Ouse bridge weeds in rude good health

Ouse bridge weeds 25th September 2014

Ouse bridge weeds 25th September 2014

Almost 4 months after the weed growth on Ouse Bridge was first reported to the Council they continue to thrive.

The Council agreed in the summer to ensure that they were treated with weed killer but – if the process ever took place – it has proved to be ineffective.

Great shame as the bridge is well used by both residents and tourists and the undergrowth is a poor advert for the City centre.

Hopefully the Council will act before the structural integrity of the bridge is compromised.

We now understand that they are to try to pull the weeds by hand

 

Andrew Waller takes action to deal with footpath hazard

Andrew Waller tackles hedge

Andrew Waller tackles hedge

BEFORE - Hedge blocking Askham Lane

BEFORE – Hedge blocking Askham Lane

AFTER - bus shelter revealed

AFTER – bus shelter revealed

 

The bush blocking the Askham Lane footpath has been cut back by Andrew Waller and a team of volunteers.

The path had been blocked by the overgrown hedge for a couple of weeks forcing pedestrians to walk in the road.

The bush also potentially could have damaged passing vehicles.

The overgrown hedge has been reported to the Council several times during the summer with passengers, waiting in the shelter, complaining that they could not see buses approaching

The hedge still needs cutting back further with specialist equipment and we hope that the Council will do that and treat the nettles – which make access to the shelter difficult for elderly people – as quickly as possible.

Dog fouling problems continue in York but……

…..York council only issues 3 penalty notices during last 3 years.dog_warden

Residents responding to our door to door survey told us that they were concerned about the amount of dog fouling in their area.

Overall 35% of respondents said it was an issue in their street.

Now a Freedom of information request has revealed that very little is being done by the Council to enforce dog fouling laws. The number of dog fouling fixed penalty notices issued have been:

2009 – 2010 2 issued

2010 – 2011 0 issued

2011 – 2012 0 issued

2012 – 2013 1 issued

2013 – 2014 2 issued

 

This seems very low to us.

There is a case for bringing back the dedicated dog warden service.

 

York lags behind in house building recovery

Despite the economic recovery, York lagged behind the rest of the country in the number of new homes completed last year.Behind closed doors logo

A report published after a “behind closed doors” meeting held last week revealed that only 50 affordable homes were built in the City  last year.

This is down from the 282 built during the last year of the Liberal Democrat led Council administration in 2010/2011.

It compares to the annual target of 790 new homes adopted by Labour Councillors following a “strategic market assessment”.

On average, 150 affordable homes had been built annually  during the pervious 5 years.

Alarmingly the number of new affordable homes being added by the Council is now less than the number of Council houses being sold under “Right to Buy” legislation

Year

 RTB Applications RTB Sales

11/12

 20 6
12/13 88

23
13/14 77

53

The Council has failed to invest the income from RTB sales effectively

The Council has also failed to use its substantial £12.86 million housing surplus to buy empty homes on the open market, and resolutely refuses to use the “New Homes Bonus” (money provided by the government to recognise house building success) on affordable homes.

Small wonder that Labour did not want these figures to be debated in public.

The only crumb of comfort was that – in line with the rest of the country – the total number of planning applications for new homes rose from 370 units in 2012 to 1578 last year, although a significant proportion of these were for specialist student flats.

Andrew Waller to fight Westfield by election for LibDems

2011 runner up needs just 139 extra votes to win critical seat

Andrew Waller head and shoulders

Former Council Leader and long term Westfield Ward representative, Andrew Waller is the Liberal Democrat choice to contest the Westfield ward by election on Thursday 16th October.

A vacancy was caused by the recent death of Cllr Lynn Jeffries.

The impact of the election is likely to be felt far beyond the boundaries of the Westfield ward with the Council currently tied.

23 Labour Councillors face 23 opposition party representatives since another Councillor quit the Labour Group last week.

Who ever wins the by election will influence whether Labour regain an overall majority or whether opposition groups – when they vote together – will be able to defeat them.

There has been some speculation that a LibDem win would mean the Councils Cabinet being restructured to ensure that all parties have a seat round the table.

In 2011 Andrew Waller came within 140 votes of retaining the seat which had previously been held by the Liberal Democrats.

Andrew, 45, was councillor for the ward until May 2011. Since then he has kept in touch with people issuing a regular FOCUS newsletter. He has kept working for the local community and recently completed a 6000 household doorstep public opinion survey.

Andrew lives in the heart of the ward on Askham Lane, and is Treasurer of Chapelfields Community Association (which runs Sanderson House Community Centre), and a School Governor at both the Westfield Primary and York High Schools.

He has worked for Rowntrees and Great North Eastern Railway in the past.

He jointly set up the Acomb Traders Association (Acomb Alive!) which promotes business in the Front Street shopping area.

He has campaigned on local services, including protecting community centres, and Energise Sports Centre.

A keen cyclist, he is often spotted in his distinctive yellow jacket around the ward recording problems that need sorting out.

A fuller biography is available by clicking here

Votes per party AW

Hob Moor nature reserve being dug up

Farmer forced to remove cattle from nature reserveOLS and sewer connection (2)

Work is taking place on Hob Moor to install a new drain. The system will serve the new development on the former Our Lady’s school site.

It is understood that the work has forced a farmer to remove his cattle from the moor.

The development has always been unpopular with many as it was almost twice the size originally envisaged.

In addition the impact on traffic in the area is expected to be significant with many fearing that lack of parking space could cripple the estate. Already narrow roads like Ashford Place and Ascot Way are bearing the brunt of  noise and vibration. from construction traffic.

However concerns about the Hob Moor nature reserve have been ignored by the Labour dominated planning committee when the developer has come back with several requests for modifications to their plans.

We understand that concerns have been raised with English Nature

Inadequate drainage in the area was one concern which led to a significant change to the site height about a month ago

 

New project creates a lasting legacy for York’s Normandy veterans

To mark 70 years since the D-Day landings in Normandy, Explore York Libraries and Archives is collecting memories from members of the York Normandy Veterans Association, as part of the York: Gateway to History project, which has been supported with a £1,574,200 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant.

In June, the York Veterans joined others from across the country to gather in Normandy and attend memorial services for those lost during the Second World War. The visit brought back memories of friends and family lost, but it also sparked concern about their wartime archive collections and the legacy they leave behind.
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