The group of residents wanting to set up a “Neighbourhood Forum” and draw up a “Neighbourhood Plan” covering Acomb and Westfield have withdrawn their proposal.
The about turn came less than 48 hours before the proposal was due to be determined by the York Council.
Consultation on the proposal had taken over 3 months to conclude and had cost several thousands of pounds in advertising and staff costs. These costs will have to be borne by taxpayers.
In addition, resident’s groups and individuals spent a lot of abortive time responding to the proposal.
It became clear several weeks ago that the proposal – which was labelled as “too big” to meet government guidelines – had little local support from residents.
It is possible that alternative proposals, covering perhaps the historic Acomb Front Street area, may emerge. Another possibility is for a plan for an area including the Acomb Ward and adjacent open spaces within the A1237 boundary.
Either way, the Council may in future wish to ask for a deposit to cover the cost of any work, that it has undertaken on a proposal, if it is withdrawn before it reaches the decision stage!
Lendal Post Office
Earlier in the week, the Council considered a proposal from the Guildhall Labour Party that the, now redundant, Lendal Post Office building be registered as an asset of community value. This would have allowed residents to have first option to buy the building (before it went onto the open market).
Council officials explained that the building did not meet
the legal test for listing. Nevertheless, the proposal was pursued to a decision
meeting.
None of the supporters of the listing turned up at the meeting and so the proposal then fell.
Another example of using scarce taxpayers’ resources unnecessarily.
The money would be better spent on improving street level public services.
More streets in York have not had their refuse, recycling and garden waste collected today.
Areas affected included Dringhouses (Middlethorpe), Bishopthorpe, Acomb, Chapelfields, Tang Hall and Lockwood Street
Some residents have called for the service to be “outsourced” (privatised).
Until the Council is more candid about the causes of its current problems, then it is difficult to know whether different management arrangements would lead to a more reliable service.
There is lots to admire before the seasons change in west York. Much voluntary effort has gone into making our community colourful this year
Acomb Wood offers a delightful opportunity for a stroll thanks to the hard work of the Friends groupVolunteers help to clear litter from the Foxwood Park. Lets make their job easier by doing our bitFlower tubs around the Foxwood area are maintained by volunteers
The Foxwood Residents Association will be supervising the planting of more spring bulbs tomorrow. There will be an increased number planted in Dickson Park
Also in Dickson Park, the Residents Association will be discussing, at their meeting on Wednesday, the planting of additional trees. A suggested layout has been provided by the local TREEMENDOUS charity. The meeting, which commences at 7:00pm, is open to all residents who live in Foxwood
A road, access bridge and rail link essential to the development of York Central have moved a step closer with the announcement that City of York Council has selected John Sisk & Son as construction partner to deliver infrastructure to open up the site.
The contract, the first to be awarded, is for a detailed design review which will lead to a Reserved Matters planning application, due later this financial year.
The approved plans for the York Central site include proposals to build up to 2,500 homes, and a commercial quarter creating up to 6,500 jobs adding a £1.16 billion boost to the economy.
John Sisk & Son will work with the council and partners to refine and finalise the design of the first phase of essential infrastructure for the access bridge, the spine road and the NRM rail link. This will inform a decision by Executive to proceed with a costed construction programme for York Central enabling infrastructure.
Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of the council, said; “The delivery of York Central is a once in a lifetime opportunity to build much needed affordable homes and new public spaces, attract better paid jobs, and create sustainable transport links for the city.
“We look forward to working with the York Central Partnership to secure further improvements to the scheme and with Sisk to begin this essential first phase of work in preparing the York Central site for development.”
Ian Gray, Homes England on behalf of York Central Partnership, said: “This is a really exciting and important milestone towards the delivery of our ambitious plans at York Central.
“A lot of hard work has been put in by York Central Partnership to get this far and this contract demonstrates our commitment to delivering the ambition and vision for the site.”
Paul Brown, Managing Director, UK Civils at John Sisk & Son, said:
“We are delighted to have been selected by the City of York Council to work with the stakeholders on this exciting project and to progress the design of some of the key enabling infrastructure. This is a project of huge ambition which will transform underused land in the centre of York into vibrant and distinctive residential neighbourhoods, cultural spaces and a high-quality commercial quarter. We are really excited to be able to bring our broad range of experience and commitment to a collaborative approach to the project.”
The budget necessary to commission this work was agreed by Executive in July 2019.
The York Central Partnership (YCP) members, Homes England, Network Rail, the National Railway Museum and City of York Council, have been working collaboratively for the past four years to develop proposals to unlock the potential of the brownfield site.
The partnership has secured planning approval, subject to the finalisation of the S106 agreement, for its outline planning application and assembled a potential £155m funding package for infrastructure works.
This includes £23.5m of a total of £37.2m from the West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund and Leeds City Region Growth Deal, which will also fund the ambitious plans to transform the front of the railway station.
The West Yorkshire-plus Transport Fund has been part-funded through the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal, a £1 billion package of Government funding to drive growth and job creation across the Leeds City Region. The aim is to create around 20,000 new jobs and add £2.4 billion a year to the economy by the mid-2030s.
City of York Council has also received a Local Growth Fund contribution of £3.1m, from York, North Yorkshire and East Riding LEP and has agreed to borrow £35m to be repaid using retained business rates from the York Central Enterprise Zone.
The council’s £77.1m bid for the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund is at an advanced stage, with a decision expected in the autumn.
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
Around 700 visitors are expected to visit York Job Fair later this month, where they will have the chance to meet 70 employers and training providers from across the region.
Held at York Railway Institute, Queen’s Street, on 25 September between 10am and 2pm, the popular event brings together employers, employment support agencies, education and training providers to offer local people job opportunities, information and advice
The fair is aimed at those looking for employment, considering a change of job or career and those who would like to develop new skills and gain new qualifications.
