Offices to be turned into hotel

Residents have only 2 weeks left in which to make their views known about ambitious plans to turn the existing Council offices – which will be vacated within the next year – into an 88 bedroom hotel and restaurant.

The proposed development comprises the change of use of the existing buildings for a hotel with restaurant, bar, leisure and office uses. Some small areas of the buildings are proposed for demolition with selective new extension works and associated landscaping.

The buildings include the “crescent form array” of property (1 – 9 St Leonard’s Place) on the south side of St Leonard’s Place, which have a Grade II* listing, and 2 and 4 Museum Street, which are Grade II listed. As such, the proposed works are also the subject of a separate application for Listed Building Consent.

Although the appearance of the listed building to the front won’t change much, a planning application by new owners Rusbond does involve extensive internal modifications and an extension.

It is a great shame that the Council has not sorted out the long term future of St Leonards Place, as a decision about restricting traffic could impact on the use made of, not just this imposing building, but also others in the street.

There is talk of removing the bus stops from the frontage.

What is certain is that the car park to the side of the building – which was available for public use in the evening and weekends – will be lost as it will in future be reserved for hotel guest use.

There has been remarkably little publicity about this planning application with the supporting papers revealing initial consultation involved only a handful civic organisations.

Full details of the planning application can be found here. http://tinyurl.com/St-Leonards-Planning

City of York Council is responding to requests from parents for more advice and information on topics to do with teenagers.

The councils parenting team will be running two workshops in June and July on ‘Talking to your teen about sex’ and ‘Enjoying your teens.’

Talking to your Kids about Sex. Thursday 21 June 12.30 – 2.30 at Hob Moor Children’s Centre. This workshop is for parents of children of all ages and includes ideas for tackling those difficult questions about sex, where to find resources and to remind parents how all the bits work!

Enjoying your Teens. Friday 13 July 10am – 12noon, Haxby Road Children’s Centre. This workshop is for parents of teens and includes ideas for understanding teenage behaviour and some strategies for dealing with what can sometimes be a bit of a testing time.

Workshops can be repeated in the evening if there is enough interest from parents who cannot attend during the day.

Parents can book a place on a workshop via the council’s Family Information Service on 554444 or fis@york.gov.uk or text direct on 07833 482 284.

To find out more about this, and the range of other programmes available in York for parents of children of all ages, parents can access the Parent’s Zone at www.yor-ok.org.uk

City of York Council will be carrying essential resurfacing works in Haxby this Monday (18th June). Carriageway resurfacing works will take place on The Village (road) Haxby, between and including the junctions with Westfield Road and York Road roundabout. The works will start on Monday 18 June for completion by Friday 29 June. The works will take place weekdays only between 9:15 am and 4pm

Ward Commmitte budget Westfield Central 2012. Click to enlarge

A programme of improvements to car parking facilities in the Cornlands Road and Kingsway parts of the Westfield ward has ended with Labour Councillors recommending that no Ward Committee funding be allocated to the project during 2012.

During the last 15 years, the programme had gradually improved parking arrangements in relatively narrow streets like St Stephens Road, Tennent Road and Windsor Garth.

Some funding was spent on providing lay bys while dropped kerb/verge cross overs were funded where a parking space could be fitted into a garden.

A major series of improvements on Cornlands Road was completed in 2006 prior to the introduction of parking restrictions aimed at improving bus service reliability.

The Council tenants improvement budget also funded some parking areas in front of blocks of flats in streets such as Thoresby Road. While this programme may continue, the delays in providing the parking area on St Stephens Square indicate that such improvements may now have a low priority.

The Ward Committee budget, now published on the Councils web site, shows ZERO expenditure is planned in the central Westfield area. This is a big let down for a community of over 4000 residents. Those on the waiting list for dropped kerbs are likely to be particularly disappointed.

Overall the Westfield Ward Committee budget is being reduced from about £50,000 to only £5,670. The Council have also failed to publish the ballot results from last autumn when residents were asked to indicate their priorities.

In the Foxwood area, Labours plan to spend £750 funding new pantomime costumes for a theatre group has been slated by several residents.

City of York Council is lining up an exciting team of sport taster sessions for all to enjoy at the Olympic Torch celebrations at York Racecourse on 19 June.

The special event will kick off at 2:30pm with a host of interactive sports displays from a wide range of sporting organisations which the public can take part in for free.

