York Angry Man

BBC NEWS | UK | Drivers catch green lights 'wave'

2009-04-14T15:23:00.000+01:00

Interesting article and something that I would have thought that we could and should have done a long time ago - but then the forth paragraph (quoted below) gave me the reason why.

So just remember when you are stuck at a traffic light, you are there for a reason, to burn more fuel and therefore pay more tax!

BBC NEWS | UK | Drivers catch green lights 'wave': "Previously the Department for Transport (DfT) had discouraged the systems which reduce fuel use, resulting in less tax being paid to the Treasury."

BBC NEWS | UK | Alcoholics could see benefits cut

2009-04-14T15:21:00.000+01:00

Ok - I agree that Alcoholics need help, but don't you just love the nanny state that we are living in.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to hold back on paying taxes is the government or local council failed to deliver on their promises.

BBC NEWS | UK | Alcoholics could see benefits cut

Parkinson: 'Goody was exploited'

2009-04-07T16:07:00.000+01:00

At last, some has the balls to come out and say what was actually going on. Well done Parky.

BBC NEWS Entertainment Parkinson: 'Goody was exploited': "Parkinson: 'Goody was exploited'"

York’s riverbanks crumbling due to years of neglect

2009-02-04T22:07:00.003Z

So here we go again - a politician that is in power, and has been for five or six years, blaming someone else for the problem that they now find at their door.

Well it may be the case that this essential work has been neglected since the 80's, however Mr Waller, you have been in power for a while now and so have done nothing to reverse the situation.

So stop bleating about it and do something. After all that is what you wanted when you stood for election and that is why people voted for you.

York Press Story

BBC NEWS | Politics | Many civil servants 'deserve axe'

2009-01-15T18:38:00.001Z

And this is news how?

But hats of to Lord Digby (great name) for coming out and saying this. Well done.

BBC NEWS Politics Many civil servants 'deserve axe'

'Honey bunny' murderer gets life

2009-01-08T14:03:00.001Z

Now I normally just comment on York stuff, but WTF?

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | 'Honey bunny' murderer gets life

York councillors’ pay set to rise again (From York Press)

2009-01-06T15:43:00.000Z

So here we go again.

Whilst many in the media are saying that 2009 (and probably longer) will be horrible economically for most people in the UK (if not the world) we now see the public sector fundamentally giving themselves a pay rise.

Don't get me wrong, I think that if people do a good, valuable job then they should get rewarded for it. Sadly this isn't the case for the majority of dealings that the council does.

That said they don't get that much and I firmly believe that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

York councillors’ pay set to rise again (From York Press)

£10k For York Street Sculpture (from York Press)

2007-08-15T15:53:00.000+01:00

Now this is proof that the York City Council have lost the plot on how they spend the tax payer hard-earned cash.

Let me say firstly that I don't have a problem with art and I actually do thing that it can bring extra value to a city - look at the Super Lamb Banana in Liverpool as an example.

So why have I got problems with this one? Well here goes:-
1. At a time when services are being cut, surely the £10 could be used better (although some people think that the council care more for visitors than residents. This may be evidence of that.)
2. It looks poor - in fact almost non-existent. Street sculpture needs to make an impact.
3. It's in the wrong place. Sculpture should be put in places where lots of people can see it and then comment on it. I've live in York all my life and I don't know where the proposed site is.

£10k For York Street Sculpture (from York Press)

BBC SPORT: London 2012 team defend new logo

2007-06-05T14:01:00.000+01:00

So OK, we know that money needs to be spent on bringing the Olympics to London. We also know that the actual spend is going to be more than was forecast and the odds on it being more than is currently forecast are short.

So what better way to spend money, £400,000 to be exact, than to copy the old Tiswaz logo and create something that is rubbish.

Now don't get me wrong, London 2012 needs a logo but this is rubbish and a complete waste of money.

Thank heavens that I only have to work in London every so often and not have to pay the extra tax for cr4p like this.

BBC SPORT: London 2012 team defend new logo: "Organisers of the 2012 London Olympics have defended their new logo following widespread public criticism. "

BBC NEWS: No 'hands-up' call to help pupils

2007-06-01T11:17:00.000+01:00

So here we have again more public money spent on something that is worthless.

