York Guides

The county council is introducing 11 salt barns which will allow 50,000 tonnes of salt to be stored under cover. This means dry salt will be spread more efficiently, saving 12,000 tonnes a year previously lost to rainfall..
Highways offices, reorganised to link with district council boundaries, will provide the whole service from one location in each area, improving local co-ordination and ensuring better access to the service.
They will be responsible for all aspects of service delivery, from carriageway and footway repair, winter maintenance and grass cutting to traffic management and road safety.
Highways North Yorkshire, which provides the service on behalf of the county council, will also be based at these offices to ensure the service is streamlined through the sharing of resources and costs.
Existing highway depots at Malton, Pickering, Kirkbymoorside, Fulford in York, Norby in Thirsk, Croft House in Skipton, Kingsmill in Settle, West Ayton, Whitby and Starbeck will be sold as part of the rationalisation of the service.
Improved operational depots will be developed at: Richmond, Kirkby Misperton, Skipton, Farnham near Knaresborough and Selby, while new sites will be found at Thirsk and Whitby.
The changes are intended to reduce running costs, provide better accommodation for staff, address "bad neighbour" issues by moving unsociable operations out of residential areas.
They will also cut costs on salt use and reduce environmental pollution from salt.
The county council's executive member for environmental services, Peter Sowray, said: "The depots will be more customer-focused and in line with district council boundaries. These changes will not only improve the services we provide to the communities of North Yorkshire, but they will also save money."
The offices will accommodate the partners delivering highway services in North Yorkshire, North Yorkshire County Council, its contractors RCS and designers Mouchel-Parkman.
Contact details for the offices are: Area One Richmond , 01748 823323; Area Two Thirsk, 01845 522138; Area Three Whitby, 01947 604530; Area Four Kirkbymoorside, 01751 431248; Area Five Skipton, 01756 794816, Area Six Starbeck, 01423 883502 and Area Seven Selby, 01757 702441.