The government has revised its statsto show an additional positive test result in the York area on 29th June. This took the cumulative total to 899.
There has still not been any comment from the authorities about the success or otherwise of the contact tracing process in the local area. The next meeting of the York Councils “outbreak management board” is not due to take place for another week.
The cumulative total of deaths at York Trust hospitals remains at 214.
Where is the plan?
Some traders are reporting that takings yesterday were down compared to the previous Saturday.
The Council has been criticised for multiple failures with its parking strategy. It appears that the “phone only” 2 hours free parking was not applied if a shopper tried to pay for an extra hour (they were liable to be billed at full rate for the first 2 hours).
As we said when the scheme first started it was simply to complicated to be understood by casual visitors (even assuming that they had downloaded the mobile RingGo parking app).
Key shoppers car parks like Castle & Marygate were excluded from the scheme.
The Council compounded the problem by saying that the Castle car park would be closed, but without saying when. (They need to forget that idea for at least 12 months. This would give the City centre economy time to recover and for alternatives to become established)
Some traders have suggested that there should be free parking at all car parks from 3:00pm each day. That would at least have the merit of being understandable (and would also help the evening economy).
The Councils’ preferred alternative transport mode – cycling- still suffers from a lack of secure parking. This is also an acute issue at some suburban shopping locations.
The provision of additional “social distancing” space – at the expense of highways and car parking – has been largely random. In most cases like Marygate car park the provision has mostly been ignored by users.
In others, contraflow cycle lanes have introduced additional hazards.
All in all then, the lack of a thought through recovery strategy is becoming of more concern each day.
Marketing alone will not be enough.
In an occasional lucid moment the York Council has displayed some advertising flair. Not least with the widely applauded “Don’t be a Tosser” anti litter campaign.
They may also say that people are right to be very cautious about visiting busy locations. They would be right in saying that safety must come first.
But that doesn’t excuse the absence of a 3 – 6 month revitalisation strategy.
As regulations allow; arts, music, poetry, comedy and sports should come to open spaces throughout the City. Sub-urban areas and villages must be included. Most shops, takeaways, restaurants and hairdressers in those areas have now reopened.
They – like the arts – have had little support from the authorities.
A festival atmosphere would provide a huge lift for the morale of residents and visitors alike. It should encompass large visitor magnets like the Minster, Museums and Guildhalls.
Playgrounds in York will start reopening from July 8th
About 80 play areas and outdoor gyms across the city have been closed since mid March. The council will start a phased reopening of playgrounds – with social distancing and risk assessments
Safety barriers have already been removed from some of the equipment on Chesneys Field.
Household waste site appointments being scrapped.
The Council has said that it will shortly discontinue the requirement to book an appointment before a resident visits a household waste site
Council writes to Blue Badge holders
The York Council says that it has written to all 7,500 York Blue Badge Holders this week. The mailing provides details on what support is available to help badge holders access the city centre, including the 40 replacement Blue Badge bays in Monk Bar car park
UPDATED Deaths and test results
1700 hrs UPDATE – The government has now changed the figures on its web site. The cumulative total (at 2/7/20) is now 898 with two additional cases recorded on 29th June and one on 1st July.
The government has finally updated its web site to include “pillar 2” test results. These are the tests carried out at centres like the Poppleton Park and Ride site.
The good news is that, as of 1/7/20, there had been no new positive test results for 4 days in York.
That is the longest period with only negative results since early March.
The source data can be viewed by clicking here. An extract is reproduced below.
The failure of the authorities to make this information available promptly is one of the most disappointing aspects of the current health crisis.
NB. Tests in the UK are carried out through a number of different routes:
Pillar 1: swab testing in Public Health England (PHE) labs and NHS hospitals for those with a clinical need, and health and care workers
Pillar 2: swab testing for the wider population, as set out in government guidance
Pillar 3: serology testing to show if people have antibodies from having had COVID-19
Pillar 4: serology and swab testing for national surveillance supported by PHE, ONS, Biobank, universities and other partners to learn more about the prevalence and spread of the virus and for other testing research purposes, for example on the accuracy and ease of use of home testing
Attention is now likely to switch to the accessibility of information on pillar 3 and 4 data.
We also await the York Councils comments on the success, or otherwise, of local contact tracing arrangements.
