Last week in west York in pictures – 1st October 2016

The week started with another successful Acomb market. The event was attended by both Councillors Andrew Waller and Sheena Jackson. It was the last of the scheduled markets but we understand that the independent traders group Acomb Alive - whihc is chaired by Cllr Sue Hunter, have agreed to hold at least two more. They will take place on the fourth Saturday in both October and November. Plans are also in hand for a grand Christmas fair in December. The appeal for Christmas lights funding passed £600 this week.

The week started with another successful Acomb market. The event was attended by both Councillors Sheena Jackson and Andrew Waller . It was the last of the scheduled markets but we understand that the independent traders group Acomb Alive – which is chaired by Cllr Sue Hunter – have agreed to hold at least two more. They will take place on the fourth Saturday in both October and November. Plans are also in hand for a grand Christmas Fair in December. The appeal for Christmas lights funding passed £600 this we

Police upped their profile in the ward with a team visiting the Chapelfields area last week. Crime has been a growing concern according to the results of our door to door survey with the lack of identifiable local officers undertaking foot patrols are recurring comment

Police upped their profile in the ward with a team visiting the Chapelfields area last week. Crime has been a growing concern according to the results of our door to door survey with the lack of identifiable local officers undertaking foot patrols a recurring comment

Andrew Waller watched as new high powered water pumps were installed at the Foss Barrier. The new pumps should avoid any repetition of the flooding which occurred last Boxwing day.

Andrew Waller watched as new high powered water pumps were installed at the Foss Barrier. The new pumps should avoid any repetition of the flooding which occurred last Boxing Day.

Work has started on gutting the old NatWest bank building on Front Street although it remains unclear what its future use might be

Work has started on gutting the old NatWest bank building on Front Street although it remains unclear what its future use might be

We're still on the look out for blocked drainage gullies. These in Kingsway West have been reported.

We’re still on the look out for blocked drainage gullies. These in Windsor Garth have been reported.

The warm weather means that weeds and hedges are still growing. We've reported some - like these on Kingsway West - for attention. The third application of weed killer to foopaths has just taken place. Officials expect results to be visible by the middle of October.

The warm weather means that weeds and hedges are still growing. We’ve reported some – like these on Kingsway West – for attention. The third application of weed killer to footpaths has just taken place. Officials expect results to be visible by the middle of October.

Andrew Waller helped to clear rubble from around trees on Hob Moor. There were concerns that the tree could be permanently damaged

Andrew Waller helped to clear rubble from around trees on Hob Moor. There were concerns that the trees could be permanently damaged

Plans for a new house behind Front Street were lodged with the Council. Concerns have already been raised by residents about the condition and street lighting on the back lane which would form the only access for the property.

Plans for a new house behind Front Street were lodged with the Council. Concerns have already been raised by residents about the condition of the surface and street lighting on the back lane, which would form the only access for the property.

The grass has been cut at the Foxwood Community Centre. Residents meet every Saturday to undertake garden maintenance tasks near the centre

The grass has been cut at the Foxwood Community Centre. Residents meet every Saturday to undertake garden maintenance tasks near the centre

The Council approved on Thursday plans to erect 8 bungalows on the Newbury Avenue garage site. Residents have pledged to oppose the proposal when it reaches the planning committee if alterantive car parking spaces are not provided via a Section 106 agreement

The Council approved on Thursday plans to erect 8 bungalows on the Newbury Avenue garage site. Residents have pledged to oppose the proposal, when it reaches the planning committee, if alternative car parking spaces are not provided via a Section 106 agreement

 

Bungalows scheme for Newbury Avenue gets “go ahead”

York Council Executive ducks car parking issue

Newbury Avenue garagesThe construction of 8 bungalows on a garage site at Newbury Avenue was approved by the York Council last night  It replaces a scheme for 9 apartments hatched by Labour Councillors when they held office.

The bungalows, which would attract “downsizing” older people, have been criticised by Labour last night as making “inefficient” use of the land.

Unfortunately the Council has so far ducked out of dealing with the knock on effects of developing the garage site.

More cars will now be parked on an estate where road side parking space is already at a premium.

The extra homes – added to the still to be occupied Hob Stones development – will also generate more traffic on the only access route (Kingsway West between Danesfort Avenue and Ascot Way).

No attempt has been made by the Council to address these issues. They are likely to be the major objections to the scheme when it is put before the Planning Committee later in the year.

NB. Although last nights Executive  committee meeting can in theory be viewed “on line” (click) part of the section on Newbury Ave has been muted by officials. So residents may never know what was actually said about the plans!

New community profiles published for York

New statistics, which provide a detailed insight into the characteristics of each Ward in York, have been published by the Council.

