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Tour de France “App” launched

TdF app

Amidst growing concern about the escalating cost of staging the Tour de France start in York, the Council has launched a new mobile phone “app”.

It is called Cycle Yorkshire Ride The Routes.

Enabling cyclists to experience the Tour de France route from their mobile, the app is designed around the Yorkshire stages of the Grand Départ and encompasses information on the routes, hints and tips on how to cycle specific sections and general rural cycling road safety advice.

The information is presented in short videos on the app and text (for areas where mobile signal is limited). The film clips show Jamie Sharp (Semi pro rider for Team Hope) cycling each section with Jonathan Cowap (BBC York Radio Presentator) providing the advice and information in the voice over.

The app has been created as part of an ongoing Regional Safer Cycling Project that is the work of a Partnership Team, made up of representatives of every Yorkshire & Humber Road Safety Partnership.

Lead by City of York Council on behalf of the region. Kathryn Mackay, Road Safety Project Officer at City of York Council, said, “The app is aimed at all those cyclists and groups who are coming to Yorkshire to ride all or part of the Grand Départ routes like their professional heroes.

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Spring clean this week in Foxwood Park

Throughout the first week of the spring volunteers have helped to tidy Clifton and Rawcliffe.

During week two (24-30 March) of the spring clean will be focused on the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward plus the Foxwood park.

Litter in hedgerow Acomb Wood Meadow

Litter in hedgerow Acomb Wood Meadow

The first task of the week will take place on Tuesday from 10am-12noon when a team from The Chase Residents’ Association will be painting play equipment in Nelsons Lane Play area.

On Wednesday from 10am–12:30pm a team from Bootham School will be planting wildflower bulbs and trimming the hedges within the Chapman’s Pond site.

They will then move to Foxwood Park to plant bulbs and tidy up the hedge between 2:15pm -4:30pm.

Thursday will see Friends of Acomb Wood planting trees and litter picking within Acomb Wood. Volunteers who would like to help are asked to meet at 2pm at the Acomb Wood Drive/Quaker Wood Pub entrance.

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Foxwood Park and Acomb Wood volunteers weekend details – 26th and 27th March

Local volunteers will carry out a ‘spring clean’ of the city during March and April.

Volunteers in action in the Foxwood Park earlier in the year

Volunteers in action in the Foxwood Park earlier in the year

The spring clean will consist of various tasks, such as litter clearance, edging off grass verges, cutting back over grown vegetation and fence repairs.

From 24 – 30 March the team will be focusing on the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward, where they will be looking to make a difference to Chapman’s Pond and Foxwood Park making site improvements with help from Bootham School and local groups on March 26.

The Friends of Acomb Wood invite people to help plant new trees on March 27.

Volunteers are being called upon to help spruce up Nelsons Lane play are on March 25.

York residents will also have the opportunity to nominate communal spaces for the team to spruce up and help make a smarter York.

This can be done by going to https://www.york.gov.uk/springclean and adding a new request. Residents and businesses can also volunteer to carry out tasks in their local area.

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School parking camera “spy” van unveiled

City of York Council is introducing a new CCTV road safety camera car to help make children safer on their journey to and from school.

BadgerHillSafetyCar__2_

The car will patrol the area immediately outside schools at pick-up and drop-off times, issuing £70 Fixed Penalty Notices to cars parked illegally – and unsafely – from next month.

The scheme is being brought in following concerns from head teachers about dangerous parking outside their schools and forms part of a wider initiative – the Parents’ Parking Pledge – which encourages parents and carers across York to pledge their support to parking safely and considerately when taking their children to and from school.

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Adoption information event

City of York Council is hosting one of its regular Information Events for anyone interested in finding out more about adoption next week (Monday 3 March).

The information events, which are help jointly with North Yorkshire County Council and East Riding Council, provide an informal opportunity to anyone interested in adoption to find out more about what’s involved.

The next information session will be held at West Offices in York on Monday 3 March between 6.30 and 8.00pm. To book a place please  call 01904 553525or email adoption@york.gov.uk

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York Policing update

Vital witnesses to York pasty shop burglary urged to come forward

Detectives investigating a burglary at a shop in York city centre are appealing for some potentially vital witnesses to come forward.

Sometime between 5.50am and 6am on Tuesday 18 February 2014, thieves broke into the Cornish Pasty Bakery on Colliergate and stole a safe containing a quantity of cash.

Following extensive enquiries officers have established that the suspects were loitering outside the shop prior to the incident.

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Tour caravan woe for Monk Stray?

Caravan and camping site planned

Monk Stray

Monk Stray

It appears that the York Council are going to approve the use of Monk Stray as a huge camping and caravan site to service the needs of Tour de France visitors.

Although there has been no consultation with local Councillors or residents, notices posted in the area suggest that the facility will be open for around a month.

The actual TdF start event in the City lasts only 2 days.

Most had expected camping facilities to be located closer to the Knavesmire where the start takes place.

Meanwhile the Council is remaining tight lipped on how it proposes to recoup at least some of the £1.6 million that it is putting into the event. At the last Council meeting, details were promised in “January” but they have not emerged.

The York Council taxpayers subsidy is the largest agreed by any Local Authority in the region.

The official Tour web site is markedly silent on issues like car parking and sponsorship.

Protests over lap dancing club licence in York

Over 100 protestors  assembled last week to oppose the renewal of a lap dancing clubs licence in York.

The club operator Andrew Whitney – who stood unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in the Heworth Ward by election in 2009 – said that failure to renew the license would result in 40 lap dancers losing their jobs.

Most of the protesters were friends and relatives of the dancers. They claimed that the girls were being politically harassed during their work stints, and that this amounted to a cruel and unusual punishment.

Vote Tory ban red

One visitor to the club was Ann “the knife” Mac (not her real name) who was auditioning following losing her North Yorkshire job.

On leaving the club after her interview she commented , “ What relevance my views on the Common Agricultural Policy have for this job I’m not sure. However it makes a change from endless discussions about the impact that Bulgarian sheep imports are having on the Thirsk economy”.

Anther dancer Pneumatic Nell (her real name), revealed what went on in the club.

“ I first realised the club was different when, shortly after starting a dance for a customer, Andy came up to me and asked me to sign a petition which sought an immediate referendum on EC membership”.

“On another occasion Andy shouted out  “Keynes is dead”. I though he meant that my customer had had a heart attack but it turned out he just wanted to emphasise the importance of monetary policy to the UK economy”.

“ I’m now planning to have what the Leader of the Council calls a community conversation.

After the dance, I’ll ask him what he intends to do to clean up York politics”