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Major changes to pedestrian hours in York City centre

No consultation prior to “behind closed doors” decision

Pedestrian hours in York City centre will be extended from 10:30am to 8:00pm, 7 days a week. Currently they end at 4:00pm each day.

The scheme will extend to include Fossgate and Goodramgate.

Cyclists will be able to slalom through some of the affected streets.

The Council leadership claims the move is aimed at helping “traders” and says cafes and pubs will be able to “set up tables on the public highway more easily”. The change was agreed yesterday only hours after alcohol fuelled disorder returned to City centre streets.

Disabled people will be badly affected. They can no longer access the City centre streets and have so far snubbed the additional parking spaces – and free taxi service – set up at the Monk Bar car park

The Council have also failed to address the confusion over their “free parking” offer which applies to some car parks in July and August. It got off to a confused start at the weekend.

The Council says that the following public toilets are now offering a contactless payment option and will be open until 10pm

St George’s Field
Coppergate Shopping Centre –
Exhibition Square
Silver Street (contactless from next week)

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the Councils recent transport and other decisions reflect the wishes of either the majority of residents or of the business community. Not surprisingly out of town shopping centres seem to be recovering much more quickly from the lock-down recession, leaving the city centre vulnerable to fanciful and ill considered social engineering experiments.

Goose GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY — New pedestrian rules imposed by Junta

What is increasingly intolerable is the failure of the Councils democratic systems. There is no reason why notice of this proposal could not have been published in advance with a decision subsequently taken at a publicly accessible meeting.

Instead it exploited an emergency delegation scheme which was intended to take the City through the worst phase of the lock-down.

The Council own “scrutiny” system has also once again been found wanting with meetings, which took place yesterday, failing to effectively challenge the decisions of the secretive “junta” which now dictates to York residents.

Changes to pedestrian hours may well be something that York people would want to trial. This option could have been included on a list as part of the Councils so called “big conversation” survey.

Are You a Confident or Overconfident Boss? Here's How to Tell - WSJ

It wasn’t, so we don’t know peoples views.

However, given the failures of the last few weeks, they will not forgive quickly those who chose to impose their views in such a discourteous and arbitrary way.

Hob Moor youngsters leave lasting mark on Centre of Excellence on Ascot Way

Children from York have left a lasting mark on an innovative new building.

The Centre for Excellence will provide disabled children, young people and their families with community and overnight short breaks along with support from a wide range of professionals including clinical psychologists.

Children from the adjacent Hob Moor Primary Academy and Hob Moor Oaks school were asked to help with the construction by laying the first bricks and signing their names on the steel which forms the structure of the building.

The scheme – one of the first of its kind in the country – is a partnership between City of York Council and NHS England. It will enable many children and young people with complex needs to access the help and support they and their families need in York.

The brick laying and steel-signing marks a key stage of the project, which should be completed by summer 2020.

The project is being delivered by Sewell Construction.

Philippa Hughes, Housing Lead for the NHS Learning Disability and Autism Programme in Yorkshire and Humber, said: “The NHS is delighted to support this much needed development in the city of York. It’s heartening to see so many school children contributing to a build which will allow so many of their peers to live full and meaningful lives in their communities.”

Martin Standley, Sewell Construction Project Manager, said: “We feel it’s really important for the children to have as much insight as possible into what’s happening close to their school. This helps feed their curiosity but also helps them understand why it’s so important to stay safe near a building site.

“Building the Centre of Excellence and redeveloping Lincoln Court is a real honour for Sewell Construction so we knew that the children would be just as proud to get involved and make their mark on the site.”

Richard Ludlow, chief executive of Ebor Academy Trust, which operates the Hob Moor academies, said: “We are fully supportive of City of York Council’s forward thinking plans for this Centre of Excellence and I’m pleased they have allowed our children to be a part of it. True partnership working is always at the heart of successful collaborative ventures.”

Councillor Ian Cuthbertson, City of York Council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “The Centre of Excellence is a landmark building for York, providing a base where children and young people with complex needs and disabilities can receive help and support from a wide range of professionals within the city.

“I’m delighted that local school children have had the chance to put their mark on the building and to be involved at this point in the construction.”

Proposals for disabled parking on Piccadilly published

City of York Council has published proposed changes which would introduce new disabled parking to Piccadilly.

The changes were approved by the council’s Executive earlier this year following extensive consultation over the impact of new counter-terrorism measures to protect people using the city centre.

