Despite reductions in the volume of material sent to land fill, Council Taxpayers face a bill of £3.3 million this year. It is the highest ever and reflects the failure of the Council to achieve its recycling targets.
The report does not take into account the recent problems with waste collection at Christmas but they do reflect the Councils decision to close the Beckfield Lane recycling centre last spring.
The Landfill Tax bill in 2008 was less than £2 million.
York’s nationally-renowned archives will remain open for longer ahead of refurbishment works to move them from the City Art Gallery to their new home at York Explore Library Learning Centre.
These temporary measures form part of the Gateway to History Project, and only affect material currently held at the Art Gallery. Local history material already held at York Explore will continue to be available for public access until building work begins.
As part of the Residents Festival, on Saturday 26 January residents will be able to book a tour of the archives, where they have a last opportunity to see behind the scenes of the old storage and learn more about the Gateway to History plans for the future. Tickets are available from York Explore and are free with a York Card.
Police in York are appealing for the public to help their search for a missing man.
Jeremy Malarkey, aged 49, of Lancaster Way, Clifton, was reported missing by his son-in-law at around 6pm on Tuesday 8 January 2013. He was last seen at his home address at around 8.30am earlier that day.
Officers have been making extensive enquiries in an effort to locate Mr Malarkey since his reported disappearance and are now asking the public for their assistance.
Mr Malarkey is described as white, around 6ft 2in tall, with a stocky build, green eyes and grey shaved hair. He has the letter ‘J’ tattooed on his right arm.
Acomb Explore Library
Labour are pushing on with controversial plans to sell-off libraries in York. The plans will see the library and archive service transfer from council ownership and management to a new social enterprise model run by a board of volunteers.
Labour’s six-week consultation on libraries last year was criticized after residents were not asked about potential management or ownership changes. In October, Labour said that current staffing levels could not be guaranteed under the new arrangements and the report approved by the Labour Cabinet last night confirmed that further funding cuts to the service are likely in the coming years. The report also confirmed that current libraries may be closed under a relocation programme.
Councillor Nigel Ayre, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Cultural Services, commented:
It turns out that at least one York business was apparently unaware that the York Council owed them money for a Rates overpayment in 2009.
It may be worth other businesses checking the list that we published last week.
North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 9 January and Tuesday 15 January 2013.
•A64 Seamer by-pass Scarborough
•A171 Mayfield Road, Whitby
•B1460 Castle Road, Whitby
•A171 Jugger Howe opposite Springhill Farm
•A169 Whitby to Pickering Road near Goathland
•A169 Whitby to Pickering Road at High Horcum
•A170 Scarborough to Thirsk Road at Snainton
(more…)
The Council claims that it has now “caught up” with outstanding waste collections.
Please Email ycc@york.gov.uk if you still have a problem.
Reports are still coming in of full litter bins and recycling skips. Please also report these to the above address.
A meeting next week will consider whether several subsidised bus services in the City should be continued. The issues being considered are:
• Re-tendering of routes 21 (Colton–Acaster Malbis–Askham Bar–York) and 35 (Holme on Spalding Moor–Wheldrake–York).
• The future of two services procured on an ‘emergency’ basis that commenced operation on 7th October2012. These are routes 14 (Beckfield Lane–Boroughbridge Road–York) and 15 (South Bank–Bishopthorpe Road–York).
• The future of routes 24 and 26 (Askham Bar– Acomb Leeman Road–York-Fordlands Road, Fulford). These services currently enjoy a £155,000 a year York Council subsidy and are provided by Coastliner.
The Council will also decide how to respond to four petitions lodged concerning First Group’s commercially operated bus network:
• Route 5 (Strensall–Huntington–York–Acomb) from Huntington residents;
• Route 12 (Woodthorpe–Tadcaster Road–York–Heworth–Monks Cross) from Woodthorpe and Dringhouses residents who were conc erned about reliability;
• Route 13 (Copmanthorpe–Tadcaster Road–York–Haxby– West Nooks) – two petitions have been received, one from Copmanthorpe residents, the other from Haxby residents.
The indications are that services 21 (which includes a loop through the Middlethorpe estate) and 35 will continue while the 15 service to South Bank may be modified (providing a 60 minute frequency).
The report singularly fails to address the issue of whether the new tenders should include a requirement that the successful tenderer should publish reliability data on their services.
Proposed routes for routes 24, 25 and 27 Click to enlarge
Official are recommending that the Council subsidy on service 14 (Sundays and/or early evening) is withdrawn because of poor usage. The 14 currently provides the only direct link to the new York Sports Village on Hull Road and is the only service on Beckfield Lane.
It is likely that route 26 which serves St Stephens Road and Route 26 (Kingsway West/Ascot Way) will be modified (see left)
Consultation with users is promised
Updated. 10:13am Recycling lorry spotted in Foxwood. DIY shop sold out of bunting!
Council currently empying grey bins in Foxwood. Last emptied on Saturday!
No sign of recycling collectors for over 3 weeks.
Some residents quickly transferring recycling into grey bins. Says it all really.
The York Council has been forced to admit that the amount that it is paying in debt charges (interest payments on money that it has borrowed) has risen by 56% since Labour took office in May 2011.
Interest rates during the period have been stable.
Prior to the elections in 2011, the then LibDem led Council, and it’s predecessors, had incurred debts which involved average monthly interest payments of £418,000.
Now that figure has spiralled to an average of over £651,000.
The Labour Council have been heavily criticised for a “borrow and spend” policy which has seen the Council’s debts more than double.
The policy has echoes of the last Labour government which increased the countries debt dramatically; a policy which was partly responsible for the subsequent economic crash.
In York, a £20 million “Economic Infrastructure Fund” has been set up. It is being used for a variety of projects but recently announced plans to purchase an “Arts Barge” and use borrowing to fund a “living wage” have come in for particular criticism.
In total the Council will have to find over £10 million during the next financial year to service its debts. That is likely to be at the expense of further cuts to public service standards.
The monthly interest payments made each more since 2010 are:
(more…)
