At tonight’s Extraordinary Council the ruling Labour Group ignored public opinion again and decided to press ahead with their plans to close the Beckfield Lane Household Waste and Recycling Centre.

A petition against the closure, signed by over 3,000 local residents, was debated at the meeting alongside a Liberal Democrat motion that proposed keeping the site open.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Ann Reid, who moved the motion, commented:
“It is deeply disappointing that Labour once more completely ignored public opinion and pressed ahead with their closure plans. Over 3,000 residents signed the petition, including a record number using the Council’s e-system. It was a groundswell of opinion and anger that Labour closed their eyes to.

“Labour also failed to address many key issues that councillors and residents raised, including the threat of increased fly-tipping and the risk of damaging the recycling rate. Labour’s argument has shifted from economics to location to accessibility and in each area their claims have been found wanting.

“The Beckfield Lane site is convenient; serves the needs of the West of the City and the staff help overcome any accessibility problems. The Liberal Democrat Group demonstrated that it was possible to keep it open within the current budget constraints. It is shameful that Labour have chosen to close it instead.”

Detectives investigating after a cash delivery man was robbed on Front Street, Acomb, on Wednesday 18 April 2012 have arrested two more men in connection with the incident.

A 22-year-old man from Liverpool was arrested at York Train Station at around 12.45pm today (24 April 2012). He remains in police custody for questioning.

A 23-year-old local man was arrested on Ordnance Lane, York, at around 4.15pm on Friday 20 April 2012. He has been released on bail as enquiries continue.

Police have now arrested a total of five people as a result of their enquires into the robbery.

Any witnesses to the robbery are urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 – select option 2 – and ask for York CID.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting reference number 12120061468.

Community Stadium

The Council have finally announced the date of the meeting which will determine the Oakgate planning application for the Monks Cross area. Originally scheduled for decision last autumn the delays have done little to enhance the City’s reputation as an “open for business” authority.

Still lets hope that it can be sorted out quickly now and the multi million pound investment finally secured for the City.

The Planning meeting on 17th May will have a start time of 10:00am.

Site plan phase 1. Click to enlarge

“This flagship development will feature a varied selection of 2, 3, 4 & 5 bedroom unique contemporary designed, energy efficient, homes set in an environment of well managed, public open space and parkland areas for the benefit of the whole community”. So says the advertising pitch from developers David Wilson Homes and for once they are probably correct. Prices range from £205,000 to £430,000. Homes are also available to rent and under “shared ownership” arrangements.

A preview of the homes, and unique district heating system last Friday convinced most attending that the development will indeed rank with its predecessor New Earswick as a paradigm of innovative planning.
Meanwhile a planning application for the second wave of homes is recommended for approval at the Planning Committee which is scheduled to take place on Thursday. Outline planning permission was granted by the Secretary of State in May 2007 for the residential scheme of approximately 540 dwellings. Phase 1 of the development, accessed from Osbaldwick Village, was granted reserved matters approval in 2008 and this is the section which is currently under construction

The district heating system is provided by an Energy Centre which is located for efficient underground distribution. It will house plant, together with an underground store for the fuel (woodchips and pellets) that ‘fire’ the biomass boiler. The plant within the Centre will supply the heating and hot water needs for the whole community. This system is a key feature for delivering the low carbon component for the development. Derwenthorpe’s preferred bio fuel is woodchip. Woodchip will burn with extremely low pollution effects on the environment (compared to traditional sources like coal and oil) and can be sourced through both harvesting trees grown specifically for this purpose and recycling forestry thinning. It is anticipated that the woodchips will be sourced from a supplier in Yorkshire.

One of the house types available at Derwenthorpe

Homes have been designed and constructed to consume less heat to help save costs. Similar to the principle of a thermos flask, the new homes are extremely well insulated and the joints at windows, doors and roof details so robustly sealed that heat leaks from the inside at a significantly reduced rate compared to the average home in the UK

The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust are providing a ‘Fibre to the Home’ (FTTH) service for all residents of Derwenthorpe. This infrastructure is state of the art and specifically designed for the development to ensure that high quality technology services such as broadband, telephone, television and radio will be accessible to all homes.

The latest planning application seeks reserved matters approval on land west of Metcalfe lane, Osbaldwick. It covers the siting, design and external appearance of the neighbourhood located in the south-west quadrant of the site and accessed from Temple Avenue.

There are 123 dwellings proposed as part of this reserved matters application, laid out around a circular outer road and internal cruciform street pattern. There are seventeen house types arranged in a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached properties. Some of the properties have garages, which are either individual or in short runs and are to be red brick with plain clay tiles to the roof.
All properties have a parking space, whether within a garage, parking court, in-curtilage or on- street. Visitor parking spaces and two car club spaces are accommodate within the neighbourhood. Two Local Areas of Play are shown on the plans, one in the central square and one adjacent to the Sustrans cycle track.

David Wilson Homes can be found at http://tinyurl.com/Derwenthorpe-house-sales

The Joseph Rowntree Derwenthorpe web site address is http://tinyurl.com/JoRo-Derwenthorpe

More about Joseph Rowntree – an 19th century York Liberal

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Raid damage in York

City of York Council will be holding several events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Baedeker Blitz in which The Guildhall was severely damaged on the 29 April 1942.

York Explore (@YorkLibrariesUK) will be tweeting a minute by minute account of the air raid through the night of April 29. There will also be display of fascinating historic documents, artefacts and books. The display will tell the story of the bombs as they fell and the courageous response of York’s people through photographs, maps, newspapers and the diaries of the city’s Air Raid Precaution (ARP) service.

York Stories 2012 are also looking for anyone who may have an account of the Baedeker blitz to record their story for posterity. There are many ways in which to tell a York story, it could be through words, music, video or digital media.

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