I’ve been the Liberal Democrat Councillor for Fulford ward, to the south of the city of York, for the past 6 years. I was elected in May 2003, and re-elected in 2007. I live locally, on Main Street in Fulford. It is a great honour to represent Fulford at the Council.  

I am always keen to hear from residents about local issues and concerns, so please do contact me using the links on the left.

Please keep checking back for for updates and information.

Best Wishes

Keith

On Tuesday the Liberal Democrat Group agreed its budget proposals for the City of York Council budget for 2010/11. The budget aims to prepare York for the economic recovery while ensuring investment in vital services such as adult and children’s social care.

In preparing our budget we were also very keen to ensure we responded to the city wide budget consultation which went out in December.

More information on the detail of the budget proposals can be found by visiting the budget page.

York’s successful kerbside recycling scheme is set to undergo changes to make collection quicker and easier, allowing collection to be extended to cover the whole city.

Currently residents present their recycling in a variety of boxes and bags. Collection crews often have sort through the waste dividing it up as they load it into collection trucks.

A new system has been agreed by Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, Councillor Ann Reid (pictured above) which will see £490,000 invested in providing residents with three recycling boxes with lids to allow them to sort their own recycling.

Residents would be asked to separate their own recycling into paper and card, glass bottles and jars and plastic bottles and cans using the new boxes.

The changes would mean collection crews will no longer have to search through bags to sort the recycling at the kerbside and will be able work more efficiently.

The increased efficiency is expected to save the council £210,000 a year.

Read the rest of this entry.

The next Ward Committee meeting takes place on the 11th February in Fulford Social Hall from 7.15pm. The final list of schemes to be funded by the Ward Committee will be decided at the meeting so why not come along and have your say on where the money goes.

For more details of the schemes that have applied for Ward Committee funding check out the latest edition of Your Ward, which should be delivered soon or visit the Council Website.

Last night the decision was taken by Councillor Steve Galloway, Executive Member for City Strategy, to remove the narrowing of the entrance to Fulford Park from the A19 improvement plans.

This is obviously great news for residents who had opposed the plans believing the changes would cause problems for traffic, while providing little benefit to pedestrians.

The petition, signed by local residents that I handed to the Council in December also highlighted concerns about the impact new road markings would have on the conservation area. These concerns have also been addressed with Council Officers agreeing to slightly reduce the amount of new markings.

The revised scheme now has the support of local residents and the Parish Council and I look forward to the improvements being completed.

Thanks to all of you who signed the petition calling for a rethink on parts of the proposed A19 improvements around Fulford Park.

I submitted the petition at the Full Council meeting last night and I have already had constructive discussions with Council officers about the plans.

I hope to be able to update you all soon on the progress we have made.

At this Thursday’s Full Council meeting the Liberal Democrat group will be calling on Councillors to back the 10:10 campaign and cut down on the council’s carbon emissions.

The 10:10 campaign calls on councils, individuals and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% during 2010. 

The Liberal Democrats Council Executive has already introduced an ambitious carbon management plan which will see the authority’s emissions cut by 25% by 2013. The carbon management plan will see investment in low carbon technology and a change in the way the council operates in order to reduce it’s carbon footprint.

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

Fulford residents using a popular shortcut will soon be in for a smoother walk after City of York Council announced that Chapel Alley will be fully resurfaced later this month.  The announcement draws to an end a our long campaign to get the Council to adopt the alley and carry out repairs.  Read the rest of this entry.

The Council’s Executive have approved the submission of the 7 most popular proposals received under the Sustainable Communities Act. These proposals will now go to the Local Government Association who will collect submissions from local authorities and choose those to be sent to the government.

 The 7 proposals to go forward from York are:

1. Returning packaging to supermarkets
2. Retention of business rates locally
3. Re-regulation of buses
4. Generating energy via community renewable sources
5. Bringing commercial waste in to council recycling targets
6. Retaining council house income locally
7. Ensuring that all landfill tax and Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme penalties are returned to local authorities for investment in further recycling, reduction and reuse and repair.

You can find out more about the Sustainable Communities Act here

As promised in the latest edition of Focus I have added a page with more information on the suggestions made as part of the Sustainable Communities Act consultation.

Click here to visit the page or select the link on the left.

Following a request from residents a new cold calling controlled zone will be launched in Atcherley Close on July 10th.

Cold calling controlled zones aim to prevent doorstep crime by defining an area in which cold callers are not welcome. Anyone breaching the cold calling controlled zone can be reported to the Police or Trading Standards.

If you are interested in having a cold calling controlled zone in your area please visit the council’s website

The Council consulted with residents on plans for the Fulford Road corridor, including cycling, bus and pedestrian improvements earlier this year. Along with local residents I objected to various parts of the scheme, including the fact that there were plans for a significant reduction in local parking, the removal of the two lane exit from Heslington Lane, and that in one location new cycle ways were planned both on and off road going in the same direction.

After these successful representations, the Council agreed to look again at the Main Street and Heslington Lane aspects of the scheme.  Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.