The Environment Agency has updated its on line maps which show flood risks across the country.
In the west of York – away from the rivers and becks – there is generally a low flood risk. However surface water, which hasn’t been able to drain away, can still be a problem
Click on the map below to see how you home might be affected.
click to visit site
York Council officials have now given a preview of their plans for the redevelopment of the Lowfields school site (above).
The scheme – called “Lowfield Green” (sic) – includes the “provision of a care home, age related housing including bungalows, a health and police centre, family housing, plots for self-build and public open space”.
The scheme still involves building on the sports pitches but officials claim they wish to retain the mature trees on the site and provide a “pocket park and allotments“.
The Council plans to relocate the football provision to a site off of Tadcaster Road, in partnership with Woodthorpe Wanderers. This will allow them to have fenced off pitches which help with the “player environment”.
Residents are invited to two drop-in sessions with council officers who will explain the plans and answer questions. The drop-in sessions will take place on Wednesday 12 October and Tuesday 18 October between 4.30pm and 7.30pm at the Oak room, Gateway Community Church on Front Street. The plans will also be on display at Acomb Explore Library Learning Centre from Wednesday 12 October for 3 weeks where residents will be able to feedback.
Alternatively residents can have their say by emailing lowfield.development@york.gov.uk or see www.york.gov.uk/consultations.
Even a casual glance to the proposals confirms that they represent a gross over-development of the site. Fundamental mistakes include the provision of a through road from Dijon Avenue to Tudor Road (previous plans had indicate access from two cul de sacs to minimise short cutting).
The plans include two big traffic generators.
One is the GP surgery which is to be transferred from its present location on Cornlands Road. While there are bus stops within 100 metres of the Cornlands Road site the nearest equivalent public transport point to Lowfields is about 1/4 mile away on Front Street (although a one direction service does serve Tudor Road). This means that most who attend the surgery will drive to the site.
Another big traffic generator would be the proposed Police depot. The Police intend to close their Acomb Road station and relocate vehicle parking, messing and briefing facilities. There are no plans to provide a manned police reporting desk (either here or at the Acomb Library which is the location favoured by the majority of local residents). However 24/7 vehicular access will be required.
Taken together the Surgery and Police depot will have a major impact on traffic levels and parking problems in what is currently a quiet residential area.
Although putting starter homes near to elderly persons accommodation may seem attractive to some, history suggests that the differing lifestyles of the two age groups are rarely compatible,. We think that the site should be reserved for older residents who could be encouraged to “downsize” from their exiting larger houses, freeing them for family use
All in all these are very disappointing proposals.
The Council has not yet even responded to the public consultation comments submitted a couple of months ago when the Draft Local Plan revealed that the number of homes planned for Lowfields had more than doubled.
The Council should let that process conclude before tabling new plans.
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EARLIER – Residents have criticised the York Council for not updating them about the future of the Lowfields school site.
Many returned comment forms when a Local Plan consultation took place in Acomb 2 months ago. No one has received any feedback.
Residents had also been told in the summer that a further consultation event would be held during October but so far the Council have not confirmed that this will actually take place.
Residents completing a survey form had criticised the Council plans which would see building on the school playing fields. This was a direct contravention of assurances given when the school closed over 6 years ago and flies in the face of national government policy on the retention of sports pitches and facilities.
Latest residents survey results
Residents want to see the site used predominantly to provide accommodation aimed at older age groups. They have been particularly concerned about proposals to move police vehicle garaging & messing facilities from the present York Road site into the area. They fear that 24/7 access will exacerbate, already difficult, traffic and parking issues in the small estate.
Two weeks ago the NHS said that it had discounted the site as a possible location for a new mental health hospital
The Council is next scheduled to discuss the Lowfields plans at a meeting taking place on 8th December.
Foxwood Lane shops
The petitions had pointed at poor maintenance standards, with weeds and litter a constant problem.
The main criticism though was about the surface of the roads and footpaths some of which are badly rutted and uneven.
A meeting on the 13th October will hear that highways officials have examined the roads and paths in both areas and have ordered that potholes be filled in on sections which are a part of the adopted public highway.
Officials say that they have limited powers to require the owners of the private shop forecourts to undertake safety work.
They report that they have “undertaken additional inspections following receipt of the petitions and have identified any areas where the condition of the footway is approaching or exceeding intervention levels, works have been programmed and delivered where these have been identified within the adopted highway. Letters requesting works from frontagers have been issued to address any similar areas within the unadopted areas”.
