Street cleansing issues also increase following holiday break
The Council says that the volume of recycling put out today on the west of the City exceeded the capacity of its collection vehicles. Their waste update website can be viewed by clicking here They hope to catch up tomorrow(Wednesday)
We’ve submitted numerous reports of litter across the area. This may partly be due to insecure recycling arrangements.
Hopefully residents will help to get the area looking smart again by undertaken some volunteer litter picks.
There were a
lot of problems during the summer with hedges obstructing public paths. In some
cases, the obstructions were caused by Council owned trees and bushes. The jury
is still out on whether new processes and budget allocations announced earlier this
week will result in an improvement during 2020.
Hedges on the boundary
of private gardens and the public highway (including foot and cycle paths) are
the responsibility of the hedge owner. Home occupiers must ensure that the highway
is kept clear of obstructions at all times
Obstructions
can be a significant problem for some users. The partially sighted are at a particular
risk and cyclists being “swiped” by stray branches can lead to more serious accidents.
In some cases thorn
buses like brambles and roses overhang paths representing an added hazard.
Thorn bush branches at eye height are a particular risk
Sadly, like the
problems with damage to verges, in recent years the Council has been tardy in ensuring
that hedges are cut back from paths. They do have enforcement powers which have
been used in the past to force action. In extreme cases hedges have been cut
back to the path line after notice periods have expired. The owners were charged
for the work.
No such notices
have been issued recently.
Of course, some
occupiers may not be physically able to cut badly overgrown hedges. It has been
suggested that this is a service area that a “not for profit” start-up could usefully
exploit. There are already several local gardening companies which offer
trimming services.
Even the Councils own cycle tracks were obstructed last summer
With leaves now
off trees and hedges, winter is the optimum time to deal with long standing problems.
This needs to be done before the start of the bird nesting season.
The Council also
has powers to require its tenants to cut garden hedges as do social landlords.
We have
advocated for some time the appointment of a paths supervisor who could trim
back Council owned hedges and initiate action against irresponsible neighbours
who cause obstructions. We hope that the Council will fund such a post in its
new budget.
We hope to see
some well publicised action from West Offices over the next few weeks.
Hedges need cutting back during winterMore potholesSnickets need sweepingVerges need tidying up and damaged equipment replaced. Fly tipping needs removingAnother one for the new graffiti removal teamAcomb Moor damaged stile still not repaired. We understand that local Councillors are dealingCouncil bus shelters are filthy
“Investment in waste and environment services to include additional staffing on waste rounds, improved city centre cleaning and effective weed control”. That’s what the York Council is promising in their newly published budget for next year.
In total – over two years – an additional £1 million will be found for a new system of “neighbourhood working”.
This, says the Council, will “improve the waste collection service to residents by increasing the number of green waste collections, adding two extra green waste collections each March from 2021 onwards.
The pilot of 3 free replacement boxes per property will continue and be made permanent.
The Council will develop neighbourhood working models across public realm and waste to better respond to the communities needs building on the success of local management, ownership and responsibility elsewhere in the council.
The Council will work with York Business Improvement District to review how city centre cleansing can be improved. The resilience of the services will be improved by removing the reliance on fixed term staff.
In addition they will invest in the weed control service to increase the areas treated and, in response to the world wide ongoing challenge about the use of glyphosate, will trial alternative methods for dealing with weeds such as foams etc”.
The proposal is short on detail but improvements in cleaning services can’t come soon enough for some sub-urban areas.
Several amenity areas are now overwhelmed by fly tipping and litter.
The Westfield/Grange Lane park and adjacent nature area is a case in point and is particularly bad at present.
Westfield Park which is located between Grange Lane and Westfield Place
North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses and information about a burglary that occurred in Acomb, York.
It happened at Huntsmans Walk between 1pm and 3.30pm on Thursday 2 January 2020. Items of jewellery were stolen.
We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
In particular, we are appealing for information about any witnesses that were in the area or anyone who has CCTV in the local area.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for PC 41 David Ellison You can also email 000041@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12200001011.Contact details:Dave Ellison – #0041 000041@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk | 30041Incident reference:12200001011
Its over 3 years since the York Council looked at the problem of vehicle damage to grass verges. Alengthy reportpromised improvements not least in taking action against drivers who carelessly damaged verges.
Verge damage was costing taxpayers around £35 per sq metre to fix. Enforcement action was promised and some “Ward Committees” also said they would use their delegated budget to provide lay-bys.
St Stephens Road
There has sadly been little progress. Problem locations such as the flats on Thoresby Roadcontinue to be blighted. Promised lay-bys have not materialised. There has been no enforcement action, no protective bollards or “eco grid” surfacing have been installed.
Drivers do need somewhere to park their vehicles but the Council’s response has been glacial recently.
The latest crime figures taken from the nation policing web site (click) show a stable picture in York.
A lot of effort has gone into making the City centre safer and this shows with a slight downward trend in crime reports during the last 12 months. The number of reports each month varies between 450 and 550. The largest number of incidents were reported in December 2018 so all eyes will be on the figures for last month when they become available.
Crime stats for York
Anti-social behaviour accounts for 34% of the reports. This is in line with the popular conception
that the City centre can be a rowdy environment at times.
Looking at the area outside the centre, which includes a large rural neighbourhood, crime reports have averaged around 1300 a month over the last year.
Anti social behaviour again is the most frequent report (31%) but is closely followed by “violence and sexual offences” (26%). The latter is mainly domestic disagreements.
A lot of historic information is available at a more local level.
Crime stats for the Westfield ward
In the Westfield Ward crime reports average around 150 a
month. Reports peak in the summer months.
Anti social behaviour (33%) and violence (28%) are the
biggest issues. 10% of reports concern criminal
damage (vandalism, graffiti etc) and arson.
Westfield crime reports in 2014/15
A graph of crime reports in Westfield (left), prepared 5 years ago, shows a very similar volume of issues.
The Police are currently recruiting additional officers and PCSOs in North Yorkshire.
