North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 8 August and Tuesday 14 August 2012
•A64 west-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•A64 east-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•Brayton Lane, Brayton, Selby
•Barff Lane, Brayton, Selby
•Skipwith Road, Escrick
•A63 Hull Road, Hemingbrough
•Church Lane, Wheldrake
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North Yorkshire Police has welcomed 12 new police officers to the ranks following a transferee recruitment drive earlier this year.
The officers have joined North Yorkshire Police from forces across the UK and will soon be on the streets of York and North Yorkshire helping to keep our communities safe.
They are currently undergoing an induction course at police headquarters in Newby Wiske before being deployed to their respective stations next week.
Temporary Chief Constable Tim Madgwick said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome our new officers to the team. They join one of the highest performing forces in the country and will be working alongside some of the most dedicated and professional police officers and staff I have had the pleasure of working with.
“I’m also looking forward to hearing about any new ideas they can bring from their previous forces to help us improve the way we do things here in North Yorkshire.”
York Safer Neighbourhood Team will be joined by three new officers, PC Nicola Peters from Thames Valley Police, PC Andrew Muir from Nottingham Police and PC Richard O’Connell from West Yorkshire Police.
York police have made more arrests and charged three men following two robberies in the city.
The incidents occurred near the River Ouse on Tuesday 31 July 2012, near Scarborough Bridge, and on Thursday 2 August 2012, close to Almery Terrace.
A 17-year-old and a 20-year-old have been charged with both robberies, and a 24-year-old who has been charged with the Almery Terrace robbery.
All are from York and are due to appear at York Magistrates’ Court today, Monday 6 August 2012.
There has never been a better time to promote sport and physical activity as a way of keeping well and prolonging life spans. So how are we doing in York?
Figures released a couple of weeks ago confirmed that more young children are getting obese. In reception classes 7.5% were recorded as obese in 11/12 compared to 5.50% a year earlier. Unfortunately by year 6 the numbers classed as obese have increased to 14.7% (up from 14.00%).
So the Council, schools and the NHS need to up their game?
Some sound decisions were made during the last decade about the need to invest more in sports facilities in York.
Sports centres
In 2009 a new swimming pool was opened at the Energise sports centre http://www.york.gov.uk/leisure/sports/Sports_facilities/energise/ which shared the campus of the largest secondary school in York (York High).
Modern gym, fitness and climbing facilities were complemented by renewed out door all weather pitches. The centre is so successful that the gym area is now being almost doubled in size. The new York High school officially became a specialist sports college and – coincidentally – produced some of the best exam results of any school in Yorkshire.
Facilities in west York were also improved when the new Manor school http://www.mce.york.sch.uk/ was opened
In east York, Huntington school http://www.huntingtonschool.co.uk/community-sports/facilities had always provided outdoor sports pitches while in 2008 the Yearsley swimming pool http://www.york.gov.uk/leisure/sports/Sports_facilities/Yearsley_swimming_pool/ received a £1 million modernisation make over.
The pool is ideal for “fitness” swimmers having a unique 50 yard length.
New swimming pool opens on Tuesday
The, then Liberal Democrat led, Council decided in 2010 to join a partnership with the University of York to provide a state of the art “Sports Village” on Hull Road http://www.york-sport.com/york_sport_village.php. which incorporates a competition standard swimming pool.
The new pool there opens next Tuesday (14th August). http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FAIymiWaHGU
The facilities will include:
• Eight-lane 25m competition standard swimming pool
• 18 metre learner pool
• Fully floodlit competition size outdoor 3G football pitch
• Three outdoor 3G five-a-side pitches
• A 120-station fitness suite with integrated TVs
• Three air-conditioned studios for classes such as spinning and yoga
• Spa facilities, including sauna and steam rooms
• A café offering Costa Coffee and snacks
Later a new athletics stadium will be added together with an outdoor 1km road cycling circuit.
Separately a new spectator sports stadium is being constructed at Monks Cross.
The new pool received a Lottery grant, while both York Rowing Club and Wigginton Squash Club benefited from the Inspired Facilities fund from Sport England http://www.sportengland.org/about_us/places_people_play.aspx
Taken with the large number of new private sports clubs and other school based facilities, York now has some of the best sports facilities available for a City of its size in the country.
So bring home the gold medals then?
Not quite. As the statistics on obesity show there is still a lot to do.
A quick look at the Councils web site will show that – at a time when people are most likely to be looking around to see what is available – much of the information shown is out of date. For example, most of the dates for “taster” sessions at local sports clubs have already passed.
broken glass and neglect at kick about area
Labour’s changes to the Council’s budget in February were bad news for sports activities. Cuts were made to Ward Committee funding (90% reduction) which meant that services like “Street Sport” were virtually eliminated. Facilities, built at a cost of tens thousands of pounds like the multi user games area at Hob Moor school, lie empty and neglected.