Three traffic regulation orders have been published, proposing:

1) Converting the current pay and display section between Lloyds Bank and Brighthouse into:

Blue Badge parking between 11am and 6am (overnight)
Loading bay from 6am to 11am
2) Converting the existing taxi rank on the opposite side of the road to:

Blue badge parking 11am to 6pm
Taxi rank 6pm to 6am (overnight)
Loading bay 6am to 11am
A third order allows any vehicle displaying a valid disabled person’s badge to access Piccadilly beyond the Merchangate junction – a practicality so that blue badge holders are actually able to access the new parking spaces.

These should create room for up to seven vehicles displaying valid badges to park between 11am and 6am, and another two from 11am to 6pm on the taxi rank side of the road.

The cycle parking on Piccadilly remains unchanged.

The proposals and the reasons behind them can be inspected at Reception, West Offices, Station Rise, York, during normal business hours.

Objections or other representations specifying reasons for the objection or representation should be sent in writing to arrive no later than 27 December 2019.

Director of Economy and Place
Network Management, West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA
Email: highway.regulation@york.gov.uk
If objections are received, the proposals will be considered at a decision session for the Executive Member for Transport in early 2020.

You can view Executive’s original decision here while the consultation results and proposed mitigation measures are contained within Annex B.

NB. The future of the Airspeed site when the Spark container village leaves next summer has yet to be decided. It has been suggested that it could also be used for disabled car parking.

“Sliding bollards” plan for York City centre

Temporary measures introduced to protect York’s busiest city centre spaces from terrorist attacks could be made permanent by City of York Council next week.

The Council’s Executive will consider the results of a trial restricting vehicle access to the busiest city centre streets during footstreet hours (10:30-17:00) at its meeting next Thursday (29 August)

The Councils consultation revealed major conflicts with the wishes of groups representing disabled people

More disabled parking is planned for Piccadilly

It has been criticised by a former Tory Councillor who said on social media “Almost everyone wants to pedestrianise our city centre. It should be about improving it and supporting business growth in difficult times…not terrorism”

Changes were introduced last November following police counter terrorism advice for long-term measures to combat the ongoing threat of ‘vehicle as weapon attacks’ like those seen recently in Toronto, London and Nice.

If approved, a sliding bollard system would restrict access to Parliament Street, St Sampson’s Square, High Ousegate and Spurriergate, Coney Street, Davygate, Finkle Street, Church Street and Jubbergate during footstreet hours (10:30-17:00).

“Sliding” bollards are planned for the entrances to several streets.

The Executive introduced the measures on a temporary basis to allow for work to understand the impact of restricted access on key groups, including disabled people and others with limited mobility within a core part of the city centre.

The council commissioned studies of how blue badge parking changed throughout the period, alongside a series of workshops with individuals and groups representing disabled people in York.

In addition to the available parking on the streets next to the restricted area, the executive will consider mitigation proposals including:

• continued access to St Sampson’s Square for Dial and Ride services

• creating blue badge parking on the traffic-restricted section of Piccadilly, and converting the taxi rank to blue badge parking during the day time (10:00-18:00)

• extending the parking time restrictions outside Explore on Museum Street from 2 to 3 hours

• supporting marketing efforts for alternative services like Shopmobility and Dial and Ride

*If approved, the Piccadilly changes would be subject to a traffic regulation order change. The proposed changes would be advertised for up a three week period to allow for objections before a decision can be made.

Experiments with rising bollards in the past in York have encountered reliability issues. Reliability and maintenance costs are not considered in trhe Council report.

City centre future

The same meeting will consider launching a consultation exercise on the future of the City centre retail area. The area has change a lot in recent years with several shops being replaced by pubs and restaurants.

Problems with drunken behaviour have increased.

If approved, an engagement exercise “following the principles of early and ongoing public involvement, pioneered on the Castle Gateway regeneration scheme”, would begin in the new year.

This would deliver a “strategic vision for the city centre to guide future development, regeneration and investment decisions”.

The proposal has the support of the York BID and “Make it York”.

The Council report fails to address the needs of sub-urban high streets like Front Street

£70,000 investment to refurbish city centre toilets

Works to update the Silver Street facilities will start on Monday 5 November. They are expected to take around two weeks to complete – ahead of the lead up to the Christmas festivities and St Nicholas Fair.

The refurbishment will be carried out in stages, once Silver St is completed, works will then start on Coppergate. The disabled toilets (changing places) and market traders’ toilets at Silver Street will be refurbished first, followed by other facilities. There will be a full closure of Silver Street from Monday 5 November for two weeks.

There will be signage in place signposting visitors to alternative city centre facilities, which include Coppergate, Exhibition Square and Rougier Street.

