Andy D'Agorne

The options for tackling the traffic on Fulford Road are at long last being set out in a committee paper for City Strategy on Oct 29th. see page 19 of

http://democracy.york.gov.uk/Published/C00000438/M00002948/$$ADocPackPublic.pdf

Some 18 months after first requesting information from the transport planners, the first fairly sketchy details of what might be possible by way of bus priority and cycle provision has been set out. Sadly the first press coverage today has focussed on my complaint that ward councillors have not been given the opportunity to make any input to the study by consultants Halcrow.

 We did get to see the paper about 48 hours before it became public. But the officers clearly regard councillors and the electorate as interfering amateurs - to quote from one email: "The report will identify a broad strategy for the corridor to address the issues identified in the study. Once the strategy is agreed, further work will be done to develop the schemes that form part of that strategy. We will discuss these schemes with you... as they are developed and will involve you at an early stage of any consultation processes." In other words consultants tell us what needs doing, the Executive Member decides, then we will ask you what you think, after residents have already read the local journalist's version of what is proposed.

Fortunately the brief for the work made clear that the consequences of not taking action should be spelt out as well as the broad description of what needs to be done. New sections of cycle lanes, bus lanes, a new set of traffic lights and better pedestrian crossings are included in the proposals. In the last year, new office and housing developments, increased bus fares and growing affluence of students and workers have all increased the pressure of on street parking- Maple Grove and Kilburn Rd. and Grange Garth have all started to suffer from commuter parking, sometimes constraining the widths so as to create problems for delivery vehicles, bin lorries, the disabled transport bus etc. Although residents parking schemes have worked in some places the £88 annual fee has deterred some from asking for this option (though a report today shows this cost hasnt had any impact on the number of cars in these areas, where the number of permits issued can exceed the roadspace available)

The picture with the entry for Feb 2007 clearly shows the problem - replacing the right turn lane with an inbound bus lane will obviously help, but there may be difficult choices in places between parking, cycle lane, grass verge, tree, or peak hour roadspace. One solution that would require a change of York council policy would be to have peak time bus lanes (that you can park in off peak). Our recently retired head of network management didnt believe in them, even though they work effectively in most major cities - ah, yes, but then N Yorkshire Police give very low priority to enforcement of such 'minor traffic offences' as driving in bus lanes, pavement parking, loading in stupid places etc. So, like humps outside schools that are only needed at school run time, just something else we have to live with because of our inconsiderate British driving habits.

THE OUTCOME OF THIS IS TO BE DISCUSSED AT CITY STRATEGY EMAP ON MAR 17TH 2008

Well, on Tuesday Oct 23rd 2007 the Lib Dem Executive is set to agree to buy into a 25 year deal with N Yorkshire for a 'treatment plant' that as yet they dont know how it will work or where it will be - we only know it is going to cost £123m more than we can 'afford' over that period of time. Below is the text sent to the local press to try to explain to the general public exactly how significant this decision is... but unfortunately the journalist doesnt appear to have fully grasped the facts as presented in the Executive papers - the whole project is unaffordable, even at this stage, and will undermine serious radical steps to reduce waste and promote re-use and recycling by locking us into an expensive contract with ageing technology.

To put the record straight, I have not said that the Lib Dems want an incinerator, but they are signing up to a deal that 'lets the market decide' on the basis of cost, and technical details, not on the basis of what is best for the environment or the good of the people of York.  

Release embargoed 5pm Oct 12th 2007   Unedited full text below:

Leading Green councillor Andy D'Agorne has pledged to mobilise the region's environmentalists in opposing the future planning application for a waste treatment plant in North Yorkshire, if the city goes ahead with the controversial incinerator plan. The government recently announced the award of £65m PFI credits towards the £1.4bn 25 year project costs. In March this year City of York Council Executive agreed to proceed with the project despite an estimated £123.5m 'afforability gap' for City of York council over the lifetime of the project. 'This is the economics of Alice in Wonderland' said Cllr D'Agorne who argues that the Partnership with the county will be more costly than a radical waste reduction strategy that has never been professionally considered by officers. Between Sept 2006 and Mar 2007, re-assessment of recycling rates in York halved the estimated total cost saving of the project when compared with a 'do nothing scenario' .   'Recycling is still in its infancy for commercial waste collected by the council from businesses and council premises with legislative changes forcing more recycling. Recycling collections from flats and terraced streets will be extended, plastics will get relatively more expensive as oil prices increase, so what will be left to burn in this white elephant that the major parties want to build, on a site that is yet to be determined?' said Cllr D'Agorne  The Greens are also critical of the failed county wide consultation that resulted in a less than 1% response rate to a household questionnaire sent out in December 2005 with a response deadline of Jan 2nd 2006 . At the time, Cllr Waller claimed this was 'only the start of the process' but no further consultation is now planned, with councillors likely to decide on the contractor bids in secret by the end of next year.   The timescale to be discussed at the Executive meeting on Oct 23rd envisages approval of a preferred bidder by December 2008 with the planning application for the plant not being submitted until June 2009. However the proposal is for the council to delegate authority to senior officers to sign a legal agreement with North Yorkshire County Council by the end of this year, committing the council to whatever package is developed at the the end of the tendering process.  'The people of York could be buying a pig in a poke for the next 25 years, yet at present it looks like the opposition to this is only coming from the Greens' said Councillor D'Agorne  

 Here's the story as printed in the Press!