Next year, many sports clubs like the Railway Institute and the York Indoor Bowls Club stand to lose their discretionary rate relief costing them around £10,000 and £3500 a year respectively.
School meal prices have been increased at a time when the battle against a dependence on junk food needs to be intensified.
The Council shortly takes on a “public health” responsibility which it last exercised 40 years ago. With its inexperienced ruling “Cabinet” in the middle of more chaotic change, the additional responsibility seems ill timed. Early decisions do not reveal an activity centered approach to health priorities.
The situation in local primary schools echos the national picture. Some emphasise sports and healthy living in their prospectus. Others pointedly fail to do so.
The overall responsibility for driving forward fitness type activities rests with an organisation called “Active York”. It has done little in the last 6 months which has had a high profile. They promised a new web site in early 2012 but it still hasn’t arrived http://activeyork.org/
Active York has an impressive list of board members but it seems to lack a convincing engagement strategy at the moment.
What the City now needs urgently is a Manifesto for Sport.
Opportunities to change the views and lifestyles of large numbers of people come along only rarely.
York is in danger of squandering the Olympic legacy. A more focused professional approach is needed.
See a trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAKzf4zndmc&feature=youtu.be
The York Mystery Plays return to York Museum Gardens, where a 1400-seat covered theatre is constructed within the ancient walls of St Mary’s Abbey. The event combines the talents of over 1,500 volunteers working alongside theatre professionals and staring Ferdinand Kingsley (Playing God/Jesus) and Graeme Hawley (Playing Satan).Performances will last approximately 3 hours and there will be evening and matinee performances. All seats are under cover. For further information visit: http://www.yorkmysteryplays-2012.com/.
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Police crime stats for the last year revealed a reduction in crime levels across most areas.
It is the continuation of a trend which has continued for several years.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the trend over recent weeks may been reversed at least in relation to street level incidents of vandalism and so called environmental crimes (e.g. dumping & graffiti).
Incidents of burglary are also still too high.
You can follow a police assessment of your home security on the following web site http://j.mp/O6m9IS
Details of the Westfield Neighbourhood Policing Team can be found here. http://j.mp/NzXA1v
Each month we look at how house prices and rentals are faring in the West of York.
The latest figures by Land Registry suggest that sales volumes picked up in April.
Completed sales included homes in:
• Foxwood Lane (£220,000)
• Morrell Court (£110,000)
• The Gallops (£205,800)
• Otterwood Bank (£180,000)
• Osprey Close (£365,000)
• Pheasant Drive (£159,500)
• Thoresby Road (£125,000)
• Ashbourne Way (£216,200)
• Alness Drive (£315,000)
• Deepdale (£175,000)
There are some properties available in the area without “chains”.
They include: The Reeves 3 bed semi for £160k, St James Croft 2 bed £140K, Kingsway West 3 bed terrace for £120k and Tudor Road 2 bed terrace for £123k.
Some owners have recently dropped the asking price for their properties.
You can now get a 3 bed semi in Thoresby Road for £153k, a 3 bed semi in Ryecroft Avenue for £200k, a 3 bed semi in The Covert for £283k and a 4 bed in Cloither Court for £310k.
Low priced properties include a 1 bed terrace in Eaton Court for £115k, a 2 bed in the same road for £122k, while £120k will buy a 2 bed in Walker Drive and £125k a 1 bed terrace in Kitemere Place.
Rental properties
A 4 bed terrace in Walker Drive is available for £595 per month, while £625 a month would fund a 2 bed terrace in Bramham Grove.
The Council have issued a media release seeking businesses views on improving delivery and loading in York’s city centre
The survey raises once again the idea of establishing a freight transit facility but fails to identify the costs of – and funding sources for -such a system. A “scrutiny” Committee had concluded in 2007 that cost was the main hurdle for such a scheme to overcome. Without such information the survey is flawed.
Other issues have already also been raised by traders who are concerned about the delivery arrangements for chilled goods.
City of York Council and Yorwaste have teamed up to give local residents free compost this spring and summer.
Green fingered gardeners will be able to collect their free compost from Yorwaste’s Harewood Whin site, on Tinker Lane, off Wetherby Road on:
• Sunday 5 August
• Sunday 2 September
• Sunday 7 October
The compost will be available from 9.30am until 2.30pm each day and residents are asked to bring a shovel and bags or containers to take the compost home in