Front Street
Regeneration needed
The report goes on to say that any further uplift works must form part of a larger regeneration project. They recommend that this option be referred to the responsible Executive member with a further report.
However, they also say that
“further improvements will require significant works to reinvigorate the two areas, initial estimates could be in the region of £500,000 for Acomb Front Street and £125,000 for Foxwood.
Additional complications arise with both locations where an additional financial burden would fall to the frontagers who would be expected to contribute significant sums of a similar magnitude to facilitate improvements of the adopted and unadopted areas”.
While we have long believed that a major investment is needed to regenerate the large, complex and neglected Front Street area, the suggestion that £1/4 million needs to be spent resurfacing the Foxwood shops forecourts is ridiculous.
What is needed is an overlay of flexible surfacing – similar perhaps to that used by the Council in Library Square – plus repainting or renewal of street furniture such as the cycle rack and bins.
We hope that Councillors won’t be hoodwinked by this very obvious example of “shroud waving”.
The “Ward Profiles” give local details of;
The profiles for each ward can be accessed by clicking here
Taking the Westfield Ward as an example we can see that:
The proposal brought a strong reaction from local residents who pointed out that access to Lowfields was only available through a tightly populated residential area. Increased traffic – potentially 24/7 – would have had an adverse effect on the local environment.
In a poll conducted by local LibDem Councillors in July, 57% rejected the idea. Many pointed out that City centre sites offered much better transport links for both staff and patients. Residents favoured the provision of accommodation aimed at older people on the footprint of the former secondary school.
Now we understand that the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust are focusing their hospital search on three locations. They are the existing Bootham Park Hospital site, a site near Clifton Park Hospital off Shipton Road, and the former Vickers and Bio-Rad factory site in Haxby Road.
The Councils formal consultation on the future of the Lowfields school site is due to commence in October.
It is likely that there will be an exhibition of proposals at the Acomb Library. before a decision is taken by the Council’s Executive on 8th December.
Many residents also took the opportunity to object to the Council’s plans to build on the Lowfields sports fields when responding to the recent consultation on the Local Plan.
They pointed out that building on football pitches was contrary to national policies and would leave minimal amounts of green space in the nearby estates.
The week started with the Sky Ride. Local Councillor Andrew Waller was near the front of the event as a reported 10,000 took part
The circus came to the Thanet Road sports area. This prompted complaints about fly posting and damage to recently planted trees. Posters for events like these can be displayed for two weeks in advance but must be removed within 2 days of the event finishing. On one evening there was some disturbance in the Chesney’s Field area and a noticeable increase in litter. The Council are being asked to consider limiting the number of fairs/circuses which are permitted in residential areas in each quarter.
Cllr Sue Hunter and local residents Andrea Cropper cleared potential hazardous weeds from the Acomb Green access steps
Job Done!
Foxwood Residents Association won a gold award at this years Yorkshire in Bloom contest. They outperformed many institutions who had been able to employ the services of professionals.
Foxwood Community centre garden
Cllr Sheena Jackson reported this offensive graffiti in the Tennent Road area. There has been an increase in graffiti issues in the area with some residents blaming the lack of high profile PCSO patrols partly for the decline.
Potholes on little Green Lane are getting bigger. The issue is being followed up by Cllr Andrew Waller
Lamppost on Bellwood Drive felled on Thursday
Over 30% of residents have so far returned the survey form issued in the Askham Lane/Grange Lane area earlier in the week.
The main issues raised by residents included poor car parking and lack of maintenance of trees and bushes. The Grange Lane/Parker Avenue alley was a particular source of complaint. The snicket is overgrown and subject to littering. Some residents want to see it closed, although this is unlikely as it is a Public Right of Way.
Many residents, responding to our survey question about future events at the Acomb Explore Library, have suggested that Councillors surgeries be held there. We’ve arranged for Advice Centres to take place on the second Wednesday in each month starting on 12th October.
The problem was highlighted to Cllr Andrew Waller by a concerned resident.
Bellhouse Way 15th Sept 2016
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Problems with fly posting (and graffiti) have been under control in York until quite recently.A crackdown 6 years ago resulted in a general agreement that posters would be restricted and would be removed within 2 days of an event having taken place.
Space might be made available, for worthy causes, to use public noticeboards while the growing number of web sites – like this one and that of the Council – offered modern, free publicity alternative for charitable events.
Unfortunately more posters have been put up recently which breach those guidelines.
In some cases the publicised events have already taken place. Many posters disfigure telephone kiosks & telecoms cabinets while some have even been put on boards and fixed to lampposts.
