Lowfields battle goes on

The Council’s Executive has tonight endorsed plans to build on the Lowfields playing fields.

The decision was not unexpected.

Many residents were angered by a Council announcement that they intended to build on the Lowfields playing fields - braking a promise given when the school was closed 8 years ago. A petition is being collected and representations to the government are planned.

Petition sent to Council

However, it represents only the opening shots in what is likely to be a long war.

No Councillor attempted to explain why the proposal is being brought forward before objections to the draft Local Plan have been considered.

In reality it is a pre-emptive stike aimed at maximising the sale price of the site.

The meeting also heard that officials had been negotiating for some time with the communal building group although they omitted to include this development option in papers circulated to residents in the autumn.

Council officials continue to pretend that the majority of local residents support their plans. They have so far refused to respond to the views set by respondents to a survey collected by local Councillors in September

A residents group has been set up and they will be lobbying both local planners and central government in the fight to conserve the playing fields.

The issue will be discussed again at a Council meeting taking place on 15^th December.

Any building project outside the old-school building footprint will need central government approval and that is likely to be the next battlefield.

Hob Stones homes occupied

Families have finally been able to move into the new Hob Stones development on Windsor Garth. The development was over 18 months behind schedule.

There is still a lot of tidying up to do and people living in nearby flats have complained about damage to grassed areas and inadequate road repairs.

These issues are being followed up by local Councillors.

The building compound area will need major remedial work

There has been a lot of damage to grassed areas although this one opposite the new development could provide additional car parking spaces

Some carrigeways have now been resurfaced

Some carriageways have now been resurfaced

Although we have reported a lot of detritus in the gutters

On Hob Stones itself, the new play area has not been completed.

....but it appears that the developers have pulled back for their threat to remove the security railings from the northern boundary. The railings are still there and in need of a coat of paint. They should make life more difficult for criminals

….but it appears that the developers have pulled back from their threat to remove the security railings from the northern boundary. The railings are still there albeit in need of a coat of paint. The railings will make life more difficult for criminals

York Community Stadium – contractor pulls out

Reports are circulating this morning that the building contractor for the York Community Stadium has withdrawn from the project.

June 2012 plans

ISG was appointed nearly 2 years ago as part of a “design, build, operate & maintain” team overseen by Greenwich Leisure.

A Council report on the £41 million Community Stadium project was published on Friday but makes no reference to ISG’s position. The report – prepared by Council officials – was criticised for not providing an update on the projects financial and business plan.

The much delayed facility – originally scheduled to open in 2012 – is currently subject to a Judicial Review. The review is expected to be completed in January.

The delays may be taking their toll on the two principal occupants of the Stadium. The Knights Rugby Club was taken over by a new owner last week while York City Football Club currently lie bottom of the National League and seemingly heading for relegation and matches against the likes of Harrogate Town.

A deal was concluded in 2010 which saw a budget of £16 million secured by means of a Section 106 agreement with the developer of a nearby shopping centre.

Now it looks like taxpayers will also face a £12 million bill.

While most of the blame for the failures rest with the then Labour run administration, which drew up the unnecessarily complex contract in 2012, it is a crying shame that the current coalition run Council failed to get a grip on the project when it took control of local affairs in May 2015.

The Council is now caught between a rock and a hard place.

Latest planning applications for the Westfield Ward

Below is the latest planning application received by the York Council for the Westfield ward.

Full details can be found by clicking the words highlighted in blue

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167 Gale Lane York YO24 3AG

Proposal Two storey side extension

Reference 16/02704/FUL

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211 Hamilton Drive West York YO24 4PL

Proposal Single storey side extension

Reference 16/02651/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

Would you believe it! York Local Plan put back another 6 months.

After all the dire warnings about government intervention if a new York Local Plan wasn’t adopted in 2017, the Council is set to delay publication for another 6 months.

i-dont-belive-it

They claim the delay is due to new sites becoming available for development. Essentially these are the MOD sites on Fulford Road and at Strensall. Potentially these sites could accommodate around 1695 homes and would reduce the pressure to build on greenbelt land.