As well as the absence of recent positive test results, another piece of good news is that there have been no further deaths at local hospitals (1/7/20) as a result of COVID-19. The last death was recorded on 18th June.
How busy is the City centre?
The “footfall” information for York City centre camera sites is still being updated on the “open data” web site. The data has been criticised over recent months when it was discovered that some cameras had been disconnected and the data company responsible had extrapolated data from other cameras to fill in the gaps.
It is unfortunate that this issue wasn’t remedied before lock-down occurred
Nevertheless it, together with mobile phone activity, is the only measure that we have of the numbers of people visiting the City centre.
The data suggests that, during June, the number of visitors to the City centre had fallen by 84% compared to the same month in 2019.
However, by the final day of the month that reduction had fallen to 62%.
That probably reflects the gradual reopening of shops and other facilities, together with the launch of an embryonic marketing campaign.
Tomorrow will see sections of the hospitality trade reopening with some cafes hoping to provide outdoor tables, while pub beer gardens may be popular if the weather improves.
So a critical weekend ahead for the City.
Micro grant scheme puts over £2m into small York business accounts
City of York Council’s extended small and micro business grant scheme is on course to deliver another £2.2m to York businesses which fell through the cracks of government support packages.
The scheme closed earlier this week and has now awarded a total of just over £1.92m to 558 businesses, with another 113 applications pending or yet to be processed.
The grant extension follows an earlier £1m grants scheme which gave vital financial aid or access to services through membership of the Federation of Small Businesses to 800 York businesses.
Grants payments were offered to support a wide variety of small businesses, including those in shared offices and flexible work spaces, science parks and incubators, regular market traders without a business rates assessment, nurseries, B&Bs paying council tax instead of business rates, and charity properties which all missed out under previous schemes are also eligible.
Council policy on business rent payments
Plans are in place for financial support to continue for those businesses and residents who pay council fees or rents.
Since the Coronavirus pandemic started the council has been committed to supporting businesses and residents through this unprecedented time. Plans are being put in place to ensure support continues for those who need it most.
Three months on from announcing the first financial assistance schemes, the council wants to reassure people that the existing support will still be available for those who require it. Detailed plans are being finalised and will be taken to a decision session later this month.
In April the council announced:
a three-month freeze on the council housing rent increase
the extension of the York Financial assistance scheme for residents
a £1m emergency fund for businesses
a three-month deferral of commercial rents
plus a raft of other measures to help residents and businesses.
In order to support more residents in need from this month (July), a new hardship fund will be established for council tenants affected by rent increases. An initial sum of £80,000 is being set aside and will be kept under review should further funds be required. Council housing tenants who can pay rent as usual, will be asked to pay the agreed increased rent charge. Those who can’t will be encouraged to talk to housing officers and will be able to apply to the hardship fund.
Commercial tenants will be able to benefit from a deferral of rent for a further three months, if required. The council will also ensure repayments can be made over an extended period of up to two years.
From July, the council will write to all its commercial tenants to discuss any financial support available to them.
The York Council has launched a survey which it claims is aimed at finding out residents views on how well the health crisis has been handled and what should happen next.
Some of the questions are a little “leading” and seem to be aimed at getting a pat on the head for decisions already taken.
There is no opportunity to rate controversial schemes like the Bishopthorpe Road closure, reduced car parking provision or restrictions on car access in The Groves area.
The Council also fails to test opinion on emerging issues like anti social behaviour.
Respondents will look in vain for questions about the Councils democratic accountability since it adopted a “behind closed doors” decision making process.
Nor is there any opportunity to comment on the Councils financial strategy (if indeed it now has such a strategy) .
Economic regeneration seems to begin and end with putting restaurant tables onto open spaces.
Details, of what the Council is describing as a “Big Conversation”, can be found by clicking this link
Unfortunately, as with any survey taken against a rapidly changing background, some of the questions already look a little dated.
There have been no further Coronavirus deaths at York Trust hospital (26/6/20). There have also been no more positive lab test results (26/6/20)
The independent COVID 19 monitoring site estimates that 4156 people in York will have had the virus. That represents 0.4% of the population.
COVID cases daily and cumulative
The site derives its information from returns regularly submitted by residents from across the country https://covid19.joinzoe.com/
Care home deaths
The government released details earlier in the week of the number of deaths which have occurred in care homes click
At that time, the last death at a York care home had occurred on 12th June.
