Bus passengers in York are calling on the Council to review its bus shelter policies for suburban areas.
A lot of money has been spent on the bus stops on the York City centre in recent years. Hundreds of thousands more will be spent as the area outside the station is remodelled.
but there has been little progress made in providing “next bus due” real time information on most of the network. Even busy routes with inter -urban services like Tadcaster Road lack passenger information (and shelter)
Mobile device systems have been developed but they are not user friendly and often revert to providing just when the timetabled service should arrive.
In Leeds, bus arrival time signs are integrated into shelters.
Some bus shelters are redundant following changes to bus routes which took place several years ago. The shelter below on Tudor Road is an example. The local number 4 service only serves the opposite side of the road on its clockwise route round Acomb. Now all the shelter does is attract anti social behaviour
As a consequence there is a large amount of litter on the near by verge while ponding on the adjacent footpath has never been properly addressed.
Litter next to Tudor Road bus shelter
It is an issue that the various public transport pressure groups in the City have failed to get to grips with.
Notices have appeared warning motorists that they face a £100 fine if they use the shoppers car park at Woodthorpe shops for longer than 2 hours. The notices say that ANPR (spy) cameras will be used to enforce the new restrictions.
Woodthorpe shops
We can understand that the owners of the car park which is privately owned may wish to discourage commuter and overnight parking. They have, after all, to pick up the bill for repairs and maintenance. Spaces are intended to be used by shoppers and those visiting the dentist and doctors surgery.
Maintenance standards on the surface of the shopping area and adjacent parking areas does need to be improved. Fortunately, following voluntary efforts, the amount of litter and weeds has been reduced while the flower beds are much tidier.
Camera enforcement seems a little over the top if they are to be used routinely. The last thing that the local community would want to see is more “on street” parking on busy local roads .
NB. There are also concerns about the future of the Post Office which is located in one of the shops.
When the list of streets which will be resurfaced this year was published a few weeks ago, it prompted disappointment in many areas.
For example the Herman Walk access road to Spurr Court had been scheduled to be resurfaced 4 years ago, but mysteriously disappeared for the programme before work could start. The carriageway has now almost worn away with the base layer increasingly vulnerable to ice damage.
Carriageway near Spurr Court breaking up
Not surprisingly other roads in the same area – which were laid at the same time – are also showing signs of wear and tear. Resurfacing now would avoid more expensive repairs in later years. (NB. The Council was allocated additional monies to cover carriageway repairs earlier in the year)
Potholes on the Foxwood estate are getting bigger each week
Highway defects represent a particular hazard for cyclists. We’ve reported several over the last few days that require prompt attention. The last systematic programme of cycle margin resurfacing works in York took place over 10 years ago.
Howe Street needs resurfacing
…as does Lowfields Drive
Some concrete surfaces are now breaking up. Heavy vehicles, accessing sites on Windsor Garth, are wrecking the Kingsway West highway. This is likely to get worse as work commences on the Ascot Way redevelopment plan
Concrete bays on Kingsway West are fracturedA resurfacing programme for back lanes is also required.
Poor IT systems and lack of effective action to deal with the root causes of problems
Residents will be hoping that the new Council is more successful than the last in dealing with endemic problems. High on their priority list should be a revamp of the “report it” on line system. For most issues, reported using the system, no update reports are provided.
In other cases issues are reported back to residents as “solved” when a cursory examination reveals that the problem is still outstanding
One recent case was a (bad) littering problem on the Tithe Close snicket. Reported on 29th April the IT system said it was “solved”. In reality the mound of litter has simply grown in size then.
Litter in Tithe Close 29th AprilLitter still there a week later despite the report being “closed”
The same case highlights the lack of action on the root causes of problems. This, and other snickets in the area, are subject to littering on an almost daily basis. Surveillance followed by some well publicised prosecutions, would see the problem reduced (and failure costs avoided).
Another recurrent issue is fly tipping. The Council has rightly reduced the cost of bulky waste disposal collections. It has not been advertised very well.
So this Bank Holiday we are seeing numerous examples of dumping in public areas
Sofa dumpedShopping trolleys Mattress dumped on Little Green Lane garage area. Been there for “2 months” according to local residentsRubbish on back laneDumping at old entrance otoLowfields schoolAcomb car park – litter near recycling binsAcomb Car Park – recycling bin fullAcomb car park dumping
29 Castlegate, which is located next to Fairfax House, and is owned by the City of York Council continues to be left empty.
29 Castlegate
Hopes that the property might be purchased by the York Conservation
Trust have disappeared following a change of Chief Executive. They had been expected
to purchase the iconic building for around £431,000. The discounted sale price was
justified in 2017 by claims that significant repair works were needed.
At the same time, the York Civic Trust said that they were
set to lease the building with an investment of £2.8 million to be made, as part
of an expansion of activities at Fairfax House.
