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.
Snickets are a magnet for litter. We’ve reported these for sweeping.
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
The York Council is urging residents to plant at least one additional tree in their garden, allotment “or park”.
Well, last autumn – following consultation with the Council – volunteers did just that in Dickson park in the Foxwood area.
Dickson Park
Four months later, a Council early morning “hit squad” arrived and chopped down eight of the trees.
The local residents association is up in arms over the action.
They point out, in a formal complaint to the Council (to which there has, so far, been no response), that two of the trees that were removed had been memorialised as a mark of respect to relatives who had passed.
Residents are asking for the two trees to be reinstated immediately with the other six to be replaced following further consultation on siting, species etc.
Rather too much posturing going on in parts of the York Council these days we think!
The Council’s media release reads.
“York’s Tree Canopy to expand for next 30 years.
City of York Council’s Climate Change Policy and Scrutiny Committee have proposed to expand York’s tree canopy to achieve 13% coverage by 2050, approximately increasing tree population by 10,000/year.
A report will be taken to a Decision Session for the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change on 5 May 2021. It proposes to Increase York’s tree cover from the current 10.76% of total area to13% (national average) by 2050, as the council creates a greener, cleaner city for its residents and visitors.
This expansion will be around 22-27 hectares each year which equates to an area of over 30 football pitches. Alternatively, the city would be well on its way to reaching this expansion target if every household in York which had space, either in a garden, allotment or park, planted just one tree.
The target would result in more carbon dioxide (CO2) being removed from the atmosphere and stored in the trees. This absorbing of the harmful pollutant across the city is equivalent to around 1% of the regions total CO2 emissions between 2020-2050.
Achieving 21 hectares of tree planting every year in York would result in the annual removal of 1-2% of the estimated regional emissions in 2038, after most of our carbon-neutral initiatives have been implemented. This would increase to remove 8-15% of remaining emissions in 2050.
This initiative forms one of the many priorities which will contribute to the city’s Climate Change Strategy which will be published this Autumn, and is one of the many tactics being implemented to achieve city-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.
Cllr Paula Widdowson, Executive Member for Climate Change said;
“To become a carbon neutral city we need to make the most of every tool at our disposal and I’m pleased to see that the expansion of our city’s Tree Canopy will help us catch up to the national average and contribute to our goal to make our city’s carbon emissions net-zero by 2030.
“The ever changing landscape of York offers us the opportunity to reduce the CO2 in our atmosphere as well as to create a healthier and happier environment that we can all enjoy. Increasing the biodiversity of our city is a key priority in our response to the Climate Emergency and this also contributes to our management of flood risks, use of public space and creation of green jobs across the city.”
As a member of the White Rose Forest Partnership, a local authority joint venture hosted by Kirklees Council, City of York Council is working to:
increase tree coverage across York
improve access to green space for citizens
enhance wildlife habitats and biodiversity
address climate change through carbon sequestration (or absorption) “
It looks like the Council is struggling to provide a reliable waste collection service again.
Their web site reveals multiple failures this week. One of the reasons given is vehicle unreliability with an aging fleet partly to blame. Such a shame that replacement vehicles were not ordered on time.
The Foxwood Residents Association say on their Facebook site that they have responded to a notice placed on a lamppost which advertised plans for double yellow lines on Askham Croft.
They uncovered some maps (below) which give residents more details of what is planned in the Westfield Ward.
Proposals affect Askham Croft, Gale Lane, Askham Lane, Ridgeway and Grange Lane
It may be that these plans are relatively uncontroversial.
However, it appears that dozens of other changes to parking restrictions affecting the whole City have also been tabled. We doubt whether local communities will read the lamppost notices in their areas and so may be unaware that they only have until the middle of May to register any observations.
We think that, as a minimum, the Council should alert residents to the proposals using their social media channels.
They should also publish a plain English version together with a map on their web site.
Click the graphic below to download a (not very user friendly) list.
New COVID restrictions introduced today. Local testing is now available in Foxwood
Potholes on Ashford Place
Misaligned street sign Ashford Place /Windsor Garth
Reported on Sunday
We’ve asked the Council to speed up the replacement of snicket fencing, vulnerable to vandalism, with more robust railings. These were promised over 2 years ago
Work continues at Lowfields. We’re pressing the Council to allow prospective occupiers to have a choice of a living boundary hedge instead of a close boarded fence. A Freedom of Information request is outstanding. It asks when work on the communal facilities and the Yorspace section of the site is expected to be completed.
We’re urging Council estate managers to keep and eye on garage forecourt areas. These are too often forgotten and are subject to fly tipping.
The first weed control treatment should have taken place by now. We hope that Councillors will keep an eye over the summer on known problem locations such as back lanes and garage areas. Weeds and overgrown hedges are a problem most years
Good to see that progress has been made in clearing moss and detritus from the Grange Lane – Chapelfields Road snicket. Nearby hydrants sign – damaged 2 years ago – has still not been repaired
Snicket cleared of weeds
Damaged fire hydrant sign
and the lane to the rear of the Front Street/ Beaconsfield Street is tidier than it has been for some time
Businesses, residents and visitors are being asked what they love and what they’d like to change about Acomb’s Front Street.
The consultation is the much delayed opportunity to help with the regeneration of the Front Street area.
The council committed to a £50,000 investment in Front Street, one of the city’s most important shopping areas, before the pandemic brought about even larger challenges to high streets across the UK.
Acomb’s Front Street plays a vital role in the community and the wider city, and is home to many established and well-loved local independent retailers and community spaces. It has a lower than national average proportion of empty units, with occupancy rates bucking the UK trend by increasing significantly in the last three years.
The council is now asking for views which will help to keep Front Street at the heart Acomb’s economy and community.
The Council says that last year “we postponed the survey because of Covid-19. Your views in the survey will be used to create a ‘brief’ of community ideas which we can check with local people before the council executive decides what improvements to make”.
500 residents have already had a new COVID-secure knock on their door from IdB, a market research company working with the council. The council is working alongside IdB to ask for feedback and ideas from a diverse and representative cross section of Acomb residents. The surveys will be dropped with residents in a sterile bag, along with gloves, an antiviral wipe and a return bag. The market researcher will then return later that day to collect the questionnaire.
Good to see that thePost Box on Beagle Ridge Drive has finally been reinstated. It was first sealed off over 6 months ago
Meanwhile, across the street, the long term empty Council bungalow – which the Council has been unable to re-let – is regularly being vandalised. Several other properties have also been targeted.
We are beginning to lose confidence in the York Councils housing management officials.
The Council has been without a permanent head for its Council housing team for nearly a year now. Estate management vacancies are not being filled despite the housing accounts showing a substantial surplus.
York deserves better
Meanwhile the next Councils meeting agenda has been published. Anyone hoping for evidence that Councillors are addressing the major decline in public service standards will be disappointed.
With NHS staff being undervalued, unemployment rates rising, highway network maintenance standards at a new low, street level crime on the rise and housing in a management vacuum, you might have expected at least the official Labour opposition to highlight the issues. In fact you could reasonably expect most back bench Councillors of all parties to start to seriously question what is going wrong.
But no. Labour use an agenda motion to agonise about transgender recognition. They want to instruct schools to use trans childrens “preferred name pronoun”.
