Contractors were out today removing nettle growth from the side of the Foxwood Lane footpath.
Contractors in action on Foxwood Lane
The nettles had been a nuisance during the late summer period although not, this year, as bad as in some previous years.
Mechanical treatment – often by local farmers – is usually
an efficient and economical way of controlling weeds and cutting back hedges.
Meanwhile a Freedom of Information request has revealed that
this year weed control contractors have only been paid part of the £37,020.89
value of the contract. The response says that £18,498.70 has so far been paid during the
current year.
The response does reveal the amounts paid to specialist weed control contractors over the last 9 years.
Weeds blocking public footpath in Windsor Garth reported again this week
2019/20 – A. Morrison’s & Sons £37,020.89.
2018/19 – Munroe’s – £31,189
2017/18 – Munroe’s – £31,189
2016/17 – Munroe’s – £31,189
2015/16 – Munroe’s – £27,192
2014/15 – Dobsons – £68,538
2013/14 – Dobsons – £66,867
2012/13 – Nomix Enviro – £69,792
2011/12 – Nomix Enviro – £79,036
Interestingly the York Council, in the Spring, accepted a tender the value of which was only half that submitted in 2011.
It was later discovered that the list of streets to be treated was incomplete.
There have been chronic problems with weed control during the
summer and, as we reported a few days ago, many streets still require attention.
The list is far from comprehensive and concentrates mainly
on the Haxby & Rural West Wards. Publication however represents a step forward.
The latest combined list of schemes can be found on the Councils web site by clicking here. Several wards don’t seem to have made much progress in allocating their budgets.
To what degree residents feel involved in this process – and
what progress has been made in implementing those decisions which have already been
taken – is open to debate.
Three York parents have been handed court fines this month after City of York Council took action following their children’s poor attendance at school.
The prosecution was heard by York Magistrates and followed numerous attempts by the authority and schools to engage the parents to give the children the education to which they are entitled.
In all cases, the parents had failed to provide the schools with acceptable reasons for much of their children’s absence and the schools had therefore marked the absence as unauthorised.
The prosecuted parents had, prior to court, failed to engage with the schools and local authority to support their children’s attendance and had also been issued with a fine as an alternative to prosecution. They had not paid it, prompting the council to prosecute.
All three parents were ordered to pay fines ranging between £131 to £660.
Maxine Squire, Assistant Director of Education and Skills at City of York Council, said: “We want all children to receive a great education and benefit from the rich opportunities and high quality of education that are provided by our schools, and working with families and schools to promote and maintain good attendance is vital in achieving this.
“We will always attempt to engage with parents to avoid further loss of a child’s education before we prosecute. This is used as last resort in order to ensure that children receive the education to which they are entitled.”
City of York Council is seeking nominations for incredible young people and inspirational adults ahead of the Lord Mayor of York’s Shine Awards.
The annual awards will be held on 11 February 2020 at Vale of York Academy and will celebrate exceptional young people of all ages, from age five to aged 18.
The Shine Awards honour those who have helped others or contributed to their community or school in a positive way, whether as a volunteer or as an inspiration to others.
Nominations categories include arts, sport, voice and participation, young volunteer and community champion, with potential new categories created, depending on the submissions.
Nominees are also being taken for the Ann Mckeown Award for Excellence and Inspirational Work with children and young people, for adults aged over 18. In memory of Ann McKeown, former York Head Teacher and supporter of the Lord Mayor’s Shine Awards.
Adults submitted for the award may include inspirational teachers, youth workers or volunteers who have gone above and beyond to improve the lives of children and young people.
To receive or submit application forms, please emailtim.waudby@york.gov.uk by Friday 20 December 2019. Nominations can also be made through staff or professionals that hold contact details of the young person.
The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Janet Looker said: “York’s community is incredibly charitable and inspiring, and I look forward to honouring the young people who have made a real difference to others and the city.
“I would like to encourage residents to nominate someone they know who has had a positive impact on the community, and deserves to be recognised and thanked for their contribution.”
YORK’S CLIFTON PARK WILL STAGE TWO FIRST CLASS MATCHES IN JUST 72 HOURS, AGAINST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE (ON TUESDAY AUG 4th) AND SURREY (THURSDAY AUG 6th)
After First-Class cricket returned to the City of York in 2019, the first time since a Championship match at Wigginton Road in 1890 when Yorkshire beat Kent, Clifton Park is also scheduled to host two List A matches within the space of 72 hours. Northamptonshire and Surrey are the visitors in a revamped competition that is no longer regionalised. This forms part of a three-year agreement which promised List A cricket to the City for 2020 and 2021.
“York did really well last year!” said the Club’s CEO Mark Arthur. “We enjoyed it and the spectators enjoyed it too. We had a lovely letter from Warwickshire County Cricket Club to say how well organised they thought the whole match was. They were very, very complimentary to York, indeed. This year we have been working with the ECB to try and concentrate four games of cricket within a 12-day period. So there will be two 50-over matches, early in that period, and later on there will be two women’s Hundred matches.