Sessions will be on offer from sports bodies including The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, England Basketball, British Cycling, British Equestrian Foundation, Orienteering – Eborienteers, Climbing Wall and British Gymnastics.

From 5pm an evening of entertainment follows the demonstrations, with performances from Katy B, Twist & Pulse and more.

Sport sessions will be running from 2:30pm to 5pm on 19 June at York Racecourse and free tickets are available from:

• Visit York’s Visitor Information Centre on Museum Street
• York Explore Library Learning Centre at Library Square
• Acomb Explore on Front Street, Acomb
• or Tang Hall Library on Fifth Avenue, Tang Hall.

Despite the confusion in the media, we understand that “walk up” charges will be available for the new competition standard swimming pool when it opens on Hull Road in August.

The organisers tell us that, “The pool is also available on a pay as you go basis with discounts available for concessions and York card holders. These details will be available on the website shortly once confirmed but will range between £3.20-£4.55”.

The Pool will be open for everyone to use and enjoy from 6am-11pm during the week and 6:30am-11pm on weekends.

The admission charges are comparable with the Energise pool on Cornlands Road where the charges are Adult (with YorkCard) £3.65, Adult (standard) £4.55.

A walk through video of the new pool can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/York-pool-video

The Sports Village web site can be found here: http://www.york-sport.com/york_sport_village.php

The Sports Village results from an agreement, signed in 2010, between the York Council and the University of York, which incorporated public access conditions.

North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 13 June and Tuesday 19 June 2012.

•A64 east-bound Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•York Road, Haxby, York ( Cycle Shop )
•York Road, Haxby, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•A64 Malton by-pass east and west-bound
•A64 Seamer by-pass Scarborough
•A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough
•A64 Between Whitwell Hill and Barton Hill
•A64 Between Barton-le-Willows and Jinnah
•A64 Between Barton Hill and Whitwell Hill
•A171 Jugger Howe opposite Springhill Farm (more…)

click to enlarge Torch route

Tickets for the Olmpic entertainment event on 19th June are going well. They are available now from the Acomb Explore Library.

Meanwhile the Council has announced that it will be giving the Olympic Torch a ringing welcome to York with almost a dozen welcoming bands, choirs, peals of bells – church and bicycle – and even a few Vikings, before the Scots Guards’ band of pipes and drums see it off to Thirsk aboard the Scots Guardsman locomotive.

To entertain the waiting crowds and help build the atmosphere, the entertainment will start outside York College where the first Torchbearer will begin the York relay at 5.23pm on 19 June. Along its route, the Torch will be serenaded by choirs including the York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir, and a special performance by visiting choral groups from Australia and the USA.

The council’s York Arts Academy Band, local scout bands and a number of Shepherds’ Brass Bands will play, as will the Railway Institute’s Brass Band which has ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ a favourite in its repertory. And greetings will be roared at the Flame from Clifford’s Tower by a group of Vikings.

Ringing a welcome through the city will be St Wilfrid’s peal from 4.45pm followed by York Minster’s carillon of 35 bells run after Evensong from 6pm on 19 June – listen out for the theme tune of ‘Chariots of Fire’ from Hugh Hudson’s 1981 film. Bicycle bells will be rung by some 100 young cyclists and parents on their specially-decorated bikes as the Torch passes Knavesmire Primary School on Campleshon Road. (more…)

A brass band festival and a spectacular Brass Band Proms will be adding a Yorkshire flavour to the city’s summer of celebrations for York 800 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Eight York brass bands will showcasing their talent in a weekend of open-air concerts in York’s Museum Gardens on 30 June and 1 July, while on 20 August York’s top two bands join forces for a rip-roaring Proms concert on the stage of the Mystery Plays Theatre in the Museum Gardens. (more…)

125 year old Jubilee quilt

The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles, based at the Quilt Museum and Gallery in York, is planning an exciting city-wide exhibition of quilts in public spaces around the city – ‘Quilt City’ – as part of the York 800 celebrations.

The exhibition will be supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England and City of York Council. It will run from 14 September until 16 November 2012. ‘Quilt City’ will show a wide range of original and contemporary York-themed quilts, which are unique works of textile art, in locations around the city centre.

As part of this innovative project, two contemporary quilt makers have been commissioned to make new work for the exhibition. Linda Barlow and Alicia Merrett will both produce quilts exploring contemporary and historical York. (more…)