The York Council has belatedly updated its open data page to show how many fines were levied for littering during the quarter ending in December 2019.
It is however refusing to release numbers for the final quarter (to the end of March 2020) and the first quarter of 20/21. The latter includes the time when lock-down restrictions were eased and the now infamous “riverside party” season started. The latter sparked a wave of complaints about anti social behaviour and indiscriminate littering by a minority of visitors.
The Council says that the March stats will be published later in July but residents will have to wait until at least September before they can judge how effectively anti littering enforcement staff performed in June.
The above is just one example of poor management. Other performance indicators also haven’t been updated since last year.
Most should have been updated before the health crisis started. Another example is the decision to stop publishing the number of fines levied on drivers misusing the Coppergate bus lane (which stopped last October) .
Meanwhile, fly tipping continues to be an issue in several locations
Rubbish being left next to recycling containers in west YorkDumping in Council garage area
We had hoped that work on keeping paths and hard surfaced areas free of weed growth would be more successful than last year.
Despite treatment starting over a month ago it does look like several areas have again been missed off the programme.
Local residents have treated parts of some problem areas to test how long proprietary weedkillers take to clear undergrowth off paths and forecourts.
If the treatment is successful then there will be some serious questions for the Council to answer about their performance.
Weeds on Kingsway garage areaKingsway garage areaHotham Avenue weedsResidents have started to clear the weeds from round the trees near Herman Walk. Three of the trees ate dead and we hope to see them replaced in the autumn Playgrounds still closed because of the health crisis. We hope that the Council will have repaired the equipment before the Chesney Field area is brought back into useStill some dumping around. We’ve reported this trolley which was left in the Chapelfields areaWe’ve also reported rubbish left on Askham Lane (rural)
Good work by volunteers has seen attractive flower beds established at the Foxwood Community Centre. The beds are “bee friendly”. Residents are being urged to recognise the needs of pollinators when selecting their border plants this year. Lists can be found on the RHS wen site and can be downloaded from these links;
Most garden centres have now reopened. In addition the Poppleton Community Railway Nursery charity is continuing to offer a service click for their catalogue There will be someone on the nursery at these times Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9.30 to 3.30. and Thursday 9.30 to 1.00. To avoid disappointment you can ring the nursery mobile 07800 501382 or the land line 01904 797623
Flower beds at the Foxwood Community Centre
The Bad
Less impressive has been the response in dealing with obstructions to foot and cycle paths. The Tadcaster Road cycle path has been reported on several occasions. As a result of weed and hedge overgrowth, it has now been reduced to less than 1 metre wide in some places (making “social distancing” more difficult).
Tadcaster Road cycle track obstructed.Similar problem on another main access route into the City. The path on the A59 near Poppleton is obstructed forcing users to walk or cycle on the highway.
The Ugly
Sadly there has been an increase in fly tipping. Below is a country lane near Tadcaster photographed today (Monday). The tipping has been reported to the Selby District Council.
Explore is supporting a fantastic initiative using 3D printers to print safety visors to a design used across Europe and distributing them to frontline workers in York. The project is being led in York by two of Explore Labs digital makers.
Working as a collective they are mobilising local makers to use their skills and equipment to support frontline workers in the fight against Covid-19. Explore York has loaned the project three 3D printers and there is a network of at least 50 more printers today from a standing start of just two printers a week ago.
If you have a 3D-Printer and want to get involved, email interactandconnect@gmail.com with ‘I have a 3D printer’ in the subject line.
If you live in York or the surrounding area and need a visor, email interactandconnect@gmail.com with ‘visor please’ in the subject line. If you don’t live in York they will try and help you find a 3D-Printing group in your area.
The Council is urging residents not to fly tip or burn green waste during the current crisis.
Unfortunately there is still no mechanism, where those with mainly hard-surfaced gardens, can get composting containers. This was raised with the Council several weeks ago when the possibility of the green waste collections being suspended was first highlighted.
With the growing season now upon us, we expect to see the Council issuing advice to the owners of hedges bordering public footpaths to keep them trimmed back. This is essential to assist in implementing the social distancing guidelines
NB Waste crews are working as normal this Easter bank holiday to collect household waste and recycling.
Coronavirus response live stream
Four of the leaders of North Yorkshire’s
police, fire and crime response to the Coronavirus pandemic will give an and
take questions from residents and businesses, in a live broadcast tomorrow
(Tuesday 7 April):
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime
Commissioner Julia Mulligan will lead the live update with:
Chief Constable Lisa Winward – North Yorkshire Police
Chief Fire Officer Andrew Brodie – North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
Richard Flinton – Chief Executive of North Yorkshire County Council and Chair of the multi-agency North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum
People are invited to watch the meeting from 1.30pm on Tuesday on YouTube and submit questions in advance by emailing info@northyorkshire-pcc.gov.uk, posting on Twitter using the hashtag #NYScrutiny or commenting on Facebook. Not all questions will be able to be used, but they will inform the Commissioner’s questioning and the general discussion.
