Council to borrow over £20 million more.

The York Council will consider tomorrow adding over £20 million to its debt burden.

 The cost to taxpayers of paying interest and redemption charges on the extra borrowing is put at £1.4 million a year.

The Council says that the costs of the new Knapton forest will now be met from “external sources”. It is therefore switching that expenditure into buying electric vehicles and associated charging facilities at a cost of over £5 million.

The Knapton Forest will now be funded by third parties according to the York Council

£100,000 will fund an “access barrier review”. This is thought to be a response to a section of the cycle lobby which is opposed to the use of safety barriers where they slow cycle movements. While an audit of infrastructure standards and repair works on the York cycle network is long overdue, concentration of limited resources on the relatively trivial barrier issue reflects poor prioritisation.

£1.1 million will be spent repairing Lendal Bridge while £1 million is reserved for the – more than slightly opaque – “COVID recovery fund”.

Probably the most controversial proposal is the plan to cut another £3.2 million from highways maintenance. This is the fund which is used to reconstruct road and path surfaces. It is a long-term investment which gives carriageways a 30 year plus lifespan. In turn this minimises the risk of frost damage. The large number of potholes which we have seen on the highway network recently suggests reconstruction should be a high priority.

All parties promised improved highway maintenance standards at the last local elections

. The cut in the highways maintenance budget is partly justified by officials who point to the £5 million being paid by central government for the resurfacing of Tadcaster Road (for the second time in less than a year). The resurfacing will not provide any additional benefit for road users.

Money is being transferred from highways resurfacing to fund the Council’s £2 million contribution to the Fordlands Road flood alleviation scheme. This is the scheme which should have been completed, and funded, as part of the recent improvements to the A19 in Fulford.

The report points out that there could still be further costs to be added to the budget as work on York Central, the Guildhall, Castle Gateway and dualling the outer ring road proceeds.

A copy of the proposed programme can be viewed by clicking here

Ice taking its toll on local roads

The current icy spell is taking its toll on poorly maintain road and path surfaces. The Council recently agred to undertake some repairs on teb potholed – and well used – section of Foxwood Lane near the sports area. The work has yet to be completed and the potholes continue to pose a hazard particularly for users of two wheeled transport.

Foxwood Lane potholes are a safety hazard

The Council promised to repair damaged roads, paths and verges when the building works on Newbury Avenue and Ascot Way were completed. There is little sign of progress.

Kingsway West traffic cushions now breaking up
Kingsway West- Newbury Avenue verge has been damaged by delivery vehicles
Footpaths on the even numbered side of Kingsway West are also in poor condition. Subsidence means that they lean at an angle, adding to problems cause by numerous reinstatements.
Not for the first time, we have reported poor rubbish storage, and some fly tipping, to the rear of the Front Street shops.

Winter woes – time to report problems with ice

The arrival of icy weather will put additional pressures on some public services.

Snow brings problems as well as scenic relief

The recent snowfall, and subsequent icy road and footpath surfaces, means the the gritters have been out working full time.

There was even a promise from the Council this year that cycle path would be salted but so far this seems to have been sporadic. The Tadcaster Road cycle path, for example, was icy earlier this week.

Click to access map of gritting routes and salt bin locations

Some Councillors have reported that they have been out checking local salt bins. They have found some empty, some “solid” & some contaminated with rubbish

We’re not sure that this audit has been completed everywhere though.

With Council resources stretched by the pandemic, this is an activity where residents can help by checking their local salt bin and by removing any litter.

Please let your local Councillor know if a bin needs filling.

Ice and frost will also have a major impact on poorly maintained road and footpath surfaces.

We’ve recently reported potholes on Askham Lane (near the A1237 roundabout) and on Foxwood Lane (near the Thanet Road Sports Area).

There are likely to be many more examples around the City. The sooner the potholes are filled in the less damage will occur (and the safer our roads will be).

We urge residents to use the 24/7 “report it” system (click) to highlight any concerns to the Council

Projects completed in Westfield

Resurfacing and white lining work on part of Gale Lane has now been completed

Gale Lane 7th November

Building work at the disabled centre on Ascot Way has now been completed. Staff have occupied the building and adjacent facilities like the bus shelter and the public notice board (although damaged) are now accessible again

York Councils strange priorities

Work has started on digging up the Tadcaster Road highway again.

Yesterday workers were ripping up the surface of The Mount prior to moving on down Tadcaster Road.

Initially new gas main pipes will be installed. These will be followed by the new drainage channels which should have been provided in the spring when the carriageway was last dug up.

