Its good to see that some departments at the York Council are providing updates on public service standards. Even better, that some Councillors have chosen to brief the information on to Parish Councils and Residents Associations.

For those living in areas where Councillors maybe less “on the ball”, there follows a summary of the information provided.

“Grass Cutting

The changing weather we saw this summer led to fluctuations in the rate of grass growth, which led to standards dropping below the normal at times, but generally our resources coped, we are part way through the last cut of the year on most types of grass areas.

Hedge Cutting

We are part way through the last of three cuts to hedges in snickets and communal housing areas.

Spring Bedding

We have just started the planting of over 18,000 spring bedding plants in the parks, gardens and tubs across the city, these will provide welcoming colour in spring, as visitors continue to return to the city.

Street Cleansing

Summer was certainly a very challenging time for this part of our service, mainly due to the change in use of some of our open spaces and the bins in and around them.

These areas were at times covered in litter and debris due to the irresponsible actions of some residents and visitors who seemed to think that just because we were no longer in lock down, they had the right to treat the city and our staff with contempt, by leaving ‘rubbish’ strewn across these areas, something I’ve never seen before on a sustained basis.

However our team, with the help of additional resources and the Enforcement team managed to return the city to its normal standard as soon as possible on a daily basis.

We also managed to assist the Minster with their litter clearance whilst their staff were furloughed.

Highway Weed Control

I think I can say with confidence that this year’s programme of weed control has been a success we have received very few complaints and re-growth between treatments did not exceed what we would normally have expected to see.

Leaf Clearance

We are now at that time of the year when not only do some members of the public throw litter about, but Mother Nature joins in, in the form of leaves!

We will be commencing our leaf clearance programme on Monday 26^th October, and this is scheduled to take place for the next six to eight weeks (if my crystal ball is correct!)

The leaf clearance will be undertaken using both mechanical and manual means.

We will have two trailer drawn leaf vacuums, our teams will use these to remove leaves from pavements and grass verges.

Our two large mechanical sweepers will be targeted at streets with trees, using the local knowledge of our staff, members and reports made by residents.

These leaves cannot be recycled because they are cleared from nearby to or on the roads and are treated as contaminated waste.

As always we cannot see and clear every street at one time, so we would be grateful if Councillors could do the following:

1. If you aware of leaves that are causing a ‘danger’ i.e. on a major footpath, near a school, elderly persons home etc.  and are wet and slippery, please report these to member enquiries, if not a ‘danger’ please monitor and we will get there!

• Once the main leaf fall is over, if there are leaves, which appear to have been missed, please pass these through member enquires and we will attend to them”.

Good work from the Council there.