The Council says that it only issued two Fixed Penalty Notices for littering during 2019.
13 Penalty Notices were issued for fly tipping.
The information comes from a response to a Freedom of Information request recorded in the “What do they know” web site.
With the Council now only updating its register of responses on its own web site every 6 months (and then with headline information only), the independent site is now the only way that residents can keep up to date with the claims being made by the York authority.
Cost of political advisers
The site also reveals the costs of providing “political advisers” for Council Groups.
The figures reveal that costs have almost doubled over the last decade
The advisers are supposed to undertake background policy research to assist Councillors in their duties.
The “rural” part of Askham Lane is looking a bit neglected these days. It is a busy entrance route into the City and it really should be kept tidy and in a good state of repair.
Hopefully when the current issues with flooding have been resolved the area will get an uplift.
Litter in lay bys
More litter
Fridge dumped in field
More litter
Fly tipping sign has little effect
Litter drifts into hedges
Carriageway on the A1237 roundabout approach is badly potholed
Potholes at the Foxwood Lane roundabout are a hazard for cyclists
The York Council is set to deploy CCTV cameras at known fly tipping hotspots. The cameras will not be covert so the immediate effect is likely to be as a deterrent.
Taxpayers face a bill for tens of thousands of pounds each year for cleaning up fly tipping.
The cameras will be come operations on 1st April 2020
Meanwhile the Local Government Association (LGA) has revealed that only 5 per cent of court-imposed fines for fly-tipping offences in England in the past six years were above £1,000, and only a sixth of them above £500.
This is despite fly-tipping incidents soaring by 50 per cent over the same period, up from 714,637 in 2012/13 to 1,072,431 in 2018/19.
The LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, says tougher sentences are needed to deter fly-tipping, which latest figures shows costs councils £58 million a year to clear up.
Only two people have been given the maximum £50,000 fine by the courts for fly-tipping since the Government introduced new guidelines in 2014.
Councils take fly-tipping extremely seriously and are taking increasing enforcement action against the criminals responsible. Councils took action on nearly half a million incidents in 2018/19 – almost 5,000 more than the previous year and up by nearly 75,000 in six years.
Successful prosecutions brought by councils are at their highest level since 2011/12, while fixed penalty notices – issued by councils for smaller fly-tipping cases – are at record levels. Seizure of vehicles – up 51 per cent over the past year – is also at an all-time high.
However, due to demand on councils’ legal duties, such as caring for elderly and disabled people, protecting children and providing homelessness support, less money is available for discretionary powers – like issuing penalty notices for fly-tipping.
The LGA is calling on the Government to work with councils on reviewing guidance to the courts to ensure the worst offenders face tougher sentences, and that councils have the funding needed to investigate and prosecute fly-tippers.
“Investment in waste and environment services to include additional staffing on waste rounds, improved city centre cleaning and effective weed control”. That’s what the York Council is promising in their newly published budget for next year.
In total – over two years – an additional £1 million will be found for a new system of “neighbourhood working”.
This, says the Council, will “improve the waste collection service to residents by increasing the number of green waste collections, adding two extra green waste collections each March from 2021 onwards.
The pilot of 3 free replacement boxes per property will continue and be made permanent.
The Council will develop neighbourhood working models across public realm and waste to better respond to the communities needs building on the success of local management, ownership and responsibility elsewhere in the council.
The Council will work with York Business Improvement District to review how city centre cleansing can be improved. The resilience of the services will be improved by removing the reliance on fixed term staff.
In addition they will invest in the weed control service to increase the areas treated and, in response to the world wide ongoing challenge about the use of glyphosate, will trial alternative methods for dealing with weeds such as foams etc”.
The proposal is short on detail but improvements in cleaning services can’t come soon enough for some sub-urban areas.
Several amenity areas are now overwhelmed by fly tipping and litter.
The Westfield/Grange Lane park and adjacent nature area is a case in point and is particularly bad at present.
Westfield Park which is located between Grange Lane and Westfield Place
Litter in the Tithe Close snicketGraffiti on Bachelor Hill/Gale Lane snicketLitter Tennent Road/Cornlands Road snicketFly tipping on Bachelor Hill/Gale Lane snicket
The Council says that it only issued two Fixed Penalty Notices for littering during 2019.
ith the Council now only updating its 
