Sycamore House reopens after £326,000 refurbishment

A new multi-purpose centre has opened today (Monday 24 July) after a £326,000 refurbishment of the old Sycamore House building.

The refurbished building, to be (imaginatively) called 30 Clarence Street, will be the new city centre facility providing a range of services for residents young and old.

30 Clarence Street will be the new location for young people’s services, previously delivered from Castlegate, and will provide a drop-in and specialist advice, guidance and support service for young people age 16-18 who are not in education, employment and training. Confidential counselling for young people aged 16-25, and information signposting to services for a range of advice from health matters, relationships, housing and benefits, learning and working will also be available.

The adults’ mental health recovery service will also be based at 30 Clarence Street and will offer support, advice and, guidance to residents who are referred to it. As well as this support, people will also be able to access training and placement schemes, working on reception or in the cafe, to help them develop their skills and confidence.

Residents will be able to enjoy the refurbished Explore reading café where they can browse a range of books, meet friends, socialise and enjoy a cuppa.

The council is also leasing office space on the first floor of the building to York Mind and York Pathways and, given the links between these organisations and the services operating from the ground floor, this arrangement will help facilitate even closer working relationships between the voluntary and community sector, the council and health services.

Later in the year, the building will also welcome ‘The Haven’, an evening service will provide a safe and supportive environment for people experiencing mental distress. Open 6pm – 11pm, 7 days a week, ‘The Haven’ will offer a welcome to anyone needing it and will be run by specialist mental health services.

The opening of ‘The Haven’ was made possible after City of York Council and partners in the North Yorkshire and York crisis care concordat successfully bid for £178,000 of Department for Health funding to support the initiative. City of York Council has provided the other £148,000 of funding for the refurbishment of 30 Clarence Street.
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Big contracts awarded by York Council

£77,000 for Coppergate camera enforcement

The York Council has let some substantial contracts recently. One of the most controversial is likely to be to Bramble.cc Ltd for “Parking Services back-office system monitoring of cameras and issuing of notices” for the Coppergate bus lane The companies had office is on the Embankment in London. The size of the contract – which is for one year only – suggests that fine income would have to rise considerably if taxpayers are to avoid an unexpected bill.

Less controversial may be the award of a contract for the collection of recycling materials in the City centre. The 5 year contract is valued at £1/2 million, runs for 5 years and has been awarded to the Friends of St Nicholas Field.

£60,671 will be spent on caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and £362,263 refurbishing Sycamore House mental health centre,

Other recent contract awards have included:

Ranger Hut, Hull Road	Vine House Construction Ltd	£24,057.41
Haxby Library Demolition	MGL Demolition Ltd	£48,000.00
Provision of supported care for UASC	Sash	£60,671.00
Sycamore House Refurbishment	F Parkinson Ltd	£362,263.00
School Crossing Patrol Signals Tender	Dynniq UK Ltd	£77,394.80
Structural and visual assessments of City of York Councils Street lighting assets	MPH Inspection Services Ltd	£150,000.00
Support for Street lighting fault repairs (MEWP)	Bouygues UK Limited	£30,000.00
ReSurfacing Schemes February 2017	CEMEX UK Operations Ltd	£266,011.01
Analysis Software and Licence for Non-Domestic Rates	Inform CPI Ltd	£45,000.00
Provision of on-line lessons from a virtual school to provide teaching for young people out of school	Nisai Virtual Academy Ltd.	£10,000.00
ReSurfacing Schemes March 2017 – Tender2	Cemex UK Materials Ltd	£78,464.20
Carr Junior School Reroof Works – Phase 2	S Voase Builders Limited	£103,376.88
Community Protection APP Support, Maintenance and Licence	Multiple award (2)	£35,204.00
Westfield Primary School Roofing	Watershed (Roofing) Ltd	£14,058.00
Lift Repairs Maintenance Contract	Northern Elevator Ltd	£94,788.00
“Support and Subscription for VMWare	Phoenix Software Ltd	£8,865.00
ICT NetApp Support	Softcat plc	£8,620.00
Google Maps API for Business	Multiple award (2)	£15,500.00
WYTF Outer Ring Road upgrade – Land Surveyor Services for the North York Outer Ring Road Junction Upgrade Project	Valuation Office Agency – District Valuer	£83,280.00
Citrix XenApp Software and Licences	Insight Direct (UK) Ltd	£53,975.00
Marjorie Waite Court Extra Care Extension – Designer	Shuttleworth Picknett and Associates LLP	£70,860.00
Contract to supply manpower + vehicle & including tools and equipment to carry out basic maintenance operations (minor civils works) 1st April 2017 – 31st July 2017	Multiple award (3)	£50,000.00
Pre Purchase Agreement	CYCProcurement	£4,178,975.32
York City Centre Recycling Collection Service	Friends of St Nicholas Fields	£500,000.00
Fujitsu M10-1 Server	Esteem Systems Plc	£21,674.00
Point of Care Testing (POCT)	Alere Limited	£90,000.00
Trading Standards Interlink	City of York Council	£3,909.25
Coppergate: Bus Lane Enforcement parking services system	Bramble.cc Limited	£77,000.00
HGV Driver Certificate of Professional Competence Training	Multiple award (2)	£16,660.00

