York’s Conservative-led administration has released its budget for the 16/17 financial year and has made good on its pledge to protect front-line services in the face of extreme financial pressures on local authority budgets nationwide. Haxby and Wigginton Cllr. Tony Richardson, the Conservative spokesperson on the Environment said “We have taken on board what is important to residents and we are mindful that a clean, well-kept city with good services is a plus for everyone living in York. I am pleased to report that our first budget includes £432,000 for street based services activities, including funding to combat fly tipping and graffiti. We have also included a one-off £60,000 for a strategic flood risk assessment, which we will use to springboard our approach to future flooding issues. And we have maintained our position of no charges on green waste bins. “We think that York appreciates an approach that benefits the city as a whole, which is much different from the old Labour policy of targeting favourite wards or spending on nice-to-have projects driven mainly by ideology. Our administration is mindful that our street scene funds must be spent wisely and where most needed. We think our budget has met this challenge and that our expenditure will be noticeable to residents, particularly as we move into spring.”