So they say that kids no longer should ask to answer questions, so instead the teacher then by default has to ask kids who wont know the answer who will then be picked on by fellow pupils, who in turn will feel more pressured and pushed to the outside of the class.

Well done - you've just achieved exactly what you set out not to do.

BBC NEWS: No 'hands-up' call to help pupils

BBC NEWS: Fire crew 'slept in wrong place'

2007-05-31T16:06:00.000+01:00

What a complete waste of time this is.

These men and women have a tough enough job as it is - give them back their beds so that we they have to risk their own lives to save others they have had as much quality rest as they can.

Also whilst these changes are being made - re-introduce the kitchen and make sure that they are fed properly as well.

BBC NEWS: Fire crew 'slept in wrong place'

York Dungeon Bosses Defend Controversial Asbo Offer (from York Press)

2007-05-31T09:06:00.000+01:00

Now this story has been rumbling on for a while now and in my opinion then the York Dungeon has lost the plot.

They basically have said that they would give free entry to people with an ASBO to their exhibition and their reasoning is to educate them to the methods of punishment in times past.

There are two problems with this:-
1. We live now, not in the past, and to most citizens then we feel that we are soft on crime and the punishment of said crimes.
2. It is seen as a reward for bad/criminal behaviour

The bosses of York Dungeon are wrong to have done this, I for one wont be visiting again and I hope that other people do the same.

York Dungeon Bosses Defend Controversial Asbo Offer (from York Press)

Teacher pay award may be reviewed (BBC)

2007-04-21T07:08:00.000+01:00

Who do they think that they are?

The reason that inflation is rising is because people are spending too much, borrowing is at an all-time high and as such we can expect interest rates to rise.

However for teachers to ask for a pay rise because of this is wrong - I bet few other companies will be offerring their staff a larger pay rise because of the level of inflation and they will in turn be getting a pay-cut.

It's the way of the western world - get used to it, do you job and get on with it.

BBC NEWS Education Teacher pay award may be reviewed

Hungate Council Set To Use Purchase Powers (from York Press)

2007-04-19T08:20:00.000+01:00

This is a complete disgrace.

By all accounts the York Bedding Company is a thriving local business and I can't help but feel that the York Council just want to move the company from what is it's successful HQ so that people who will buy the expensive apartments (and pay extortionate council tax) wont have to over-look a factory.

It is especially galling when there are other properties that really do need a CPO applying to them in York - thinking the old White Swan Hotel on Piccadilly.

Come on council - put your own house in order before you start dictating to others.

Hungate Council Set To Use Purchase Powers (from York Press)

Bus Fares To Rise

2007-01-08T09:13:00.000Z

What a surprise.

If you look at the comments that people have left at the bottom of the main story then it about sums up what I feel about this rise. It wouldn't be so bad if it was at the level of inflation but it isn't.

Also when you actually look at the service then you realise that it isn't really there for the residents of York, for example I can't go for a drink or a meal or the theatre at a socialable time and then catch a bus home as the route that I am on (the No 2) finished at 8pm. I also can't catch a train from York before 7.25ish because the route doesn't start until 7am.

I agree that the quality of the buses are better than they were 10 years ago, but the relative increase in cost and the the change to the timetables are rubbish.

I also find it funny when people complain about the public transport system in London where there are night buses, the underground that runs until midnight and also a plethora of taxi's (I know that these aren't public transport per se).

It's about time that York for a public transport system that the city deserves and one that both helps the tourist and also, and in my view more importantly, the residents.

Bus Fares To Rise (from York Press)

City Enters The Olympics Race (from York Press)

2007-01-05T09:22:00.000Z

Lots going on today.

I don't know whether any top athlete will want to come to York to train - the sporting facilities in York are crap.

Now there are some very good clubs (private ones - York Rowing, City of York Hockey, York RUFC to name a couple) but the infrastructure is not there for the city to compete on the international level. This requires both a desire and funding from the local and national governments, but out local government is closing swimming pools down - a wrong message.

