“Free” WiFi for Coppergate in time for St Nicholas Fair

City of York Council have expanded the coverage of free 24/7 Child Friendly WiFi across the city to reach Coppergate in time for the St Nicholas Fair.

Residents, visitors and businesses can log in to CityConnect free Wi-Fi via social media or by completing a simple on-line registration form when prompted.

York’s WiFi network has been available in the city centre since 2014 and already reaches multiple areas of high footfall which include Bishopthorpe Road and Acomb’s Front Street, as well as the park and ride and regional bus service.

Roy Grant, Head of ICT and Digital Services said; “We’re glad to announce the arrival of free Wifi in the area of Coppergate just in time for the festive season.

“With our excellent digital infrastructure, and the arrival of Christmas visitors and shoppers, it’s important we utilise our connectivity to benefit businesses across the city.”

York’s CityConnect WiFi is the first in the world to have ‘Friendly Wi-Fi’ accreditation; acknowledging the networks level of filtering and that access to pornography and child abuse websites, videos and images are blocked.

Free Wi-Fi is available in the CityConnect zones across the city, as well as in:
• libraries
• corporate buildings
• community buildings (BDUK)
• our older people’s homes

To find out more about the free Wifi across York please visit: https://www.york.gov.uk/FreeWiFi

Free recycling boxes offered for kerbside collections as part of a six month pilot

In a bid to encourage even more residents to recycle, householders in York will be offered up to three free replacement recycling boxes for their kerbside collections from next week.

City of York Council originally outlined plans to introduce a pilot scheme back in November, when the proposals were taken to a meeting for approval here

As well as providing an update on the York Community Recycling Fund and initiatives to reduce fly-tipping, approval was also given to undertake a pilot of the recycling boxes, using the £20k already allocated.

The pilot will start on Monday 11 March for up to six months and will offer up to three replacement recycle boxes to households in York.

To find out more information or to order the boxes visit: www.york.gov.uk/ReplacementBins

Garden waste collections will also start again from April, following a break during the winter season.

To find out when collections are due to take place visit: www.york.gov.uk/refuselookup

(more…)

York’s free WiFi network reaches Acomb’s Front Street

York’s Cityconnect WiFi has expanded its network out to the suburbs this week, as Acomb’s Front Street has gone live to join the city-wide network.

Front Street serves as a strategic location for the expanding network as it sits central to the suburb of Acomb which is home to a population of over 22,000.

 

This, the latest CityConnect expansion, incorporates Front Street into a network covering York’s city centre, Bishopthorpe Road and all 6 of the city’s Park & Ride terminals. This is in addition to the public WiFi available in 14 libraries and 41 council owned buildings.

The CityConnect wireless connection is available 24/7, 365 days of the year, and is completely free to log in to and use. The expansion of CityConnectWiFi comes at no cost to the city’s council and helps to further develop York as a digital city. The network allows those who pass through the public space to access the network from their phone, tablet or any other wireless device and can support high quality streaming services such as BBC iPlayer.

This latest expansion of the CityConnect WiFi, is one of many initiatives which have taken place over the past few years to further York’s digital infrastructure.

Free office furniture and supplies on offer to York charities

Charities and voluntary organisations in York are being offered the chance to bag free furniture and office supplies.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The items are surplus to requirement because of the closure of the Castlegate building in the city centre.

It used to be the home of the council’s young people’s support and advice team, but staff have moved to a new base at 30 Clarence Street.

Desks, chairs, bookshelves, metal display boards, waste bins and rugs are all available being offered to a new home as well as small items such as monitor risers, pen pots and leaflet holders.

A special ‘open house’ event has been arranged at the Castlegate building from 1pm to 2.30pm on Tuesday 29 August, for interested charities to view what is available.

It is the responsibility of the charity to arrange collection of items with Katie Williams-Harris who will be onsite at the open house on the day. The items are intended for offices of a charitable organisations.  They are not intended for personal use at home.

New 30 hour free childcare offer for York families

This Early Implementers programme – announced in York in February this year – has City of York Council as one of the first areas in England to offer 30 hours free childcare support to parents, so they can balance work with their family lives.

ChildcareYork is one of eight areas across the country to be chosen following huge demand from local areas to take part in delivering the offer a year early. The offer means that an additional 15 hours free childcare is available for many working parents of three- and four-year-olds in the area, as long as they earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum or living wage.

The eight areas that were chosen to lead the way – including York, Wigan, Staffordshire, Swindon, Portsmouth, Hertfordshire, Newham and Northumberland – are involved in getting the programme’s delivery right, so that the rest of the country can hit the ground running in September 2017.

In York, 166 providers have signed up to the pilot. This represents 72 per cent of the city’s schools, day nurseries, play groups, childminders and independent schools committing to the programme.

The 30 hour free childcare offer builds on the investment being made in childcare – rising from £5 billion to £6 billion per year by 2020. The aim is to make it easier for parents to work and earn more in the years before their children start school and will also provide a financial boost to working parents who already pay for childcare. Parents will also be able to reserve places ahead of time – before their child turns three – to ensure their working patterns are not disrupted.

Parents or providers interested in finding out more about what this offer means for them can visit: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

Lesley Calvert is the manager of Funfishers pre-school and out of school club, a charitable provider based on the Fishergate Primary School site. She said: “I think the programme will be of positive benefit to working parents who have to manage childcare bills. As a setting, I’m confident that through working with other providers and the local authority within our partnership, we will make the pilot a success and enable its rollout in September 2017.”