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

—-

9 Croftway York YO26 5LU

First floor side extension

Ref. No: 20/00173/FUL

——-

46 Dijon Avenue York YO24 3DD

First floor side extension and single storey rear extension

Ref. No: 19/02737/FUL

—–

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

Trebles all round

Eleven hundred years ago had Eric Bloodaxe sailed up the Ouse and been greeted by the Anglo-Saxon Witan offering rent free accommodation, 24/7 feasting/pillaging and no restrictions on behaviour, he would have been pleasantly surprised.

In his case he might have chosen to take those options anyway, whatever the views of the local population.

Today residents wake up to find that they may have to endure another sea born invasion, as the SPARK container “village” will carry on for another 2 years, courtesy of a compliant York Councillor who yesterday authorised an extension to the lease of land in Piccadilly.

The business will have to gain an extension to its planning permission (and operating license) but this looks like another behind closed doors “done deal”.

So far, the business has failed to implement the planning conditions imposed some 2 years ago which were intended to reduce the visual impact of the sea containers.

Quite simply the development is an ugly carbuncle blotting a neighbourhood which is long overdue for regeneration.

The containers were also sited too close to existing residential accommodation. Metal boxes are inherently noisy and, of course, lack the insulation credentials that a City, which recently declared a “climate emergency”, might expect.

Containers arrived in Sept 2017

We don’t know which officials, members and reporters have so far enjoyed the hospitality of Spark.

Whatever that number may be, its “trebles all round” for a business that boasts a £3 million turnover but can find no profit to share with local taxpayers who will be expected to continue to subsidise the operation.

Help to design the homes and spaces you want at Ordnance Lane

The next stage of designing York’s 600 new homes is underway, and residents are invited to get involved in helping shape the planning application for Ordnance Lane on 22 February.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The design and project teams from architects Mikhail Riches and City of York Council met some 120 residents in November last year, who shared their ideas, priorities and local knowledge about the site which includes Ordnance Lane and part of Hospital Fields Road. This is one of eight sites forming part of the council’s Housing Delivery Programme*.

Now, residents are invited to the second consultation phase for this site: a detailed, hands-on workshop with lunch provided. A project briefing and site visit will set the scene before the design team will share early layout ideas for the site. Participants are then invited to work with the team using 3D models to explore the emerging plans and improve them.

The workshop is on Saturday 22 February, 9:45am-5pm, at York Steiner School, 25 Fulford Cross, York YO10 4PB. Spaces are limited, so please book your place at: https://ordnancelane.eventbrite.com

Anyone not able to join the workshop or anyone who wants to keep fully involved, are also invited to a public briefing session to learn about the design work to date on Thursday 5 March, 6:30-8pm, at Cycle Heaven, 31 Hospital Fields Road, York YO10 4FS.

David Mikhail, founding director of our architects Mikhail Riches and design director for the council’s Housing Delivery Programme, said: “Our design team and City of York Council are eager to learn from the people who live, work or study in the area.

“We believe in co-design. We also know that collaborating with people on our projects helps us to design and build a better place: a new place that belongs to the neighbourhood right from the start.”

Cllr Denise Craghill, Executive Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods said: “Guided by our housing design manual (www.york.gov.uk/housingdesignmanual), residents are invited to help design beautiful, low-energy homes in a thriving new community.

“Each site has a three-stage engagement process, which means that as many people as possible can help create the homes and settings that they want to see and where present and future generations of York residents will live.”

Please book your place at https://ordnancelane.eventbrite.com. For more information, and to be kept updated on the project, please visit www.york.gov.uk/HousingDeliveryProgramme

Lowfields residents slam York council information blackout

Residents living in the Lowfields area have taken to Facebook to express their disappointment about the lack of information being provided on the nearby school site development.

They have seen a Council newsletter which tells them what the names will be of the new streets which are currently being constructed. The Council credits/blames pupils at a local school for the choice of Rosemary Road, Moss Bank Court etc.

The newsletter also claims that the first occupants will move in before the end of the year,.