City Enters The Olympics Race (from York Press)

Police Tax Fury (from York Press)

2007-01-05T09:18:00.000Z

Happy New Year to all.

Now I normally don't agree with politicians, however for once I do.

I just can't believe the cheek of the North Yorkshire police management on asking for this above inflation (yet again) increase in funding from the local tax payer.

It wouldn't be too bad if the funding was actually getting to the regular police officers and that we saw more of them on the streets - but we don't. I am also not sure whether crime figures have come down - think value for money - that's what every other business in the world has to content with.

Police Tax Fury (from York Press)

Recycling

2006-09-20T18:08:00.000+01:00

Ok if Leeds can do it, even seen them in Cologne (no surprise there are the German's seem to be able to do everyday living far better than we can) they why doesn't York have recycling bins in place of the big black ones?

The council is encouraging everyone to recycle at home and it's apparently working really well and saving money, so why aren't they doing what other cities are doing by having public bins that collect rubbish in separate compartments?

Probably the grey suited bean counters with interesting names and social lives have some argument that to implement it would cost to much and we'd have to stop feeding the elderly and sell them to human traffickers or something, but being in power is about making decisions for the good of the city in the longer and not for short-term political gains. The decisions are not easy but you vollunteered for the job.

Surely if the pretending capital of Yorkshire does it then the actual capital should be doing it.

In fact we should be leading the way.

Lax Attitude To Our Cash (from York Press)

2006-09-05T14:09:00.000+01:00

I can’t believe that the council is actually considering this as an option for several reasons.

Why should tax money subsidise people who wont pay their bill. (If I didn’t pay my mortgage then my home would be reprosessed.)
Do the council think that the people who don’t pay would really want to see a West End show? Most of them probably don’t know how to tie their show lace, never mind have the brain power to appreciate a play or an opera.
What is the point is spending £53k to gain a profit of £8k? No commerical business would really put their effort into this.

So what would be my solution be I hear you ask for those that don’t pay?

Firstly if you don’t pay you rent then you get no local services - post, bins etc etc.
Secondly - you get named and shamed in the local paper.
Secondly you lose benefits until you pay up.
You get taken to court and the baliffs get called in.
You are evicted.

There you go - if you pay nothing then you get nothing back and you home gets used by someone who probably deserves it more.

Lax Attitude To Our Cash (from York Press)

Residents Dont Want Homes Built

2006-08-24T08:26:00.000+01:00

Glad to see that the council leader is asking residents whether or not they want developments to take place.

Just a shame that this only seems to happen on a rare basis and that even when residents are against a proposal they seem to get the go-ahead in any case (Germany Beck, Barbican, Derwenthorpe to list a few)

It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that the council leader is the councillor for the ward that is affected by the proposals in this article?

Residents Dont Want Homes Built (from York Press)

1,200 Sign Up To Save City Store

2006-08-23T13:03:00.000+01:00

The shop that that is referred to in this article has from my memory always been in the city centre and when I have passed has always been busy - and it would be a shame for it to close.

One of the problems that I see in York is that "normal" shops are dissappearing - you know places where you can get a pint of milk or a paper etc - especially outside of the 9-5 durge.

We need places that actually serve the local people and not just the tourists and shoppers. People will argue that if the market was there then they wouldn't close. Well this petition just proves that the market is there.

1,200 Sign Up To Save City Store (from York Press)

Film-goers reel over closure

2006-04-06T08:56:00.000+01:00

This is sad for me.

This was the cinema that my Gran took me to for Saturday afternoon mattenes - Herbie and the likes.

It was also the place I went to on my first ever date with a girl - can't remember her name or the film for that matter.

I went here for birthdays and as kids we went here too. I saw films such as ET, The Black Hole and Jaws. It was also the only cinema in York where you could buy a beer.

In recent years the building, which I think has fantastic potential, has been left to rot by the Odeon group.

Film-goers reel over closure

Wheel change to city skyline

2006-04-06T08:35:00.000+01:00

Lost of people mumbled about this wheel being situated in York and I agree that the inital proposed placement of this was in the wrong place.
However I think it being at the NRM it a perfect place for it and I will be visiting.

