Defences to remain in place this weekend ahead of Storm Dennis

City of York Council will be keeping all temporary measures in place and will be monitoring all flood defences ahead of Storm Dennis, which is expected this weekend.

The following flood defences will remain in place in line with the council’s flood plan throughout this week as teams assess the potential impacts of Storm Dennis over the weekend.

These include:

  • Flood signage has been deployed
  • New A19 defences were successful and kept this main route into York open
  • B1222 was closed due to flood water
  • Bus routes diversions are in place for Skeldergate, Acaster Malbis and Naburn
  • Clementhorpe, Tower Gardens, Peckitt Street and Tower Place temporary defences put in place
  • St George’s field and Esplanade car-park were closed with all others remaining open
  • Rowntree Park was closed.
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It is unlikely that the riverside paths will be fully accessible but they will be cleansed after river levels return to 2.5m.

Following on from Storm Ciara, the River Ouse peaked at 4.35m (0.85m lower than the 2015 peak) at 6am on 11 February. No properties have flooded internally and defences installed since 2015 have been operating effectively.

Stay up-to-date with the latest storm information related to York at www.york.gov.uk/FloodUpdate11022020

Cllr Paula Widdowson, Executive Member for Climate at City of York Council, said:

“I’d like to thank all our staff and key services, such as the Environment Agency and emergency services, who have worked round the clock to ensure York remains open and safe for all our residents and visitors.

“We’ll be keeping a close watch on rainfall and wind strength over the coming days and into the weekend, with Storm Dennis forecast to arrive on Saturday 15 February, with heavy rain and strong winds.  The council will work with partners to take action should river levels rise again.

“River levels are likely to rise over the weekend and into early next week. So, all temporary measures will be kept in place and monitored during this period.

“We have an exciting weekend of events taking place here in York, including the much loved JORVIK Viking Festival, which has announced new venues to avoid potential damage from the storm. We look forward to welcoming lots of residents and visitors to our beautiful city this weekend!”

Traffic signals to be upgraded on Holgate road junction

Works will start on Monday 24 February and are expected to be fully completed by Thursday 12 March, working between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday and 8am and 4pm at weekends.

The scheme at the junction will include replacing outdated traffic (pedestrian crossing) signals with new, more reliable ones and installing a new puffin style pedestrian crossing.

The five year traffic signal asset renewal programme was given the green light by the council in November 2015 at a public meeting.

The total replacement programme will cost £2.620m over six years and will be funded through the capital programme budget and the existing Local Transport Plan budget.

Residents are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for their journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible.

To allow for the works to be undertaken safely it will be necessary to close a lane and operate temporary traffic signals during part of the work. This also means that Watson Street will be under signal control also.

A controlled crossing will be provided during construction to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely.

Pedestrian routes and access to all businesses and properties will be retained throughout the duration of the works.  It will be necessary to temporarily close footways in the works area at certain times during the works and footway diversion routes will be put in place.

Although every attempt will be made to keep delays to a minimum, motorists are expected to experience delays while the works are underway  Those using the junction are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible.

For any enquiries regarding these works please email: tsar@york.gov.uk

York Acorn rugby cup tie moved to Salford.

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YORK Acorn’s rearranged Coral Challenge Cup round three tie with Rochdale Hornets will now take place at Salford’s AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday (3pm kick-off).

The tie sees National Conference League premier division outfit Acorn facing professional opposition in a competitive match for the first time since 2016.

The full draw for round four was drawn at Halifax’s Shay Stadium on Monday evening, with the winner of this game being handed a home match against the British Army.

Castle car park to close for BBC “CBeebies” event.

A York Council statement says,

“The York council has been approached by an event and production company, Thesus, to seek its permission to locate the BBC CBeebies themed children’s rainbow adventure experience within part of Castle car park between 9th September and 6th October 2020.

It is intended that the facility will be provided in various locations across the UK through a road show and York has been chosen as one of the preferred destinations.

The facility will provide a hosted children’s experience providing a CBeebies branded soft play and learning adventure experience.

The council is charging an income which it will obtain up front and which is in line with anticipated income it would receive from the parking spaces that the facility will occupy.

The proposal follows similar events held on the Castle Car Park, such as the Rose Theatre. It also adheres to the aspirations of the Castle Gateway project which identifies the site as a future events space and for which the Council are trialling different uses upon”.

The Council is currently building a multi storey replacement for the Castle car park. It is unlikely to be finished before the end of the year,