This may be true, but residents main concern is lack of information about the lack of activity on other parts of the site.

The Facebook critics say

“no new information about when building work on the whole site will be concluded. Residents were told that plant would be off the site within 3 years.

It now looks like building work will continue for over 5 years.

We understand that the “Yorspace” communal housing scheme funding appeal topped out at just over £400,000. It remains to be seen whether this will be sufficient to allow the scheme to actually get built.

The self build plots are apparently still “on offer” while there have been no takers from developers wanting to provide a care home (on the large reserved plot on the Green Lane side of the site).

The location reserved for a “police station” is likely to remain empty indefinitely (there will be no police station) while there has been no progress on designing the “new health centre” which was promised for another part of the site.

No progress has been made in providing off site additional car parking spaces on Dijon Avenue.

It is really shameful that the Council should circulate a cheap leaflet like this without even attempting to address the major areas of local concern to local residents”.

WE think that residents have a point. They have been treated very badly by the York Council and deserve more respect and regular updates.

No one should have to live next to a building site for 5 years or more, simply because a local authority failed to get its act together

Spark – Questions that need to be answered

In November 2016 we first heard of a plan to site shipping containers on Piccadilly and use them as vending units.

It was the start of “Containergate” with an outfit called Spark York persuading naive Councillors to give them the use of a prime site at 17/21 Piccadilly for a minimal rent.

As well as £13,333 a year in rent the Council was promised a 30% share of the profits which were forecast to total £213,085 over 3 years.

Business plan considered by York Council Executive Nov 2016

On that assurance, the Council spent £40,000 on installing new utility services to the site

The developers made a series of claims about what their (visually hideous) development would bring to the City. The small business growth figures strained everyone’s credulity but Councillors bought the line.

It subsequently transpired that the firm were unable to raise the £220,000 set up costs and had to resort to the commercial loans market. Although they had beneficial use of the site from September 2017, it was to be the following summer before Spark opened for business.

Further controversy followed the granting of planning permission. Quite simply the owners chose to ignore a series of conditions – including the need for a disabled access – and even now have failed to cover with cladding the garish street art which dominates the Piccadilly frontage.

The original business model failed, and the scheme concentrated on alcohol sales as its main form of income. It enjoyed a good summer in 2018 but the high noise levels proved to be a major irritant for the occupiers of nearby flats.

Thankfully the nightmare lease was due to come to an end in June. We would be rid of the containers and a start could be made on building something that would be a credit to the city.

But now York Councillor Nigel Ayre is apparently considering extending the Spark lease (The original decision was taken by the Councils Executive). He is being promised footfall and “economic vibrance” on Piccadilly, although the rest of the street is likely to be a building site for much of the next two years.

Spark are good at some things. PR is one. They held a party when they opened which was attended by the media and several Councillors and officials. It appears to have been an insurance policy judging by the report being considered next week.

The report fails to examine the performance of the company against the claims that they made in 2016.

Where is the list of small businesses Spark claim to have “incubated” at the premises?
The operators claim to have had a turnover of £3 million across the whole site yet the Council has had a zero share of any “profit”. (The original plan was for an annual turnover of £272,000 a year yielding a profit of £64,620). Where is the updated business plan?
Who at the Council agreed that the repayment of loans should take precedence over the Council being recompensed for its investment?
Where can a full set of accounts be viewed? (there is little information at Company House)
Why are no other options considered? Parking revenue alone could be worth around £100,000 a year even if a start on the permanent redevelopment of the site is delayed for 2 years
Is the Council still the preferred creditor if the business goes bust? It was told in 2016 that it could sell the containers to fund any outstanding infrastructure costs.
Why is no independent up to date valuation of the site assets provided?
How much have the Directors received in remuneration from Spark (and any subsidiaries) since September 2017
How much has been paid in Business Rates and how much is outstanding?
Who at the Council has received hospitality from Spark? Has it all been properly registered?
Where can financial details of the container occupants’ businesses be found?
Are any of the Spark Directors potential beneficiaries of any of these businesses?

Until these, and other, questions are answered it would be irresponsible for the Council to consider any extension of the lease.

