At a council meeting last night, Labour blocked a Liberal Democrat attempt to restore litter bins recently removed in York.

The Liberal Democrat Group on City of York Council proposed a motion at the Full Council meeting, asking for the 349 litter and dog bins recently cut by the authority to be returned. The motion suggested that the £40,000 cost be funded by reducing the Labour Cabinet from 8 members to 6 members. All opposition Lib Dem, Conservative, Green and Independent councillors voted in favour, but it was voted down by Labour councillors.

Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environmental Services who moved the motion, commented:

“It is disappointing that Labour prioritised their own pay packets over frontline services. Across the city people have been annoyed and concerned by the removal of 349 litter and dog bins without any consultation. Our motion simply asked Labour to recognise this and put back all bins where there was demand to do so.

“It was astonishing that Labour did not even try to defend or justify their decision. These cuts are not about government funding reductions; they are about the spending decisions that Labour are making on the ground here in York and their attempt to blame the government is just not correct. It is not a matter of enforced cuts just Labour’s spending priorities. Frontline services have been axed in favour of pay increases for councillors.

“Removing bins will lead to more litter and a general deterioration in the look and feel of our streets. We believe these cuts are wrong and unnecessary and we have now launched a city-wide petition to try to get Labour to listen to residents and get the bins back.”

The Liberal Democrat petition on litter bin cuts can be found at: http://yorklibdems.org.uk

The Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Keith Hyman will take part in the parade and ceremony when 1st Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment exercise their Freedom of Entry to the city on Friday 13 July

The Lord Mayor will welcome the regiment and grant them permission to exercise their right of freedom of entry to the city. He will review the parade with The Sheriff, Councillor Paul Firth.

The Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Keith Hyman said: “I am looking forward to taking part in this parade, and joining residents and tourists in celebrating the service that they provide.”

The regiment will be formed up on Duncombe Place from 11.30am, for the arrival of the civic party, before marching through the city centre on Blake Street, Davygate, Parliament Street, High Ousegate, and Coney Street. The Lord Mayor will then take the salute from the steps of The Mansion House.

Freedom of entry to the city, gives the regiment the right, privilege, honour and distinction to march through the streets on all ceremonial occasions with colours flying, swords drawn and bayonets fixed, drums beating, bugles sounding and bands playing.

Join Harry’s Game author and former TV journalist Gerald Seymour as he chats about his extraordinary life and work at 7pm on Wednesday 18 July at York Explore Library Learning Centre.

Gerald Seymour was a reporter at ITN for fifteen years where his first assignment was covering the Great Train Robbery in 1963. He later moved on to reporting international events in Vietnam, Borneo, Aden, the Munich Olympics, Israel and Northern Ireland.

A full-time writer since 1978, Seymour’s first novel was the acclaimed thriller Harry’s Game, set in Belfast and which became an instant bestseller and later a television series. Six of his thrillers have now been adapted and filmed for television in the UK and United States.

On 18 July, he will be in conversation with Gillian Holmes about his life, his work and his latest novel, The Outsiders, a pacy thriller set in the Costa Del Sol.

Tickets are priced £5 and can be collected from York Explore or ordered on (01904) 552828.

Sat 14th July 10:30 – 11:30 Cornlands Road near shops Cornlands
Sat 14th July 08:30 – 10:30 Sanderson House Bramham Road Chapelfields
Sat 14th July 08:30 – 09:30 Oldman Court Foxwood
Sat 14th July 10:30 – 11:30 Spurr Court Foxwood
Sat 14th July 12:30 – 13:30 Bellhouse Way Foxwood
Sat 21st July 08:30 – 09:30 Opp 70 Kingsway West Kingsway
Sat 21st July 10:30 – 11:30 Opp 65 Stuart Road Kingsway
Sat 21st July 12:30 – 13:30 Beverley Court/Kempton Close Kingsway
Sat 21st July 08:30 – 10:30 Grange Lane Chapelfields
Sat 11th Aug 08:30 – 09:30 Morrell Court Foxwood
Sat 11th Aug 10:30 – 11:30 Corlett Court Foxwood
Sat 11th Aug 12:30 – 13:30 Vincent Way Foxwood
Sat 18th Aug 08:30 – 09:30 Rogers Court Foxwood
Sat 18th Aug 12:30 – 13:30 Tithe Close Cornlands
Sat 18th Aug 08:30 – 10:30 Grange Lane Chapelfields
Sat 18th Aug 08:30 – 10:30 Sanderson House Bramham Road Chapelfields
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City of York Council is calling all children to sign up to this year’s Summer Reading Challenge, which launches at Rowntree Park on 14 July at 2pm.

The library service will be at the park’s 91st birthday party, signing people up to the annual challenge, which this year has the Storylab theme.

The Storylab theme aims to be a celebration of story and the imagination, with all books, including joke books and poetry books, counting as part of the challenge.

The Summer Reading Challenge sets out to challenge children to read up to six books over the summer holidays. For each book read they will receive prizes and incentives, and those who complete the challenge will receive a medal and certificate.

The challenge coincides with the launch of York’s first ever Children’s Book Awards, where children under the age of 14 are being invited to vote for their favourite book of all time, with both ending on 16 September. For ideas on books to read, children can look at the shortlist for the awards.