A meeting on 5^th December 2016 will receive an update report

Even after any amendments are incorporated into the plan, further consultation will be necessary while transport, delivery and sustainability reports will have to be prepared.

Strangely the report fails to assess what central governments reaction to the increased timescales might be. Previously the City has been threatened with an “imposed” plan by London. That threat now seems to have disappeared.

In the meantime, some developers are likely to spot the main chance and submit planning applications for individual sites. The Council will be able to give little weight to its emerging Local Plan when fending off unsuitable proposals.

It could also be faced with difficult decisions on land that it owns. This would include the Lowfields school site; the development of the playing fields there having attracted objections during the consultation on the Local Plan which took place during the summer. These objections have not yet been considered although a report is expected next week on the early development of the land.

Any delay will also add to the costs faced by taxpayers who will continue to fund the salaries of those temporary bureaucrats who should by now have moved on.

All in all then an unsatisfactory situation with many householders in the City living in homes blighted by uncertainties.

The York Council needs to up its game and set more testing deadlines for the completion of this process.

Walmgate residents were not consulted on shipping container project

Residents living in flats overlooking the proposed shipping container development on Piccadilly have not been consulted on the plans by either the Council or local Ward Councillors it has emerged this morning.

reynards Over 200 people live near or adjacent to the Reynard’s garage site and one occupier has told us that the first they knew of the proposals was an article in the local newspaper.

At yesterdays meeting the three Councillors, who are supposed to represent the interests of the Guildhall community, all spoke in favour of the container village.

It appears though that they failed to consult local taxpayers before making up their minds.

Part of the scheme involves the provision of “ a large event space and seating area on most of the site + a decking stage performance area“. This has prompted fears about noise in an area which has had its fair share of afternoon and night time disturbance over recent years.

Quite how the developers will square their ambitions with licensing and planning restrictions remains to be seen.

The Council was also criticised for not publicly inviting other organisations and businesses to pitch for use of the site.

One resident has said that they would have been happy to lease a car parking space at the location – suggesting that the Council have missed at least one revenue raising option (Connecting mains services to the container village will cost taxpayers £40,000).

Councillors have been challenged to justify their claims that “there is a lack of space for street food vendors and meeting space in the City“. It has been pointed out that many guildhalls are underused, several retail units are unoccupied and the recently established Shambles cafe area is lightly used. Several office and commercial blocks in the Piccadilly area are empty and have the benefit of existing mains services.

A relatively new small business start up centre in Clifton is rarely fully occupied.

Meanwhile more information has emerged about the project in Brixton (London) which has apparently inspired the York plans

The shipping containers are coming – shock as “Containergate” shopping plan gets Council leadership backing

New proposal for Castle car park development

Sea containers to be parked on Piccadilly?

Shipping containers to be parked on Piccadilly

The York Council’s Executive has tonight approved plans to site shipping containers on Piccadilly. They will form a shopping and business centre on the former Reynard’s garage site and could be there for 3 years.

Guildhall ward Labour and Green Councillors supported the proposal!

The project is subject to planning approval.

Normally residents would expect the Planning committee to throw out such an insensitive plan. They did insist that landscaping be improved around the same site when permission was granted to demolish the garage building a year or so ago.

However, the committee’s recent decision to approve a poor quality visitor centre building, at a nearby Clifford’s Tower site, means that they cannot be relied on to protect this part of the City.

The Executive’s decision means that the short term plans to use the Piccadilly site as a car park for blue badge (disabled) drivers is unlikely to be progressed.

santa-in-container-in-york

New Castle car park development plan

New plans for the development of the Castle car park have been announced. They have been inspired by the emerging shipping container architectural movement as well as the English Heritage public convenience school of design

cliffords-tpwer-and-new-building

Prominent York residents and organisations have had their say on the plans.

