A new access to the Grange Lane Park has been created… only 5 metres from the existing gap in the hedge.
The existing access has been in use for over 20 years and has gradually been improved over the years with a bitmaced access path laid, poop scoop bin provided and gate installed to deter motorcyclists.
The new access is marked by two wooden posts and an expensive “public footpath” sign both constructed out of the kind of timber that usually becomes popular around 5th November.
The area immediately inside the hedge has been declared a site of scientific interest following rare flora being found there. Breaks in hedge lines are also discouraged by conservationists as they interrupt the migration routes of small mammals.
However, none of thus seems to have been taken into account by the Council who failed to consult local residents about their plans.
It is possible that the Public Right of Way needed to be diverted to conform with the arcane 19th century footpath maps that some officials find compelling. But the cost of doing that – no one would be likely to object – would be a couple of hundred pounds rather than the £3000+ which the current scheme will add the taxpayers bills.
The Council should publish their intentions to undertake work like this in their “Your Ward” publication. That way some common sense might be injected into the process.

Labour have confirmed their threat to close the Councils Acomb branch office. Currently located at the Front Street/Carr Lane junction the original plan had been to move the reception functions into a small extension to the Acomb Explore Library (erroneously derided as a “second Council HQ” in Labour’s election literature). Local estate managers and neighbourhood workers would also have been housed there while annual running costs would have been reduced by £60,000 compared to continuing the present arrangements.
Now the Labour leadership have agreed to give up the lease on the existing building next year, despite even their own surveys revealing that over 80% of Acomb customers wanted to have local face to face contact with Council officials.
Users now face a trek to the new Council offices in Station Rise adding to the congestion problems in the City. Disabled residents would face a particularly difficult journey.
In response Labour Councillors claim that people will use the internet to access Council services in the future. We will see.
Some interview session may be provided within the limited accommodation at Explore and at the Hob Moor children’s centre but they are unlikely to provide a satisfactory response particularly for urgent or complex issues.
We suspect that this is only the first part of an attack on the public service standards enjoyed by residents of Acomb. Labour have threatened to close the public toilets on Front Street
…and as recently as the beginning of September one Labour Councillor criticised the Front Street shopping area as being “quiet” with lots of empty property. She went on to tell The Press, “It’s disappointing when people lose vital services they rely on. ……….. because not everybody has the internet or a car”
Indeed!

October – December 2011

Vistor numbers at York’s libraries continued to increase last year. Much of the change, which reverses the national trend, can be put down to the modernisation programme implemented by the last Liberal Democrat Council administration.
By the end of April, usage had reached an all time high with approaching 1 million residents using their local library. The last few months have seen visitor numbers sustained.

Some of the delayed improvements which were to have been funded from the Councils “target hardening fund” are now being implemented.

These include the Tedder Road park railings which are designed to reduce the number of stray balls that find their way into properties which lie opposite the park.
We understand that the plan to install a CCTV camera to provide surveillance of the back lane between Beaconsfield Street and Front Street has also been agreed.