The work will be managed by Healthmatic, the council’s toilet management contractor, who will be investing their money and time in the sites as well.

(more…)

City centre security on the council agenda

Plans to protect York’s busiest city centre spaces from the threat of terrorist attacks will be considered by two key council committees over the next fortnight.

York’s busiest city centre spaces are set for increased protection under plans unveiled by the council to combat the threat posed to UK cities by terrorists.

Following a decision by the Executive in February, the council commissioned independent security experts to develop a plan for long-term measures to combat the ongoing threat of ‘vehicle weapon attacks’ like those seen recently in Toronto, London and Nice.

After reviewing all the city centre access points, the report recommends changes in the first ‘priority zone’ including Parliament Street, St Sampson’s Square, High Ousegate and Spurriergate, Coney Street, Davygate, Finkle Street, Church Street and Jubbergate.

Longer-term, this will involve replacing many of the existing temporary measures, such as those at the end of Parliament Street, with permanent fixtures.

The council plans to introduce this as an experimental traffic order, which will give up to six months to understand the impact and work with affected groups like residents, retailers and disabled people.

Before the decision is taken on Thursday 27 September, the Executive has requested that the proposals are presented to today’s Economy and Place Development Committee, so the committee can consider the potential impact that the measures could have on disabled access to the city centre.

Superintendent Lindsey Robson, commander for the York and Selby area, said:

“We’re working with the council to make sure that York has the right security measures in place to keep residents and visitors as safe as possible.

“The national threat level remains severe which means a terrorist attack is highly likely and is likely to come without notice.

“This combined with the shift in methods from complex, coordinated attacks that we’ve seen around the world, to more basic attacks in the UK using hire cars and knives, means that we must do all that we can to protect the city from such attacks.

· “Alongside these physical measures there is a lot going on behind the scenes and we continue to work alongside counter terrorism police to prevent, disrupt and deter dangerous extremists across the country.

“We thank members of the public for their continuing support and although the likelihood of being involved in an attack is low, we urge them to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour or activity to police in confidence on 0800 789 321 or via gov.uk/ACT. In an emergency always call 999.”

The current threat level across the UK from international terrorism remains at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely and the police reiterate the long-standing advice to remain vigilant and alert.

In the rare event of getting caught up in a weapons attack we urge you to follow the Run, Hide, Tell advice. Run to a place of safety rather than to surrender or negotiate. If there’s nowhere to go then hide and don’t confront. Finally, and only when it is safe to do so, tell the police by calling 999.

Disabled social care customers asked to make own transport arrangements in York

184 adult customers requiring transport to reach their social care destinations are still heavily reliant on CYC commissioned support. Over 90% of these are adults with learning disabilities (travelling to centres such as Brunswick Organic Nursery, Greenworks, Pine Trees etc). A small number of older (Long Term Team) customers use commissioned transport to access day care services on a regular basis.

Approximately two thirds of these customers are currently being transported via an in-house fleet of “rapidly ageing” vehicles, whilst one third are transported by shared or individual taxis via a CYC contract with Streamline Taxis.

A Council media release says, “Whilst various options have been considered Councillors are being asked to agree that the council adopts a personalised approach whereby every adult customer is offered a direct payment to make their own transport arrangements, ensuring that transportation is flexible, accessible and tailored to the needs of individuals and communities”.

This is similar to the system introduced a few years ago where the majority of users of home care services are given money to pay for the own choice of provider. It proved to be a popular choice.

If agreed, the changes will see adult customers being offered a transport direct payment and will be able to choose from a range of council approved providers. A dedicated support officer will also be appointed to support the residents for the first 18 months of the new approach and help them develop personal transport plans, helping them be more independent.

The move is expected to cut £272,000 from the social care budget

The Council says its in house fleet will be run down by 2020 and that there may be 6 redundancies. The contract with Steamline taxis will not be renewed.

Each customer would receive on average around £5000 a year to pay for transport (plus mobility payments)

“The recommended model hopes to equip customers with the confidence to take ownership of their requirements and offer them more choice and control over their transport arrangements.

At the meeting councillors will also be asked to agree to the eligibility criteria for access to transport services, and if approved, the closure of the council’s fleet transport service by March 2020, which would reduce incrementally.

The residents would also be able to benefit from free York Independent Living and Travel Skills (YILTS) training to help them to travel independently. The YILTS training has already benefited customers and given them the confidence to travel independently while developing their social and financial skills.

