Opportunities at first York Council meeting for 8 months look set to be squandered.

4 Tips For Hosting a Successful Virtual Event - FindSpark

The York Council will hold a “virtual” Council meeting on 29th October. It will be the first since the start of the pandemic.

Those hoping for glimpses of firm leadership and evidence of cross party cooperation will be disappointed.

The agenda is dominated by bureaucracy.

ian-floyd-city-york-council | YorkMix
Ian Floyd

A replacement for the long departed Chief Executive will be announced. Ian Floyd will be announced as “Chief Operating Officer” although apparently the Labour leader decided to boycott the interview process. Instead Trades Union officials observed the proceedings (and pronounced that they were satisfied with the process).

The ill-timed reorganisation of local government boundaries will take a step forward, “minor amendments” to the constitution (reducing still further accountability) will be tabled, and polling stations will be changed (and no there aren’t actually any elections scheduled).

The rest is mostly a ritual look backwards although Andy D’agorne has raised his head above the parapet on controversial transport initiatives such as the double resurfacing of Tadcaster Road, the failed Bishopthorpe Road closure and the underused Monk Bar taxi service.

Will anyone be able to nail these mistakes? We doubt that those using “Zoom” will manage to do so.

A report from the Executive member with responsibility for housing, completely fails to identify the problems with re-letting services and the growing number of empty properties.

It is not just under-used Council houses that are at issue.

Homeless people have tried to get access to long term empty properties like Willow House for temporary use, only to be “cold shouldered” by Councillors.

Willow House

No mention is made of the senior management level vacancies in the housing department which have contributed to the decline in standards.

Probably what takes the biscuit though,  for posturing and time wasting, is a contribution, in the form of a motion, from Labour.

It claims that it wants to see  Councillors “acting responsibly and collaboratively at all times”.

 It then proposes unilateral changes to delegated budgets. £100,000 would be sequestered from wards and allocated centrally in some unnamed way to “voluntary groups working with the vulnerable”. 

This is not a Marcus Rashford style attempt to ease the burdens of those hit by the pandemic.

Instead it would rob the least well-off wards like Westfield of the resources needed to identify and address local needs.

One of the successes, of the Councils approach, has been the local “hubs” which have provided neighbourhood level support over the last few months. They have been supplemented by other initiatives like surplus food giveaways some of which have had financial support from some ward budgets.

In addition, the Council allocated £1.25 million to a local hardship fund earlier in the year.

Zoom Meeting GIFs | Tenor

Perhaps if Labour Councillors want to build up another hardship fund then they might consider donating 20% of their pay?

That would put them on a par with many workers in the City who have suffered a similar – or higher – reduction in income. Councillors are, after all, attending fewer meetings these days and their costs are therefore much reduced.  Indeed, for some, this will be the first meeting they have “attended” since February.

A 20% reduction in pay across the board would produce a fund of over £100,000.

Likely to happen?

In New Zealand maybe?

In the UK, less so we suspect!

Praise for new housing schemes in York but reality on the ground is different.

‘We’re going above and beyond’ … CGI of Burnholme View.
New estate design at Duncombe barracks

An article in The Guardian has highlighted some of the new housing schemes being progressed by the York Council. It praises new Passivhaus low-energy standard designs. Plans for low energy estates on the Duncombe Barracks and Burnholme sites are being discussed today by the Councils executive.

Unfortunately both the article, and today’s Council report, fail to recognise the downsides of this type of building programme.

Two years into the controversial development of the Lowfields site, fewer than half the homes being built in the first phase have been reserved.  Not entirely surprising you might say, with an average size 3 bed semi priced at nearly £300,000. Sure, you can expect lower energy consumption bills but what good is that if you can’t afford a mortgage?

Being told that a communal “cargo bike” is available for hire is unlikely to provide much solace

Communications by the Council’s own “Shape” development company with neighbours are poor and promised regular bulletins have not materialised.

Lowfield building site slow progress

All six of the “self build” plots on the site have been allocated but we seem to be no closer to seeing the “Yorspace” communal housing group complete the purchase their allocated site. That process has dragged on for nearly 2 years now.  Surely the time has come to use this plot for other purposes – most obviously to extend the space available for self-build units?

There is an element of urgency.

Neighbours were promised that the site would be fully developed within 3 years. The inevitable disruption, noise, dust and mud associated with building works would then come to an end and community cohesion could begin to re-establish itself.

The Council claimed that the neighbourhood in general would benefit from a new “health centre”. A police station was mentioned. A new playground would form part of a new “village green”. A care home would provide a boost for older people.

None of these seem likely to happen in the foreseeable future.  None are mentioned in the Councils progress report, which limits itself to reporting on progress on Bishopthorpe FC’s expensive pavilion which is in part funded from sales at Lowfields. (The pavilion and football pitches are almost complete but the promised improvement work on the adjacent cycle track has not started)

Football club pavillion

The Council’s housing department is leaderless and lacking in direction. Like much of the rest of the authority, responsible Councillors seem to be focussed on the next “photo op”.

