At long last, work has started on providing additional parking spaces in the Spurr Court area.
However there is still no news on the other half a dozen lay-by schemes that are outstanding in the Thoresby Road, Dijon Avenue, Windsor Garth, Askham Lane and Chapelfields areas.
The Council really should keep residents up to date with the progress being made.
Local residents have raised concerns about an apparent increase in street level crime in the city.
Media reports wrangle over policing budget
The Foxwood Residents Association has pointed to incidents including attempted arson which happened last week while the police have issued a warning About vehicle crime in the Walker Drive area
Over the weekend the police had to invoke a “disposal order” on City centre streets following increased anti-social behaviour. An dispersal order, to leave an area, can be triggered by “any behaviour that is unacceptable including foul and abusive language causing alarm, distress and harassment to members of the public”
Meanwhile local Councillors are at logger heads about next year’s policing budget. They need to sort their differences out quickly. If more street level police are required – and they seem to be – then a recruitment campaign needs to start straight away.
Crime levels in Westfield more generally were stable during 2018. It is only during recent weeks that concerns have been raised about trends
Large, unbalanced, trees need to be checked for safety
At least one large tree has been blown over by the high winds today. It is reported to be blocking a road near Elvington.
The incident has produced a renewed call for the Council to lop some of its older highway trees.
Tree detritus has been falling on passers by in Wetherby Road
Residents in streets like Wetherby Road and (little) Green Lane have previously called on the Council to lop – or maybe pollard – overgrown trees. They have had little response.
Trees in Wetherby Road were shedding small branches yesterday.
Some trees in Ridgeway have been pruned this week
Contractors were undertaking minor works nearby in Ridgeway but larger trees were being left.
In due course high sided vehicles are likely to impact overgrowing branches.
Trees on Parliament Street have been pollarded
The council has pollarded trees on Parliament Street. They will grown back quickly, but to a scale in line with the function of the street.
Some ward committees have allocated funds for lopping work but non of it appears to have been spent to reduce the hazards caused by large,old trees.
Any work must be competed before the start of the bird nesting season.
Lincoln Court
Notwithstanding the fact that the York Council still has an planning application outstanding for the redevelopment of Lincoln Court, it has gone ahead and awarded a construction contract covering the building, and a plan to establish a centre for disabled children on the Windsor House site.
The £4.7 million construction contract has been awarded to Sewell’s, the company who were involved in the PFI deal on the adjacent Hob Moor school development 15 years ago.
The number of tenders received for the work has not been revealed by the Council.
The completion date for the contract is 31st January 2021.
Acomb Explore Library
Papers released by the Council this week suggest that a major upgrade to the Acomb Explore Library will be completed by 2022. £4 million has been set aside for works at the Acomb and Clifton Libraries in the Councils budget.
The news will be welcomed in Acomb. It is 10 years since land was acquired to the rear of the library which was intended to accommodate an extension. The hope was then that the building would become a “one stop shop” for public services. It would have partly replaced the neighbourhood “Acomb Office” which Labour closed in 2013. There was hope that policing and health activities might relocate to the site.
The Council says, that the priority is “for investment in Acomb, to build on the great success of that Explore Centre, and in Clifton to transform the quality of service in that area. Individual business cases will be brought forward during 19/20 demonstrating how the investment will contribute to delivering service transformation and driving the generation of additional income streams”
The announcement comes amid rising tensions over the future of the libraries contract. The Council invited tenders last year for continuation of the service – which is currently provided via a social enterprise organisation.
There has been no official confirmation that the existing provider has been allocated the new contract which is due to start on 1st April 2019.
The Council also last year agreed a planning application which will see houses built on the adjacent bowling green site. Objectors at the time stressed the need for a holistic solution to the redevelopment of all the vacant plots in the area.
Japanese Knotweed
A planning application, which would see a patch of Japanese Giant Knotweed removed from the Lowfields playing field, has been submitted.
Specialists will remove the invasive plant from a section on the west of the site.
The reason it can cause a threat is because it grows so rapidly. Each plant can grow up to an inch a day and has the ability to mature rapidly across a large surface area.
As it grows so quickly it can actually cause a lot of structural damage. It can cause damage to tarmac and concrete, increase erosion, damage retaining walls, damage building foundations and block drainage pipes.
The planning application can be found by clicking here. It is work that would need to be undertaken even if redevelopment were not to take place.
Location of Hogweed on Lowfields site plan
Chance to recycle in Foxwood on Saturday
The Council says that it will hold a public “drop in” at Acomb Explore Library between 4:30pm and 7:00pm tomorrow (Thursday 7th February) to react to criticisms of its plans to start work on the Lowfields school development later in the month.
The scheduled work involves felling trees and removing hard surfaces.
Some residents commenting on the “Save Lowfield Playing Field” Facebook page say that they have not received notification of the event. Others say that a limited hours, mid-week, event prevents shift workers from attending
The letters that the Council say that they have delivered are reproduced below.
The plan to schedule tree felling works during February is surprising as the planning condition covering this work has not yet been approved.
Residents have until the middle of the month to record their objections with the expectation that local Councillors will “call in” the proposal for consideration by a planning committee. Details of the planning conditions application can be found via this link.
Objections should be sent by Email to planning.comments@york.gov.uk quoting ref AOD/19/00001
Residents have commented that there are a lot of questions to be answered about the site preparation work, which is scheduled to be completed by May.
These include
The Action Group says that it expects the findings of an Ombudsman’s enquiry into allegations, that the Council misled residents and Sport England over their plans, is due to be published this week.
The Action Group may also be giving evidence to the Local Plan public inquiry which is due to start shortly
Trees to be felled shown in red
Housing by type and tenure
Kingsway MUGA
Sport England have issued a formal objection to the Council’s latest plans for the Lincoln Court area. As a statutory consultee they can veto any proposals which involve the loss of sports facilities. In this case, the Councils plan to demolish the adjacent Multi User Games Area (MUGA) – without providing a replacement – has triggered the objection.
Sport England had expressed concerns about Councils plans prior to the Planning Committee meeting which took place in December. Their comments at that time were ignored by Councillors.
If the Council continues to turn a blind eye to the objection, then the planning application will have to be referred to the Secretary of State for determination.
Sport England make it clear, in their representation, that they believe an alternative games facility can be provided nearby. Residents have suggested the new school playing fields or the Thanet Road sports area as possible locations.
Several of the flats at Lincoln Court are now empty.
There is a growing concern that the building, and the adjacent Windsor House, may be empty for an extended period.
Similar Council owned buildings have been left to rot in recent years (Guildhall, Ashbank, Oakhaven, Castlegate, etc.) suggesting that the Councils property management processes need to be overhauled.
In the meantime the planning application remains open for residents to record any objections that they may have. Email planning.comments@york.gov.uk quoting ref 19/00083/FULM
