So many pothole reports from both Councillors and residents are being fobbed off by Council officials, that the issue is going to be raised at transport chief Cllr Andy D’Agorne’s meeting on Thursday.
All complainants receive these days is a message saying
“The current status of your report is: closed – the problem has been inspected and no follow up work is required”
In the past – even if a pothole report didn’t meet what were termed “intervention levels” – an explanation of why work would not be carried out was given. That practice seems to have ceased.
As most on line reports include a photograph, there is clearly a risk and one that is likely to continue to deteriorate.
Kingswood Grove
Uneven carriageway needs patching
NB. We have reported again leaf detritus which has been in some of the gutter in little Green Lane since the autumn
The government has relaxed delivery restrictions on supermarkets. Click link. It means that deliveries can be made at any time of the day or night. Most local stores have their own delivery yards but neighbours of, for example, Morrisons on Green Lane may see lorries serving the store later at night.
Local residents associations have suggested that lists of local shops and takeaways who can deliver to these self isolating should be drawn up. They want to see a local neighbourhood coordinator appointed by the Council.
In the meantime they’re offering to publicise any local business that will accept remote orders (phone/email/online), pay electronically, and deliver to a doorstep. (Email Foxwoodra@btinternet.com)
Elsewhere community networks are getting established to deal with any escalation in the numbers confined to their own homes. The Leeds Council are, for example, taking steps to provide community support to safe and professional standards. click
Volunteer groups like #ViralKindness are also springing up.
Reveals that the Council refuse lorry will not be able to access the site because of the narrow access road. A private waste management company will be used. Landscaping plan below.
The Council will be publishing its highways resurfacing programme for the next financial year shortly. There is now a major backlog of work in the area. It is not just potholes that need filling. Large areas of carriageway and several footpaths need patching or resurfacing.
The present Council promised to reconstruct all highways in the City, so it will be interesting to see the extent of next years programme.
School Street remains in poor condition.Verge damage in Dijon Avenue
Problems with verge damage in the Dijon Avenue area have escalated since building work started on the Lowfield site
In September the current operator of services 3A and 12, First York, announced that they planned to withdraw service 3A (the 7-day per week evening Askham Bar Park & Ride service) and part of service 12 (specifically the section between Foxwood Lane and Alness Drive) as they were “no longer commercially viable”.
The Council agreed to subsidise the services until the end of the financial year, while seeking tenders for their continuation.
The cost of continuing the services is £24,000 for the 3A and £65,000 for the 12.
The Council is being recommendedto use part of a government funded bus service operators grant (worth £150,416 in total) to subside these two services. The Council already allocates over £700,000 a year for bus service subsidies (not including the cost of the free pensioners bus pass, which is funded from central taxation).
The Council is banking on the two services being more popular in the future and therefore requiring a lower subsidy.
It says demand for service 3A may increase when the planned paid overnight parking service at Askham Bar Park & Ride site comes into action in spring 2020 and that demand for service 12 may increase when the LNER Community Stadium (at the other end of the route) opens in 2020.
Improvements in other bus services
Through the “Funding for Local Bus Services 2020-21” scheme, the council has the opportunity to bid for £83.5k one-off funding in order to achieve one or more of the following objectives (which must deliver an increase in services and therefore the 12 and 3A services are not eligible as they currently exist):
“to improve current local bus services – for instance increasing evening or weekend frequencies, or supporting additional seasonal services in tourist areas.
“to restore lost bus routes where most needed to ensure people have access to public transport services.
“to support new bus services, or extensions to current services, to access e.g. new housing, employment opportunities, healthcare facilities etc.”
The funding must be used for the provision of local bus services- i.e. time tabled services open to any member of the public upon payment of a fare.
The funding available in York is £83.5k – equivalent to the operating costs for a single bus for approximately 8 months. It would not therefore have a major impact on service levels.
