Fly tipping near the clothes banks at the Acomb Wood Drive shopping area has now been removed. The Council acted promptly to address the issue following our report last week. There is space in the banks for more clothes now.
Fly tipping gone
Potholes report confirms York has a major problem and it is getting worse
A report on highway maintenance in the City reveals that the value of the current back log of maintenance is approximately one hundred and twelve million (£112 million) based on the current condition and cost of repairs.
The figure confirms what many residents had feared. The condition of York’s roads and footpaths is continuing to decline
A separate annex reveals that, in most parts of the City, between 3% and 10% of carriageways are rated as “structurally impaired”. These are “very poor”, the lowest condition rating.
The percentage of roads classified as “very poor” has increased in every ward in the City during the last 3 years.
The figures also confirm that the City’s roads have not recovered from the draconian maintenance cuts imposed by the then Labour administration in 2012.
More recently the new LibDem/Green led Council has substantially increased the resources allocated to highway maintenance.
The figure also includes a delegated budget to be determined at ward level. There is little evidence that this money has so far been invested*.
The report says that from 1st April 2019 until 26th November 2019, the council has completed “16,646.3 m² of pothole repairs, this equates to 520 m² per week, this is 29.71 m² per day, per gang”.
This can be compared with the same period in 2018 when the council completed “7,586.4 m² of pothole repairs, this equates to 237 m² per week, with training etc. that was 18.9 m² per gang, per day”
Some of the parties vying for votes at the General Election are promising to fill in all potholes. Government funding has been consistently low in recent years.
We doubt that central government appreciates the scale of the backlog in maintenance work which currently exists
*Each ward also has a share of a £500,000 fund earmarked for improvements for “cyclists and pedestrians”. So far suggestions from residents for the use of this fund – for example to reduce ponding problems on routes across amenity areas – have produced little positive response from officials
Plans to transform Castle Mills submitted
The council has submitted its plans to create a new public park at the rear of the Castle Museum, a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Foss, commercial spaces for local independent traders, and 106 new apartments, including new council housing.
This is another major milestone in the delivery of the regeneration of the Castle Gateway. As well as bringing life to the old Castle Mills car park site and a place for growing York businesses on Piccadilly, the residential development would fund the construction of a new multi-storey car park on St George’s Field.
This parking would then allow Castle car park to close and be replaced by additional public space.
The Castle Mills plans would see two residential apartment blocks built, with the entire southern block of 20 apartments being new council housing. The northern block will include 86 flats ranging in size from 1 bed apartments to 2 bed duplexes. The ground floor of both apartment blocks will feature commercial spaces.
The council are taking a lead on environmental sustainability, with homes benefiting from renewable energy sources and the proposals providing a car free development with high level of cycle parking.
The proposals also include a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the river Foss linking up with the new pedestrian/cycle crossing over the inner ring and connecting up wider cycle routes to create safer and sustainable journeys in to and through the city centre.
The bridge will also link across to the area at the rear of the Castle Museum. This space, which is currently part of the museum grounds, will be opened to the public as a new riverside park, creating a place to relax in the shadow of the Castle Walls.
The proposals have been shaped and developed with stakeholders, partners and residents through the innovative My Castle Gateway public engagement project. The design will create new landmark riverside buildings for Piccadilly whilst generating the financial return to help pay for the regeneration proposals for the Castle Gateway.
The main features of the masterplan are:
- replacing Castle Car Park with a multi-storey car park and visitor arrival point on St George’s Field
- Castle Car Park and the Eye of York to become a new public space, hosting events throughout the year
- a new residential and leisure building visually enhancing and covering the servicing yard at the rear of the Coppergate Centre
- a new riverside walk by the Foss from the south of the city and a pedestrian/cycle bridge connecting with Piccadilly
- bringing life to the Foss Basin, including a new apartment development
- new commercial and residential developments on the sites of Castle Mills Car Park and 17-21 Piccadilly
- significant improvements to public spaces and streets throughout the area
After the planning application has been validated by the council’s planning team in the coming days, it will be available to view at www.york.gov.uk/planning under reference number 19/02415/FUL
Further information can be found on the My Castle Gateway project at www.york.gov.uk/CastleGatewayCastleMills
What’s on in York: Big “T” tomorrow Wednesday in Acomb
Fools For Love: A Launch of Two New Books
Thursday December 5th
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Free
A return of former journalists John Wheatcroft and Alan Smith in conversation with Alan Gillott about their latest novels exploring sex, death, and romantic love: no fools like old fools.
Alan Smith and John Wheatcroft bring their experience as journalists and prison teachers to their new novels, Virginia, and Rocket Boy. Virginia is an actor whose lover Dan dies slowly and awfully, leaving her wishing him both alive and dead; until she meets Hank, who is also trapped between lives. In Rocket Boy, Simon Waiters’ life is defined by a childhood meeting with Yuri Gagarin; revisiting his past, and lost loves, sounds dangerous but could just be the break he needs. Alan and John discuss their books with Stairwell publisher Alan Gillott.