So we’re told by the Council Leadership that a new initiative “Reinvigorate York” will focus on three key areas which aim to improve traffic and pedestrian flow, improve the “tourist, retail and cultural experience of visitors” and to rid the centre of unnecessary clutter such as some bollards and signs.
It’s really a rebranding of the “York Pride” initiative of 2003 which was aimed at cleaning up a City where public service standards had slipped.
The “removal of clutter” part of the scheme at least, is apparently being backed by Ron Cooke from the Civic Trust. Ron has made progress gradually with his campaign to declutter City centre streets. For example, intrusive signs near the Minster in Petergate were replaced by low level units. The same has happened at a dozen other City centre locations over the last 2 years……… and there are relatively inexpensive changes which could be made to ageing signs in Blake Street and Davygate
However there is a paradox to be addressed. If the Council is to remove street clutter like cycle stands then it risks losing the battle to encourage people to walk and cycle into the City centre. The alternative would be more traffic (or economic decline). Ambitious plans to provide covered and secure cycle parking facilities – at one time the redundant tunnel under the Coppergate centre was mooted as a possibility – are currently stalled because of high costs.
Unobtrusive – but still secure – cycle parking locations are difficult to find, but are essential if cyclists are not to hijack the nearest lamppost, seat or set of railings.
Similarly, City centre traffic lights may frustrate some and may “ruin” the odd photograph. But would anyone want to risk pedestrian safety by removing them altogether? Pedestrian casualties remain a source of concern – as we have seen recently – in the City centre.
….& it’s hardly surprising if, at the end of a busy summer season, some public street furniture is showing signs of wear and tear. That is why – as happens every year – there is money in the Councils budget for repair and maintenance.
If substantial investment in renewing the streetscape is to be made then the money won’t come from existing budgets. Apart from the Deangate Piazza scheme, there is no other major City centre funding commitment included in the Councils 4 year capital programme. The Council has also recently committed more of its future resources to funding additional park and ride sites, putting still more pressure on limited capital investment resources.
The omens for political support are not good. Last year the local Labour leadership vigorously opposed the plans which led to the paving of Library Square – just the type of initiative that is needed to raise standards in the “public realm”.
It is also disingenuous to suggest that the Council is waiting for “government grant” decisions before announcing specific additional improvement schemes. The governments funding commitments to Local Authorities, for the economic recovery period, have been known for the last 12 months.
The truth is that any investment will have to come principally from the private sector (who will want something in return), with heritage conservation schemes possibly in line for some National Lottery funding.
The sooner that a City Centre Action Plan is agreed, through the Local Development Plan process, the sooner sensible expenditure priorities can be decided.

It’s good to see that the Hilton Group are displaying plans for the new hotel which they hope to build next to the Barbican.
Commercial property firm Broadhall unveiled proposals for the 165-bedroom hotel costing between £19 and 20 million, with conference and leisure facilities.
The Hilton Garden Inn Hotel will take 62 weeks to complete if planning permission is granted by the City of York Council.
When the last plans for a hotel on this site were considered by the Planning Committee in 2007 a decision was deferred to allow for amendments to be made to the plans. Unfortunately this meant that the proposal, from Premier Inn, was dropped in favour of another site (on Blossom Street).
The economic recession bit and development money became tight. So the site has remained empty for 4 years.
The development is vital if the adjacent auditorium is to continue as a concert hall. Ticket sales for concerts have been fairly average since it reopened and it badly needs to expand the use of the building during the day time. Conferences are the most obvious market opportunity and the availability of overnight accommodation next door – together with break out rooms and dining facilities – would be a big boost fro the centre.
Directly the development would provide several dozen new jobs but equally important the arrival of more conferences in the City would provide a much wider boost for the local economy.

We will probably never know whether York’s new park and ride sites would have got the go ahead without the substantial subsidy that local taxpayers have now been asked to make into the project. The Wigginton Road site has been shelved but Poppleton and Askham Bar are still in the running for government funding.
Around £6 million will now come from local sources with about half of that likely to be borrowed. That means an annual cost – for principal and interest payments – of about £270,000 a year with this potentially being offset by the surplus fares income, of between £50,000 & £250,000, which may be generated from the Askham Bar and Poppleton Park sites combined.
A lot will depend on the specification for the new bus fleet which will serve these sites. The original intention was to seek ultra low emission vehicles (probably plug in hybrids) but this may not now be possible.
The A59 corridor was also to have been used to trial a bus contract which would have seen greater integration between the Park and Ride and normal bus services in the area.
Residents in Moor Lane will be wondering what the future of the existing park and ride car park will be when the site moves to Sim Hills. Originally it was assumed that Tesco would buy the site as an extension to their car park. The figures assumed by the new Council suggest that some development on the site is a possibility (subject to planning consent).
So still a lot of questions to be answered when the project gets its formal “go ahead” by central government at the end of the year.