Cllr Chris Steward

23/10/2026

Other services will also be affected due to rail improvement works.

Read more: https://bbc.in/4id6gBs

23/10/2026

cHANGES TO PLANNING RULES

on 31st October changes are coming in, forced by government, to where decisions are taken on planning applications. Currently councils set their own rules on what should be decided by councillors and what should be decided on by council staff. Over the last year C*C has changed its rules to bring fewer things to committee anyway - for example a housing development of 40 would now ordinarily be decided just by staff but the forced changes go much further.

the government is standardising what can go to committee and it will be much less. Only certain applications will be able to potentially go to committeee (is be decided on public) and they must then meet a 'Gateway' test which includes the Chair of the Planning Committee and the Head of Planning both agreeing that the application should go to committee.

Currently councillors can potentially 'call in' essentially all applications to be considered by a committee but this will go. Even the likes of reserved matters (ie the detail of development, not the principle) for as many as 500 houses will now be decided just by council staff.

This is a very significant move by the government as it tries to meet its 300,000 homes per year target (which it has no chance of doing!). Councils have to admit their constitutions for the changes and C*C will do this in November but it is coming in anyway.

21/10/2026

YORKFIELD LANE

Things are now moving on Yorkfield Lane (or what C*C called 'Active Travel Route Copmanthorpe'. To recap, Yorkfield Lane is an old right of way which links the new Tadcaster Road houses with the centre of the village and is being improved in the months ahead with funding from a development S106 and the Mayoral Combined Authority. It will make it a great sustainable transport corridor with a good walking and cycling route through the village.

There has been some digging of holes of late to check things (I have more technical details somewhere if you want!) and soon they will clear areas of overgrown vegetation/scrub and do general site clearance to facilitate the construction works.

Arrangements have been made for these works to be carried out by JC Trees Ltd, and these will be undertaken over four separate days in November starting from the first attached site location and the proposal is to proceed in a sequential order as shown on the maps at the bottom as follows:-

• Monday 9th November (working hours 09.00 – 16.00 hrs)

• Friday 20th November (working hours 08.30 – 17.00 hrs)

• Thursday 26th November (working hours 08.30 – 17.00 hrs)

• Friday 27th November (working hours 08.30 – 17.00 hrs)

The paths/byways will be open for use at all times but with appropriate traffic management warning signs advising passers-by that works will be taking place around them when moving through the areas. A representative from JC Trees Ltd will be on site during these times, and they will serve as the primary representative and ‘public face’ of the project works. They will be on hand to politely advise any members of the public using the pathways about the ongoing work and act as site ambassador. They will also oversee the correct placement of advanced warning signs etc.

17/10/2026

YorkMix Choice Awards - a message from us 🧡

We are so grateful to be finalists this year at the YorkMix Choice Awards 2026, thanks to the amazing support of our followers who voted for us to get through! 🌟

Since we took over The Rec in 2022, we have worked hard to create a community hub for all ages to enjoy - through community events, free family fun days, supporting village user groups, and so much more.

Our event calendar shows we have hosted over 80 community events since our ownership at The Rec, not including plenty of free bouncy castle days too!

We have been nominated for “Best Leisure Time Activity or Supplier” in York, so if you’d like to see your local become multi-award winning, please vote using the link below! 🎉

🔗 yorkmix.com/choice

If you already voted in the first round, you CAN vote again! The awards are given based solely on public vote, so every vote counts. Make sure you share with family & friends. 🫶

13/10/2026

DEER WARNING SIGNS

Many of us will be aware of the problem of deer possibly getting injured or killed on the roads around the new houses and Askham Bog and obviously the danger for other road users. I am pleased to report that after campaigning by various people, including a petition and children at Copmanthorpe Primary School writing to the council that C*C has changed its view view not to put them up and they will be.

When asking when they would be out up I was told a worrying 'in due course' but I have now had confirmation that it should be this week! Three new signs covering all routes!!