The City has submitted a bid for “a package of enhancements to routes which support York’s evening economy”
As previously reported, the York Council has abandoned its plans to build a care and nursing home on the Lowfields site. It had been unable to find a development partner for its scheme.
A meeting next week will hear that the plot (on the old school footprint) will be offered for sale to private developers with the condition that they construct “extra care” independent living units there.
The Council expects to receive around £450,000 for the site.
Independent living homes are aimed at the elderly. The scheme has similarities to the Hartrigg Oaks neighbourhood on the other side of the City.
This proposal effectively takes us back to 2010 when the original plans for the site – although much smaller and retaining a large amount of green space – envisaged its use as a “care village”. The site is ideally placed for easy access to a full range of services on Front Street.
Homes would be offered on a leasehold basis and would be ideal for homeowners seeking to “downsize”.
“Communal social facilities” would be included and might be also be made available to over 55’s living in the flats and bungalows which are currently being constructed.
The Council (rightly) claims that older people want to retain their independence and that there is a general trend away for care institutions. The Council has been closing its existing elderly persons homes over recent years. Closures have included Oakhaven on York Road although this site has also been unused now for over 4 years.
Planned Lowfields Care Village 2010
The Volte-face at Lowfields will inevitably mean more delays. The Wates development is expected to be complete in 2022. Work on the independent living unit would not start until 2021. It could be another 3 years (or longer) before construction traffic finally moves off the site.
The new plan – which is welcome if very belated – comes a few days after residents complained about the current contractors leaving generators running during the through night period. It took some time to resolve the issue.
On 24th March (7:00pm) residents are due to hear an update on the project when local Councillors hold a meeting in the Acomb Methodist Hall on Front Street. The future of the communal housing, self-build, playground, police station and doctor’s surgery parts of the plan are likely to be under considerable scrutiny.
Details of the care home report can be found by clicking here
Contractions working on the new Centre of Excellence for Disabled Children on Ascot Way have demolished the local residents noticeboard. It has been left lying on the grass verge. No prior warning of the removal was given.
There are places where the noticeboard could be reinstated with a few minutes work.
The access arrangements for the site are also proving problematic A one way system for heavy plant was supposed to be in operation but this wasn’t working well today. Buses struggled to get by
One piece of good news is that the temporary bus stop is now accessible again
Residents will have a lot of sympathy with local highways inspectors who have the unenviable task of allocation very limited resources to road repairs. Poor weather has increased the number of potholes appearing over recent weeks. The poor state of highway surfaces is a reflection of inadequate investment in maintenance by the York Council for nearly a decade.
An additional pothole filling team is promised to be in place from April. Their arrival can’t come soon enough, at least in west York.
The Councils on line “report it” system now monitors highway defect reports. It is possible to see which reports have been read by officials. Several, reported over the last month, are recorded as “solved”. In reality the problems remain. The potholes have simply been judged not to be deep enough to warrant filling.
That is potentially bad news for cyclists.
Councillors receive very little in the way of monthly performance reports on highways activities, so its impossible to know whether the condition of roads and footpaths is getting worse or improving. The number of reports and complaints received is not routinely published.
Complaints about damage to verges, like parking on footpaths, go largely unmonitored. In summer it is a similar situation with highway obstructions like over grown hedges and weeds.
We hope for better in the future.
Askham Lane carriageway, near A1237 roundabout, will not be repaired
No action at Foxwood Lane roundabout
No action on Huntsmans Walk
No action on Thoresby Road
No action Askham Lane
No Action Vincent Way
No action The Gallops
Action promised on St Stephens Road footpaths
Action promised on Spurr Court road
We’ve asked for detritus to be swept from the gutters in Otterwood LaneThe thorn hedge on the snicket to the rear on St Josephs Court (Cornlands Road) needs to be cut back before it becomes a hazard for pedestrians The Acomb car park recycling area is tidier than it has been on some occasions in the past. Someone is still fly tipping in the area though.
