Hob Moor youngsters leave lasting mark on Centre of Excellence on Ascot Way

Children from York have left a lasting mark on an innovative new building.

The Centre for Excellence will provide disabled children, young people and their families with community and overnight short breaks along with support from a wide range of professionals including clinical psychologists.

Children from the adjacent Hob Moor Primary Academy and Hob Moor Oaks school were asked to help with the construction by laying the first bricks and signing their names on the steel which forms the structure of the building.

The scheme – one of the first of its kind in the country – is a partnership between City of York Council and NHS England. It will enable many children and young people with complex needs to access the help and support they and their families need in York.

The brick laying and steel-signing marks a key stage of the project, which should be completed by summer 2020.

The project is being delivered by Sewell Construction.

Philippa Hughes, Housing Lead for the NHS Learning Disability and Autism Programme in Yorkshire and Humber, said: “The NHS is delighted to support this much needed development in the city of York. It’s heartening to see so many school children contributing to a build which will allow so many of their peers to live full and meaningful lives in their communities.”

Martin Standley, Sewell Construction Project Manager, said: “We feel it’s really important for the children to have as much insight as possible into what’s happening close to their school. This helps feed their curiosity but also helps them understand why it’s so important to stay safe near a building site.

“Building the Centre of Excellence and redeveloping Lincoln Court is a real honour for Sewell Construction so we knew that the children would be just as proud to get involved and make their mark on the site.”

Richard Ludlow, chief executive of Ebor Academy Trust, which operates the Hob Moor academies, said: “We are fully supportive of City of York Council’s forward thinking plans for this Centre of Excellence and I’m pleased they have allowed our children to be a part of it. True partnership working is always at the heart of successful collaborative ventures.”

Councillor Ian Cuthbertson, City of York Council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “The Centre of Excellence is a landmark building for York, providing a base where children and young people with complex needs and disabilities can receive help and support from a wide range of professionals within the city.

“I’m delighted that local school children have had the chance to put their mark on the building and to be involved at this point in the construction.”

Mandatory energy efficiency target for new homes to be considered by York Council

The York Council is set to ask the government to set high standards of insulation for new home built over the next decade. A meeting on 6^th January will consider proposed changes to building regulations for new homes.

The government sees a choice between either a 20% or 31% reduction in carbon emissions from new homes. Both options would see higher thermal insulation standards linked typically with triple glazing and minimal heat loss from walls, ceilings and roofs, plus a waste water heat recovery system.

The higher standard is achieved by mandating the installation of Photovoltaic cells on roofs (They convert sunlight to electricity).

Strangely both options being presented by Council officials involve the use of gas boilers. Gas boilers are the largest source of carbon currently emitted in the City.

The major benefits would come from heat pumps, a waste water heat recovery system, triple glazing and minimum standards for walls, floors and roofs that significantly limit any heat loss.

The report fails to provide any background financial information. The higher specifications will significantly increase building costs.

In turn that will knock on into purchase or rent costs.

The expectation is that energy costs will also reduce. Maintenance costs for the equipment are not fully tested (the achilles heel of some of the micro wind powered micro generators that were popular a few years ago).

Sadly, without a frank assessment of financial implications and the beginning of a campaign aimed at selling the options to future house purchasers, progress in getting public support for the plans is likely to be harder than it otherwise might have been the case.

Still credit to the Council for at least putting their likely responses to this government consultation into the public domain.

York Council decides on Public Right of Way requests

The York Council has considered several requests for changes to the definitive map of public rights of way (PROW).

In total Councillors and officials have decided whether to pursue 13 applications.

There will now be a further period of consultation.

The Council has a large backlog of applications which it has agreed to determine before the end of February

Click an individual application below to view each and the decision

Graffiti reported in Holgate & Fishergate areas

The Council’s new graffiti removal system seems to be working well. We’ve reported a couple of instances this weekend

Railway Terrace/Wilton Rise railway footbridge needs cleaning up.

Graffiti next to cycle path near Millennium Bridge

Latest planning applications for the Westfield Ward

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Westfield ward.

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference

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Former Lowfield School Dijon Avenue York

Condition 26 of 17/02428/FULM

Ref. No: AOD/19/00411

This relates to sewer easements

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Grass Verge Greenwood Grove York

Crown lift Oak protected by Tree Preservation Order no. 26

Ref. No: 19/02602/TPO

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64 Moorgate York YO24 4HJ

Single storey front and side extensions and dormer to rear

Ref. No: 19/02551/FUL

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Friends Meeting House The Green Acomb York YO26 5LR

Installation of insulated render to rear elevation with associated alterations

Ref. No: 19/02519/FUL

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Acomb Flooring Company Limited 53A Front Street York YO24 3BR

Change of use from retail (A1) to Pilates studio (D2)

Ref. No: 19/02488/FUL

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Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning on line web site. http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

NB The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

York Council spends £2.5 million buying unidentified property

The Council has completed the purchase of an unnamed property to add to its commercial portfolio. No details of the transaction have been released although assurances were given that the property would be identified when the sale had been completed.