English Heritage – The vertical columns ideally complement the similar design feature on our visitor centre. The Maersk elevations offer a complex counterpoint to the Norman buttresses on the Castle. All in all, something we would be proud of.
R Cooke (Author, Changing the Face of the City) – An impressive example of neo-Immingham brutalism. Helicopter pads should remove need for direction signs. May require some refinement and relocation to Rotterdam
York Georgian Society – The containers are only acceptable if they have previously been used to transport molasses or slaves.
Walter Brierley (architect, deceased) – Just a minute I need to rotate a few times
Rachel Rascal (MP) – Hang on I’ll have to check. How big is the bandwagon of the opponents of the plan? How many wheels does the supporters bandwagon have? …….. Oh dear this is a bit difficult.
C Steward (Con) – Ruddy liberals. mention mutual social enterprise and they’ll all over it.
N Ayre (Lib) – It is wonderfully intrusive. A little higher and it would block out that ghastly Cathedral building.

Disabled parking plan for Reynard’s garage site

Opposition to siting of commercial sea containers grows

Sea containers to be parked on Piccadilly?

Objectors have said that a plan to put sea containers on the Reynard’s garage site on Piccadilly is flawed.

“They are visually intrusive and the proposed 3 year lease represents a very short sighted constraint on the, much needed, redevelopment of the Piccadilly/Castle area.

The City should aspire to much higher standards than are implicit in this project. To place commercial containers in a location which has visual links to both the Castle complex and historic buildings like the Merchant Adventurers Hall would be an unfortunate precedent.

It is far from clear, from the published papers, how the Council could hope to benefit financially from what is a high risk, speculative venture. The proposed uses would also be in competition with other existing businesses such as the, still relatively new, Shambles market hospitality area”.

It has been suggested that in the short term, the land be used for blue badge vehicle parking. “It is slightly perplexing why this option wasn’t implemented in the early autumn when the demolition works were completed”.

Allocation of the site as a (free) disabled parking area has the advantage of requiring little investment (save for signage) and would ease the pressures on both the Castle car park – which is busy in the run up to Christmas at least – and some City centre streets.

Reynard’s Garage site

The site is closer to City centre amenities and principal shops than other car parks and would therefore be a boon for the disabled.

Those parts of the former garage site which cannot be used for parking cars (because of the configuration) could accommodate cycle racks – again taking pressure off the oversubscribed facilities on Parliament St. The site has the advantage of CCTV security cover.

The Council has been struggling to find a viable plan to regenerate the Piccadilly area for nearly 20 years.

If the Council cannot bring its “Southern Gateway” project to fruition in less than 3 years, then invitations to tender for use of the land on a medium-term basis should be publicly advertised.

Any proposals can then be properly judged in a transparent way and in the confident knowledge that all businesses and organisations will have had the opportunity to put their case forward and on a level playing field.

Glimmer of hope for anti Cliffords Tower visitor centre campaigners

...& the planning committee decided to approve the new visitor centre at Clifford's Tower. A decision which promoted derision in some quaters

It looks like residents will get a second chance to block the proposed Clifford’s Tower Visitor Centre.

It has been revealed today that the York Council will have to agree to sell a small area of land to English Heritage if the centre is to be built.

The Council’s Executive is scheduled to consider the sale at its meeting on 7th December.

It is widely believed in the City that the project went through the planning process without its implications being properly understood by most residents.

Now the Council has the opportunity to put matters right.

Several thousand residents have signed petitions criticising the design of the visitor centre which has widely been described as resembling a Public Convenience block .

Other aspects of the project – which would see Clifford’s Tower itself become much more accessible to visitors – have received higher levels of public support.

Campaigners will be hoping that the centre can be redesigned -and possibly realigned – to reduce its visual impact on the ancient monument.

Latest planning application for the Westfield Ward

Below is the latest planning application received by the York Council for the Westfield ward.

Full details can be found by clicking the words highlighted in blue

—-

Conditions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 – 16/01536/FULM

Ref. No: AOD/16/00370

Status: Decided

——-

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

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