PS: I have a picture of this on Flickr.

Wheel change to city skyline

Station one-way system to be dug up after faults are found

2006-04-05T08:32:00.000+01:00

This is typical - almost a mini Wembley issue - the council orders a change to take place that no-one really wants and then it gets cocked-up.

Station one-way system to be dug up after faults are found

Path to crime

2006-01-17T09:54:00.000Z

Well this is a surprise story - especially as it comes immediately before the enquiry into the closure of the public footpath that this is alleged to have occurred on.

Perhaps - rather than closing a public right of way that has been in situ for decades the school needs to review it's security measures - was the door strong enough?

And as far as the path being a huge safety risk - then is it more risky than the A19 road outside the front of the school or any other footpath in York - no I think not.

Path to crime - This is York Archive - From the Evening Press

Britain will be first country to monitor every car journey

2005-12-22T09:50:00.000Z

I can't believe that something like this will happen in the country - however I am sure that it will.

So now we are going to be watched - talk about a Nanny State and Big Brother - got to think about a get-out plan from this country that I love.

George Orwell was right - he just got the year wrong.

Britain will be first country to monitor every car journey

I'm sorry

2005-12-19T10:26:00.000Z

This story is bloody outrageous - Ann Reid should fall on her sword right now.

Resign!!!!

http://archive.thisisyork.co.uk/2005/10/17/334429.html

Are people at the council thick?

2005-09-06T09:27:00.000+01:00

Well are they?

They increase parking fees and introduce evening parking fees. They encourage use of Park and Ride and discourage cars entering the city.

Now what do they do - moan that the revenue they make from car parks has fallen below their budget forecasts - not bloody surprising really.

They really are muppets!!!

Nuts A level results

2005-08-18T09:26:00.000+01:00

So there has been an increase - yet again - in the amount of students passing their A levels.

While this is obviously great for the students themselves it’s must prove to be a nightmare for employers and further education institutions.

Maybe I’m wrong here - and I don’t mind being corrected - but I thought the whole point of examinations was to rank people with respect to a selecting the best students.

When I took my A levels the grades were handed out in percentage blocks - the top 10% of the LEA got a grade A, the next 15% got a grade B and so on. What this meant that no matter how easy or difficult a paper it was only the top 10% of the year got an A grade. This meant that an A grade percentage was anything between 65 and 75%.

Why has this changed? How can a university or an employer select the best candidates for interview when more and more people seem to be obtaining a top grade?

IMO: It’s NUTS!

Tropicana TV Advert

2005-07-30T09:26:00.000+01:00

Can someone tell me the sense in having an advert that says that your product, in this case orange juice is New York’s favourite and then offering a promo/competition to visit one of 30 European cities?

Seems stupid to me.

Horse Dung - a load of old cr*p

2005-07-29T09:25:00.000+01:00

For years we have been plagued in the city with commercial enterprises leaving excrement in the city centre.

What I am talking about are the horse drawn carriages that carry people on sightseeing tours of the city.

Other cities - usually cosmopolitan ones - that York is aiming to become like - have horse drawn carriages and they don’t have this problem as the horses have collection devices - usually a sack.

It is about time that the council did something about this.

It’s goodbye to the human touch

2005-07-29T09:24:00.000+01:00

So the council want to remove the human touch from their call centre.

Well apart from the fact that some people - particularly the older or less educated find these systems bad to use - just the people who really need to speak to the council - don’t they realise that there is the beginning of a backlash against such computerised systems in the country.

Obviously not.

Another step in the wrong direction.

It's goodbye to the human touch - This is York Archive - From the Evening Press

St George’s Day

2005-04-21T09:23:00.000+01:00

So it’s St George’s day on Saturday - the Patron Saint of England.

Is anything happening to celebrate this day in York? Has the local authorities got anything planned?

Well from what I have heard - no. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Complete nothing.

Several things about this make me angry.

Why will people celebrate St Patrick’s Day and not their patron saint?
Why don’t the leaders of the country make it a bank holiday - they do for other things but not for this apparently.

