Lendal Bridge/Coppergate update published. Number fined tops 35,000!

Stand and deliver Labour revive traditional transport funding in York

Stand and deliver
Labour revive traditional transport funding in York

25,911 motorists have attracted penalty charge notices, for using Lendal Bridge, since ANPR cameras were switched on to enforce restrictions at the beginning of September.

On Coppergate, a total of 9122 drivers have now been penalised.

Together that means that 35,033 drivers have been told to cough up £60 each.

That is the equivalent of over £2 million in fines income.

Of course, the amount actually received by the Council will be less than half that figure as many will pay early to get a £30 discount, while others will successfully challenge the fine.

It is still a damming indictment of the adequacy of the signage used to advertise the restrictions.

Fines levied by week. Click to enlarge

Fines levied by week. Click to enlarge

The figures are admitted in the Councils latest update report on the effects of the new traffic restrictions.

The report is otherwise remarkable for what it hides rather than what it reveals.

There are no footfall (shopper) statistics included, accident and air quality figures are missing, only the effects of the closure on park and ride bus services are reported (journey times up in October) while the normal stage carriage services (which have been hit by increased traffic congestion in other parts of the City) are omitted.

No information on journey times for drivers is provided.

The Council only admits that traffic volumes on Foss Islands Road and Clifton Bridge are up on the same period last year.

The report, such as it is, can be read by clicking here.

York boundary blunders

Hopes that the final report, into the boundaries of wards used in local elections in York, might stimulate local democracy in the City have been dashed.

click for larger map

click for larger map

The Boundary Commission have confirmed most of their original proposals with the only significant change being the merging of Heslington Village with Fulford.

The University is added to the Hull Road Ward and given an additional Councillor.

The Westfield Ward boundaries remain as they are now.

It seems to us that, Fulford excepted, the Boundary Commission have ignored local views and given weight only to representations made by the Labour party.

The opportunity to create smaller wards has been missed meaning that the chance to re-establish links between the community and their elected representatives has been lost.

Press cutting can't name Councillor

It is only a few days since the Council admitted that most residents did not even know the names of their local Councillors.

The suggestions, that distinct communities like Foxwood should have a single identified representative, are ignored in the Commissions final report

The Boundary Commission – prompted by the vested interests of existing Councillors – have also declined to introduce annual elections (where a ¼ of the Council would submit themselves for re-election each year).

The advantage of annual accountability is that it acts as a brake on extreme policies (we doubt if Labour would have closed Lendal Bridge if they faced a ballot box verdict next May) and ensures that there are at least some experienced members in the Council chamber.

So 1/10 for the Boundary Commission.

Labour will be happy as the new boundaries may give them extra seats in the Hull Road and Clifton areas, but mostly it will be the Russell Brand style sceptics who will no doubt portray minimum change proposals like these as further evidence of a broken political system.

They may be right.

Bistro to give Front Street another boost

Conlans opening on 26th November

Conlans opening on 26th November

A new Bistro is to open on Front Street.

 

Conlans Bistro will take over the vacant tea room premises near Morrisons and will be open from Tuesday 26th November.

The Bistro is inviting “the people of Acomb Village and beyond to our pre-opening event on Friday 22nd November, between 2 and 6pm”.

They are also offering a special “Christmas Feast” for £35. Telephone York 289641 for details.

Acomb Front Street to let

The opening will come as a further boost to the Front Street area following the news of a £30,000 regeneration grant.

However there is still a lot of empty property in the street.

Hopefully the recovering economy will see these premises reoccupied shortly.

Serious accident on Chaloners Road – witness appeal

<h4>Boy seriously injured in York collision – appeal for witnesses and information</h4> North Yorkshire Police is investigating a serious road traffic collision involving a 12-year-old boy and a car.

It happened on Chaloners Road, near the bus stop opposite Sandcroft Road, at about 1pm on Saturday (16 November 2013).