“The important thing about having four days of cricket at York, four days of single cricket, is that we can build an infrastructure similar to the one that was in place for the Championship matches. Therefore, it makes sure that we can spread the overheads much wider than if you just had a one off game. You simply wouldn’t be able to build a temporary stand similar to the one we had for the game there last year.”
Yesterday it was announced that the Shipton Road ground will stage a Rock Festival in June.
Click here to visit the Yorkshire Cricket Club web site
Unfortunately the current spell of wet weather is slowing progress on local building projects.
Proposed new football pitches near Sim Balk Lane are a little damp at preesntWork on the new disabled centre on Ascot Way is progressingNo sign of progress at Lowfields. Residents had been promised a revised development timetable following delays with the care home contract, Yorspce etc but none has been forthcoming There are still hopes that the bungalows on Newbury Avenue will be completed before the end of the year. They are currently three months behind schedule.
The Foxwood Residents Association has received a cheque for £1920.81 as part of £17 million raised nationally from Co-op members.
The donation will help to sustain a programme of additional tree planting in the Foxwood area starting near the Herman Walk cycle path and extending into the Dickson Park
Residents Association officials are presented with the cheque at the Coops Beagle Ridge Drive store.
Nothing to do with BREXIT. It’s another outdoor rock concert with this one taking place at the York Sports Club on Shipton Road over 3 days next June. The Sports Club attracted over 3000 people to a Yorkshire County Cricket match earlier this year with the, mainly mature, audience putting little pressure on transport and policing resources.
Rock concerts are another matter with the highly popular Rod Stewart concert on the Knavesmire a few months ago attracting over 30,000 fans
The organisers claim to have been negotiating the new festival event with the York Council for some time. So we will expect to learn today how it is intended to prevent noise nuisance problems at an event which will extend into the evening period and which is located relatively close to residential properties..
As we’ve seen at Knavesmire events, alcohol misuse can be an issue at large events in the City. Add in access to (off site) toilet facilities, transport links and street cleanliness and you have a major set of issues which the authorities will have to provide assurances on.
Further details of the York Festival, including ticket availability, can be found at this web site www.york-festival.com
The line up for the annual “music showcase”, held on the Knavesmire each year, has already been announced. Rick Astley will take to the stage after racing concludes on 25th July. There will also be acts performing on the evening of 24th July and 27th June (just a week after the Shipton Road event)
The Yorkshire Cricket Club – whose fixture list is announced tomorrow – have already said that they will be returning to Shipton Road next summer. This is likely to be for a couple of one day games (although hopefully not on a pitch which has had the Glastonbury wet weather treatment!)
It’s nearly a year since the York Council agreed to produce a strategy or “Narrative”
It’s aim was to “Attract new Inward Investment through the Promotion of our Historic Assets and development of shared vision for York”. Some of the background information on which the decision was based was redacted before being presented to the meeting.
It was unclear how much the project would cost and how the costs would be divided between the City and a local business rates pool which is supervised by the Leeds City Region (LCR) organisation.
The Council successfully bid for a £660,000 share of the pool.
The lack of transparency attracted a lot of criticism with
many believing that the City’s attractions were already evident and that what
was needed was a selective promotional push.
A meeting
in January heard that the LCR contribution had been agreed.
It became clear that the local promoters of the initiative were
“York Mediale”
The report said “The
bids specifically fund the Mediale Team to deliver these programmes in order to
ensure that Mediale becomes not just a biennial festival but plays a wider role
in maximising York’s designation as a UNESCO City of Media Arts”.
The meeting was told, “it was reported that a full evaluation of the
first Mediale event held last year would be available shortly”.
The new administration elected in May 2019 changed the Councils
financial commitments. The Council was told in May that “The new
prioritisation means we will no longer deliver the digital immersive model or
the range of marketing materials”
The Council subsequently, in September, agreed an
alternative £300,000
package of investment priorities for “inclusive growth”.
The Council did however
also agree to fund a new project called “mycitycentre”.
The output from the “York
Narrative” has been published this week. It includes several conclusions
“Regardless of age, location or relationship with York,
the overwhelming dominate perception of York is that of a beautiful historic
city”.
“Instead of launching externally orientated campaigns, we
recommend telling a different underlying narrative about a city. A story about
how York reinvents itself – that throughout 2,000 years of change, York
residents have prevailed and flourished”.
“It is recommended there is no big bang launch”.
The document highlights several controversial recent initiatives the (failing) Yorspace housing development and the UNESCO City of Media Arts. These share equal ranking with the work of Joseph Rowntree and the emerging York Central development.
For a strategy document it is remarkably anecdotal.
The report pointedly doesn’t say how much the exercise has cost so far although most of the balance of the LCR £660.000 budget (after deducting the £300k for “inclusive growth”) is still unaccounted for.
