Waste collection and other problems mount for York residents

Anyone reading the agenda for todays City of York Council meeting may mistake it for a meeting of a University debating society. Verbose, borderline pompous, motions and amendments dominate the agenda.

As the first face to face meeting of the authority since coronavirus struck, there has been plenty of time to fashion an agenda which talks to the people of the City.

Instead we have are offered the spectacle of Council members essentially having a chat with each other.

The City’s day to day problems may as well be taking place on another planet.

The meeting is, for the first time, being held at the racecourse. Perhaps bookmakers will be on hand to offer odds on anything useful emerging as the race reaches the final furlong at 10:00pm?

Earlier in the week, the Councillor responsible for waste collection held a special meeting to discuss the pressing issue of the release of “Chinese lanterns” in the City. The opportunity to also discuss the backlog in refuse collection was missed.

Yet hundreds of unemptied green bins currently adorn our streets.

Earlier a controversial change in the playground refurbishment programme was agreed at a “behind closed doors” meeting. Emergency “delegation” powers – which allow officers to make decisions without consultation or democratic input – were exploited.

The opposition claim (with some justification) to be outraged by the decision. Have they found a way of holding those responsible to account? Apparently not, judging by tonight’s agenda.

With (rightly or wrongly) COVID restrictions being lifted from Monday, the Councils top priority should now be to end the emergency powers and introduce effective governance arrangements.

In the real world, taxpayers expect basic public standards to be maintained.

It is not just the York Council that is out of touch.

Sad to report that, as of yesterday, the promised work to remove overgrowth obstructions from the A64/Tadcaster Road cycle path had not been completed by Highways/Yorks or the Council.

Obstructions on Tadcaster Road cycle path

The lack of action contrasts with the panic decisions taken last spring when roads and car parks were closed in order to allow “social distancing” on paths which were already much wider than those which are currently obstructed.

Cycle paths still obstructed

Mixed news about getting local paths cleared of overgrowth

Tadcaster Road cycle path blockages
See the source image

Meanwhile the York Council is now claiming that they are not responsible for keeping the cycle track, which is located next to the slip road from the A64, clear of obstructions. The Council did actually cleared similar problems this time last year.

We will be very disappointed if this turns out to be a jurisdiction stand off between the York Council and Highway Yorkshire. The latter is responsible for maintaining the cycle path along the side of the trunk road.

Some progress on cycle path blockages

Following on from our story yesterday, there has been some progress with getting cycle paths cleared of overgrowth

Workers were out on the SUSTRANS York – Riccall path today. They had cleared vegetation blockages from about 50% of the track by mid afternoon. They hadn’t reached the path near Riccall whichsuffers the worst obstructions

Meanwhile Highways England have tweeted (left) to say that the section of cycle path next to the A64 will be cleared later this month

The York Council responded today to say that the section of cycle track on Tadcaster Road next to the golf course had been cleared. Sadly, on checking today, we found that it hadn’t been touched.

It is remans obstructed by nettles and thistles

Tadcaster Road cycle path is still obstructed.

Chesney’s Field community pride project is bags of fun

Primary school pupils in York have been working with the police to spruce up their surroundings, as part of a project to encourage good citizenship and pride in their community.

Children picking rubbish

Youngsters from Hob Moor Primary have joined local Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to do weekly litter picks around Hob Moor nature reserve.

They have also considered ways to improve vandalised play equipment and reduce anti-social behaviour at Chesney Park in nearby Foxwood.

PCSO Laura Harper, school liaison officer in York, has been working with the children and said they have helped make the area more attractive for residents, young and old.

“The enthusiasm and pride in their community they’ve shown has been absolutely incredible,” said PCSO Harper.

“A number of residents have stopped myself and some of the students over the last few weeks, saying how nice it was to see us working together to make it a nicer area.

“While these improvements to the community are clear to see, projects like this also encourage children to develop a strong pride in their community that can last a lifetime.

“This, in turn, can lead to less antisocial behaviour and criminal damage in communities, which is a win-win for everyone who lives and works there.”

More good work by York Council

Good to see that the nettles which were overgoing the public footpath on Foxwood Lane have been cut back by the Council. The weeds had been reported for attention following an incident when a passing toddler was badly stung.

Cllr Sinmon Daubeney tells us that the next round of weed killing in local gutters will commence on 1st July. It may take around 3 weeks to complete the whole City.

This is useful information for residents to have and could usefully be added to the Councils social media channels along with progress reports on grass cutting, pothole filling, waste collection and other local public services.

