North Yorkshire Police have announced where their mobile speed cameras will be between 26 October – 1 November 2011
North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 26 October and Tuesday 1 November 2011.

A1237 Monks Cross, York

York Road, Haxby, York

New Lane, Huntington, York

A64 eastbound carriageway Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster

A64 westbound carriageway, Bowbridge Farm, Tadcaster

Broadway, Fulford, York

Murton Way, Murton, York

Fordlands Road, Fulford, York

Northfield Farm, Cobcroft Lane, Cridling Stubbs

A19 Selby Road, Whitley

Millfield Lane, Chappel Haddlesley

Westcroft Lane, Hambleton

Northallerton Road, Brompton,

Station Road, Thirsk,

B6271, Great Langton,

A61, Carlton Road, Carlton Miniott

A6108, North Stainley

Silver Street, Barton

Leeming Lane, Catterick Village

A6108, Darlington Road, Richmond

A66, Gilling West

A684, Aysgarth

A6108, Middleham

Gatherley Road, Brompton

B1427 Queen Margarets Road, Scarborough

B1249 at Staxton Wold near Staxton, Scarborough

A64 Seamer by-pass, Scarborough

A165 Reighton by-pass between Sands Road and Hunmanby Road

B1249 Foxholes to county boundary

A64 Seamer by-pass Scarborough

B1249 Staxton Wold, Staxton, Scarborough

B1249 Foxholes to county boundary

A1039 Filey Road at Flixton

A165 Reighton by-pass

A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough

The mobile safety cameras will be in operation at the above sites at various times during the dates stated. Cameras will not be in use on the above routes all day, every day.
see http://j.mp/uTl8Vb

The investigation, revealed on this web site a couple of days ago, apparently revolves around the above letter which confirms a donation – in kind – of £4724 from UNISON to the York Labour Party..
Labour candidates at the election apparently declared on their expenses returns having received only a total of £2385 leaving £2338 unaccounted for.
It appears that Labour candidates in the following wards chose not to issue the manifesto to electors:
Haxby, Heworth, Heslington, Heworth Without, Huntington & Strensall.
Electors are given some reassurance that donations of this sort will be transparent.
The instructions to Councillors says:
“The Standards Board for England does not draw a distinction between direct financial assistance (payments of money directly to a Councillor for election or other expenses) and indirect assistance (such as payment for election posters or leaflets). You should register any person or organisation who has made a financial contribution (whether direct or indirect) to your election campaign or who assists you with the costs of carrying out your duties”.
The register of interests declared by Councillors can be viewed on the Councils web site.
Councillors are also required at the beginning of each meeting to indicate whether they have interests of this sort to declare. These are recorded in the minutes of the meetings (and again can be seen on the Councils web site).
More to follow on this as it becomes available.

The Council could borrow an extra £13 million, 29 elderly residents could be forced to move twice in the next 3 years as their homes are pulled down while a start on building work on the Lowfields “care village” seems likely to delayed until 2013, as Labour struggle to deal with an increasing overspend on care services.
The ambitious plan to replace the City’s elderly person’s homes with 3 new “super homes” has run into trouble following a lengthy consultation exercise. Only 935 responses were received from York residents. Most (rightly) supported the modernisation plan, but many claimed that they wanted the homes to be paid for, and run by, the Council. No details of the implications for such a model for other parts of the care budget were explained to those surveyed. Ironically, as a result, the debt adverse, Labour Council could see £13 million added to its borrowing burden.
The proposed timetable would involve the closure of the Fordlands and Oliver House elderly person’s homes in April 2012. Windsor House would close in January 2014.
The replacement Lowfields care village is expected to have the capacity to provide for 90 residents in the two new homes proposed for that site while the new Fordlands and Haxby Hall homes would have 55 each (including respite).
It now seems that the Lowfields village will go ahead but not for over 12 months with an opening in January 2014 a possibility. As well as the two homes, the site would accommodate a “social hub” and independent living bungalows. The consultation feedback also suggested that the bungalows and apartments should offer a mixture of tenure; for sale, shared ownership or to rent. Officials have claimed that it would be possible to have a combination of apartments and bungalows totalling 50 or more on the Lowfield site along with the addition of affordable housing.
It is possible that the cost of building the “social hub” could be covered by selling some of the apartments and bungalows
The new arrangements could save around £3 million a year. The money is desperately needed to cater for the steep increase in the numbers of elderly people requiring Council support.
The Council is currently forecasting an overspend this year of £1.3 million on Adult Social Services and a further £0.7 million on Children’s Services. The number of children in the Councils care (most are in foster homes) had increased to 250 by last month (100 up on 2007 levels). Each is costing taxpayers around £20,000 a year in care costs.

