York Council says good progress being made on the modernisation and extension of Lincoln Court
“City of York Council is celebrating a milestone with contractor Sewell Construction to mark the start of the final phase of the £1.9 million improvement and extension of its popular Lincoln Court Independent Living Scheme.
Lincoln Court expansion plans 2018
The accommodation is being extended from 26 accommodation units to 35 high quality apartments. Much-improved communal facilities and low-energy measures are being added too, with a view to the scheme reopening this summer.
This is the council’s first independent living scheme extension to be developed specifically to meet the needs of wheelchair users. With a better location identified for the energy efficient heating system for the apartments, tenants will also benefit from new double glazed windows and from photovoltaic cells on the roof which will reduce communal utility costs.
Disabled centre in foreground. Lincoln Court to rear
A larger, brighter and more central communal lounge area will bring together residents of the new and existing elements of the building. An extra meeting room and additional office space will enable the scheme to be used as a hub for more services to be provided in the local community. The addition of a guest suite for visiting family and friends of residents will help maintain family links.
Listening to feedback from former tenants, we broadened the extension project to include the full refurbishment and re-roofing of the existing properties. In addition, they told us they would prefer that the existing flats are modernised with new heating systems, rewiring, new kitchens and bathrooms at the same time as the construction to avoid further disruption. This is underway”.
In a report last week (above) the Council also claimed that the new Centre of Excellence for Disable Young People, which will occupy the site next to Lincoln Court on Ascot Way, would be “completed in May 2020” .
The Council is writing to vulnerable tenants telling them that they will continue to get their hedges and lawns trimmed for at least another year.
Lawns will be cut and hedges trimmed
Earlier in the week, officials had told tenants that they would lose the long standing service, with some being offered £200 compensation in lieu.
Now the housing director has apologised to those affected and confirmed that a more considered review of the service will take place over the next few months. Any changes will be delayed until 2021 at the earliest.
The new letter to tenants still has a patronising tone. It talks about helping the elderly to “enjoy” their gardens. “Volunteers” are still seen as the solution to most problems although many will feel that that particular resource is in danger of becoming overwhelmed.
The letter rather confirms our view that the housing department needs new leadership and with it a commitment to be more open and to consult properly before making decisions.
The key first step is for executive councillors to exert more control over the department and for communication channels with residents associations to be restored.
The garden service is funded from Council house rents. The rent account has a large surplus.
The organisers of the York Music Festival scheduled to take place on the York Sports Club Fields on the weekend of 19th – 21st June have applied for a premises licence.
It will be considered by the York Council at a meeting being held on 27th February.
Live Nation Music say that the event, which features artists like Madness, Westlife and Lionel Richie may attract as many as 20,000 customers.
They application includes details of the event management plan and can be viewed on the Councils web site by clicking here
The Councils public protection department are recommending several conditions aimed at reducing the risk of noise nuisance click
They say, “the agreed Noise Management Plan must contain a requirement that the Music Noise Level expressed as an LAeq shall not exceed 65dB(A) over a 15 minute period as measured at the nearest noise sensitive premises”.
Objections to the application have been registered by residents living in Galtres Grove. Several other residents have also objected. They include comments by a local Parish Council
Apart from noise, most concerns are likely to relate to traffic issues and the ability of the police and organisers to control the behaviour of those attending.
One objector asked for “no concluding fireworks display” in deference to the sensitivities of his dog!
City of York Council’s clean-up operation will start from today, but flood defences are staying firmly in place to continue protecting the city as heavy rain is expected this weekend.
The council continues to work closely with the York and North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which includes police and fire services as well as North Yorkshire County Council, Met Office and Environment Agency.
The latest advice from the Environment Agency is that the River Ouse is currently falling (slowly) so York is very much open for business.
With the expectation some warnings may be taken off, these may come back into force throughout the weekend with heavy rain expected. View the latest river level predictions and warnings here
Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council said: “As our clean-up operation starts, you’ll see our front line teams sweeping and cleaning paths and cycle routes across the city from today. We’ll also be carrying out additional inspections of our roads to repair potholes.
“York remains vibrant and exciting as usual, offering lots of activities and events for residents and visitors over this half-term.
“We will be visiting hundreds of residents in flood-risk areas again over the rest of the week tomorrow and Thursday, to assess their needs and give the latest advice and information.