09/10/2026

👏 👏 👏

📣Drum roll please📣
We are overjoyed to announce the final figures raised for 25/26. Thank you so much for your support and a huge well done to the small team of Friends’ who without their hard work simply wouldn’t have achieved this fantastic amount towards the new library 📚 ❤️
👏 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

07/10/2026

LIBRARY CUTS AVOIDED

The council has finally admitted defeat on its plan to slash £600,000 per year from the grant it gives annually to Explore who run the city’s libraries.

The cut was proposed in the new administration's first budget when they took control of City of York Council in 2023 but thankfully they had subsequently failed to deliver it.

Explore is in a contract with the council for the service it provides which has several years still to run. It was totally wrong that Labour picked a figure out of thin air and hoped Explore would agree to rewrite their contract voluntarily to leave them with far less money. The cut would have either meant cuts to library staffing or the closure of libraries or both. I consistently opposed the change as wrong and also pointed out there was no way it would be deliverable.

One aspect we think should be looked at is the current requirement that whenever a York library is open there is a qualified librarian available. Whilst we think librarians do an excellent job, we believe there is scope to offer a fuller service to residents if that specific commitment was dropped. There are many libraries which have very limited opening hours but this could be extended with more volunteers being allowed to help – as for example works very well in North Yorkshire.

07/10/2026

TASK AND FINISH GROUPS

I am currently serving on two ‘Task and Finish’ Groups with the council. The first of these is looking at how well (or not) council house repairs are done. As part of this he delivered a survey to the just over 30 council houses we have in the village.

I also chair a group looking at S106 agreements, which are made with developers of new housing sites regarding infrastructure and how well they are enforced. We know well in the village the many flaws there have been in S106s from our two new housing sites. From November the government is bringing in changes to planning law which will see far fewer planning decisions go to a Planning Committee. So, getting S106 agreements rights when they are written will be more important than ever. Neither group sounds exciting or sexy but they are hopefully making a positive impact!

If there is something the council is doing that you think would benefit from a closer look to find improvements please get in touch to suggest it!

07/10/2026

CHANGES TO REC*CLING

The council has decided to move as many people as possible from three recycling boxes to two small wheeled bins – one for tins, plastic and glass and a separate one for paper and card.

This change is planned to come in during the summer of 2027 and is strange timing given it involves a commitment to an outlay of just under £3 million of expenditure but the full review of how waste collection services are delivered is still to happen.

The cycle will be a collection of the grey bin, then the next week tins etc, then back to grey bin and then finally paper and card. The council does not plan to take back the old boxes, unless there is a demand to, with them hoping people will reuse them. Also, crucially, people will be able to keep using the boxes if they prefer – some people have said they would find it much easier to store them than other wheeled bins.

The council has yet to fully decide on all of the details and there will seemingly be various ‘exceptional’ cases where for example people can have larger bins if they want. There will be no changes to the green bin collections which will be over a 40 week period and there will be continue to be the additional Green bin tax (which in York the Conservatives are the only party not to support).

07/10/2026

COUNCIL LOOKING AT 'NEGOTIATED STOPPING' FOR TRAVELLERS

The council is looking to buy land, which will almost by definition be rural, to put sites on where they would have what they refer to as ‘negotiated’ stays for travellers. York currently has an average of about seven or eight illegal traveller encampments per year and sadly these often cause notable damage and left waste. C*C’s plan is effectively that when travellers turn up at an illegal location, like a village green, they would ‘negotiate’ and agree that they will move to one of the approved temporary sites for a period of for example a week. It will not be possible to pre book the sites, i.e. they are only accessible as a reward for breaking the law. York Conservatives very strongly oppose the scheme believing it would see a surge in the number of travellers looking to come to York as they will know there is effectively allocated space for them.

The council cannot currently find any suitable land and hopefully this situation will continue and save residents from the administration’s stupidity.