Children can sign up at any of York’s 14 libraries and Explore Centres or at the launch at Rowntree Park. For more information visit: www.york.gov.uk/leisure/Libraries/

City of York Council is celebrating Rowntree Park’s 91st Birthday on Saturday 14 July with a party in the park that promises to be a great day out for all the family.

The Rowntree Company gave Rowntree Park as a gift to the people of the city 91 years ago on 16 July 1921 in memory of workers who fell during the war. Every summer a ‘birthday party’ is held to remember this event, and a cake will be cut during the celebrations in honour of the park and its origins.

Attractions at the event will include a climbing wall, birds of prey display, live music, face painting, community stalls, food and drinks, ice creams, bouncy castle, street sports, story telling, willow weaving and – new for this year – a fun dog show.

Parking is limited to disabled badge holders only, so other visitors are asked to walk or take public transport. Please note the car park will be closed all day.

The annual summer fair will take place on Saturday 14 July 2012 from 2-5pm.

Amongst the plethora of cuts introduced by York’s Labour Council earlier in the year, their decision to borrow an extra £20 million to fund an Economic Infrastructure Fund perhaps failed to get the scrutiny that it deserved.

Here was a Council, moaning about expenditure reductions imposed by central government, and yet – in contradiction with its own election manifesto which claimed that the York Councils debt was already too high – were willing to increase that burden unnecessarily. The decision had all the hallmarks of the borrow and spend policies of the last Labour government which so damaged the British economy.

At the end of a 5 year period, Council Taxpayers will be paying an additional £1.6 million a year in debt charges, although national limits on tax increases would mean this money would have to come from additional cuts to front line services including the care of the elderly and disabled.

Supporters of the move claimed that the investment would generate more income for the City in general and for the Council in particular.

The first of the projects to be funded by this increased debt burden have been announced this week.

They include contributions to the new Park and Ride facilities while £1.7 million is earmarked for an unspecific “better bus fund”. £200,000 will be spent on painting city centre poles and continuing the “de-cluttering” programme stared a few years ago (paving, lighting, seating as well as de-cluttering unnecessary signage, fencing, bollards and other items of street furniture).

These are all items which would traditionally have been identified separately in the Council’s capital programme and represent the continuation of existing policies. They have simply been “rebadged” to give the impression that they are new thinking. None of these will directly generate new jobs or any increases in business rate income.

But it is the economic development proposals that have raised eyebrows.
• A Digital Media Cultural Centre – to be located at the Bonding Warehouse – will get a £1.4 million grant/loan with another £1.0M from the, government funded, Local Enterprise Partnership and £1.2M from the European Regional Development Fund. Only £755k would come from the private sector.
• A campaign to get the “Tour de France” to visit York will get £50,000 with £250,000 supplementary funding coming from other sources. Essentially this should have been a revenue (current account) grant to the Visit York tourism body.
• £80,000 is reserved for “targeting growth in sectors”. This is basically an increase in the Councils grant to Science City York. It is difficult to justify as a “capital” grant. There will be no tangible Council asset that has been improved in value
• £430,000 has been allocated for administration of the fund

The plan to invest £3.6 million of public money in the Bonding Warehouse – a building subject to flooding and notoriously difficult to maintain and heat – is causing deep concern. The building was owned until about 5 years ago by the Council. It was in poor condition as a result of flooding and was eventually sold for around £1 million, at the height of the property boom, to a bidder who wanted to establish a residential use for the building. This and subsequent plans for a hotel, exhibition space and offices, also failed to get off the ground and the Listed building continues to be empty.

The business case for investing £3.4 million of taxpayers money rests on the claim that “the project responds to a market failure in the provision of flexible, city centre space for the digital and creative industries”. We are told that “the sector is dominated by micro or small businesses; many of them are young and innovative. These businesses require flexible, low-cost premises located in the city centre, however land values and rental prices are prohibitively high acting as a barrier to growth. Market demand for affordable studio and business premises is high”.

The business case included with the Council papers fails to identify rental income streams which would be critical to any decision. Claims are made about job generation but without any detail of the assumptions made about the number of units that would be provided or likely occupancy rates.

With the eco business centre at Clifton Moor an obvious comparator, it would be relatively easy to test the validity of the assumptions being made.

On the face if it, allocating some of the space to starter businesses at the new Council HQ building would make more economic sense, especially if it meant that the Guildhall was retained for management and democratic use.

Most physical investments, which bring into use new facilities, have a favourable economic impact. That ranges from jobs in the building industry to longer term labour and supply chain impacts. Multiplying the income as it spirals through the local economy (for example to shops and local trades people) means that a very large number can be claimed as a “gain”.

However the real test is whether the investment in a different place or in a different sector would produce even bigger returns (and perhaps ones that have a lower risk). Some may feel that – for example – the provision of a new visitor attraction in the city is overdue. With only York Minster Revealed in the pipeline, there is a danger that technology rich interpretation attractions in other City’s may soon steal away some of York’s market. Such investment in a city centre location might help also to improve the confidence of City centre retailers.

It is difficult not to conclude that, at the moment, the Council is adopting a blinkered approach and lacks the confidence to allow public scrutiny of its investment plans.

North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 11 and Tuesday 17 July 2012.

•A64 Malton by-pass Malton east and west-bound
•A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough
•A64 Between Whitwell Hill and Barton Hill
•A64 Between Barton-le-Willows and Jinnah
•A64 Seamer by-pass Scarborough
•A64 west-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster

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