It became clear 6 months ago that the York Civic Trust had suspended their plans.
The building – which also benefits from a valuable showroom
frontage onto the Coppergate Shopping Centre – was used for many years as a photographic
gallery. When the gallery moved to Bradford, the Council allocated the space to
be used as a youth advice centre.
In 2012 the, then Labour controlled Council, commenced negotiations to move theyouth facilities elsewhere. The proposal was widely condemned.
The building has remained empty for over 3 years. Potentially
this has cost the Council tens of thousands of pounds in rent and rates income.
Addressing the problems with empty Council owned properties should be a top priority for the new administration when it is elected this week. Too many expensive, high profile, properties like 29 Castlegate and the Guildhall have been left to rot. In future York Councillors must insist on receiving an “unused asset” report on a regular basis. It needs to be transparent.
If the Civic Trust deal on Castlegate has fallen through, then the property should either be leased or sold on the open market.
Because of its prestigious location there is likely to be a lot of interest.
This might include bringing part of the building back into residential use. With apartments at the nearby fire station site selling for over £700,000 each, the opportunities at this address will be obvious to many developers.
Council elections
are taking place on Thursday. Each of the four main parties are contesting all
the 47 seats. There are also some Independent candidates.
In most of
the City, the campaigns have been low key. Little interest has been generated
and there remains a fear that turn out will be low even by Council election
standards.
This is at
least partly due to the national situation which has seen a meltdown in public
confidence.
Locally all
the parties seem to be concentrating their efforts in “target” seats. So
elsewhere some electors may not hear anything from some of the parties.
This is a
shame as there was a lively debate to be had about a range of issues. Everyone
is affected by the standards of public services provided in the City. Examples
are rubbish collection (generally regarded as good in York), road repairs (pretty
bad), litter on the streets (bad in some areas) and transport (buses getting
better, parking not so good).
A copy of our analysis of voting prospects in each ward, together with a comparison of the policies on offer from each party, can be downloaded from this link(click)
Our analysis suggests that the York Council will remain in “no overall control” but with a re-balancing of the parties which could see the LibDems and Labour increasing their representation at the expense of the Tories. In two or three of the rural villages Independents may be elected.
Or the electorate may produce a big surprise. We’ll know on Friday.
NB. Councillors from the Conservative, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat groups will take part in a debate on Tuesday night, April 30. The hustings will be held at St Peter’s School from 7pm and residents will have a chance to question candidates ahead of the local elections, which take place on Thursday, May 2. Cllr Stuart Rawlings, Cllr Dave Taylor, Cllr Kallum Taylor and Cllr Ashley Mason will take part. Contact 01904 527315 or events@stpetersyork.org.uk for tickets.
The Westfield Ward is home to 14,171 residents. Average incomes are significantly lower than the City average. 57% of residents own their home. 9% rent privately and 32% are social tenants. There are 1,654 Council homes in the area (the largest concentration in the City). 2.5% are out of work. Crime levels are above average. 73.9% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (York average 88.6%). 38.1% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2). Source
Elections
Westfield has been held by the Liberal Democrats for most of the last 50 years. Labour briefly gained the three seats in their 2011 landslide but equally quickly lost them again. The end for Labour started in the autumn of 2014 when a by-election saw a record swing back to the LibDems and their candidate Andrew Waller. They followed that up by taking all the seats in the 2015 poll with large majorities.
The only blip came when they decided not to re-select Sheena Jackson as a candidate. It is understood that this was for reasons of style rather than policy differences.
The new LibDem candidate is former local government officer Simon Daubeney who doesn’t live in he ward (but lives nearby in Woodthorpe). Indeed it is the first time in 50 years that the LibDems will not be including a Foxwood resident on their slate of candidates . Foxwood is the largest population centre in the ward having about 1/3 of the total electorate. Two of the other candidates do live in Foxwood (Sheena Jackson and Labour’s Louise Corson, although the latter declined to say where lives on her nomination form!).
Labour are also fielding someone who describes himself as a “Management Consultant” and who has moved into the Chapelfields area. Their third candidate is a former Ethiopian refugee currently living in the Holgate Ward. He apparently admires the Ethiopian socialist people’s revolution, which may put him to the left of even most ardent of Corbyn supporters.
The other two parties are putting up “straw” candidates although the Tories have drafted in current Rawcliffe Councillor Sam Lisle, no doubt to give him a salutary send off.
This is one of the poorest wards in the City. It has a very large percentage of social housing. More housing is scheduled to be built on local playing fields and sports grounds. Life expectancy is the lowest in the City and obesity levels are the highest. The LibDems will feel that they have done enough over the last 4 years to merit a further term of office. ….but more will be expected of them if they are to continue in the future.