But the main think that annoys me is with the general association that St George’s Cross has with thugs and far right politics.

I’m English and I’m proud of it. It’s about time that the millions of law abiding English people - of all race - win the flag back from people who portray it in a less than favourable light.

PS: I don’t think that much happens to celebrate Yorkshire day - 1st August if anyone is interested.

£3.6m uncollected - and then they ask for more

2005-04-01T09:22:00.000+01:00

The local council hasn’t collected £3.6m, yes £3.6m, worth of council tax and then they have the nerve to ask for more.

I just can’t beleive this story that was published today in the York Evening Press (www.thisisyork.co.uk).

We the public pay money to the council to collect money and then they can’t do it. They were 94% successful in collecting.

This has really got me fuming - they blame the new IT system that the public have paid for saying they can’t get reminders out to people and then they ask for an above the inflation increase in council tax - probably to fill the hole in the budget that the lack of proper collection of last years tax has caused.

This is not just good enough.

People will always try and get out of paying more tax so what could be done to make sure that people pay. One idea that I have had is for a person - when they have paid their tax - to be issued with a card stating so and this card also carries an expiry date. Without this card they can’t use council services - i.e. they could get kicked out of their council home, can’t claim benefit, can’t get a library card, can’t send their kids to school and can’t get their bins emptied.

Basically - If you pay, you get.

St Peters School

2005-03-10T09:28:00.000Z

St Peter’s school have put an application forward to build a road to allow the parents of their pupils to be dropped off at the door of their newly bought school - formally Queen Anne’s.

I have to admit that this proposed road will be placed at the bottom of the street that I live on and I have to admit that the situation at the moment is poor.

At the same time they are wanting to build two astro-turf pitches with floodlights. The sceptics among us would beleive that this is the main reason why they want the access road building as this would be a revenue earner for them.

So if we take the first point - pupils being deleivered to school. The problems with this are:

Kids are getting fatter because they have no exercise - encouraging them not to walk is detrimental to their health
Most of the kids seem to get delivered in 4x4’s - one of the worst cars for safety to pedestrians - so while little Jonny is safe - they don’t give a hoot for others.
It is obvious by this application that the premises that they bought were unsuitable for their needs - so wouldn’t the solution be to move the school into purpose built builds at a place where access is better - i.e. not in a residential area. Most of the children that attend this school are not local.

Also the school already has a planning application out for the removal of a public right of way. The proposed development will effect another public right of way. Also the application for the removal was done on the basis that non-school related people were on the premises. By opening out the school premises to the public - use of the astro-turf - this would increase the number of people on the property.

Basically the reasons that they put forward for changing the access to the school do not make sense if you take into consideration the pupils alone - but when you add in the fact that they want to open up access to the public so that they can use the astro-turf facilities then you realise that this is a commercial venture.

Cyclists and Cars

2005-01-04T09:21:00.000Z

Tonight in the local paper there was an article regarding a nurse who was knocked off her cycle on bonfire night.

Now nothing unusual about this I hear you say, however the motorist is not being prosecuted.

Firstly I have to state that I am both a cyclist and a motorist.

What upsets me about this lack of prosecution is that it does not act as a deterrent to other reckless motorists.

By design a motorist is driving a potential lethal weapon - one ton of metal is a lethal weapon in my book. This means that there should be an onus on them to drive defensively with due care and attention to other road users.

Maybe the more lethal your mode of transport is then the greater onus should be placed upon the driver of the more lethal vehicles. This means that the most vulnerable road user, i.e. the pedestrian is protected the most, then the cyclist, then the motorcyclist etc. Therefore the driver of the more lethal vehicle is required to disprove their neglect rather than the prosecution, usually the most vulnerable, to prove their guilt.

Litter

2004-10-04T09:29:00.000+01:00

This is a bit of an old chestnut, but the problems have still not been addressed. New local legislation was brought in that would enable “officials” to handout £50 on-the-spot fines for littering.

In principle I think that this is a great idea. Litter is a problem through out York, especially more in the suburbs than in the centre, and this needs to be addressed.