In the meantime, the planning department should take enforcement action on outstanding breaches of the planning permission.

Other businesses in York deserve to be competing on a level playing field. They, and taxpayers, seem to be the losers in the current arrangement.

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

—-

65 Bellhouse Way York YO24 3LL

Erection of 1.8m high boundary wall with timber panelling to front and side elevations

Ref. No: 20/00105/FUL

——

40 The Green Acomb York YO26 5LR

Single storey rear extension

Ref. No: 20/00067/FUL

——

Gale Farm Court. Plan to convert flat into office

29 Gale Farm Court York YO24 3DR

Change of use of ground floor flat (sheltered accommodation) to office (use class B1), installation of external ramp and modification to existing boundary wall and railings

Ref. No: 20/00033/FUL

——-

7 Hawkshead Close York YO24 2YF

Fell Silver Birch protected by Tree Preservation Order no. CYC398

Ref. No: 19/02765/TPO

—–

Acomb Sports And Social Club The Green Acomb York YO26 5FG

Erection of single storey recreational building with associated external works and car parking

Ref. No: 19/02690/FUL

—–

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/

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

Tudor Road choked with building site trucks.

Residents posting on the Save Lowfields Playing Field Facebook group ( https://www.facebook.com/LowfieldsActionGroup/ ) are reporting chaotic scenes this morning as large trucks queue on Tudor Road to gain access to the site.

There have been problems with congestion as the trucks arrived as pupils were making there way to school. Tudor Road is relatively narrow and is on a bus route.

Neither the contractors nor the Council have said how many large vehicle journeys can be expected at this entrance each day and to what timescales.

One of the objections, to the planning application for the development of the site, related to safety concerns about the Gale Lane/Tudor Road junction.

The York Council claimed that the junction had the capacity to deal with extra movements but many residents remain sceptical.

Castle “Gateway” development will cost £55 million

Officials recommend York Council borrows £45.8 million to fund major development

The York Council is being asked to fund phase 1 of the Castle Gateway development next week. The development includes

Providing the replacement MSCP at St George’s Field that will allow Castle Car Park to close and be replaced with new public realm
A new pedestrian cycle crossing over the inner-ring road
A new pedestrian cycle bridge over the Foss
A new public park at the rear of the Castle Museum and a riverside pocket park on Piccadilly
106 new apartments at Castle Mills – 20 of which would be new council housing – above street level commercial spaces suitable for small independent traders
New apartments above further commercial spaces at 17-21 Piccadilly

Contrary to expectations, the Council is planning to undertake the development itself putting potentially £55 million of taxpayer’s money at risk.

Masterplan for Castle Gateway

There is an estimated viability gap of £3.3 million even if all flats and commercial spaces are sold. £532,000 will be spent diverting a sewer on St Georges Field.

20 Council apartments would be built at Castle Mills at an estimated cost of £3.7 million.

The “delivery strategy” for the, long unused, 17-21 Piccadilly site (currently occupied by Spark) would not be determined before summer 2020. Officials want to build apartments above ground floor commercial units on the site. It is not clear why such a development could not be private sector led (reducing risks to taxpayers).

There is a danger that the Council, is now giving some elements of the £1.5 million “Masterplan” a “Moses” status.

The location of the £2.4 million Foss bridge, the £1.5 million Castle Museum park and the (frankly slightly odd) £800,000 inner ring road surface level crossing may all be nice to have but they are scarcely essential.

Even the multi storey car park at £14.2 million now looks like a very expensive way of facilitating the provision of a new park.

Simply selling the development sites – as surely the Council should have done with 17-21 Piccadilly by now – would produce a receipt of £6.6 million. This might be a useful insurance if the Councils other reckless property gambles (like the refurbishment of the Guildhall) go belly up.

Other major Council funding commitments like York Central and the outer ring-road are also imminent.

If the Council decides to go forward with the recommendations, then they would be wise to adopt a parallel path approach and seek alternative proposals from the market.

They would then be in a position to make an informed choice when they make a final decision later in the year.