November 5th will shortly be with us and retailers will be stepping up the sale of fireworks.
Nuisances caused by fireworks have reduced over the last few years as a crackdown on illegally imported fireworks has taken effect. Now noise is generally restricted to the time immediately around 5th November.
You also have to be 18 to buy fireworks these days.
Traders have been sent a guidance leaflet on all aspects of the law relating to firework sales with their registration certificate – businesses must register with the council if they wish to sell fireworks. Council officials visit retailers to check storage conditions, check for the sale of ‘banned’ fireworks i.e. those not complying with noise limit requirements and those which are ‘unsafe’. Verbal advice is given on preventing underage sales, and checks made to ensure the correct notices are displayed.
Businesses are provided with a sticker to display showing that they are registered for the supply of fireworks. This helps consumers identify legitimate retailers of fireworks.
The Council will once again undertake a test purchase operation in ‘firework season’ to check retailers compliance with the law. Similar operations in recent years have revealed no breeches since 2007.
Locally on Thanet Road we understand that the Acorn Rugby Club will be organising their firework display again this year.

I was sorry to learn of the death of Peter Rhodes. Perhaps most famous as a Football League referee, Peter spent his retirement years as a resident of Woodthorpe.
Very much a larger than life character his forthright views weren’t always popular. He managed to maintain a sense of humour even when age began to take it’s toll. His generosity was legendary.
About 20 years ago he bought the Acomb (Quaker) wood the development of part of which proved later to be controversial.
But he will be remembered by most as a warm hearted character of the type that are few and far between these days.
A funeral service will be held at St Edward the Confessor Church in Dringhouses on Tuesday, November 1, at 1.45pm, followed by cremation at York Crematorium at 3pm.

Following the controversial £5000 donation by UNISON to cover the costs of York Labour candidates election manifesto at Mays Council elections, I understand that a member has asked for an inquiry into how the money was spent.
It appears that around 50% of the donation is unaccounted for in the Election Expenses Returns declared by the candidates.

The original access to the Grange Lane park was reopened earlier today following the intervention of a senion official in the Councils Strategy Department.
We have been told that the new entrance was a mistake and was created in order to conform with an old Public Right of Way (PROW) map.
The PROW is now going to be formally diverted.
Not sure yet where the signpost will end up!

Westfield Schools Community Garden construction was done with York Cares (who co-ordinate volunteers from York businesses) and Miller Construction (who are building the new Council HQ and keen to enagage with the city – and have also donated gardening tools). The scheme will be supported for the next five years by the Big Lottery Fund “Sustainability/Get Growing” team.

The school has been keen to respond to the local demand for allotment places that are in short supply as ‘growing your own’ becomes more popular. There is the opportunity to expand the area under cultivation once the first set of plots are in full occupation. Pupils are parents are being engaged, and there are meetings for parents and carers on 1st and 2nd November.

Residents have launched a petition aimed at forcing the Council to secure the Cornlands Road park after nightfall. The petition can be supported on the Council’s web site. Visit http://www.york.gov.uk/ have your say/ petitions/ Cornlands Road park security.

The footpath linking Grange Lane to the ring road (and beyond) is still accessible. However it lacks any signage and so many residents may be unaware of its existence. (The sign used to indicate the new access to the Grange Lane park could usefully be moved to the start of this path!)
Unfortunately, Council officials have failed, when reopening the path which had been blocked for several years, to ensure that each end was secured by using either kissing gates or stiles. There is a dangerous gradient at the ring road end which led to a young cyclist being killed at that junction a few years ago.