We understand that the Post Office on old Front Street is set to close in September. The shop and flat above are advertised for sale.
We hope that a new sub postmaster can be appointed.
This – and other sub post offices – have become more important over the years as local banks have closed their branches.
St Helens Road will be closed for (what seems like) its quarterly dose of road works
This time it is repairs to the gas mains.
The road will be closed between 1st and 14th March
(& yes they will be digging up the section of road that was resurfaced last summer)
A report to a York Council meetings shows its “Make it York” subsidiary could post a £1.2 million loss during the present financial year.
It means that the Directors of the, wholly Council owned, tourist business could be forced to wind up the organisation within the next few weeks.
The Council is being asked to step in and provide a substantial financial subsidy. The proposals include plans to;
MIY normally produces a net income to the Council of around £35,000. The company is responsible for tourist information services in the City, runs the Shambles market, organises special events like the Christmas Fair (cancelled this year) and promotes the City as a business destination.
Private sector membership of the organisation has collapsed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic with the hospitality industry being one of the hardest hit. Redundancies at MIY are expected.
The immediate hit on the Councils budget will be the loss of income from the Shambles market. This will be in the order of £474,000. That figure may grow substantially if the organisations recovery plan is not successful during the next few years.
MIY is the second tourist organisation to seek taxpayers help. The Council agreed to provide a further £55,000 subsidy for Welcome to Yorkshire at its last meeting.
Some good news from Acomb with an announcement that the York Road/Front Street branch of Lloyds bank will remain open “until further notice”.
The bank – the last branch in Acomb – was due to close in June.
The decision may help with post pandemic regeneration efforts in the Front Street commercial area.
We suspect that the closure has only been delayed but the decision is a welcome one nevertheless.
With almost breath taking arrogance, the York Council has issued a statement saying that the closure of the southbound lane at Bishopthorpe Road shops will continue for another 2 months.
There has been no debate about other options and a large petition – which asked for the road to be reopened – has been ignored.
No report on the success or otherwise of what the Council describes as a “trial” has been published.
One of the earliest criticisms of the scheme was that the Council had failed to identify how the success or otherwise of the project would actually be judged. It simply referred, rather loftily, to social distancing and government policy.
In reality, the array of bollards has made little difference to social distancing while the contraflow bike lane has introduced another, unwelcome, hazard for cyclists. There has been no consideration of opening up parallel routes (Darborough Street/Cherry Street & St Benedict’s Road) which would at least have provided a much shorter diversion
Nor has the opportunity been taken, during a relatively quiet period, to test an off peak pedestrianisation of the shops area between 10:30am and 4:00pm. Such a scheme would also have aligned with the governments policies while also providing much more room for social distancing. The impacts both economic and on transportation would have provided some real food for thought.
Too late now though, as imminent road works in the Nunnery Lane area are set to cause even bigger traffic congestion problems with the bus services one likely early victim. Works on the nearby South Bank flood alleviation scheme (subject to a planning committee decision next week) will further add to transport woes in the area.
Not content with increasing pollution levels on Scarcroft Road the new diversion via the City centre will add over a mile to some journeys.
The Council says that residents can Email them with their views. The address is Bishrd@york.gov.uk
We doubt that many will bother. Rather the pressure for the Council to adopt an open and inclusive approach to decision making will mount. The Council leadership needs to move out of its bunker mentality and start to re-engage with the local community.
We saw in 2015 what happened when a particularly stubborn administration tried to force the Lendal Bridge closure on an unwilling population.
The same will happen again unless polices and attitudes change and change quickly.
It looks like Minster FM – York’s local commercial radio station – may be replaced by a national feed from something called “Greatest Hits Radio”.
Leaving aside whether the nation might now have a surfeit of popular music channels, such a move would be bad news for the City if it were to lose such an important source of independent local news.
The Minster FM team, more than any other local broadcast, newspaper or digital channels, has been supportive of community groups. That support and publicity would be badly missed.
The coronavirus scare has been problematic for all media businesses which are reliant on advertising income. We suspect that there may be more bad news in the pipeline.
Even the non advertising dependent BBC is not without its problems. The Cummings plan to change the way that license fee income is generated is the most obvious.
If the “Greatest Hits Radio” plan is just to pad out the 24/7 coverage with some periods of nationally sourced music, then so be it.
But the local news, and the stations business/community support work, needs to be sustained in some way.
If it isn’t, then there will be pressure to provide a replacement service using a digital channel.
Micklegate Bar
City of York Council is introducing new restrictions on Micklegate from Monday 10 December, to prevent vehicles travelling outbound from the city and reduce the impact of traffic on the historic bar walls.
A statement from the York Council says,
“A call for the outbound closure of Micklegate Bar was debated by councillors at a Full Council meeting on 19 July. Following this, a report was taken to a transport and planning decision session meeting on 13 September, to take these proposals forward.