A small change in the national economic picture could leave the Council with empty properties and no way of paying interest charges on its borrowings, without prompting massive public service cuts.

The Castle Mill development is scheduled to be completed in spring 2023; a few weeks before the next Council elections are scheduled to take place.

Bootham Park Hospital could become the site of an independent living development for older people.

Council leaders are set to consider the next steps to secure public access, better cycle and pedestrian paths and other local priorities for the former Bootham Park hospital site.

Enterprise Retirement Living has been named as the preferred buyer by NHS property services.

The plans would create 125 independent living retirement homes and would secure public access to parts of the 1777 John Carr designed grade 1 hospital building, including the boardroom, gym and bowling alley.

The site is ideally located for older persons accommodation being within walking distance of all amenities including the hospital and railway station.

Land ownership at Bootham Park

A report published ahead of next Tuesday’s York Council Executive meeting outlines the options available to the council, based on local priorities and potential benefits identified during the extensive public and stakeholder engagement process.

The council says that it has been working closely with health partners to influence future development on the site. “These efforts are set to be rewarded, with the site’s current and future owners due to talk with the council about public access, cycle paths, retaining more of the sale receipt locally and other priorities of York residents. Air ambulance landing site and NHS use of the Chapel are set to continue, ERL and NHS Property Services (NHS PS) are set to ‘positively engage’ with the council over other key requests identified during recent consultations to influence the future of the site including public use of the Parkland”.

Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said:

“This is very encouraging news, and welcome reward for our approach to shaping the future development at Bootham Park.

“Our ambition has always been to make sure these historic buildings and grounds continue to serve our city, and we will continue to communicate the priorities of our residents with the new owners.“

The report asks Executive to agree that the Council will use its rights as owner of a strip of access road to secure b

beneficial public use of the parkland in front of the hospital building
Improved pedestrian and cycle routes through the site
Conservation and redevelopment to deliver homes and services which are of benefit to the city

City of York Council has been working with NHS Property Services, The York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Vale of York CCG to influence the site’s future.

This included a site development report informed by public and wider stakeholder consultation in 2018. The results of the 2019 consultation over this plan are contained within the Executive report, with 1657 comments identifying public access to the green spaces, key worker accommodation, better cycle and pedestrian pathways and suitability of any new buildings as the priority.

These activities were funded as part of the government’s One Public Estate programme, which supports public bodies to use public land and property to boost economic growth, supply housing and regeneration, and integrated public services.

Executive takes place at 17:30 on Wednesday 21 January at West Offices and will be webcast live at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

York Minster precinct plans

The Minster has commenced the final stage in its consultation over a new Neighbourhood Plan.

There have been some changes since the last survey mostly for the better.

The new plan and feedback arrangements can be found by clicking this link

The major areas of debate are likely to concern the plan to build a new cafe and visitor centre at 1 Deangate. Plans to build next to the south entrance have (rightly) been scrapped. The Minster Stone-yard exhibition barn will be moved away from this area (allowing uninterrupted views of the Cathedral).

Admission tickets will be sold from a property at the end of Stonegate/Minster Gates.

It is less clear how the new boundaries of the (expanded) Minster school campus will be delineated.

Two cycle routes have been retained with one curving through Queens Walk and Minster Green while the other follows the existing carriageway line. The opportunity to provide a, daytime only, cycle route (by passing Deangate) through Deans Park has been missed.

The new “Queen Elizabeth Square” which incorporates part of Duncombe Place, is retained. It is compromised by allowing vehicular access to the Dean Court Hotel and the Purey Cust homes. Some will feel that a dropping off point near St Wilfred’s Church would allow reasonable access during pedestrian hours (with an electric hand trolley service if necessary). Many will feel that providing a turning circle for the, outdated, Railway Museum “train” is also an unnecessary feature.

Still the plans represent a measured and welcome approach to neighbourhood planning and, in many ways, are an exemplar for similar projects elsewhere in the City.

The area near the South entrance will be remodelled

« Previous
1
…
12
13
14
15
16
…
85
Next »