The problem that I have with this is that facilities for people to dispose safely of litter are woefully inadequate.

So what am I talking about, well for a start the provision of litterbins. I would place litterbins in places where people wait - i.e taxi ranks, bus stops etc. While most of the taxi ranks have provision bus stops do not.

At my local bus stop, on one of the principle flagship routes into the town the nearest litter bin is only 20 yards away - the only problem is that you have to cross a very busy major road to get to it - definitely not safe for kids and you would also probably miss your bus.

One of the litter items that the council wanted to crack down on was/is cigarette butts. Now again I do not have a problem with this in principle, however how does someone dispose of the safely?

There are a couple of specific bins for them - well two that I know of, so what is a person supposed to do. I know throw them in a bin. Ah just thought of problem, it probably isn’t wise to throw a cigarette butt into a bin full of paper and greasy food wrapping - I’m sure the Fire Service would not be happy.

The council also said that they were going to distribute portable ashtrays for smokers. At this time I am not aware if any have been issued.

Overall the basis of the campaign is great, however the implementation leaves something to be desired.

Evening Parking Charges - is it a con?

2004-09-29T09:29:00.000+01:00

Well this has been a very emotive issue around the city that has been raging for the best part of the year.

After months of businesses, residents and visitors complaining that the increased costs were driving away customers, driving clubs and societies out of the city and in general putting people off visiting in the evening the council decided to back down and re-structure the charges. Was the initial shock when the charges first introduced a ploy so that when they were reduced the public would be grateful?

To me there are several problems with this. The first and in my view the most major is that there are still evening parking charges and more places where people can not park their car.

If there is an argument that there are too many cars in the centre of the city during an evening then I agree that we should encourage people to use the excellent Park & Ride facilities, however what use are they when they stop before the evening attractions of York have. The theatres, film showings, restaurants and bars of York do not get going until 7.30 to 8.30, so by the time most people have had their fill the buses are empty - stood at their depot.

As well as the carp park charges and the inadequent public transport double-yellow lines and on-street parking meters were introduced. Now I always thought that double yellows were put in place to stop people parking and blocking access for people or more especially the emergency services. Obviously this was not the case and they were being used to police parking measures. The other amazing thing was that double yellow lines that had been in pace for years suddenly got removed and replaced with a parking meter.

I hope that this situation gets sorted out and that the city doesn’t suffer too much long-term damage, but this is a prime example of ill thought out policy effecting the lives of residents, businesses and visitors and a detrimental way.

—————————————————————————————

In tonight’s Evening Press Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat executive member for planning and transport, there is a report of her attacking the Press’ Stop the Highway Robbery campaign saying that it was “devoid of any intellectual content whatsoever”. It only got around 11,000 signatures!!!! Guess who has thrown the Teddy out of the cot?

Why can politicians sometimes hold up their hands and say sorry we got it wrong. I’m sure people would have a little bit more respect for them.

Respark - an unfair local tax?

2004-09-28T09:30:00.000+01:00

As many of you will know Respark charges increased at the same time as the council imposed the Evening Parking charges and increased the amount of double yellow lines and parking meters in the city.

For those of you that don’t know, Respark is a scheme that was introduced to stop residential streets being full of parked cars that were not connected (owned, visiting etc) to residents. The costs that were charged to residents were to cover the cost of the scheme i.e. not to make profit.

So what happen this year - the council decided to double the cost of a resident permit. They also increased the cost of other permits including one day visitor permits. The outcome of this was that the Respark scheme now became another form of local taxation and it was no longer a non-profit making scheme to help the residents of the city.

Some critics have said that the ruling council (Liberal Democrat) have imposed a tax on areas of city that are controlled by opposing ward councilors. It is worth saying that most of the Respark schemes are in wards that are controlled by the Labour party.

From what I understand the scheme was only considered for an area if the residents of the street asked for the street to be put forward. I wonder what would happen if the residents petitioned to have their Respark status removed? Probably the council tax would have to increase again!!!

Oh on a final note - when the decision was made to review and change the evening car park charges, Respark charges were not changed.