The proposals align with the principles of the Care Act 2014, which aims are to place emphasis on prevention, early intervention and independence. The changes would affect 184 customers, of whom 26 are already travelling independently and a third travel through shared or individual taxis. All will be assisted via the dedicated support officer and access the free YILTS training.

Martin Farran, corporate director for health, housing and adult social care said: “With an ageing fleet we need to look at the options available to deliver an efficient and sustainable transport service for our customers. This report looks at options to give social care customers more choice and control over their transport, in lines with the principles of the 2014 care act, so they can take more ownership of their requirements.”

An executive report can be read by clicking here

Disabled parking plan for Reynard’s garage site

Opposition to siting of commercial sea containers grows

Sea containers to be parked on Piccadilly?

Objectors have said that a plan to put sea containers on the Reynard’s garage site on Piccadilly is flawed.

“They are visually intrusive and the proposed 3 year lease represents a very short sighted constraint on the, much needed, redevelopment of the Piccadilly/Castle area.

The City should aspire to much higher standards than are implicit in this project. To place commercial containers in a location which has visual links to both the Castle complex and historic buildings like the Merchant Adventurers Hall would be an unfortunate precedent.

It is far from clear, from the published papers, how the Council could hope to benefit financially from what is a high risk, speculative venture. The proposed uses would also be in competition with other existing businesses such as the, still relatively new, Shambles market hospitality area”.

It has been suggested that in the short term, the land be used for blue badge vehicle parking. “It is slightly perplexing why this option wasn’t implemented in the early autumn when the demolition works were completed”.

Allocation of the site as a (free) disabled parking area has the advantage of requiring little investment (save for signage) and would ease the pressures on both the Castle car park – which is busy in the run up to Christmas at least – and some City centre streets.

Reynard’s Garage site

The site is closer to City centre amenities and principal shops than other car parks and would therefore be a boon for the disabled.

Those parts of the former garage site which cannot be used for parking cars (because of the configuration) could accommodate cycle racks – again taking pressure off the oversubscribed facilities on Parliament St. The site has the advantage of CCTV security cover.

The Council has been struggling to find a viable plan to regenerate the Piccadilly area for nearly 20 years.

If the Council cannot bring its “Southern Gateway” project to fruition in less than 3 years, then invitations to tender for use of the land on a medium-term basis should be publicly advertised.

Any proposals can then be properly judged in a transparent way and in the confident knowledge that all businesses and organisations will have had the opportunity to put their case forward and on a level playing field.

Nine Children’s Centres in York under threat

The council says it is “planning to make Children’s Centre services a key part of new Local Area Teams being created to support families in the crucial early years of a child’s life and through into adulthood (up to 19 years old or 25 years old for disabled young people)”.

However, the consultation talks – in the small print – about exploring “for each of our buildings if transferring ownership and management to partners and communities could save money but still ensure services for families“.

It is clear that the Council plans to de-register its children’s centres and hand the buildings over to third parties including possibly the burgeoning number of independent “Academy” schools.

Effectively parents and neighbours would lose their influence over how – or even if – the centres operate.

The Council line is that they will “locate services in local communities – providing access to community health services, parenting and family support, early education and childcare, as well as links to training and employment opportunities for families with children aged under five.

The consultation is being shared with service users and professionals across the city. The proposals recognise that the council needs to be able to help those in most need at the earliest possible stage, so that every child in York has the best possible start in life, that issues in later life are prevented and so that the need for more intensive and high-cost interventions are reduced.

As part of the new approach for families the proposals are that the council will:

•Ensure support for all families through Health Visitors, good quality childcare and groups for families that provide social, supportive and developmental activities.
• Do more when families need us most which could be as simple as talking to someone, through to support around post-natal depression or domestic abuse.
• Make the best use of existing buildings and staff. Every year over 20 per cent of the Children’s Centre budget is spent on the buildings. The proposals are to reduce this in order to maximise the number of staff working with families, where the families need them”.

Peasholme Centre to tackle more challenging homeless cases

The Council is being asked to agree that in future the Peaseholme centre on Fishergate accepts more challenging homeless cases.

In future “more chaotic/ high risk customers who are also vulnerable” may be directed to the centre and could remain there for longer period of time.

Details of the changes can be read by clicking here

The Council describes the services that it currently provides at the centre as “a supported accommodation centre for 22 people, staffed 24 hours a day. It is situated at 4 Fishergate and caters for single homeless men and women or couples without children.

The hostel is primarily referral based (from another project of self referrals). All offers of accommodation are subject to a risk assessment.

All residents are from York or have a local connection to York.

Residents are at a stage in their lives where they want to move towards more stable long-term accommodation options.
(more…)

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