The event is funded by City of York Council and organised by York Learning in partnership with Job Centre Plus.
Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said: “The York Job Fairs are always hugely popular both with employers and prospective employees and I’m delighted at how much they’ve grown since our first one in 2012.
“It’s fantastic to see how many local and regional businesses have signed up to attend the event. By supporting the fair they are providing more jobs for people in York.”
I’d encourage anyone who is looking for employment, considering a career change or who wants to gain new qualifications, to go along.”
Bishopthorpe Road between the junctions of Bishopthorp Road / Charlton Street and the junction of Bishopthorpe Road / Scarcroft Road will be temporarily closed from 12noon today [16 September].
The juction will be re-opened as soon as possible once City of York Council has carried out investigations and repairs to a sink hole which appeared under the carriageway over the weekend. Until further investigations are carried out it is not known how long the work will take to be completed.
A diversion route is in place for travellers and will follow Campleshon Road / Kanvesmire Road / Tadcaster Road / The Mount / Scarcroft Road.
Bus passengers are asked to visit www.itravelyork.info for more information on how the closure will impact on their journey.
James Gilchrist, Assistant Director of Transport, Highways and Environment, City of York Council, said: “We apologise for the inconvenience this emergency closure will cause. We are working with our contractors to resolve the issue as soon as possible and will update travellers on timescales as soon as possible.”
City of York Council could join 70 towns and cities across the UK by gaining ‘Purple Flag’ status – in a bid to work with key partners and support York’s night time economy.
Town or city centres that achieve a Purple Flag are those that are safe, vibrant, appealing, well-managed and offer a positive experience to residents and visitors.
A report outlining plans for the council to apply for this status, as well as appointing a new role to support the existing Safety Advisory Group (SAG) in the city and combining these two tasks into a single coordinating role, will be taken a public meeting on Wednesday 18 September, to Cllr Keith Aspden’s decision session meeting, for approval.
The Purple Flag standard, launched in 2012, is an accreditation process similar to the Green Flag award for parks and the Blue Flag for beaches. It allows members of the public to quickly identify town and city centres that offer an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night out.
An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report from November 2018 shows that York now has nearly twice the national average number of pubs per 10,000 residents, and that there are 15 more licenced premises in the city than there were in 2001. This is in stark contrast to national trends with ONS reporting that there has been a 23 per cent reduction in the number of pubs nationally since 2008.
The report sets out the background to Purple Flag as a scheme, existing commitments from city stakeholders, and a proposed way forward to run a Purple Flag process as part of improved partnership arrangements for the city centre. For the SAG elements, the post will help organisers meet their legal duties in respect of complying with their legal responsibilities and keeping people safe.
The decision session takes place on Wednesday 18 September at West Offices from 4pm and is open to members of the public or is available to watch later online from: www.york.gov.uk/webcasts
Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said: “The Purple Flag status aims, amongst a broad range of policies, to improve work with partners, reduce anti-social behaviour and support a safer city centre. York city centre’s night time economy is both vibrant and challenging. The continued growth of our reputation as a place to visit for leisure has seen the number of bars and restaurants in the city centre increase in recent years.
“City centres that achieve a Purple Flag are those that are safe, vibrant, appealing, well-managed and offer a positive experience to residents and visitors. The challenges that York’s growth presents are related to the often conflicting needs of different users of the city centre. It is these challenges that Purple Flag seeks to address through positively bringing together those involved in the day time, evening and night time economies, to develop joint plans and make York even safer.”
Residents and businesses can have their say on plans which could guide future developments on the former Bootham Park hospital site.
The former hospital site, which includes a series of Grade 1 and 2 listed buildings, is back on the market after a sale fell through earlier this year.
While City of York Council and local health partners do not own the site, they have joined forces to influence the plans of future owners.
The council and the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have included their own land to the north and east of the former hospital to show how a larger site could respond to the healthcare, housing, transport and green space needs of this area and the wider city.
The site development report was produced after consultation late last year, and shows how a sensitive and appropriate development could provide:
147 dwellings
52 key worker apartments
a new physiotherapy suite, medical training and research centre of excellence
a 70 bed care home
60 assisted living/supported living apartments
a new children’s nursery
Multi-storey car parking to maintain existing parking capacity and open up the site
extensive public open space
Councillor Nigel Ayre, City of York Council executive member for finance and performance, said:
“The consultation last year confirmed how important the Bootham Park Hospital site is to York and its residents.
“It has been a focal point for the community and played a huge role in the city’s healthcare since the hospital building first opened its doors in 1777.
“While we don’t own the site we are exploring how to make sure that future developments respect that heritage and play a part in meeting some of York’s 21st Century challenges.
“So please take a look at the plans, give us your feedback and we’ll use them to influence future owners of the site.”
You have until Friday 11 October to make your comments on all elements of this proposal.
You can see all the details and join the conversation in a number of ways.
Exhibitions (available from Tuesday 17 September)
City of York Council’s West Offices, Station Rise, YO1 6GA
The foyer of York Hospital, Wigginton Road, YO31 8HE
Meet the team and talk through the proposals at these events:
Tuesday 17 September 3pm to 6pm, Marriott Room, York Explore, Library Square, YO1 7DS
Saturday 21 September, 1pm to 4pm, York City Church, Citadel YO31 7EA
Wednesday 25 September, 4pm to 7pm, York City Church, Citadel YO31 7EA
Tuesday 1 October, 2pm to 5pm, York City Church, Citadel YO31 7EA
You can see all the details and find a link to an online survey (also available from 17 September) through the council website, or join the conversation on social media.
