Agenda and minutes

Practical ways to beat the credit crunch will be available:

§         Debt advice with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau

§         Cut your bills with the Energy Saving Trust

§         Free personal budget coaching from Family Matters

§         Grab a freebie with Freecycle

§         Find out what you’re entitled to with our Benefits Advisors

§         Get cheap recipe ideas from Love Food Hate Waste

§         Get help progressing your career of finding work from Future Prospects

And much more besides.

At the surgery, a special Beat the Credit Crunch event, residents had the opportunity to speak to their ward councillors, the Safer Neighbourhoods Team, the Street Environment Officer, the Neighbourhood Management Officer, Paul Thackray of City Strategy, Annie Thompson of York LINk, Denise Wishart, CYC Benefits Advisor, Ben Walker of Freecycle, Juliet Wright of Family Matters, and Norma Spence and Sue Farrend of Connexions.  

Cllr. Keith Hyman, chair of the meeting, welcomed everyone.

Come along to find out more about potential sites for a Park and Ride site on the Ring Road, at the intersection of the B1363.

2.1       Paul Thackray from City Strategy at City of York Council described plans for a new Park & Ride scheme from the intersection of the ring road and the B1363. It is one of three new Park & Ride schemes. The others are an extension to the existing Askham Bar site which is currently small and oversubscribed and a site on the A59 opposite Wyvale.

2.2       The proposed Wigginton Road scheme is on a B road but at peak times this route carries as much traffic as an A road. There are four possible locations for the site, one in each corner of the interchange.

2.3       Sites 1 and 2 are to the north of the ring road and have the advantage of picking up traffic before the ring road. The disadvantage of these sites is that the Park & Ride buses would have to negotiate the roundabout. Site 2 also has a drought drain running through it. New signalised access will have to be built for all sites.

2.4       Sites 3 and 4 are on the south side of the ring road which means that the buses don’t have to negotiate the roundabout. Site 3 is also close to the railway which has potential for later development. Site 4 is closest to Clifton Moor Business Park and will have the least visual impact. It could have a secondary bus route around the area which would mean more journeys out of the city.

2.5       All four sites will provide a route to and from the hospital. From CYC’s perspective, sites 2 and 4 are the most attractive, but the decision will be made by the council executive.

2.6       The consultation process involves ward committees and, at the end of the month, a more detailed consultation with people within a 2km radius of the site, which amounts to approximately 2,000 properties. The planning application will be submitted in August, a decision will be taken in February 2010 and construction should begin in Autumn 2010.

Q. The sites are different sizes – is capacity an issue?

A. Yes, we want a site with capacity for 500 vehicles. Any site will be heavily landscaped and lit only during hours of operation.

Q. Where is the other end of the bus corridor?

A. The route will go from Wigginton Road, by Bumper Castle, Clarence Street and Lord Mayor’s Walk. The traffic lights will be phased in favour of the bus along the route, there will be a bus priority lane before the railway crossing and the bus will call the green phase on Crichton Avenue.

Q. How many journeys are you hoping to stop?

A. It could save 2,000 journeys.

Q. What about security arrangements?

A. There will be gold standard car parking, with CCTV and low landscaping. We have consulted with the Architectural Liaison Officer.

Q. Is there any variation in costs between the sites?

A. The costs are similar for all sites. It will cost £5-£6 million for each site, including construction and design.

Q.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

York LINk helps you to have your say on some of the most important issues in your area – the NHS and social services. Annie Thompson will be at the meeting to answer your questions and tell you how you can get involved.

Annie Thompson, Partnership Coordinator, York LINk, gave a presentation about the aims of York LINk.

3.1       Local Involvement Networks, or LINks, were established to allow users of health and social services to speak with one voice so that health and social services can be tailored to meet the needs of the people of York.

3.2       York LINk will be composed of a network of interested individuals as well as voluntary, community and faith groups who have a stake in the delivery of health and social services.

3.3       LINk will encourage people to share their experiences and needs in health and social services in order to influence providers to adapt and improve their services. LINk will achieve this by finding out about people’s experiences of services and using the information to influence service providers. LINk also has legal powers to access and assess service providers, request information from service providers within a particular timescale, and report findings to the Council OSC or Healthcare Commission.