The Council has previously said,
“We expect officers from the Community Safety Hub will take steps identify perpetrators and write to them requiring that posters are removed within two days. If a follow-up visit shows they are still there, the posters will be removed and the perpetrators will be sent a bill for council time, along with a letter explaining that any repeat offences will be prosecuted under the Town & Country Planning Act.
Legally permitted posters include those the council is authorised to display such as dog fouling warnings and planning notices.
For organisations which have exemptions – such as local charities or community events – they will be reminded of the guidelines. These specify that exempt organisations are allowed posters not more than 0.6m2 (approximately A2 size) which are permitted 28 days prior to the event and 14 days after. If these guidelines aren’t followed, action will be taken, starting with a bill for their removal”.
Meanwhile there has also been an increase in graffiti in the Gale Lane area.
All cases that we have seen have been reported but we urge residents to use https://www.fixmystreet.com/ to highlight any continuing problems
Cllr Sue Hunter is encouraging residents to adopt local verges and amenity area and plant flowers. Grants may be available from the local Ward Committee for bulbs and containers
Lowfields verge flowers
Windsor Garth
The Ward committee will be balloting residents shortly on their priorities for using the delegated budget. Among ideas put forward by residents are plans to lop trees and overgrown hedges.
Next Ward committee newsletter will include ballot paper
Overgrown trees on Kingsthorpe reported by Andrew Waller
More overgrown trees this time on Grange Lane
Trustees have now signed a formal lease for the Foxwood Community Centre. It means that the centre will be largely free from Council control but will have to raise most of its income from lettings. It is now run entirely by volunteers.
Cllr Stephen Fenton Dringhouses ward (extreme left*) and Cllr Sheena Jackson Westfield Ward (extreme right*) and Trustees sign the Community Centre lease on Wednesday. (*not politically!)
Meanwhile Sheena has been out and about in the Foxwood area reporting issues for attention
Obstructed path
In the Cornlands Road area, while out delivering the latest Focus newsletter, we spotted several issues requiring attention. These included offensive graffiti on the Tithe Close snicket. Issues have been reported using https://www.fixmystreet.com/
We’ll be keeping an eye on drainage and gutter channels as trees begin to shed their leaves. There is an almost continual problem in St Stephens Square
It’s some times difficult to know whether an item has been dumped or left out for the scrap merchant
Andrew Waller has commenced a survey of the Askham Lane/Grange Lane area
Survey launched this weekend
One of the issues being probed is whether residents would like to see kissing gates installed on the accesses to the local parks and open areas. At present there are problems with motorcyclists riding near where children play
The event has something for the whole family from toddlers to grandparents with all sorts of pedal powered activities for people to take part in. There will be bikes and trikes of all shapes and sizes including adapted bikes, balance bikes and tandems for people to test ride.
While the Council is right to promote cycling as an environmentally friendly way of getting around, we are increasingly worried about the quality of some of the cycle paths and cycle lanes in the City.
Many cycle paths have become overgrown by nettles, brambles, bushes and trees. Some entrances to the paths are obstructed by parked vehicles while broken glass can also be a problem.
We think that the Council needs to check the paths and lanes on a regular basis and make sure that they are clear and safe for users.
BMX stunt team ‘Savage Skills’ will be performing throughout the day showing some of the amazing tricks that can be done on two wheels. There will also be ‘The AirBag’ for BMXers to try out their airborne tricks without the worry of a hard landing.
North Yorkshire Police will be on hand with their state of the art ‘dot peen’ property marking machine. They will be security marking cycles and other valuable items during the day free of charge.
Re-Cycle York will be providing a Doctor Bike service at the event to give festival attendees a free health check of their bike.
Cllr Nigel Ayre, Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism, said: “Now in its seventh year the Festival of Cycling continues to draw huge crowds year after year. The festival gives residents and visitors a great opportunity to find out about the health benefits and how fun cycling can be for people of all ages and abilities.”
The i-Travel York team will also be available to provide travel advice and information for residents to encourage them to try out sustainable modes of travel, including cycling and walking. For more information visit Festival of Cycling.
On Sunday 11 September Sky Ride York will take place giving people the chance to ride around a 7km traffic free loop taking in some of the city’s picturesque streets and historic landmarks. The route will be open from 11am-4pm giving residents the chance to ride it as much, or as little as they want and at a pace to suit everyone. Residents and visitors can sign up to Sky Ride York at www.goskyride.com/YorkSkyRide
Cyclists on the Sky Ride York route will be able to enter Rowntree Park from both the Butchers Field/Butchers terrace and Terry Avenue entrances.
