The former Willow House Elderly Persons Home on Long Close Lane
is still empty.
Willow House today
It is nearly 3 years since residents were moved out of the
home and the Council put the site on the open market.
In a £3 million deal, the site was set to be sold for a 126
bed student accommodation development.
However there was a controversy regarding public access to land which had been used for occasional leisure purposes. Labour blocked the plans in November 2017.
A year earlier it had been decided to close the home.
Willow House sales particulars
Lack of progress in developing what is a prime site next to the
City walls was criticised last October when there was no progress to be seen
behind the security railings.
No planning application has been submitted for the redevelopment of the site which isregistered with estate agents Sanderson Weatherall. The agents say that their clients would prefer an “unconditional offer”.
The area being offered for sale includes the disputed “informal
leisure” land
The building and surrounding land is now becoming something
of an eyesore.
This is unfortunate as it is visible fro the City walls.
Only a few hundred metres away, on the other side of the inner ring road, the vacant site next to the Barbican has become an even bigger eyesore.
320,000 pieces of chewing gum removed from pavements.
York Councillors will be considering a reporton Wednesday that reviews the work of the York BID. The, mainly business funded organisation, was formed in April 2016 and aims to improve the attractiveness of the City centre.
The report includes an impressive list of achievements. The blight
of chewing gum on footpaths is produces a particularly eye catching headline.
In addition, 961 pieces of graffiti and fly posters have been removed.
The BID ranger service has also helped to reduce anti-social
behaviour and address other criminal activities.
There has been a 1.9% increase in footfall in the City.
Last month the government, the Architectural Heritage Fund
and the National Lottery Heritage Fund announced a £62 million package of
support to breathe new life into historic high streets across the country, to
restore historic buildings, create new work spaces and cultural venues. As part
of the overall funding, £55 million had been allocated from the Future High
Streets Fund. We still hope to see York benefit from this type of
government support.
The York BID has been successful initiative and has made a real
difference to the quality of the City centre. It has been criticised for
drawing Council resources away from sub-urban centres like Acomb but overall the
BID is viewed positively.
There are ongoing issues with more improvements needed to the
streetscape – too many weeds and too much graffiti – and of course empty properties.
The latter in areas like Coney Street now look to be intractable problems, which
is why the governments attitude to the City is so disappointing.
Some underused sites and buildings – including those owned by
the Council – need to be redeveloped quickly now. The meeting on Wednesday will
hear from the Executive member with responsibility for “Economy and
Strategic Planning”. Members will no doubt be hoping to hear some positive news
about the use of empty property economic development activities in the whole of
the City.
We hope that corporate interests will similarly ensure that
prominent, but derelict, sites like that next to the Barbican will also now be
developed (or at least tidied up).
Overall the BID has had a successful 3 years and can look with
confidence to an extension of its mandate.
NB. “Make it York” is reporting separately on its activities click here to readtheir report
The new Executive is expected to review the affordability of a £20 million scheme at the Guildhall which would see the creation of a “business club” there. If the project goes ahead, work will start in the autumn with reoccupation expected in 2021.
The estimated total value of the assets is put at between £30/40 million.
Little attempt has been made to secure short term lets for the properties which include prime sites like 29 Castlegate, the former youth advisory HQ.
Most of the properties have been exempt from paying business rates. Had they been occupied then Council taxpayers would have benefited from an additional £200,000 a year in income.
To this would be added rental income of around £400,000 a year or a substantial capital receipt.
The Castlegate property was to have been purchased by the York Conservation Trust with the York Civic Trust hoping to subsequently lease the building as part of its expansion plans for the adjacent Fairfax House.
The agreed purchase price of £430,000 was criticised at the time as being “too low” for a building in such a prime site.
29 Castlegate
Now the Council says that it was notified on 21st May that the Conservation Trust would not be purchasing the building. However, the York Civic Trust had been told the same at their AGM last year. The Council say that they are now “reviewing” the position.
No public reports have been made on asset utilisation issues at the York Council this year.
The Council is spending around £80,000 a year on maintaining
and securing the properties.
Only one of the properties has a temporary occupant (20 Piccadilly)
The table does not include underused assets like 19/21 Piccadilly (Spark)or land with a development potential. The latter includes land purchased in 2008 to accommodate an extension to Acomb Explore Library and which has been unused ever since.
19/21 Piccadilly
The Council says that it has only one Council house, at Glen
Lodge, which has been empty for longer than 6 months.
The Council Housing department has been criticised in the past for allowing some of itsestate garages to remain empty for extended periods of time.
The revelations have led to calls for a more proactive approach by the Council in the use of its assets. The new Council leadership has been advised to reintroduce a 6 monthly public report on empty property issues.
