How will York tackle weed growth in the future?

The long awaited report, into the collapse of weed control activities in the City this summer, has now been published.
Key routes into the City were disfigured

The report lists several actions which might be undertaken to prevent a repetition of the problems.

It was clear as long ago as June that something was seriously amiss with the Council contract.

A contract has been let which had omitted several key roads like the A59, as well as many back lanes and paths. Gutters and paths rapidly become overgrown. In some cases, because of restricted sight lines or trip hazards, there was an unnecessary risk to public safety.

Amongst the worst affected were major entry points into the City which gave visitors an early impression of neglect (It became clear later, that former trunk roads were amongst these omitted from the contract)

The Councils reaction to the problems was highly complacent. It was two months before they admitted that the list of streets to be treated by the contractor was out of date. They blamed the weather (too much rain) and turned a blind eye to the fact that the “quad bike” contractors were missing out large areas altogether. Treatment, where undertaken, proved to be ineffective.

It was Septembers before the failings were finally acknowledged. Contractors were asked to add a blue dye to the chemical so it would be clear which areas they had treated.

To this day, residents continue to search for the illusive blue dye trail.

Another problem was the choice of weed killer. Glyphosate, which is a contact weed killer, has no residual effect, so it only kills weeds present at the time of application. It is an industry standard product, but it failed to act on deep rooted weeds. Alternatives were available but not used.

The Council claims to have “deployed additional resource to focus on removing detritus which collects in kerb lines, particularly on the offside of traffic islands where sweeping is more difficult and less effective. The detritus build up is greater when weeds are present”.

The report doesn’t analyse how the Council came to issue an incorrect contract specification, doesn’t reveal the results of supervisory checks on the contractor, offers no update on the September recovery programme and fails to review “difficult to reach” locations such as bridge parapets, snickets, back lanes and garage forecourts.

The contract required certain outputs to be achieved. These included a 98% weed free appearance on treated areas.

No KPIs are quoted.

The Council has however listed 10 initiatives (see right) that it could take to improve the appearance and safety of the City.

 All, and more, will be required next year if the reputation of the City is not to be further damaged.

Missed bin collections – latest

Slightly better performance today although several streets in Rawcliffe, Fulford and Clifton didn’t have their grey bins emptied.

Garden waste collections were missed in parts of Rawcliffe and Fishergate. They, and the still outstanding collections in Haxby, Wigginton and Strensall, will be collected tomorrow (Saturday) according to the Council.

Many of the delays over the last few weeks have been due to vehicle breakdowns on a fleet which includes some plant which is 10 years old. A message to a York Councillor from a senior official earlier today suggests that replacement vehicles haven’t even been ordered yet. More on that to come.

Die Horibilis

Been a horrible day for the Council with many more missed bin collections.

Recycling collections were missed in Haxby, New Earswick, Strensall and Wigginton.

Green waste bins weren’t emptied in Haxby, Wigginton and Strensall. The bins not emptied in Woodthorpe on Tuesday still haven’t been collected.

Household waste wasn’t collected in part of Holgate (blocked access).

Sources inside the Council point to continuing difficulties in recruiting staff including drivers. There has still not been any statement from the Council leadership about this issue or why replacement vehicles haven’t been introduced into the fleet.

Graffiti removed from street furniture in east York

Following action by Cllr Mark Walters, Virgin media have cleaned graffiti from many of their cabinets in east York. The above are in Tang Hall.
Unfortunately, the position in west York seems to have deteriorated with more graffiti appearing. This BT telephone kiosk in Beagle Ridge Drive is due to be removed shortly, but in the meantime it has become a target for the “artists” The Foxwood Residents Association has now formally complained about the amount of litter in the neighbourhood. They wat to see the return of “lengths-men” and dedicated estate workers, The Foxwood shops forecourt is a particular problem area.

With shorter days, the reliability of street lighting will once again become a priority. No doubt local Councillors will be undertaking a sweep of their wards checking for faults. Residents also may want to report issues. Generally faulty bulbs are replaced quickly if reported via the Councils “on line” site https://www.york.gov.uk/reportproblems (click)

Missed bin collections in York – backlog growing

The missed bins from yesterday and due for collection in Haxby, Huntington, Fulford and and Bishopthorpe today weren’t collected. This is put down to continuing staffing and vehicle reliability issues.

Skelton was also missed today

The Council says that it will try to empty all outstanding waste and garden bins tomorrow (Saturday)

It does increasingly seem that the bin emptying service, which was often regarded in public satisfaction surveys as the most appreciated local service provided by the Council, is now in decline.

Missed bin collections update

Residents tell us the the bins, due for collection in Poppleton last week, have now been emptied.

Meanwhile streets in Earswick, Heworth and Stockton on Forest were missed today.

It remains unclear when the York Council hopes to deal with issues arising out of inadequate vehicle capacity and unreliability.

York Council making progress in dealing with complaints

Most of the tin cans which blighted Ouse Bridge have been removed. Still a bit of work to do on the weeds but it is less unsightly now.
The Hob Moor hedge which was obstructing Kingsway West has been cut back
Still some issues with hedges blocking footpaths. This one on Foxwood Lane
This one on the snicket access to Hob Moor from Holly Bank Grove

Bin emptying arrangements failing in York.

Residents demand answers

Bin emptying arrangements have been plagued with problems over the last few days.

According to the Councils web site many bins in Fulford and Bishopthorpe weren’t emptied today. The Council blames staff sickness and vehicle problems for the poor service.

Missed bin collections Friday and Monday

Last week several neighbourhoods suffered delayed collections. These included parts of Strensall, Haxby, Wigginton, Acomb, Huntington and Heworth.

On Friday garden waste collections didn’t take place in Poppleton.

Residents were told to leave their bins out for emptying on Saturday but they were missed again.

Incredibly the Council has failed to issue a media statement explaining the delays, apologising and indicating when they expect to catch up with their collection schedule.

The responsible Executive member is aware of the problems