Prediction
3 Liberal Democrat seats
Wheldrake Ward
The Wheldrake Ward is home to 4,132 residents. Average incomes are significantly higher than the City average. 86% of residents own their home. 8% rent privately and 5% are social tenants. There are 44 Council homes in the area (the largest concentration in the City). 1.3% are out of work. Crime levels are below average. 83.3% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (York average 88.6%). 18.2% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2). Source
Elections
Wheldrake was won by the Tories from the LibDems in 2011. It has remained Tory since then. There is an unusual choice of candidates with two of them adopting a peripatetic approach to their party loyalties.
Current Councillor Suzie Mercer was elected as a Conservative. She was one of the 9 Councillors who quit the 14 strong Tory party group, one way or another, in the run up to the election. She is seeking to retain her seat as an Independent.
Equally flexible is the LibDem candidate Christian Vassie who represented the area on the Council between 1999 and 2007. He lost his seat in 2011 and strangely chose to contest the Holgate Ward as an Independent in the 2015 poll. He performed poorly there. He now turns up again in Wheldrake, the ward in which he lives. His application to return to the LibDems must have caused some soul-searching for the candidate selection panel, especially in view of his acerbic comments about party policy in the letters column of the local newspaper.
The Tory candidate, relative unknown Wesley Coultas, lives in the ward in the village of Naburn. This is the smallest of the villages which make up the ward. Wheldrake and Elvington are both much larger communities.
Parochial loyalties can be important in rural areas like this, so Susie Mercer’s links with Wheldrake may be enough to give her victory in what could be a difficult year for the Tories.
Hopefully the new Council, to be elected on Thursday will tackle outstanding public service issues with renewed enthusiasm.
Litter on snickets like Tithe Close is a recurring problem
Despite winter being over, there are still too many potholes on our roads. They are particularly dangerous for cyclists.
Vandalism has also reared its head again. The York Council needs to respond more quickly to damage reports.
Foxwood Lane snicket fencing damaged in March, still not secured
…and it is about time that areas which are littered on an almost weekly basis are tackled. The Council promised mobile CCTV surveillance of problem areas but there has been little evidence of improvement.
Councils, of all political persuasions, often say that their priorities are to improve basic public servce service standards. Hopefully there will be evidence of this after Thursday’s poll.
The Hull Road ward is home to 15,055 residents. Average incomes are lower than the City average. 48% of residents own their home. 32% rent privately and 18% are social tenants. There are 615 Council homes in the area. 0.7% are out of work. Crime levels are below average. 63.6% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live. This is worse than any other ward. (York average 88.6%). 9.09% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2%). Source
Elections
This ward has been won consistently by Labour. It now encompasses the University of York campus.
The contest is given added interest this time round as one of the Labour victors in 2015 has left the party and is standing as an Independent candidate. Hillary Shephard – formerly a Council employee and shop steward – was on the moderate wing of the Labour Party. Hull Road Labour is now hard left dominated with some students activists believed to be heavily influential. As with all Independents the hurdle that she faces is to mobilise sufficient help to get leaflets delivered and electors canvassed.
One of the Labour candidates, Michael Pavlovic ,won a by-election in 2017. It was held on the same day as the General Election which was used by many electors to protest to Mrs May about her wasting their time.
Unusually two of the Labour candidates live at the same address in the ward. They say they moved to study in the City as recently as 2013.
Prediction
3 Labour seats
Micklegate
The Micklegate ward is home to 12,927 residents. Average incomes are higher than the City average. 51% of residents own their home. 34% rent privately and 13% are social tenants. There are 544 Council homes in the area. 1.4% are out of work. Crime levels are well above average. 90.3% of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live. (York average 88.6%). 36.7% believe that they can influence decisions in their local area (City average 26.2%). Source
Elections
Likely to be one of the most interesting contests this year. In 2015 this was the only ward to split 3 ways. 1 Labour, 1 Independent and 1 Green Party Councillors were elected. Retiring Labour Councillor Dave Merrett plunged to 7th place in the poll with many people pointing to his decision to restrict access to Lendal bridge as the explanation for his drop in popularity.
Independent Councillor Jonny Hayes and the other surprise victor, Lars Kramm (Green), are both quitting after one term of office. Both did bring a breath of fresh air to an otherwise predictable and tribal Council chamber. Lars Kramm is trying his luck in Copmanthorpe where he now lives.
There will no Independent candidate in the Micklegate Ward this time.
The Greens are fielding Rosie Baker who unsuccessfully contested a by election held in Micklegate in 2017. The victor then, Jonny Crawshaw, returns. He is understood to have ambitions to lead the Council’s Labour Group. He is joined by Sandi Redpath who is another party worker already on M.P. Rachel Maskell’s payroll.
The fragmented result last time suggests that Micklegate has a sophisticated (or confused) electorate. The ward may once again produce an unexpected result.