It may be that the time has come for the York Council to seek outside help in managing its huge commercial building portfolio
Residents are hoping that some solutions, to the problems caused by widespread building works in the Westfield area, will emerge from last nights public meeting.
There are acute congestion, parking and noise problems at and near sevral sites.
Contractors have been digging up Hob Moor as they proceed wit the Newbury Avnue development. To do so they have cut two gaps in the perimeter hedge (although its is still the bird nesting season)Parking problems are increasing on Ascot Way. The Lincoln House forecourt parking has gone and the Council have not provided even a temporary facility near the gable end of the building (where there is adequate space). The area is currently fenced off. The parking crisis in the estate has been exacerbated by the demolition of the |Newbury Avenue garages.
The Westfield Councillors are right to insist on more information being provided on building works in the area, when they meet tomorrow (Wednesday)
However, they will be meeting only a few metres away from the spoil heaps and site compound which has been constructed on the Council owned land to the rear of the Library.
Large spoil heap on Council land at the Acomb Library
Some explanation for the decision to allow the contractors to use this Council owned site will be expected. It is an issue that is not likely to go away.
Some residents still hope that Council will offer some sort of compensation for the problems that have been caused by the use of the compound
Elsewhere, the Lowfields development saga continues.
There has still not been any explanation about how the York Council came to mislead residents about the inclusion of a “police station” and health centre/GP surgery in the original consultation plans.
Both these promises turned out to be bogus. It is unclear what will happen to what, otherwise, will be unused plots on the east of the site.
The Kingsway West carriageway is already breaking up
On Ascot Way, access arrangements, for the heavy plant needed to complete the demolition of Windsor House, remain unclear. It seems that access for the plant will be via Kingsway West and Ascot Way It is clear that the roads are too narrow in the area to avoid major damage to adjacent verges and paths. A “one way” system has been suggested but not confirmed.
There are real concerns that the bus route will be obstructed by the likely congestion
The original hope had been that more parking lay-bys would have been provided by now.
…..and the problem of the promised replacement for the all weather games area seems to be no closer to resolution. The existing MUGA has already been converted into a building compound.
Games area is now a building compound. No alternative provision for children has been provided
There is no word about the proposed alternative site on the Thanet Road Sports Area although officials were asked to follow this up 3 months ago.
Residents will no doubt be hoping that some answers emerge from the meeting
Spoil heaps dominate neighbouring properties on Lowfields Drive
A Planning Inspector hasrejected an appeal regarding the Spark container village on Piccadilly.
The owners of the units were hoping to avoid installing wooden cladding on the outside of the shipping containers as was required by the original planning consent granted in May 2017.
In August 2018 the Councils planning committee refused to remove the requirement for the containers to be clad in timber panelling. They concluded that the industrial style containers had an adverse impact on the appearance of the Central Conservation Area.
Spark appealed against this decision.
The appellants claimed that “that the financial implications
of the approved installation would be prohibitive and would put the entire
project at risk”.
However, the Inspector said that the costs of the cladding
would have been known from the start.
The Inspector concluded “I find that no public benefits have been demonstrated that would outweigh the harm and there is no clear and convincing justification for the variation of the condition”.
Despite much prevarication, the controversial Spark project
now seems to have reached the end of the road. Their lease expires next July
anyway, and the Council will be eager to market the site for a more sustainable
use.
The site is likely to be worth over a million pounds – money that the Council desperately needs to sustain the rest of its capital investment programme. The most viable use would be for a visitor attraction on the ground floor with either flats, offices or a hotel above.
The Council will also be expected to reveal how much their share of the “profits” on the development have actually been received.
The profit share arrangement was a key consideration when
the Councils Executive agreed to release the site at their meeting in November 2016.
The taxpayers investment of over £40,000 in infrastructure was to have been
repaid from these “profits”.
The shipping containers arrived on site in September 2017.
They were widely regarded as “ugly” with street art graffiti on the Piccadilly
frontage making the appearance even worse. The containers blight the Piccadilly
area which is otherwise seeing signs of regeneration. Three new developments
are currently underway on the opposite side of the road and a “Castle Gateway”
masterplan is in the process of being approved.
The shipping containers arrived in September 2017
We think that Spark have been playing the Council along for many months.
The issue will be a major test of the effectiveness of the newly elected York Council. They must seek to quickly enforce the planning conditions on the site, while also recovering any outstanding debts.
They would also be wise to start marketing the site for future development.
We’ve asked residents to nominate the highest growing weeds on public highways in the City.
These are roads, footpaths , bridges etc which should by now have been treated for weed growth by the York Council.
If left untreated the weeds will gradually break up the surface of the highway causing additional expense when remedial work is undertaken.
