Council confirm Acomb Moor footpath routes

The background papers for last weeks meeting which supported the designation of a public right of way across Acomb Moor have been published.

They can be found by clicking here

The papers contain one surprise as an additional leg (B – D) has been added to the route covered by the application. It now also includes a path located to the rear of existing houses in the area.

More details can be found on the Foxwood Residents Association Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FoxwoodResidentsAssociation

There is an urgent need to get a safe access to the path restored as quickly as possible.

The access route from Osprey Close needs safety improvements. It is overgrown and can be hazardous in wet weather.

Foxwood Community Centre to remain closed

According the the residents association Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FoxwoodResidentsAssociation, the local community centre will not reopen in September as hoped.

Foxwood Community Centre

The centres Trustees say that they don’t have the resources or expertise to run the centre under post COVID restrictions.

That would be a shame. Some of the user groups provide essential support services for the local community. Some of these services are even more important in the post pandemic fragile world that we now live in.

Some users groups may cease to exist if they don’t have at least some earned income.

The Council has postured over the last few mnths about the importance of “community hubs”.

It should now put its money where its spin has been and agree to properly resource centres like the one in Foxwood.

Clock ticking on Stadium opening

Members of Parliament have written to the Sports Minister asking when clubs like York City will be able to reopen their grounds.

MPs letter to Sports Minister
Signatories

The MP’s highlighted the perilous position of many non league clubs finances.

Uncertainty – about when paying customers will be able to attend games – and in what numbers – is putting some clubs under threat of closure.

The MPs pointed to the imminent start of the pre-season “friendly” programme.

Although neither of the local MPs signed the 21st August letter, York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said he supported a more general plea made in a letter sent on 17th August and subsequently backed this up with an Email last Monday. There has been no word from York Central MP Rachel Maskell in whose constituency the present York City/York Knights ground is located.

Currently the expectation is that, when the National Leagues resume in October, around 30% of the seats may be available for supporters.

There is a particular problem for York City FC who will manage the new LNER community stadium at Monks Cross. Before they can take full occupation a “test” event involving 3000 spectators must take place. This would allow a safety certificate for the 8500 seater stadium to be issued.

There has been a suggestion – as a result of the health restrictions on capacity which are likely to apply for a few months at least – that certification for a smaller capacity might be possible.

There has been no word from the stadium owners – the York Council – about how and when this might be achieved.

There are 6 weeks to go until the start of the football season for clubs like York City

Earlier letter re smaller non league clubs
Signatories

York Museums Trust: £1.95m bailout bid

Council taxpayers are to be asked to provide guarantees of up to £1.95 million in financial support as the York Museums Trust (YMT) project a budget deficit.

Castle Museum

According to figures being considered by the Council next week the Trust, – which manages the Yorkshire & Castle Museums as well as the Art Gallery, – faces a £1.54 million deficit this year.

It has already made provision for £200,000 in redundancy costs. A 20% reduction in staffing is planned. The Arts Council have provided an emergency grant of £412,000.

£3.5 million of the Trust’s annual income comes from admission charges. These have largely dried up as a result of the COVID health scare.

The report says;

Covid-19 therefore creates an immediate financial threat to YMT’s
continued existence and the trustees have now logged a serious
incident report with the Charities Commission reflecting the fact that
they will require financial support in order to remain a going concern.
Without this they will run out of cash in January 2021.

Furthermore, the ongoing financial position will remain difficult into 21/22 since surveys of visitors undertaken nationally by the Association of Large
Visitor Attractions suggest that only 20% of the previous audience
numbers will be received on reopening.

If the Trust folds, then the museums – and most liabilities – would revert to the Council. It is estimated that, in such a scenario, the Council would face additional annual expenditure of around £2 million a year.

YMT has requested revenue funding support of £1.35m this year and up to £600k next year in order to keep York’s attractions open and to continue looking after the collections. This request reflects the fact that, as a charity, YMT are required to hold a level of financial reserves.

The York Museums Trust was founded in 2002 by the then Labour controlled Council. It currently receives an annual subsidy of £300,000 from York taxpayers.

The Yorkshire Museum is expected to remain closed until next March. The Art Gallery and Castle Museum (bookings only) have reopened.

NB. The YMT management were criticised during the lock-down period for failing to promptly reopen the Museum Gardens for use by residents. The gardens were one of the few open spaces available for socially distant exercise in the City centre.