Most of the recent contract awards are dwarfed by those let in earlier years. The most valuable awards on the contracts register are:

Childcare Voucher Salary Sacrifice Scheme	Fideliti Limited	01/04/2014	£2,400,000.00
Short Breaks Service For Adults with a Learning Disability	Lifeways Community Care		£2,001,990.34
York Central Financial and Commercial Consultancy	KPMG LLP	01/07/2016	£2,000,000.00
Older People’s Community Support Service	Age Uk York	20/12/2016	£1,765,000.00
Provision of Marketing, tourism and Business Development services	Make it York Ltd	02/04/2015	£1,700,000.00
ENProcure Re-Allies Materials Framework – Distribution and supply of plumbing and heating materials Lot 2	PTS Plumbing Trade Supplies	01/04/2016	£1,614,282.00
Management & Maintenance of Public Toilets	Healthmatic Ltd	01/05/2014	£1,600,000.00
An Advocacy Hub	York Mind	14/10/2016	£1,500,000.00
Building Services Subcontractors – Package 1	Multiple award (5)	01/11/2016	£1,400,000.00
Provision of Local Registered Bus Services	Yorkshire Coastliner Ltd	06/01/2013	£1,400,000.00

The Contracts register (most Councils) can be viewed by clicking here

£178,200 funding for “Safe Haven” at Sycamore House

Boost for mental health services in York

Sycamore House

City of York Council has welcomed news that the Department of Health has awarded £178,200 to create a Safe Haven at Sycamore House to provide a place of safety ‘out of hours’ for people who are at risk of experiencing mental health crisis.

The Safe Haven will provide a place of sanctuary for people experiencing out-of-hours mental distress and will provide open access and multi-agency support for anybody who attends. The service will not only provide an alternative to residents going to accident and emergency but will also look to help users feel able to come to seek support from the Safe Haven before their distress escalates into a crisis.

The Safe Haven will operate in addition to the support already provided by Sycamore House, which currently hosts a range of services for mental health service users to aid recovery.

As part of the project Sycamore House will be refurbished and the Safe Haven will have a relaxed, informal, non-clinical atmosphere. The design of the facility will focus on elements that can make a positive contribution to good mental health – ease of access, light, tranquillity, and a cheerful and welcoming atmosphere.

Yesterday, the Department for Health announced the funding that is being made available to improve places of safety across the country. The announcement confirmed the approval of a bid from the York and North Yorkshire Crisis Care concordat, including City of York Council, the Partnership Commissioning Unit (PCU) – an NHS shared service arrangement across the four North Yorkshire CCGs – and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV). TEWV will support the Safe Haven initiative with links from its Crisis and Home Based Treatment Team and work with third sector organisations regarding the staffing of the Safe Haven.

Once it opens in May 2017 the new service will operate seven days a week between 6pm and midnight.

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