The meadow wild flowers that were planted by local residents association volunteers last year are now blooming in the Foxwood Park. They make a useful contribution to the areas pollinator strategy.

We’ve asked the Council to sweep the gutters in Asbourne Way, remove litter for an area in Thoresby Road and fill in a long standing pothole in Ashford Place

Residents newsletter reveals history of brick making on Foxwood Lane

The Foxwood Residents Associartion is delivering a “Fox” newsletter to every househod in the area.

It includes an interesting article on he history of brick making on land now called Chesney’s Field. The article reveals that several buildings in Acomb used bricks from the works. Many are still standing.

Brick making started in 1880 and continued well into the 20th century.

The area was leveled 30 years ago and is currently well used by sports teams and for children’s play.

(1) Foxwood Residents Association – Posts | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/FoxwoodResidentsAssociation/posts/4802031839823394

We understand that chidren from Hob Moor school are planning to “adopt” part of Chesney’s Field and help to keep it clean

We hope that the Council will improve its grass cutting performance.. It is not just parts of Chesney’s field which are becoming overgrown. The sports pitches, in particular, need regular mowing if they are to be used by young people during the summer holidays.

Council mowing grass as community clean up day arrives

Today is litter pick day in Foxwood.

We hope that residents will check and trim their boundary hedges at the same time. Several public footpaths are now obstructed by recent growth.

Some hedges are obstructing footpaths

Meanwhile the Council has, somewhat belatedly, got round to mowing local public open spaces. This has left a bit of a mess in some parks because of the large amount of grass clippings

UPDATE

Residents have collected 10 large bags of rubbish during todays Foxwood litter pick. Part of the Great British Spring Clean

New bus shelter arrives in Ascot Way

Good to see that the replacement bus shelter in Ascot Way has finally arrived. It was supposed to be available from the autumn when the adjacent building works were completed. Looks very tidy.

The actual bus stop has not yet been moved back to its original location and is still located round the corner.

Disappointing to see that the Ashford Place street sign has not been realigned. It continues to point to part of Windsor Garth. It was reported for attention over 2 months ago. Similarly potholes on Ashford Place itself – also reported some time ago – have still not been marked up for attention.

Foxwood Community Centre wildflower garden

Better news in Foxwood where volunteers have planted up wildflowers as part of a campaign to help pollinators (bees etc.). Good display now outside the community centre and in part of the Foxwood park.

Time to get to grips with local issues

The easing of lockdown restrictions offers the Council an opportunity to try to restore public service standards at least to the level seen in previous, pre-pandemic, years.

Some services are under particular pressure with potholes taking far too long to fill in.

Potholes in Ashford Place, reported several months ago, have still not been filled

Similarly estate management standards have fallen. At this time of year a regular checks needs to be made to ensure that roads and paths are not blocked and that access road surfaces are kept clear of moss and detritus.

Access roads need to be kept free of obstructions

One of the reasons for the decline may be the failure of the Council to fill three of its Housing Management posts. These are the posts that manage individual Council housing estates. They are very much the public face of the Council in their local neighbourhoods.

At least one of the posts has been vacant since last year.

Yet it does not appear among the 57 job vacancies currently being advertised by the Council, none of which are in the housing department. City of York Council Jobs (click)

Simon Daubeney clean up at Foxwood shops

Lack of budget cannot be an excuse for inaction . The housing account makes a surplus of several million pounds each year.

Elsewhere, local Councillor Simon Daubeney undertook a welcome clean up at the Foxwood shops on Saturday.

He will have found and reported the overturned salt bin.

The area has been subject recently to increased levels of vandalism.

The residents association have suspended maintenance of the planters following damage to the plants.

A Great British Spring Clean litter pick is scheduled to take place on Saturday 12th June.

Meet at 10:30am at the Foxwood Community Centre.

The walk round will last for about an hour.

Seasonal issues on the rise

The end of lockdown and the start of the growing season means that some problems become more apparent.

Generally, our estates have been cleaner over the last few months.

But over the last few days litter volumes have increased. In a few days, the annual residents “spring clean” campaign will start, but we hope that residents will make it easier to keep areas tidy by securing any rubbish that they put out for collection.

The warm and wet weather will see rapid growth on grassed areas while hedges and trees will see a similar change.

It is much easier to keep these trimmed back from public footpaths – where they can pose a particular hazard for the partially sighted – if that are maintained on a regular basis.

Footpaths can become obstructed quite quickly during the growing season