Roadworks in Tadcaster Road area will mean 6 months of disruption and a £5.6 million cost to taxpayers.

The scheme can be contrasted with other urgently needed repairs elsewhere in west York.

School Street was reported this week for the umpteenth time only for the Council to respond saying that “no further work is required”

School Street area – a patchwork of potholes and faded white lines

Resurface Tadcaster Road cycle track plea

It seems that the Council will go ahead with its controversial plan to dig up Tadcaster Road again. No report has been produced indicating the scale of he planned works although the replacement of gas mains is included in the project.

Tadcaster Road cycle path is uneven and overgrown in places.

One area that could do with attention is the off road cycle track between Moor Lane and the A1237.

Parts of the, increasingly well used, path are in poor condition and could do with widening and resurfacing. This would be in line with government policies which seek to encourage the use of sustainable transport modes. So getting their agreement to use a small proportion of the £5 million available budget shouldn’t be a problem.

Narrow path makes social distancing more difficult near Golf Club

Would you believe it; They’re going to dig up Tadcaster Road again!

A Council media release today confirms what many feared. The Tadcaster Road carriageway is going to be dug up again only 3 months after it was resurfaced.

Resurfacing work was completed in June

The carriageway is currently in excellent condition and contrasts markedly with the condition of most other roads in west York.

But it seems that the Council jumped the gun when they undertook a £600,000 resurfacing scheme earlier in the summer.

Waste Of Money GIFs | Tenor

The government announced a £5 million improvement budget in July only weeks after work on the road was completed. The government was responding to a bid that the York Council had made earlier in the year.

It is likely that taxpayers will want to know a lot more about how this blunder happened.

The Council media release issued today says,

“One of the busiest roads in York is set to benefit from a £5million government funded road improvement scheme.

City of York Council was successfully awarded funding from the Department of Transport’s Local Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund.

The funding will enable to council to improve large sections of drainage along this route which will reduce localised surface water flooding. The work includes the delivery of additional pedestrian crossings and will ensure the road is maintenance free for the next 10 years. 

The authority has been proactively working with all the major utility companies, water, gas, electric, phones, to coordinate their future work. During this process it became apparent that Northern Gas Networks (NGN), were due to carry out major work in 2023. Working in partnership they have brought this work forward to 10 October 2020 ensuring minimum disruption for residents and commuters. The council works are scheduled to start in January 2021.

Cllr Andy D’Agorne, Executive Member for Transport, said at City of York Council, said:

“It’s excellent news that our bid for £5million to upgrade Tadcaster Road to reduce localised flooding has been reviewed by Government and is now in approved.  This will deliver much needed improvements to one of York’s busiest routes.

“Our primary goal is to ensure these works are coordinated with utilities companies so that the level of disruption for residents, businesses and visitors is reduced as much as possible.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Wasn’t part of Tadcaster Road resurfaced earlier this year?
Yes, the council bid to government for a scheme on Tadcaster Road. The council received confirmation in March that it was unsuccessful and would not receive funding.  Therefore the council resurfaced a section of Tadcaster Road as it was in need of urgent repairs between The Horseshoe and St Aubyns Place. 
However, in June the council was then awarded the £5million funding to improve large sections of drainage along Tadcaster Road which will reduce the risk of localised surface water flooding.

Northern Gas Networks have recently informed the council they have plans to carry out major works to their service at Tadcaster Road by 2025. The council was not made aware of these works before the section of Tadcaster Road between The Horseshoe and St Aubyns Place was resurfaced earlier this year.
Whilst it is not an ideal situation, the Council would rather sacrifice a small part of the works that have been undertaken already rather than risk the digging up of the major £5 million scheme in a few years’ time for the Northern Gas Networks scheme.  

£6.8 million extra for highway repairs in York

The York Council has an additional £1.8 million to spend repairing roads in the city. It comes for a central government “potholes and challenge” fund.

In addition, an additional £5 million is available to spend on Tadcaster Road although the carriageway itself there has already been resurfaced earlier in the summer.

Apparently, this additional funding will be allocated to improving drainage systems in the area.

Many roads and footpaths in the City are in poor condition so the extra investment will be welcomed by residents.

However, we are approaching the winter period so the Council needs to move quickly to get the work scheduled.

Potholed road finally repaired

Its good to see that the potholes on the Morrell Court access road have been patched. Earlier in the year the Council claimed that they were not deep enough to justify maintenance work.

No doubt the Kangaroo that jumped out of one last week managed to persuaded them otherwise!

Morrell Court May 2020
Road now patched