Museum Gardens were slow to reopen

When will LNER Community Stadium be completed?

Building work is still continuing at the site of the LNER Community Stadium at Monks Cross. It seems that it will be some time before all the buildings can be brought into use.

Community Stadium works till not completed

The main area of concern remains the stadium itself.  The authorities failed to stage the required test events before the lockdown led to a suspension of most work.

The test events – of varying capacities – are a prerequisite for the issue of a safety  certificate. Without a certificate the stadium can’t be commissioned.

It is something of a paradox that – because of social distancing regulations – initially only a proportion of the capacity would be used.  The (National League) football season is due to start at the beginning of October. That is only seven weeks away. Players will recommence training shortly and it is customary to stage friendly matches in the immediate run up to start of a season.

There is little clarify from the government at this stage about how social distancing might limit crowd numbers.

Some sports commentators have said that as few as 1 in 5 seats might be occupied.

LNER Community Stadium

Therein may be the rub for York City.

Social distancing is potentially much easier in an all seater stadium like the one at Monk Cross. If 20% of its 8512 seats were occupied then this would be enough to accommodate all season ticket holders plus a few more.

York City’s average attendance, during the last fully completed season (2018/19), was 2443.

 In the same year the York Knights Rugby Team attracted 2125.

If one in three seats could be occupied (essentially respecting a 1 metre social distancing guideline) the all regular supporters could be accommodated.

Some other teams in the National League North have announced plans to ground share at stadiums with a larger capacity to accommodate all who wish to attend.

Hopefully the Council and its partners have plans in place to quickly finish off the remaining building work and find a way to open the stadium albeit possibly with a reduced capacity.

The environment and informal leisure

The government has launched a welcome initiative this week aimed at encouraging more active lifestyles. There has been a lot of support for cycling as a way of keeping fit and losing weight. That is very welcome and we hope that it soon translates into a Council initiative aimed at improving maintenance standards on off road cycle paths, many of which are in poor condition in York.

Less attention has been paid to leisure walking – an option open to virtually everyone.

There has been renewed interest in the use of local Public Rights of Way (PROW) as residents sought to follow daily – social distance – exercising guidelines. The route across Acomb Moor to Acomb Wood became more popular. A local bulletin board has seen several people criticise the farmer who blocked off all entrances to the moor before ploughing it.

Access to Acomb Moor blocked

While the owner is entitled to cultivate his land, he should not have blocked the Foxwood Lane access at least while the current PROW application is being actively considered. We have asked the public rights of way officer to intervene.

More needs to be done to enhance and improve access to the natural environment at least on the west of the City.

The Councils own annual survey of opinion revealed that  44% of panellists thought that the Council was not doing well at improving green spaces.

59% thought that the Council wasn’t doing well at reducing air pollution.

The Council planted 515 trees last year. It had previously claimed that it would plant “50,000 trees by 2023”. It had also promised to expand the City’s strays and introduce more wildflower meadows in an attempt to encourage pollinators.

We understand that a report will be considered by the Council in August which will  set out proposals to acquire land which will enable the creation of a “large new area of woodland in close proximity to the city to provide green amenity space for residents and plant trees that will contribute to the council’s commitment to become net carbon neutral by 2030”.

There has to be balance. The country does need to be more self sufficient in food production, so the retention of good quality agricultural land is also important.

However, the creation of a country park on land near Askham Lane would be a welcome step forward. It has been a vision for several years. It would allow hedgerows to be re-established and PROWs to be maintained in good condition.

It would also provide some compensation for the sports and leisure land lost through recent developments in the area.

 It only now remains to be seen whether Councillors have the drive and determination to deliver on their promises.Tree Walking GIF - Tree Walking Tired - Discover & Share GIFs

Lowfields – new homes not ready for occupation until next year

This Lowfields site will include 140 mixed tenure homes of which 56 will be affordable homes. The contractor has been on site since December 2019 and the Council says that it is “progressing well” with significant progress on “infrastructure work along with substructures”.

However the first 34 homes are now not due to be completed until early in 2021.

The Council decided to develop the site itself at a meeting held in July 2018

It later formed a company called Shape homes and said it would recruit staff to work with it. The latest financial report suggest that this had not progressed by the end of the financial year with over £1.2 million of the available budget slipping into the current year.

The Council also failed to invest £1.9 million of the budget that it set aside for the repair and modernisation of existing homes.