This has paved way for an experimental Traffic Regulation order (TRO) to be introduced for a maximum of 18 months, during which time the changes could become permanent.
The TRO will help determine the benefits of restricting vehicles in Micklegate and will allow the local community and businesses the opportunity to experience the changes before making representations.
During this 18 month period, there will be an outbound road closure only (cycle access will be available in both directions). This means the road will be open to inbound traffic through Micklegate Bar from Blossom Street/Nunnery Lane/Queen Street.
Signage will be installed at Micklegate Bar, with temporary information signs placed on all approaches”.
During the debate on the plan concerns were expressed about increased traffic congestion on alternative routes. Some traders feared a reduction in “drop in” trade.
The Council has also announced major road works on the alternative inner ring road route which passes the railway station. It is expected that the Queen Street bridge will be demolished as part of that programme of works.
For more information about the scheme, a report from the decision session on Thursday 13 September can be read at: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=738&MId=10859 “
Morrell House, Burton Stone Lane
Residents, their relatives and staff at one of City of York Council’s older people’s homes – Morrell House – are being consulted on the option to close the home, as part of plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city.
The plans look to address the needs of York’s growing and ageing older population, by providing modern facilities which allow high quality care and quality of life, but also increasing the quantity of accommodation available.
It also aims to make the best use of the city’s existing extra care housing, making it more accessible for people with higher care needs by increasing the support available at each venue and by replacing out-dated older people’s homes, with more modern accommodation.
Significant progress is being made to deliver over 900 new units of accommodation with care for older people across York with both private and public sector investment.
This progress includes the £4m extension of Glen Lodge, providing 27 new homes, which was completed last year and work being done to build a care home at the Burnholme health and wellbeing campus.
This and plans to extend Marjorie Waite Court with 33 new homes are just some of the schemes taking place across the city which will bring much needed improved accommodation for older people to the city.
Martin Farran, corporate director for health, housing and adult social care at City of York Council, said:
“Whilst residents, their families and staff at Morrell House are rightly proud of their home, we recognise that there is a need for more modern accommodation for older people.
“We understand that this consultation process can be an unsettling one and will be working closely with the residents, their families and staff to make sure they have the support and advice they need.
“Our focus remains on supporting our residents. The actions we take now will ensure that they – and future generations – will have the best possible quality of life, with greater access to modern accommodation across the city.”
Residents, their relatives and staff have already been informed of the proposals. Over the next six weeks residents and relatives will be consulted on their views and any preferences they have about where they would like to move to should the home be closed.
The results of the consultations will be presented to the Executive on Thursday 26 April.
Imphal Barracks
The Liberal Democrats are, once again, calling on the MOD to provide greater clarity regarding the closures of Queen Elizabeth and Imphal Barracks, in order to provide assurances to those affected in the community.
Cllr Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat Councillor and Interim Deputy Leader of City of York Council, has written to the Secretary of State to seek urgent clarification on the potential impact of non-military personnel and employment in the city.
Both barracks are valued by the City and many residents are proud of York’s connection with the armed forces. With the planned closures in place, local communities have questioned the future of the sites and the personnel associated with them.
Although decisions regarding military personnel are currently underway; the Liberal Democrats are requesting assurances to be given for other staff in the barracks, such as civil servants, so that they can remain in York and not
Andrew Waller
be removed from the local community.
Cllr Andrew Waller said:
“York is proud of its relationship with the armed forces and residents place great worth on the contribution both barracks make to the community.
The closures of Queen Elizabeth and Imphal barracks have significant and negative implications on the City of York, the people within those communities and on jobs connected to the barracks.
It is for this reason; I have written to the Secretary of State, Gavin Williamson MP, to request clarification and assurances from the MOD on the future of non-military personnel at these sites.
In my capacity as Interim Deputy Leader, I have also offered assistance, where possible, to help ensure civilian staff have suitable sites and office accommodation to remain in York.”
Woolnough House
A Council statement reads, “as part of our drive to improve the quality and choice of care for older people in the city, we are consulting with residents of Woolnough House on its future.
Residents, their relatives and staff at one of City of York Council’s older people’s homes – Woolnough House – are being consulted on the option to close the home in late 2017, as part of plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city.
The plans seek to address the needs of York’s fast-growing older population, by providing modern facilities which allow high quality care and quality of life. It also aims to make the best use of the city’s existing extra care housing, making it more accessible for people with higher care needs by increasing the support available at each venue and by replacing the council’s four out-dated older people’s homes, with more modern accommodation”.
The news comes as work nears completion on 25 new extra care apartments and two bungalows at Glen Lodge in Heworth.
Each of the council’s older people’s homes was assessed against a number of criteria to determine which homes should be consulted on for closure first.
Three older people’s homes – Grove House, Oakhaven and Willow House – closed in the past 17 months as part of the programme.
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