A CONTROVERSIAL "energy from waste" incinerator will be put out to tender later this month, but Green councillors have vowed to fight it at the planning stage. City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council put together a private finance initiative (PFI) bid for treatment plants last September. Local authorities across the country have been considering similar schemes involving "energy from waste" incinerators and mechanical biological treatment to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

City of York Council will on Monday start taking outline bids from private companies wanting to take on the project. At a meeting of the city council's executive on Tuesday, councillors will be told that £65 million in PFI funding has been secured towards the scheme's costs. The 25-year project is expected to cost £1.4 billion.

But Andy D'Agorne, the leader of the Greens on the council, said the project will be cost ineffective given the expected increase in recycling rates over the next 25 years. The site has yet to be chosen for the plant, but council officers expect planning applications to be filed in summer 2009. Coun D'Agorne has pledged to mobilise the region's environmentalists in opposing any application for a waste treatment plant in North Yorkshire.

"This is the economics of Alice in Wonderland," he said. "This partnership with the county will be more costly than a radical waste reduction strategy - something which has never been professionally considered by officers." He said the scheme ignored cheaper alternatives.

Andrew Waller, the council's environment boss, said the project would not necessarily involve incineration. Councillors would also consider a mechanical and biological treatment facility, where all recyclable waste would be sorted out using magnets and electric currents, and the remainder treated with microbes. "It's very misleading of Coun D'Agorne to say we want an incinerator," he said.

"I'm personally doing all I can to ensure a mechanical and biological treatment option has the greatest chance of success." He also disputed Coun D'Agorne's assertion that a waste treatment plant was not the most cost-effective.

12:45pm Wednesday 17th October 2007

My council email recently has consisted of hundreds of messages with this in the subject line - it did make me wonder whether urging people to email councillors or MP's on a particular issue might be counter- productive! Anyway tonight's much heralded debate on whether or not to ban foie gras was a pretty tame affair - no clearing of protesters from the public gallery, no ultra vires motions or amendments. and even our watered down amendment to ask market stall holders nicely not to sell this disgusting product of animal cruelty found support from two Green councillors, and no-one else! Lib Dems even voted against it, presumably because it might risk upsetting our inward investment or city centre manager!

So the upshot is that York wont be ordering any foie gras for the Lord Mayor's banquet, but if you want some just pop down to one of the French stalls in the Food and Drink Festival!

Other highlights of tonight's full council meeting included a starring role for Outer York prospective hopeful Cllr Madeleine Kirk with a radical plan to call the privatised water companies to heel and the deletion by Labour of a clause demanding that action by the water companies to tackle infrastructure repairs should be paid for out of profits not increased charges... Why? Well the Tories wouldnt support the Labour amendment unless  this happened of course! So the Labour amendment was carried with us voting against (why shouldnt water companies tackle climate change using some of their excess profits?) , but then we supported the substantive amended motion. I spoke on the issue urging that Labour would be equally concerned at the prospect of handing over Highways Maintenance to a private concern for 25 years (as we might be deciding in the next few months) when the drains needed in 5 years time could be quite different from now.

The other prize debate was about the Tory idea that the ring road ' is crying out to be dualled' - in spite of the evidence from a highways consultants report commissioned by the council in 2004 that this would be a total waste of time and money! As they had no counter arguements, the opposition sought to undermine my evidence from the consultants report by heckling and jeering - the more I experience the pathetic level of debate the more I feel that we should press for a webcam in the council chamber so that the electorate can see the purile boarish behaviour of their elected representatives and the overdominant role of party politics in council affairs !

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Posted by: andydag    in: Latest news

Our next ward meeting is on Tue Oct 10th from 7pm at the Melbourne Centre - that's the former youth club behind Fishergate School that is used as a polling station. Might be needed again soon if Gordon takes the plunge before the honeymoon is over.

There is so much going on at the moment it is difficult to find time to tell you about it all, but make sure you get a 'Festival of Ideas' Questionnaire in the centre of your ward newsletter - it asks for your views on key questions like how much should York grow in the next 15 years, what sort of open space is important to you and do you still want York to aim for a sustainable future. The Local Development Framework (the future version of the Local Plan that is the 'reference point' for all planning applications) AND the Community Strategy are open for consultation at the moment. Then there is the Future York Report, waste strategy (where would you like to site a waste incinerator?) Highways maintenance PFI bid (get your new roads on credit, pay for the next 25 years!) Fulford Rd corridor study (how can we cope with thousands more users from all the new developments?)

On a more local level, we hope Fishergate residents will give their views on the various ideas put forward to improve the ward next year - a 'shop local campaign' to promote the small shops in the ward, a 20mph pilot area in some of our side streets, signs, path improvements, youth activities, recycling. Dont miss your chance to vote on the insert in your ward newsletter. Not got one? ring Graeme on 551819 or turn up to the meeting! Well hope to see you there.

I