Football pitches

Meanwhile the football pitch project on Sim Balk Lane has stalled. The pitches were nominally supposed to replace those lost at Lowfields as a result of development, albeit they are 3 miles away. The land near London Bridge became waterlogged over the winter and is only now beginning to grass over.This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is New-football-pitches-Sim-Balk-Lane-4-4th-Aug-2019-858x1024.jpg

The biggest problem though is the expensive “pavilion” which incorporates changing rooms.

A report to a meeting being held today says, “The construction of the pavilion / changing rooms has been put on hold due to the Covid-19 restrictions and it is not known when the work will be able to restart. The final procurement for the access road has also been put on hold”.

We wish that project well, but would have preferred to see some of the £850,000 cost (to taxpayers) invested in outdoor sports/leisure facilities in the Westfield area.

Huge £1.8 million overspend by Council on James House project

The conversion of James House from offices to 57 self-contained apartments for temporary homeless accommodation was completed on 14th April 2020, fifteen months behind schedule.

The Council says, “For homeless households the self-contained apartments will offer safe, secure and comfortable accommodation before permanent housing can be found for them. James House was open to residents in June 2020”.

The Council now admits that, as well as being 15 months behind schedule, the final costs are currently £1.782m above the agreed budget of £12.4m.

The council says that they have appointed independent experts to review the programming, delay, and quantity surveying aspects of the project.

York Council spent £4.5 million on buying commercial property last year including £2.8 million on 25/27 Coney Street

Community Stadium not completed, Guildhall business club costs rising

The Council has revealed, in the small print of a report to a meeting taking place this week, that “as part of the council’s response to the COVID_19 pandemic all major procurements are on hold in the short term”. This comes as no surprise with the Castle/Piccadilly development one of these projects now shelved

Council progress report July 2020

The Council has expected to recover its investment there using “long term revenue from commercial space”. Speculative building of that sort looks to be that thing of the past for a few years at least.

The same report reveals for the first time that, late last year, the Council purchased 25-27 Coney Street for just under £2.85 million This is the block containing the Holland and Barrett store. Just how the rent freeze during the health scare will affect income from this and similar commercial property investments is not explained in the Council report. Generally speaking, in the long run, the City has always benefited from civic investment in land and property ownership. Values in the past have always risen faster than inflation. In the short term, though, such purchases may place additional burdens on taxpayers.

25-27 Coney Street

There may be a bigger issue emerging at the Guildhall where delays have caused an escalation in the cost of the £20 million renovation and remodelling project. The report is, however, still claiming that the hugely expensive project will provide “a comprehensively refurbished and renewed Guildhall complex to provide a contemporary business venue for the City, the works include a green energy solution and dramatically improved facilities for community, civic and council use, with a riverside restaurant unit alongside”. Time will tell.

The report confirms that the “Community Stadium” is still a “live building site”.  “All certification and testing will only recommence once Government allows the gathering of people to resume, but only at that point. When all contractors and partners are able to return safely to the site to fully complete the works, they will. Only at that point can the Stadium look to hold test events required and open thereafter”. There is no comment in the report about the commercial and community uses planned for the site or the likely timescales for bringing all spaces into use.

Anyone’s guess when the Community Stadium complex will be fully occupied

Without test events being possible, it now seems unlikely that the football or rugby clubs will be able to play at the stadium from September (the likely start of the National League football season) .

York Learning Summer Festival

Adult Learning: February 2014

York Learning (part of City of York Council) is hosting their first ever Summer Festival, offering residents a variety of fun and uplifting activities for the whole family.

Taking place throughout August, residents will have the opportunity to perfect their skills or learn new skills with a series of classes ranging from foreign language to mask-making; painting to dancing; or BBQ cooking to photography.

This year, the festival will have a special focus on supporting local resident’s wellbeing. York Learning will be offering Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Dancefit workshops and mindfulness classes designed to help people come to terms with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

There will also be the chance to prepare fun ways to get your kids ready for school, perfect your writing skills and enjoy fun-filled family activities. All Summer Festival courses and workshops are available to pre-book online at www.yorklearning.org.uk.

York Learning has been offering an extended range of online classes for all to enjoy during the coronavirus outbreak, and will continue during the summer holiday period.

To see all the Summer Festival workshops and courses, visit www.yorklearning.org.uk and keep an eye on the York Learning and Family Learning Facebook pages, Instagram, and Twitter.