Great North Way (York Business Park).

The temporary closure will not be implemented on Bank Holiday Monday (26 May) and for the remainder of that week the road will be closed at 10pm until 6am the following morning. Outside of those dates the closure will be from 8pm until 6 am.
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Monk Stray camping officially abandoned

Monk Stray

Monk Stray

The Caravan Club have now officially told the local media that they w ill not be organising camping facilities on Monk Stray at the time of the Tour de France

As we predicted earlier in the week, the Club have pulled out of the event following local opposition.

The York Council has not responded officially to the news but they have arranged another public meeting at which they will presumably explain their actions to aggrieved local residents.

This will take place on Tuesday 27 May at Christ Church, Stockton Lane, Heworth Without from 6-8pm

 

Monk stray camping plan – mystery deepens

Monk Stray

Monk Stray

 

We understand that the Caravan Club may pull out of the deal which would have seen them run a camping and caravan site on Monk Stray to coincide with the Tour de France coming to the City.

The plan formed a part of a last minute attempt by the Labour Leadership of the Council to get round a ban on camping introduced by the Licensing Committee.

The Council claimed that the Caravan Club did not need to observe licensing restrictions for short term events but it now seems that the deal is set to be abandoned.

Any change would mean that those who had already paid to book pitches would have to be refunded.

The Tour web site is no longer advertising the stray as a campsite.

As recently as 16th May the responsible Labour Councillor (Crisp) said in the media that the campsite would go ahead

York Indian restaurants fight off closure threat

Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

Three Indian restaurants facing closure following police raids have been allowed to stay open by a Council committee.

They include the Indian Ocean on Acomb Green.

The Police sought the closure orders following the discovery of illegal workers on the premises last year.

The restaurants will have to appoint new premises supervisors who will be expected to check more closely those applying to work in the establishments.

Charitable donation means more trees will be planted in Foxwood area

Another batch of trees funded by The Galtres Festival Charitable Foundation will soon be planted in York, under the festival’s partnership with Treemendous.
tree

The Foxwood area of York has been chosen as the location for this latest planting project, where it is hoped new trees will line public paths and form new areas of woodland.

Ticket-buyers for the annual Galtres Parklands Festival are encouraged to contribute to the event’s plant-a-tree scheme, which Galtres has set up as a voluntary carbon tax – and this week £1425 has been channelled to the city’s Treemendous initiative.
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York Council under fire over Taxicard cut

Taxi rank Liberal Democrat councillors and the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society have criticised the removal of a taxi service for vulnerable residents in the city.

Labour run City of York Council removed the Taxicard scheme at the beginning of April as part of its 2014/15 Budget despite opposition from the Lib Dem Group. The card enabled residents with serious mobility impairments, who often cannot use buses, to travel in licensed taxis for free or reduced rates using a smart card system. In total, 1,536 people were in possession of a Taxicard.

York Council has offered bus passes to those affected. However, residents have contacted Lib Dem councillors saying that the bus passes are no good to them as they can not use buses.

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York Council compensation claims hit record high

Employees at the Council in York were awarded a record high £140,495 in compensation last year.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that the amount was shared between 5 employees.

The council says that a further 5 claims were rejected.

The main causes for claims were “ slips/trips/falls and manual handling”

The previous high came in 2010/11 when 7 employees were awarded £104,596 in compensation.

Competition launched to find name for York’s new Local TV Channel

Launching in Spring 2015, “with the local community at its heart”, the channel is asking for ideas for its brand name in a campaign entitled #MyYorkChannel that will run on Twitter and at http://www.myyorkchannel.com/

TV_Camera

The channel has been viewed with suspicion by some because of its links with the York Council Labour Leadership.

It has even been suggested that the station may have a studio at the Guildhall

The prize for the individual or company behind the chosen name is £1,000 and the opportunity to work with the channel’s creative time to bring the brand to life. For everybody else, they hope it is the first of many opportunities to help shape the local television channel they want to see.

Naming ideas can be submitted at http://www.myyorkchannel.com/ and via Twitter using the #MyYorkChannel hashtag. The competition will run until 5pm on 27 June 2014.
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