The hard work involved in  forcing up public service standards seems to be of no interest to them.

If it was, then they would ensure that unused council houses – some of which have been empty for months and, in some cases, years – are brought back into use quickly.  

But then  “Council House Let” is unlikely to be a headline that you will see in The Guardian.

Building site on Ascot Way being wound down

It seems that completion of work at both the new disabled centre and a remodelled Lincoln Court will shortly be competed. The builders equipment is being removed and the compound on the school land and the MUGA are almost clear.

New Lincoln Court entrance is imposing
Despite being largely clear of equipment, it seems unlikely that public use of the games area will be allowed.
This is the replacement site on Thanet Road slated to be the home of the new games area. However discussions about the project have dragged on for nearly 2 years.

The has been no recent update from the York Council on when they expect the communal housing, self build, health centre, older persons accommodation, public buildings and community facilities on their Lowfield development to be completed (or even in most cases started!)

Green Homes Grant applications welcomed

An illustration of a row of houses includes one house which is wearing a fluffy winter hat. The wording above it reads wrap up your home with a green homes grant of up to five thousand pounds
Wrap up your home with a Green Homes Grant of up to £5000

Eligible homeowners and landlords can now apply for a grant to help pay for energy saving measures to keep homes warmer and reduce fuel bills.

The Government’s new Green Homes Grant scheme allows homeowners to apply for grants of up to £5,000 for making certain improvements including fitting insulation. Householders with lower incomes could receive up to £10,000. Home owners and private sector landlords can apply.

“Successful applicants for the Green Homes Grant will be sent a voucher of up to £5,000 to cover up to two-thirds of the cost of energy efficiency and low carbon heat improvements to homes. Bigger grants are available for homeowners if they or a member of their household receives one of the qualifying benefits, and the grant will cover 100% of the cost of the improvements up to £10,000.”

Applicants will need to:

“As the winter months approach, people will be spending more time indoors which will impact both the cost of heating and the accompanying carbon emissions. I urge those eligible for the grant to apply and take this opportunity to transition to a cheaper and more sustainable home heating and insulation.

For queries about the scheme please call the Simple Energy Advice line on 0800 444202 from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and Saturday to Sunday 9am to 5pm or find out more at www.gov.uk/apply-green-homes-grant.

Private rental properties will be expected to meet a ‘C’ energy efficiency performance certification (EPC) by 2035. As such, now is the time for landlords to start improving their properties’ EPC rating and apply for a grant of up to £5,000 for energy efficiency improvements.

Green Homes Grant installers must be TrustMark accredited and customers can check installers at: www.trustmark.org.uk/ .  The Green Homes Grant scheme will never send official representatives to your property uninvited or cold calling on the phone to encourage you to join the scheme.

Housing delays in York

As well as the much-publicised delays in re-letting empty Council homes, it seems that the pandemic has also resulted in delays in modernisation plans.

 The “tenants’ choice” programme (bathrooms, kitchens etc.) was to have seen 294 properties upgraded this year. The Councils contractors were confident they could achieve that number.

Perhaps not surprisingly, a larger than expected  number of tenants are currently declining to have  the work done. According to a Council report tenants are declining the work due to” nervousness relating to the pandemic, ill health, or their inability to be able to cope with the disturbance such works would inevitably cause”.

Rooms at the refurbished Lincoln Court sheltered housing scheme are now ready for letting. 3 former residents are understood to be among those moving back into the building.

More worrying news; work on fire safety improvements has halted. £2.2 million scheduled to be invested this year is being slipped into next year.

On a more positive note, the Councils shared ownership programme is going well.  34 properties have been acquired with several now being occupied by “key workers”. This is the project where residents identify a property available for sale which is then jointly purchased. The occupants then pay rent on part of the property while it remains in Council ownership.

 Some of the 79 homes on which work has started at Lowfields, have been taken up on a shared ownership basis.

Over £7 million which was to have been invested in social housing in the City during the current year is being slipped into 21/22.

Council house rent arrears increasing by £20,000 a week

Rent arrears for Tenants - How to avoid them - Slater & Brandley

The Council is considering making further help available to Council tenants who find themselves in financial difficulty as a result of the heath crisis.

 A report to a meeting next week says, “Along with a sympathetic and supportive approach to rent and arrears collecting the hardship fund will enable substantial (up to £500 in most cases) help to individuals and families that most need it.

 The cumulative impact of reduced public spending and welfare reform including the roll out of Universal Credit has seen an increase in rent arrears in York over the last few years.

The impact of the CV19 pandemic has exacerbated this with arrears rising at £20k per week.

 As lockdown restrictions are lifted it is expected that many will return to work and obtain financial stability. There has been an increase in Universal Credit claims and delays of up to 8 weeks in processing these.

The hardship fund – which will be paid for out of the housing revenue account – will cost £80,000.

The council has already refunded the first 13 weeks of the annual rent increase for 2020 / 2021 to anyone who did not have this covered by increases in welfare benefit.

Details of the fund can be found by clicking here

Homeless problems – still too many long term empty Council houses in York

The was some surprise a few days ago when a scheduled report on homeless problems in the City was pulled.

