It is good to see the Council encouraging residents to take pride in their local environment, as they launch their love Westfield campaign.

It is more than slightly ironic though that the initiative comes at a time when a growing list of complaints about Council service standards remains outstanding.

Damaged verges and missing lampposts are only the tip of an iceberg.

Feedback to residents has virtually ceased and with the Council budget slipping into chaos there seems to be little hope of improvement in the near future.

Steve Galloway at the damaged verge on Gale Lane. First reported 4 months ago we have asked for it to be bitmaced

Missing lamppost on Front Street. We have asked for an urgent replacement as the lamp is located near a dangerous junction

One of the items that were found by Police

Detectives from York CID are appealing for the owners of suspected stolen jewellery to contact them.

Officers working on the force’s burglary crackdown, Operation Haven, carried out a search of a property in the Bishopthorpe area of York as part of an operation to arrest a suspect.

During the search they discovered several items of jewellery which they suspect have been stolen.

A photo gallery has been uploaded to North Yorkshire Police’s website with images of the jewellery and police are appealing to members of the public to check the images to see if they recognise any of the property as theirs.

http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/index.aspx?articleid=8045

DC Sinead McConigley of York CID, said: “I’d encourage anyone who has suffered a burglary in which jewellery was taken to check the images to see if they recognise any of the items.

“It’s important that the jewellery is returned to its rightful owner. Jewellery is very personal and there is often sentimental value attached to the piece.”

The pieces include a pendant necklace with the letter ‘K’ attached, Celtic style jewellery and a bangle with the words “twinkle twinkle little star”.

If you believe any of the items are yours, please ring the burglary team at York CID on 01904 669867.

Gladstone Street litter AM 14th Jan

There is a large amount of litter in some streets in the City. This may partly be due to the waste collection arrangements that applied over the Christmas break.

Use the “Report a problem” links (right or above left) to let us know of any issues in your street.

Severus Street litter 14th Jan

Exhibition Square grotto

The Council Leader has published a letter blasting the organisers of the Christmas “grotto” which was erected on Exhibition Square for 6 weeks over the Christmas period. He points to dissatisfied staff (fairies and elves) and children disappointed by the content of the event.

Just why this exercise in mock outrage should reach the media in easy to see. It is a pre-emptive strike to draw attention away from the responsibilities of the Labour Cabinet members who authorised the event.
Events like these attract rental payments to the Council of around £1000 a week.

The responsibility for ensuring that only competent companies are able to rent prominent sites ultimately rests with the responsible “Cabinet” member. In this case that was Cllr Crisp. It appears that the deal that was struck was for a proportion of the ticket sale revenue to go to the Council.

The vent had all the hallmarks of something that had been put together at the last minute. It appears that the original intention had been to site the tent at Bustardthorpe. Not surprisingly the organisers realised that very few people were likely to be walking past that site so they opted for a City centre venue. (Later the Bustardthorpe site was to be the scene of an – abortive – attempt at organising a New Years Eve party).

How much income the Council has received has yet to be admitted.

All in all, quite a lot more needs to be explained by the Council about their involvement in this event.

Guilhall entrance

A “Save the Guildhall” petition is now available and can be “signed” by accessing the Councils web site.

http://www.york.gov.uk/ e-Petitions Save the Guildhall

If you have not assented to an electronic petition on the site before there is a short registration process to go through.

The campaign to keep the Guildhall as the City’s civic and cultural centrepiece is attracting cross party support and has the backing of Guild members as well conservation and other groups. The Cabinets plans to abandon the building have already been “called in” for further consideration by 3 Councillors.

The petition and supporting paper reads:

We the undersigned petition the council to ensure that The Guildhall and Mansion House continue to be at the heart of civic and cultural activities in the City, that no attempt be made to downgrade the role, function or public accessibility of the buildings and that any proposals to change the ownership or lease arrangements on any part of the site be subject to full public consultation.