The Council has invested heavily in property purchases recently. Mostly these are commercial premises in the City Centre. The Council is able to borrow money at preferential rates and claims to be making a 6.75% return on a portfolio valued at £333.48 million .

The Council has recently responded to a FOI request and provided a listing of 398 properties that it owns. Many were purchased in the last century.

The Council has declined to provide individual updated property valuations or reveal the details of the rate of return it gets on each.

The full list can be viewed by clicking here.

Burnholme Sports Centre to open next month

The brand new Burnholme Sports Centre will open in York in January 2020. Lack of progress in improving facilities on the west of York has been criticised

The new £2.5million centre is part of a major community development in east York delivered by City of York Council and operated by GLL.

“The new centre is a bright, modern space, with a great range of facilities. It sits alongside and complements a new community hub and Explore library, a care home currently under construction and plans for 100 much-needed homes on the site”.

The Council approach to this facility in east York (and the nearby new Monk Cross sports centre which opens next year) contrasts with its policy of closing sports facilities in west York.

That policy has seen the football pitches at Lowfields built on, the all weather sports area on Kingsway West removed and a bowling green on Front Street closed during the last year.

None of those facilities have been replaced locally despite Council promises to the contrary.

The facilities at the existing Better Sports centre on Cornlands Road are inaccessible for many people living in the area because of high entrance charges. The Westfield area is statistically the poorest in the City

The Burnholme centre features a 25 station gym with the latest Technogym equipment and two studios which will offer an extensive range of instructor-led and virtual classes including Group Cycle.

The four-court sports hall will host a wide programme of sports activities including badminton and gymnastics.

The existing outdoor 3G will also be managed from the new centre with new changing rooms and referees’ facilities available, while the levelled and re-seeded grass pitches will be ready for use in early autumn.

The centre will open on Wednesday 8 January 2020 for existing members and new members.

Membership for the new centre will start at just £29.95 a month which includes unlimited access to the gym and fitness classes. Opening offers are available exclusively to customers who register their details in advance.

For more information about Burnholme Sports Centre or to register your details for the exclusive membership offers please visit better.org.uk/burnholme

Tim Bestford, head of service for GLL, said: “We’re delighted to be operating this fantastic new centre in York under the Better brand, on behalf of our partners City of York Council. We’re looking forward to welcoming our first customers next month.

Councillor Darryl Smalley, executive member for leisure and culture for City of York Council said: “I’m delighted that the Burnholme Sports Centre will open in the new year. This brilliant new £2.5m facility will help residents to become and keep fitter than ever!

Foss Islands Road tidy up hope

We reported a few weeks ago that we hoped to persuade the York Council to get to grips with outstanding maintenance issues on Foss Islands Road. The main problem related to lack of care for the cultivated areas lying between the public highway and the private shops boundary.

We said at the time that we were confident that it was a Council responsibility to cut back and maintain the area between the public footpath and the carriageway.

The Council have now confirmed that this is the case.

Officials have suggested that this area is either wild flowered or reseeded and cut as with other roadside verges 10 times a year. Any remedial work will take place in the spring. The Council will however be giving it a general cut back early in the new year.

Unfortunately no one is admitting liability for maintaining the area outside the public footpath although it seems likely that the frontagers will have some responsibilities.

This busy part of the City is seen by hundreds of thousands of people each year.

It is clearly on view from the iconic City Walls.

It should be kept in a tidy condition.

Building work starting at Lowfields

Building work has started on the controversial Lowfield housing development.

The houses are being built on a playing field without any accessible alternative facility being made available by the York Council.

It has also been revealed that Yorspace has still not completed the purchase of the “communal housing” development site which is located near little Tudor Road.

The purchase from the Council was due to take place in September according to an EIR/FOI response (ref. IGF/16163) published by the York Council in August. There had been some controversy over the sale, as the purchase price agreed by the Council (£300,000) was pitched at a level well below the amount being asked for other building land in the same area.

Despite this, officials say that the sale is still “with solicitors”.

NB. The Council owned access to the site from little Tudor Road is currently blocked by what appears to be an abandoned mini bus.