The planned Lowfields retirement village announced in 2011 and due to have opened later this year, will not now be completed before 2016.

The news is the latest in a catalogue of failures that have dogged a project which would also have seen modern facilities for the elderly provided at Fulford and Haxby.

Both the latter 2 schemes have now been abandoned although extra facilities are planned at the former Burnholme school site.

90 places are to be provided at Lowfields and 72 at Burnholme.

The latest Council report, due to be considered on 4th June, says, “that the two new care homes should provide a ‘household model’ of residential care whereby residents will live in self-contained households that are home to a maximum of 12 residents – ‘a home within a home’. Such households will provide a more domestic and homely environment than a traditional large care home. Each household will have a domestic kitchen and open plan communal spaces that will help promote a sense of community, whilst also supporting the staffs’ care and observation of residents. The residents’ own bedrooms, with en-suites, will be close by thus ensuring that privacy and dignity can be achieved for all residents”.
The Council is now saying that 72 dwellings could be developed at the Lowfields site. This is a big increase on the 21 two bedroomed bungalows agreed in summer 2011 or even the subsequent hike to 50 agreed in the autumn of the same year.

This raises the prospect that some, at least, of the green space (former school playing fields) will be built on.

The care homes will be designed, built, operated and maintained by the private sector although the Council will fund and retain ownership of the buildings.

The Council will have to find at least £20 million to pay for the building work.

The Council has belatedly published its strategy for managing the needs of the Traveller community in the City.

The report will be discussed at a meeting being held on 4th June.

The Council is now deeply mired in controversy over the way that it allocated land for new caravan pitches at 3 sites around the City and for the “Showman’s” layover site near Knapton.

Two of the sites are on land confirmed as Green Belt in 2011. The expectation is that landowners will take the opportunity, of the land being removed from the Green Belt, to propose more potentially lucrative uses for it (retail or residential).

This will mean that the Council will have failed in its quest to find traveller pitches which meet its own estimates of demand (last updated in 2008).

Like the secret ARUP report, which Labour Councillors claim justifies the need for an additional 22,000 homes in the City, the supporting papers for the Local Plan do not include up to date assessments of demand for either gypsy or showman’s sites.

The Council report says that Gypsies and Travellers are one of the largest distinct ethnic groups in York and their traditions and history can be traced across hundreds of years in the City. There are approximately 350 families in York, living on traveller sites, in housing and in caravans on the roadside.

The report suggest a range of actions that need to be taken

It notably fails to suggest ways in which mutual respect and tolerance between this minority and the general community can be improved.

There is a lot to be commended in the Councils list of proposed actions.

Had the strategy been published 6 months ago, it might have helped to set the scene for the difficult planning decisions which lie ahead.

Instead the Council’s immature political blundering means that it has been launched into a potentially hostile atmosphere.

The proposals have been published under the names of four Cabinet Councillors (Cllrs Laing, Crisp, Looker and Cross)

York police are appealing for witnesses after a pedestrian was hit by a car at Monks Cross.

The pedestrian, a 67-year-old local man, sustained a knee injury when he was struck by a light blue car in the pick up area outside Asda at around 10am on Saturday 18 May 2013.
(more…)

Young people can make the most of this half-term and all future bus trips by travelling for less in York with a new All York Young Person’s Day ticket.

The new ticket, launching tomorrow (25 May) means young people between the ages of 11-16 can now enjoy a day’s travel on participating bus companies throughout the city for only £2.30. The ticket will be valid from 9am on weekdays and all day on weekends and bank holidays.

The first ‘All York’ bus tickets for adults were launched last July. However the success of the ticket has been criticised as the York Council has refused to say how many – if any – York residents have actually purchased the ticket.

Tickets are valid on services run by:

· Arriva Yorkshire

· Coastliner (including Transdev York)

· ConnexionsBuses ( Harrogate Coach Travel)

· East Yorkshire Motor Services

· Eddie Brown

· First

· Reliance

· Stephenson’s

· Utopia

For more information visit www.york.gov.uk/allyork

click to enlarge

The Council is claiming that consultation leaflets on the proposed introduction of a 20 mph speed limit are new being delivered in west York.

However they are only being sent to the 13,000 homes that will have the limit applied to the highway outside their front doors.

This is a desperate attempt to bias the response. More people are likely to say they want low vehicle speeds outside their homes. Even then, most are likely to regard the £600,000 cost of the project as outrageous (the Council accepts that only a 3% reduction in vehicles speeds may result while the police have said that they will not enforce the new limit)

But it is an issue affecting nearly 25,000 homes or around 50,000 residents.

Everyone deserves to have a say.

You can Email your views to the Councillor responsible cllr.dmerrett@york.gov.uk with a request that they be drawn to the attention the meeting that will make a final decision on the proposals.

The majority of comments on the Councils pro 20 mph Facebook site are hostile to the proposed limit https://www.facebook.com/York20mph

Our survey in the Westfield Ward revealed that 85% of residents are opposed to a Citywide 20 mph speed limit.

North Yorkshire Police is joining forces with City of York Council, Bell Farm Management committee and the North Yorkshire and York Community Payback Team to spring clean

Residents are invited to come and take part in a litter pick in the Bull Ring and South Beck areas on 25th May as part of the Smarter York spring clean scheme.

For more information please visit www.york.gov.uk/smarteryork or follow@SmarterYork on Twitter.

Residents can nominate an area they think is in need of a spring clean by calling 01904 551551 or emailing ycc@york.gov.uk or download the Smarter York mobile phone application from all app stores.

Litter pickers, refuse sacks and high visibility vests are available to volunteers on the day.

The Council has spent £2.7 million moving into its new HQ at West Offices.

By far the largest sums went on furniture (£1.4 million) and ICT infrastructure (£800,000). The latter figure does not include the cabling undertaken by the builders.

A detailed list of removal costs is:

• Furniture £1,419,000

• Audio Visual £72,974

• Signage £103,060

• White Goods (Fridges, Dishwashers & Microwaves) £13,329

• Thin Terminals (Qty 398) £74,028

• Monitors (Qty 626) £50,080

• Telephones (Qty 480) £63,480

• ICT Infrastructure at West Offices – Cisco Data Network (core and edge), Firewall/DMZ Solution, Cisco Wireless Network £695,510

• ICT Cabling costs £19,973

• Datacentre Environment £24,284

• Telephony and Data Connectivity £71,359

• Removal costs £97,000

Total £2,704,077

As previously reported no income has been received by the Council for the sale of redundant equipment and furniture.

They say that the “works to clearing the old buildings is continuing. Any monies received by the clearance contractors for the sale of goods is offset against the invoiced costs of labour, transport, skip hire, and recycling costs”.

The West Offices are now full.

Tenants include the Citizens Advice Bureau (whoa re paying £15,000 a year in rent) and the NHS (£18,500).

“Free” accommodation is being made available to Veritau and the South Yorkshire Credit Union

York prepares to be amazed as six professional street performers have been chosen to wow audiences at Buskival in York on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May.

The event has apparently attracted around £6000 in sponsorship although how this money is being used has not yet been revealed by the Council.

(more…)