In total there were 63 deaths in York homes.
South Park care home
Now the media are reporting that some of the COVID 19 cases occurred at the South Park care home on Gale Lane. Some staff were also affected.
The York authorities have not been prepared to break down the death rate figures to individual homes. We think that they are wrong to withhold that information.
It – like the results of the local COVID tests being undertaken at Poppleton – are matters of public interest.
There have been no further deaths from coronavirus at York Trust hospitals. The last fatality – which brought the total to 214 – occurred on 18th June.
There have been no further positive test results (24/6/20). The last positive lab result was reported on 21st June. It brought the cumulative total to 463
The Museum Gardens are due to reopen today (Thursday) at 10:30am. They will close at 6:00pm.
Deaths and test results
The were no additional deaths reported at local hospitals yesterday. There was also no increase in the number of positive test results (23/6/20).
£144 per person York cost
According to the BBC, the York Councils income shortfall in the wake of the health crisis is equivalent to £144 for each person in the City. The Council has already said it faces making cuts of £24 million in services.
The worst hit Council – the Highlands in Scotland – has a £411 shortfall per person, largely as a result of declining visitor numbers. The Leeds Council has a £61 million shortfall and says that it may not be able to balance its budget this year.
Physician, heal thyself?
Reports coming out of West Offices, say some Councillors are to be offered counselling to help them cope with the pressures of lockdown and the COVID crisis.
Welcome to Yorkshire
According to some reports, the Yorkshire tourist organisation could fold shortly. It depends for part of its income on a complex rates pooling arrangement which involves local authorities with a business rates surplus cross funding those with a deficit. The fall in business rates income as a result of the COVID crisis means that there will be no surplus to share, leaving WTY appealing for a direct subsidy from cash strapped local Councils.
City of York Council is celebrating St John’s Day by encouraging residents to show their support for St John Ambulance tomorrow.
As part of this effort, the city’s walls will be lit green on Wednesday evening.
St John Ambulance staff and volunteers have spent over 100,000 hours supporting the COVID-19 crisis response since the beginning of April, its biggest mobilisation of volunteers since the second World War.
To get involved, residents and businesses are encouraged to show their support by displaying lights, flags or banners in their windows and gardens.
Anyone hoping that the Councils postCOVID strategy document would be a stimulating read may be disappointed.
A series of papers have now been published which are long on hyperbole but very short on tangible actions
Those hoping for a series of initiatives, incorporating measurable deliverables and with specific key milestones, will search in vain amongst the papers for the Executive meeting which is taking place on 25th June.
The expectation was that clear actions would be identified to take the City through the next 3 months at least. Only the half-hearted free parking initiative fits into that narrative.
Nor has any more up to date information been provided on the nature of the Councils financial crisis. The papers simply continue to wave the shroud of an £24 million – largely unspecified – shortfall.
Additional spending is proposed on;
Supporting local businesses including the tourism sector (£100,000),
“Communities Recovery” (£250,000),
Creating places in which visitors can safely return to the City (£530,000),
Changing building access and deep cleaning (£50,000) and
ICT equipment to allow continued remote working (£500,000).
There is no mention of a freeze on new expenditure.
The report merely reports windfall savings on climate change, waste services, northern forest and local transport plan. All are the result of (unavoidable) delays caused by the lock-down.
The Council says that its capital investment programme is being “reviewed”. That means that the Council is continuing to slip further and further into debt.
The Council promises that it will have a “Big Conversation” with residents over the next 12 months.
Residents may choose to opt for something a little more robust.
Following the Government’s weekend announcement that places of worship will be permitted to reopen for individual prayer from the week beginning Monday 15th June, York Minster will reopen for individual prayer starting on Tuesday 16th June.
The Minster will be open from 4.30 to 6.30pm, Tuesdays to Saturday and 2.30 to 4.30pm on Sunday for people to come in, light a candle and speak to a member of the Clergy if they need pastoral support and care.
The Minster will be closed on Mondays for the time being.
Social distancing protocols will be in place.
The Minster is expected to announce how it will respond to any further government relaxation of restrictions including the recommencement of services and more general events aimed at the broader local community
In the meantime services are available to view on line and via zoom.