The Guildhall has been at the heart of local civic affairs in York since the 15th century. It is the former meeting place of the City’s Guilds. It was rebuilt following damage in the Second World War and it is now the home of the City of York Council, with Councillors and senior officers both occupying accommodation there. The Council convenes in the building on 6 occasions per year and each week a variety of committees meet to determine the Councils policies. The Mansion House and Guildhall together host a wide range of civic, cultural, fund raising and commercial activities each year.
Recently the Council’s Cabinet has announced its intention to move members and officers to new accommodation which is being built in Toft Green. They have indicated that in future only (6) Council meetings will be held in the Guildhall each year.
The Guildhall is a Listed building which means that it cannot be substantially changed in character or layout.
This petition seeks to ensure that the Guildhall and Mansion House remain in the ownership of the people of York, that they are sustained with the respect that historically important buildings of this sort deserve and that they continue to be used as a civic resource for the benefit and enjoyment of York residents and visitors.
This ePetition runs from 13/01/2012 to 24/02/2012.

Popular choral music from Christmas to Candlemas

The new, York-based chamber choir, SPECTRUM make their debut performance under the direction of Minster Organ Scholar, Ben Horden. The Choir will perform a programme of popular, seasonal, a cappella choral music in York Minster’s spectacular Chapter House.

Box Office (Monday – Friday 9am – 4.30pm) 0844 939 0015 boxoffice@yorkminster.org

double click to enlarge

City of York Council have removed almost 500 street lights from York’s streets over the past few weeks, but the Labour Cabinet have yet to identify any funding to replace them..

The lights have been removed following a safety inspection, but many residents have been surprised by their removal as the work was carried out without warning and without explaining to residents what was happening.

It has now emerged that the Labour Cabinet allowed the removals but failed to indentify any funding to replace the lights, meaning residents will be forced to wait to find out if any money can be found in next year’s budget to carry out the work.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Communities and Neighbourhoods, Councillor Ann Reid, said Labour had failed to consider the impact of their decision.

She said, “It would seem that when agreeing the removal of the street lights Labour didn’t consider the full impact of what they were approving. At no point have they bothered to let residents know what is happening and it now appears that they didn’t think to allocate any money to replace the lights.”

“The Council has a contingency fund included in the budget the deal with issues that arise like this, but it seems that Labour’s failure to control spending in other areas means there are other demands on that funding.”

“These are difficult financial times for the Council but that is no excuse for approving a survey of all street lighting in the city, without thinking about how to deal with the results of such a survey.”

Councillor Reid said residents could be waiting some time for the lights to be replaced. She said, “The failure to find any money to replace the lights means that at the very earliest these lights won’t be replaced until the new financial year. This means residents will be left to manage through the remainder of the dark winter nights with reduced street lighting.”

“While the weather has been unusually mild so far this winter, if there is a cold spell the reduced lighting will make it harder to spot ice on the pavements and many elderly residents have contacted me concerned about not being able to go outside. These concerns have been made much worse by the complete failure to inform residents about what was happening.”

The Council are reprting that

“some residents from the Cornlands and Lowfields area are forming a Residents’ Association and would like you to join them.

They would like to invite you to join them at a coffee morning on January 14th, 10am to 12 noon at York High School.

Information will be available on benefits, York Credit Union, Westfield Children’s Centre, Youth Services and AGE UK amongst many other organisations.

Refreshments will be provided”.

A new “Friends of …” group has been established for Bachelor Hill. This open space is well used by dog walkers and lies between Askham Lane and Tennant Road, but needs some care and maintenance.

The Council’s street environment officer (Jackie Armitage) arranged for the steps to be replaced, and hopes residents and users are enjoying the improvement.

The Friends group can get involved learning more about the field, helping to plan further improvements, and joining Jackie for a monthly litter pick – equipment provided.

Jackie carries out litter picks on the field every first Thursday of the month, unless it is raining (or snowing!) so if you can spare an hour she’d love to see you there, 11.00am, at Tennant Road entrance.
For more information please get in touch via email: Jackie.armitage@york.gov.uk or telephone York (01904) 553135.

Security fencing was provided to protect Bachelor Hill following a campaign by the Liberal Democrats