The weed control programme is normally sub contracted by the Council. Residents may have seen (or not this year) quad bikers in some streets spraying weed killer
Weeds in the Leeman Road area. Currently about 1 metre high but growing strongly
Weeds higher than 1 metre at the A59 junction near Poppleton. Gives a poor first impression of the City for visitors accessing the nearby Park and Ride site.A long time problem location with weeds now nearly 2 metres high on the parapets of the Ouse Bridge. Happens every year but no weed killer is applied by the Council. This year the weeds have been supplemented by a strong growth in tin cans (licet stagni) In the right place, wild flowers can make a positive contribution to the local environment. These are outside the Foxwood Community Centre. They help to sustain bee populations as well as supporting bio diversity more generally..
The York Council has started consultation on whether to recognise
an “Acomb and Westfield Neighbourhood Forum”
A small group of residents, mainly living in the Front Street
area, want to establish a “neighbourhood plan”. It would supplement the
Councils own Local Plan which will be subject to a public hearing over the
summer months.
Proposed neighbourhood plan area (Acomb and Westfield)
Unfortunately, the area they hope to cover includes the whole
of the Acomb and Westfield wards (approximately 10,000 homes). It would stretch
from Foxwood to Boroughbridge Road, encompassing a disparate group of neighbourhoods
with little obvious community of interest.
If agreed, it would be by far the largest such plan in the York
area. In the main those plans that have been approved cover smaller villages. All
have a shared commonality of interests.
Westfield is not short of groups which seek to influence
Council policy.
There are several Residents Associations, a “planning panel”
(which scrutinises planning applications), a “ward team” and a “ward committee”
together with several “action groups” which tend to focus on stimulating, or preventing,
specific developments.
Adding an additional tier of representation, although only a
consultative body, would involve additional costs and could lead to confusion
about roles and responsibilities.
When it comes down to it, Foxwood has little in common with
Chapelfields or the Gladstone Street area.
It has even less shared interest with Ouse Acres and vice versa. Arguably Foxwood has more in common with the Woodthorpe area.
In our view, this proposal represents an unwelcome diversion
and could take resources away from the key task of raising public service standards
in the area. Residents Associations are bested suited – and of the right scale –
to identify changes that need to be made in local neighbourhoods.
They deserve more Council support.
In most built up sub-urban areas, there is little scope for redevelopment anyway with the focus being to retain existing open spaces. There is an opportunity for more public open space on land lying between the existing development and the A1237 bypass. The proposed Neighbourhood Plan boundaries exclude this land from consideration.
Ward Councillors are already aware of the need to move the extra public open space issue forward.
Front Street in older times. This part of Westfield may require better protection from developers in the light of the current problems at the Bowling Club building site.
There may be a case for a neighbourhood plan covering the Acomb village conservation area and its immediate environs.
The “forum” organisers would be wise to focus on a smaller area like this – where there may be a need for more clarity on its future – rather than try to “boil the, proverbial, ocean”.
In the meantime residents should email the Council to oppose this unnecessary proposal.
Local armed forces personnel, former and currently serving, will be celebrated at York’s annual Armed Forces Day on Saturday 29 June.
Armed Forces Day allows City of York Council and residents, visitors and local businesses to give thanks for all the hard work and contributions made by the armed forces community.
York Mansion House will kick off the celebrations with the annual flag raising at 11am on Monday 24 June, followed by a speech from the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Janet Looker.
Running throughout the week until 30 June, the programme for Armed Forces Day 2019 has developed partnerships with businesses and organisations locally to offer multiple discounts to former and currently serving members of the armed forces.
Over 60 city-wide offers and discounts are listed during Armed Forces Day 2019, for a variety of city attractions, eateries, shops and travel networks, with 30 of the offers running continuously throughout the year for armed forces personnel.
In addition to the discounts on offer during the week, residents, visitors, and personnel are invited to show their support alongside a small showcase to be staged on Parliament Street between 11am – 4pm on Armed Forces Day 29 June.
Events and offers are through joint working with the Armed Forces Covenant, a government scheme which encourages mutual support between communities and armed forces personnel, including veterans.
Cllr Keith Aspden, Armed Forces Champion and Leader of City of York Council, said: “We are incredibly proud of our armed forces and it’s great to see local businesses and community groups showing their support for the armed forces in York.
“It is particularly important that we continue to honour our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant to strengthen delivery and enhance the services provided.
“We are fortunate to be able to work with partners across the region to offer employment and education; health and housing; and support and advice, and truly support the armed forces for the service they provide.”
The Rt Hon Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Janet Looker, said: “It’s an honour to be able to take part in the annual raising of the flag to salute the armed forces for their service over the years and remind us to be grateful for their sacrifice.
“Armed Forces Day is in its eleventh year and is still a great opportunity to highlight the amazing work the community do to keep us safe on a daily basis.”