“Thank you again to all residents for your patience and support as the city deals with storms on consecutive weekends. My thanks also go to our staff and partners for their fantastic work, which has gone above and beyond required duties.”
The Environment Agency river forecasters will continue to monitor the situation 24/7 and provide further updates.
As of Wednesday 19 February, the council has:
Having cleared over 300 gullies, swept roads and cleared drains, we also have tankers on standby for any surface water flooding incidents that occur.
Teams will now start to carry out the clean-up operation of sweeping and cleaning paths and cycle routes across the city (and river routes when water levels fall).
Hand delivered letters to properties considered to be at risk from flooding, offering up to date information and advice. This will include homes around Tower Gardens, Fishergate, Fulford and Naburn along the north bank of the River Ouse, and homes in Clementhorpe, Bishopthorpe and Acaster Malbis on the south bank.
Reopened Millennium Bridge
Reopened Esplanade car park
Carrying out additional inspections of the highway and preparing to repair pothole, caused by flood water.
Staff defences 24/7 with reinforcements including 11 pumps and extra sandbags available for Peckitt Street, Tower Gardens, Clementhorpe and the A19 at Germany Beck
Regularly updated the www.york.gov.uk/floodpage to share the latest updates and advice.
Speaking to communities at risk and reiterating our commitment to protect them and offer advice.
UPDATE The Council now seems to BE back tracking. It says that the communication it issued earlier today was “only the first step in consultation”. The following is an extract from that the earlier communication. Make you own mind up whether you think it sounds like consultation
The cost of the scheme was extremely high and unsustainable, so we are exploring other ways to provide a service to the most vulnerable in future, in partnership with charities and volunteers. Unfortunately, this won’t be in place this year so as an interim measure we will be providing the most vulnerable tenants with a payment of £200 that they can use to contribute towards the cost of maintaining the garden this year.
From information we have on Housing Management systems, we have filtered customers into those we believe would not meet the new criteria and those that would with the appropriate letter going to these customers. Housing Management Officers will be visiting all customers that as part of the Health and Wellbeing visits, to ensure that all tenants who genuinely have no option than that provided by The Council. Once HMO’s have confirmed eligibility the payment will be arrange to be made early in the new financial year.
The Council is now saying the proposal will go to a decision meeting in April
The Council has, however, admitted that it has already posted the letters to tenants!
EARLIER It looks like the Council will refuse to help elderly tenants who are unable to maintain their own gardens. Until this year elderly and disabled tenants had received help in cutting hedges and lawns through a garden help scheme.
Now a housing official has said that the garden help scheme has been abandoned.
In the past the Council has been criticised for the slowness of the garden care scheme which provided only a minimal service
The proposal to abandon the tenants has not yet been considered by the Councils’ Executive.
Only last week the Council announced that it would make a surplus of over £3 million on its council housing rent account this year. It holds an accumulated surplus on the account of over £20 million with a rent increase pending.
The garden care scheme has been in existence for several decades. It provides a basic gardening service for those on limited means who are unable to do heavy work themselves and who do not have anyone else that they can turn to for help.
Now the official has said that the scheme is being scrapped with immediate effect. The most seriously disabled will be offered a payment of £200 which the Council says can be used to employ someone to undertake gardening work.
The Council also talks loftily of setting up a scheme of “volunteer gardeners” to assist. They accept that this is not yet in place.
It is not the first time that the Council has eroded the garden help scheme. In 2016 over 100 pensioners lost access to the scheme.
Overgrown hedges are unsightly and block footpaths
As well as the welfare of sick and elderly people, another concern is the effect that overgrown hedges will have on local neighbourhoods. There are already complaints about lack of maintenance in some estates.
There has been no consultation with residents or tenants organisations in the City.
Whereas previous attempts to jettison the service were initiated by Tory Councillors, the latest proposal comes under the stewardship of Green Party Councillor Denise Craghill. To what extent she has been party to the plan is unclear.
Liberal Democrat Councillors in wards like Westfield, which has a high proportion of Council tenancies, are likely to be put under extreme pressure to block any changes until alternative arrangements can be put in place.
The level of the river Ouse is now falling. It is expected to remain above normal levels for several days although riverside paths should reopen in a day or two.Not surprisingly the Council has been unable to collect refuse from areas affected by flooding. Areas affected include Naburn, Acaster Malbis and Skeldergate.