The Council failed to explain why the report was abandoned and it remains unclear what the report contained.

It may be that the Council is embarrassed by the seeming increase in the number of empty homes that it owns.

Two on Foxwood Lane have been empty for over 6 months (i.e. from before the pandemic caused delays) . Both properties are bungalows which are always popular with “downsizers”, so finding new tenants shouldn’t have been a problem.

On the basis of the last published stats, there were 22 homeless households with dependent children in living in temporary accommodation in York.

According to the Councils own figures, the average number of days to re-let empty properties has risen from 27 days to 37 days during the last couple of years.

There are 1597 people registered on the York housing waiting list.

Lowfields – new homes not ready for occupation until next year

This Lowfields site will include 140 mixed tenure homes of which 56 will be affordable homes. The contractor has been on site since December 2019 and the Council says that it is “progressing well” with significant progress on “infrastructure work along with substructures”.

However the first 34 homes are now not due to be completed until early in 2021.

The Council decided to develop the site itself at a meeting held in July 2018

It later formed a company called Shape homes and said it would recruit staff to work with it. The latest financial report suggest that this had not progressed by the end of the financial year with over £1.2 million of the available budget slipping into the current year.

The Council also failed to invest £1.9 million of the budget that it set aside for the repair and modernisation of existing homes.

Football pitches

Meanwhile the football pitch project on Sim Balk Lane has stalled. The pitches were nominally supposed to replace those lost at Lowfields as a result of development, albeit they are 3 miles away. The land near London Bridge became waterlogged over the winter and is only now beginning to grass over.This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is New-football-pitches-Sim-Balk-Lane-4-4th-Aug-2019-858x1024.jpg

The biggest problem though is the expensive “pavilion” which incorporates changing rooms.

A report to a meeting being held today says, “The construction of the pavilion / changing rooms has been put on hold due to the Covid-19 restrictions and it is not known when the work will be able to restart. The final procurement for the access road has also been put on hold”.

We wish that project well, but would have preferred to see some of the £850,000 cost (to taxpayers) invested in outdoor sports/leisure facilities in the Westfield area.

Huge £1.8 million overspend by Council on James House project

The conversion of James House from offices to 57 self-contained apartments for temporary homeless accommodation was completed on 14th April 2020, fifteen months behind schedule.

The Council says, “For homeless households the self-contained apartments will offer safe, secure and comfortable accommodation before permanent housing can be found for them. James House was open to residents in June 2020”.

The Council now admits that, as well as being 15 months behind schedule, the final costs are currently £1.782m above the agreed budget of £12.4m.

The council says that they have appointed independent experts to review the programming, delay, and quantity surveying aspects of the project.

British Sugar Site

Much of the British Sugar development site on Boroughbridge Road has now been levelled. It remains unclear when construction of the long delayed homes will start.

In the meantime one resident has commented that some of the trees on the site – scheduled for retention because they provide a wildlife habitat – seem to have disappeared. The Council has been asked to investigate.

The old Manor school site does not seem to have been affected,.

Extraordinary U Turn by York Council

A Council official has nullified the controversial decision taken by Green Councillor who agreed to spend over £1 million bringing 8 Council houses up to ENerPhit standard and around 30 homes up to EPC ‘C’. click for report.

Cllr Craghill turned down an alternative which would have seen 66 properties benefit from a similar investment. Overall this scheme would have produced greater CO2 savings, and lower energy bills, for many more tenants. It was better value for money and had a bigger impact on the environment.

Not surprisingly the seemingly perverse decision was due to be “called in” for further explanation. Tory, Independent and Labour Councillors backed the call in. Privately some LibDem Councillors are understood to have expressed similar concerns.

Now a Council official has decided to bin the decision.

The Councils – increasingly controversial – “monitoring officer”, Janie Berry, says that

” I have concerns in relation to the legal, finance and equalities implications cited within the original report, in that I do not believe they provided Cllr Craghill with the sufficient details she required to assist her in making a proper fully informed decision”.

“In my capacity as the Monitoring Officer I have revoked the original decision made by Cllr Craghill and have instructed the Housing Department to re-draft a  report in respect of this issue and re-present a revised report to a future meeting of the  Executive Member Decision Session.  Members will still be able to call-in any future report in respect of the Energy Accelerator”.

Now whatever you may think of the decision – and it was a strange one – officers overruling Councillors, without democratic endorsement, sets a dangerous precedent. It is as close to a local coup as you are likely to witness.

Reports normally go through a series of checks before being made public. These checks certainly are aimed at ensuring proposals are affordable, legal and fair.

Something has gone seriously wrong in this case. Taxpayers will want to know how this could happen.

The delegation scheme – where individuals can spend very large sums of money – has always been controversial. The blunder will add weight to those advocating a return to all party committee decision making.

In the meantime, the controlling coalition needs to find some internal mechanism where extreme or perverse proposals can be moderated before they become public.

If such a process were in place then some recent transport decisions might also have never seen the light of day.