The “Ward Profiles” give local details of;

  • the age group of residents
  • Religion
  • Employment groups
  • Housing tenure
  • Benefit claims
  • Unemployment
  • Poverty
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Resident satisfaction with the local area

The profiles for each ward can be accessed by clicking here

Taking the Westfield Ward as an example we can see that:

  • The largest section of the community is aged between 25 and 34
  • 32% are married
  • 94% are white British
  • 59.2% are Christian
  • Most work in the retail/wholesale trade (18%) or in health/social care (15%)
  • 57% own their own home (31.8% with a mortgage)
  • 32% live alone
  • 1155 live on benefits – a significant fall since 2013. There are now only 70 claiming Job Seekers Allowance
  • Technically, Westfield is the most “deprived” ward in York although it is steadily becoming more prosperous
  • 18% of children are obese while 79% of resident regard themselves as being in “good or very good” health
  • Anti-social behaviour is above the York average
  • 83% were satisfied with their local area as a place in which to live.
  • 46% said that they could influence decisions in their area (much higher than for the rest of York)
  • 55% were satisfied with the way that the Council runs things (slightly less than the City average) but an above average number (50%) felt the Council was doing well to improve the quality of street /public spaces

Resident engagement Sept 2016Crime Sept 2016Deprevation Sept 2016

York street cleaning maps published “on line”

Following an intervention from Cllr Andrew Waller, the Council has now published maps showing street cleaning frequencies across York.

The maps are available “on line”. Click here to access

The Council says that “in order to target our resources in the most effective and efficient way possible, we have reviewed our street cleansing schedules based on the local knowledge of front line employees. This has enabled us to identify what is actually needed rather than undertake work just because its always been done that way.

As a result of this we have commenced a trial of new street cleansing schedules in each of the wards from the beginning of August 2016 for a period of 6 months.

Although some locations may have a reduced frequency of mechanical sweeping, this means that when we do undertake mechanical sweeping we will have the time to do a more thorough job leading to improved standards of cleanliness”.

City centre footstreets

The changes do not include the city centre foot streets as this is a distinct service undertaken seven days a week, all year round, between 5.00am and 8.00pm, this service has recently been reviewed and the Council is currently working with the York Business Improvement District team on how they can work together to bring about further improvement in the city centre.

Feedback

If residents have any feedback during the 6 month trial period please email the shaping neighbourhoods team at: shapingneighbourhoods@york.gov.uk where the responses will be monitored and collated.

The Council says, “as well as giving us valuable feedback, you may wish to consider how you might be able to help with the upkeep of your local environment, this may, for example be in the way of volunteering as a snow warden or as a litter picker. See volunteering opportunities (click) page for further details and other ways to volunteer”.

Following the end of the trial, further consultation will be held followed by a report to the Executive Member for the Environments Decision Session in Spring 2017

Information event

The Council is holding an event at Hazel Court for residents on Saturday 15 October 2016 from 10.00am to 12.00pm.

The sessions will be jointly delivered between a number of council teams and external agencies.

Westfield

The schedules for the Westfield area are reproduced below.  Generally, there is little change although there may be some concerns about sweeping  frequencies at smaller shopping areas like Foxwood Lane.

Some publicly maintainable footpath links ( Chesneys Field, Kingsway West, The Green) are shown on the maps as “private”. These will need to be cleaned regularly as will housing department communal and garage areas.

But overall the plans seem to us to be worth a trial especially given the decision of the previous Labour administration to substantially reduce the street cleansing budget

Manual street celaning

Manual street celaning

Mechanical street cleaning

Mechanical street cleaning

Latest planning application for the Westfield Ward

Another  new home proposed for Front Street

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

—–

Ali Barbers plannig applicationAli Barber Ltd 45 Front Street York YO24 3BR

Erection of detached dwelling with associated access, cycle parking and bin storage following demolition of existing detached garage

Reference           16/02099/OUT

—–

 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

Last week in west York in pictures

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Following a crash on Gale Lane we asked for debris to be swept from the carriageway

Litter and weeds on garage access road in Westfield Place 1500hrs 22nd Sept 2016

Litter remains a top concern of residents in the Askham Lane area. We asked for the access road in Westfield Place to be swept

Litter bin spillage

This litter bin was reported for attention

Sheena at Circus

Cllr Sheena Jackson continued her survey of young peoples leisure needs in the area. This week she was outside the circus on Thanet Road. The circus had been criticised for fly posting adverting literature around the area. They were asked to remove the posters within 5 days of leaving the area (which they seem to have done)

Weeds in guttesr Stirrup Close 19th Sept 2016

Earlier in the week the Foxwood Residents Association had a walk round the local estate with Council and Housing Association officials. One big problem was weed growth with street like Wenham Road amongst those apparently missed off the treatment rota. The third application of weed killer has just started with officials promising that an improvement will be noticeable by mid October. We think that the Council will need a change of policy for 2017 following several years now of ineffective treatment.

Weed groth Wenham

More weeds

Andrew bus shelter

….and Cllr Andrew Waller takes direct action to remove weed growth from the gutters of a local bus shelter!

Hole in park

Cllr Sheena Jackson has reported several holes that have been dug in the Foxwood Park surface. They have apparently been dug by an animal and represent a potential hazard for walkers as the dark nights draw in. The holes are being filled in.

Page 1 nEWBURY aVE OPTIONS sEPT 2016

The Council announced new plans for the erection of 8 bungalows on the Newbury Avenue garage site on Wednesday. Local Councillors are pressing for more off street parking spaces to be provided if the garages are demolished

Road works on Windsor Garth 21st Sept 2016

Good news just down the road as contractors start work on repairing roads damaged by vehicles accessing the “Hob Stones” development site on Windsor Garth

Acomb Market large

and the week ends to day with the return of the Acomb Market for the last of its currently scheduled run on Front Street. A record number of stalls are available today (Saturday). Acomb Alive are expected to make an announcement shortly about the future of the market.