3.4       There are many opportunities to get involved in LINk:

• As a member of the LINk steering group you will have the opportunity to influence the activities of LINk
• community representatives or ward representatives will have the opportunity to hear about people’s experience of health and social services and give them information about the work of LINk
• as a member of the LINk readers panel you can help to make the publications of service providers more accessible
• as a member of a LINk working group you can have your say on an issue of particular interest to you

3.5       You can join York LINk by completing the forms in the local press or by getting in touch with Annie Thompson at 621313 or by emailing participate@yorklink.org.uk

Q. Will LINk have a role in determining best practice?

A. LINk will work with providers who commissioned the service to develop better policies.

4.1       Insp. Alistair Dey, new to the Safer Neighbourhoods Team, introduced himself to the meeting. He has been a police officer for 20 years, moving between Scarborough and Whitby before coming to York. He began working with the Safer Neighbourhoods Team two months ago.

4.2       Annual crime figures are based on figures from April to April. There has been a 17% reduction in crime in Huntington and New Earswick which means that crime is down by 24.1% this year. Autocrime is down by 37.5%, burglary is down by 27%, theft is down by 14% and there has been a 28.8% detection rate. The crime statistics in the ward are bucking the national trend.

4.3       There has been an issue with speeding in the area of Jockey Lane and New Lane.

There has also been a problem with burglaries in garages in New Earswick. 5 garages in Willow Bank were broken into, with garage doors smashed and vehicles broken into. Enquiries led to warrants being issued and there were searches and arrests in New Earswick and Strensall. Some of the property was recovered in Strensall which provides good evidence against the suspects.

There have been 19 thefts in the last month, 17 of them at Asda. As part of Operation Rabbit Brush the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams from Huntington and New Earswick and Heworth carried out patrols at Monks Cross, Asda and Sainsburys. Maintaining a visual presence is reassuring for people.

4.4       The crime figures reflect reported crimes. Before the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams people were reluctant to report crimes but since we’ve had PCSOs people are more likely to report crime. Higher rates of reporting allows the police to justify the allocation of resources. One of the main mandates of PCSOs is to talk to people and encourage them to give as full a picture as possible of crime in the ward. Practically, this makes policing more accessible. Statistically, it means an increase in reported crime but the figures are more credible as a result. The government is very strict on crime reporting standards.

Cllr. D. Crawford, chair of New Earswick Parish Council, took the opportunity to congratulate the PCSOs on their work. Cllr. K. Orrell noted the big difference in aftercare and communication as a result of PCSOs. Insp. Dey pointed out that PCSOs stay in their areas

Q. Does the low crime rate relate to the fact that there are relatively few pubs in the ward?

A. I would have to compare the ward to a similar area, but it is well known that alcohol fuels crime and anti-social behaviour.

Q. The crime figures are very good but I have two concerns – complacency and the possibility of a withdrawal of services.

A. The police have limited resources so we have to be canny in terms of resources. The Safer Neighbourhoods Teams are dedicated to their area whereas reactive teams focus on crime hotspots. The next round of PCSOs will be working until midnight.

Q. Regarding the PCSO drop in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

We will discuss the local improvement schemes for next year and the final decision will be taken at the meeting.

5.1       Cllr. Hyman noted that decisions about the council budget for 2009-2010 will be made on February 26. The ward committee budget cannot fund all of the proposed schemes so we have decided to spread the funds around so that we can support as many schemes as possible.

5.2       The schemes that the councillors propose to support and the proposed amounts are:

Street lighting £10,000

Community Rangers £5,000

New Earswick Community Association sensory garden £1,000

Huntington Parish Council Community gardening scheme  £2,500

New Earswick gardening scheme £2,500

New Earswick Community Association Junior Club £550

New Earswick Community Association Summer Scheme £2,000

Yearsley Grove Groovy Club £3,500

Street Sports York £2,000

Mobile Play Schemes £1,950

Global York £500

Huntington Memorial Hall roof project £5,000

Orchard Park Community Centre kitchen £500

5.3       These schemes are subject to the caveat of feasibility, legality and budget availability.

Q. What is Yearsley Grove Groovy Club?

A. It’s an after school club that put on different activities and provide a healthy snack for children. It is well used.

Your opportunity to discuss local issues and concerns with your ward councillors.

Cllr. Hyman thanked everyone for turning out in such poor weather conditions and thanked the Bowls Club for hosting the meeting.