Civic vandals at work again
Council officials have been blamed for trying to barricade the old entrance to the Grange Lane park. The attack came only a few days after a new entrance, a few metres away, was described by local residents as an expensive and unnecessary “folly”.
Now officials are trying to force pedestrians into using the new path even though there is no bitmaced surface and the “poop scoop” bin is still located next to the old access.
With wetter weather on the way, the new access is likely to become muddy and unusable before the winter is out.
The trail of Council damage now extends to the bottom of the park where a new hole has also been punched into the boundary hedge there.
Neither access is protected from abuse by motorcyclists whose presence was a major source of complaint before access gates were fitted a few years ago.

The developers of the new bungalows on Cornlands Road have made £7452 available which could be used to secure the adjacent Cornlands Road park at night. The plan to improve security was a Liberal Democrat initiative and dates back to 2009 when anti social behaviour levels peaked.
Public consultation, undertaken by the Council in February, revealed 90% of local residents favoured the scheme which would also have involved providing railings round the outside of the park.
Later there may have been improvements to the park itself including new play equipment.
Originally it had been proposed to divert the public right of way which crosses the park but council officials favoured using a “gating order” instead saying that it would have the same effect.
Now the Council is backtracking on its promise, with the new Labour Councillors for the area dithering on dealing with anti social behaviour issues.

The York Council has a good track record over recent years in reducing the numbers killed or seriously injured on our roads.

Recent decisions though suggest that someone has taken their eye off the ball.
The foolishness of devoting up to £1 million on signing a citywide 20 mph speed limit has already been highlighted.
But a recent Council report, which looked into the implications for reintroducing a left turn, general traffic lane at the Water End/Clifton Green junction, revealed no serious accidents had taken place on or near there since the cycle path was introduced.
Yet the Council has decided to consult on spending at least £15,000 changing this safe layout into one where accidents are – on the basis of professional advice – more likely to happen.
It is an example of a political party pandering to popular sentiment in order to get cheap votes ………….and then lacking the courage to admit they were wrong.
Although there are delays at this junction at peak times, they have reduced since additional capacity was provided at the A19 ring road junction a few months ago. More relief will come when the A59 junction is improved.
For much of the day Clifton Green has free flow traffic conditions and some further refinement of traffic light sequences, particularly on Saturdays, could bring about more improvement.
But surely there is no case for digging up the road again.

Labour have blocked the appointment of a new Community Ranger patrol contractor. After 10 years the mobile security patrols have disappeared from Westfield’s Streets.
Residents are not even being given the opportunity to vote for the continuation of the patrols as the option does not appear on this years Ward Committee ballot paper which was delivered to householders a couple of weeks ago.(Instead there are a plethora of applications for grants to organisations many of which don’t even have a presence in the area).
Time and time again security and action to reduce crime levels have topped residents priority lists. The resulting action – including the Ranger patrols – has been a drop in crime to record low levels.
Now that progress is being put in jeopardy as Westfield is dragged down to the same level as Wards like Heworth where patrols were scrapped, by the Councillors there, a few years ago.
The last Ranger contractor went into administration at the beginning of the year and Council officials were asked to find a local replacement. The main duty of the Rangers – who patrolled the area in vehicles fitted with mobile CCTV cameras – was to secure vulnerable locations such as playgrounds at nightfall. Many of these areas are now being left open with vandalism and late night noise a growing issue.
This is a very short sighted policy and it is little short of outrageous that residents are being denied the chance to vote for continuation of the patrols. Sadly it appears to be another example of the current regimes indifference to residents views.

Browse and buy local crafts, cards, jewellery and all kinds of craftworkat Acomb Explore on Saturday 19 November from 9am to 4pm. It’s your chance to stock up with original crafts – perfect for Christmas goodies!

A recent Shelter report on house rental levels, which suggested that prices in York were the highest in the region, has been seized upon by some Labour spokespeople as a rod with which to beat the government.
In reality they are trying to draw attention away from their threadbare local polices on housing.
They inherited from the last LibDem administration a level of homelessness in the City which was much improved from 2003. The provision of additional social housing units, including the first new Councils homes to be built in the city for 20 years, had played a part in dealing with this serious issue

The current controversy centres around the rent levels charged by private landlords. These have been restrained for several years by the maximum level of Housing Benefit (Local Housing Allowance) that can be paid. The maximum subsidy payable by the government is limited with the precise level dependant on local market conditions.
In 2010 the new Coalition government indicated that there would be a ceiling put on the maximum allowance payable for a property. The weekly maxima were:
• £250 a week for a one bedroom property (including shared accommodation)
• £290 a week for a two bedroom property
• £340 a week for a three bedroom property
• £400 a week for a four bedroom property
Average rent levels in York fall far below these limits. The government (correctly) argued that taxpayers should not have to, in effect, subsidise private landowners who could be raking in huge profits by exploiting local housing shortages.
For many years, there has been a maximum that the government would pay depending on family circumstances. Taking as an example a couple with 2 children who would be entitled to claim for a 3 bedroomed house. The maximum entitlement in York would be 137.31 per week. This is the same as in the Leeds area while the neighbouring Harrogate area is higher at £155.77 a week. Few families qualify for the full allowance.
The allowance is set by sampling the rent levels in the area. 655 rents levels were sampled in York. Prices ranged from around £100 to £200 per week. The rent levels were slightly higher in Harrogate.
There may be a case for updating these figures although professionals say there has been little change in rent levels for most types of properties in most areas of the City over the last couple of years. One exception is for properties near the Universities where rent levels of £90 per week for a single room in a shared house have been reported (a rip off which does require some action by local MPs)
A claim is being made is that York rental levels are now comparable with those found in London. This is nonsense with average rents in much of the capital being over £300 a week for 3 bedroomed properties. However rent levels in York now seem to be on a par with Harrogate.
In York at the moment the cheapest 3 bedroomed house available to rent is advertised at £156 per week (a house in Nursery Drive). So a family with a (very) low income would have to find £20 a week to rent this property.
In Harrogate a 3 bedroomed terraced house is advertised with a similar £156 price tag.
The real solution to the housing problems faced by those on low incomes is to increase the supply of social housing. Over 200 additional homes for rent were provided by the Council and Housing Associations in the City last year.
Typically the weekly rent on a 3 bedroomed Council House these days in York is around £80.
All Council homes had been modernised by the time that the Liberal Democrats left office locally in May.
NB. Brand new 2 bedroomed bungalows on Cornlands Road are available for private rent for £650 a month.

I see that Joe Riches is still claiming on the local Labour web site that he lives in his Holgate Ward in Stamford Street. A few weeks ago he rang me to say that he had moved into the Westfield Ward. Seems that he doesn’t intend to tell his colleagues about the change?
& thanks to the anonymous resident who tipped us off about the Labour Councillor who apparently appeared on the electoral register at two different addresses (in different wards) in April. This is being investigated.