The boy, from York, had just got off a bus and was crossing the road when the collision occurred with a blue Mini Cooper driven by a 24-year-old local woman.

He was taken by ambulance to York District Hospital with serious head injuries.

Witnesses to the incident, or anyone who recalls seeing either the boy or the blue Mini Cooper prior to the collision, are urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Roger Walker.

Or email Roger.Walker@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Please quote the referenceNYP-16112013-0279 when providing information.

More on taxpayers subsidising political parties – MP claims back 40p for bottle of milk

A full list of the properties that MPs rent for their local offices has been published

expenses_460_1488724c

It reveals that the other local MP (Julian Sturdy, Conservative) also rents his office from his local political party

Taxpayers should be told how much rent is paid by MPs to rent offices (its around £10 million nationally). A report on the issue is expected in the spring.

There should be an independent audit to check that the amount being paid reflects a fair commercial rent for the space used and that there is no cross subsidy of political activities.

Meanwhile the latest expenses claims by local MPs have been published click here to download.

They reveal that during June and July this year High Bayley claimed £6,286 including 40p for a bottle of milk and £20 on Yorkshire Teabags.

Julian Sturdy claimed £7956 with £60 spent on London’s congestion charge.

During 2012/13 Hugh Bayley spent £21,153 on office costs. In total he claimed £163,529 in expenses

 

In the same period Julian Sturdy spent £11,374 on office costs and claimed a total of £131,321 in expenses

Click here for all details

Lendal Bridge cameras – high fault levels Council admits

CCTV-Camera-300x224

A Freedom of information request has revealed that the ANPR restriction enforcement cameras on Lendal Bridge were not working for long periods in late September and early October.

This will come as little consolation to the increasing number of visitors to the City who are being caught out by bus lane cameras.

Many are using this web site to vent their concerns.

Some say that they will never return to York.

Others are just bemused by the poor signage of the restrictions.

The Council has still not published its assessment report for October

The Council says that, “for technical reasons the cameras on Lendal Bridge were not operational in one or both directions on the following dates”.

  •  13/09/2013
  • 21/09/2013
  • 22/09/2013
  • 23/09/2013
  • 29/09/2013
  • 30/09/2013
  • 01/10/2013
  • 05/10/2013
  • 06/10/2013
  • 07/10/2013
  • 08/10/2013

York Art Gallery refurbishment has £700,000 funding shortfall

Art Gallery remodeling

Art Gallery remodeling

A report to a Council meeting next week reveals that the York Museums Trust still has to raise over £700,000 to meet the cost of its Art Gallery refurbishment project.

The £8m scheme is expected to be completed in 2015 with 60% more exhibition space, improved visitor facilities and a new Centre of Ceramic Arts.

The Museum Gardens were awarded a gold medal by Yorkshire in Bloom. The gardens to the rear of York Art Gallery are to be expanded with three new gardens established.

Richard III head

Richard III head

The Trust is also refurbishing the Debtors Prison at the Castle Museum following a successful £1.1m bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. The first exhibition to be held in these new spaces will be 1914: When the World Changed Forever, a major changing exhibition on the social impact of World War One. This work will begin in November and will be open to the public in June 2014

Overall visitor numbers to York’s museums showed an increase of 2% this summer although much of that is put down to an exhibition of Richard III ‘s reconstructed head.

Rubbish skips this weekend Saturday 16th November

Although the Council has cut back on the number of amenity skips it provides, several residents associations continue to run programmes aimed at making it easier for tenants to get rid of unwanted items.

The skips are only in place for a few minutes and residents must ensure that they put any rubbish into the skips and do not leave it on the path or highway.

1 Oldman Court 08:30 09:30

2 Viking Rd 10:30 11:30

3 Bellhouse Way 12:30 13:30

4 Fenwick Street 08:30 09:30

5 Spurr Court 10:30 11:30

6 Riverside Gardens Poppleton 12:30 13:30