Search Results for: "Newbury Avenue" ...

Newbury Avenue development – 5 bungalows proposed

Parking concerns remain

The latest proposals for the development of the Newbury Avenue garage site will be reported to the Councils Executive committee next week.

The new scheme involves the provision of 5 one bedroomed bungalows which will be built to a standard that allows easy wheelchair access.

The site is considered suitable for older or disabled people as it is reasonably close to the Lidl store and the number 4 bus service,

The proposal is undoubtedly better than the original plan for 9 apartments.  

Later, plans for 8 bungalows were released but these proved to be too cramped.

The five bungalow specialist accommodation now proposed  is unlikely to significantly increase traffic volumes in the area, one of the concerns expressed about earlier schemes

However, the report fails to address the lack of car parking space on Newbury Avenue outside the existing flats (10 -16) or in the wider Windsor Garth area.

Residents will expect that the demolition of 28 garages (most of which have deliberately been left empty by the Council over recent years) will be mitigated by the provision of more off-street parking space in the area.

In total sites for over 20 parking spaces have been identified in the neighbourhood and there is a reasonable expectation that a Section 106 agreement will fund most of these.

If the spaces are provided, then the revised Council proposal is likely to gain more widespread support

The meeting will also hear new proposals for the development of a similar garage site on Chaloners Road

Latest Newbury Avenue bungalow plans to be discussed on Tuesday

The Council has published several development plan proposals for the Newbury Avenue garage area site over the last few years. LibDem Councillors successfully resisted the plan to erect a block of flats feeling that this would simply add to existing traffic and parking problems in the area.

The design also interfered with open views of Hob Moor.

The Council has now come up with, what they hope will be, a final design for the area. The number of bungalows has been reduced to 5. Any plans will be put before the planning committee. Residents will be able to formally object to (or support) the proposals.

The plans will be on display at the Indoor Bowls Club on Thanet Road before the Ward meeting which is taking place on Tuesday at 6:30pm. Affected residents are being invited to come along to view them and ask questions.

At the moment the project is suspended as  existing parking problems need to be addressed before any more traffic is introduced into the area. Sites for additional parking have been identified and Councillors await proposals from Council officials on timescales, funding etc.

One of the possibilities is a lay-by outside the existing flats in Newbury Avenue (10 –16)

It is unlikely that the plans will be progressed to the planning stage much before next year.

 

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 proposals for development in Newbury Avenue

Westfield Councillors have given a  guarded welcome to revised proposals which would see 8 bungalows built on the garage site on Newbury Avenue.
Lack of parking space on Windsor Garth is now a major issue. No sign of much needed matrix protection

Lack of parking space on Windsor Garth is now a major issue.

The scheme replaces a controversial plan to build an apartment block there.

In a leaflet circulating to affected residents (below), the Councillors emphasise that a plan, being put before the Council’s Executive on 29th September, needs to be amended to include the funding of additional off-street parking spaces in the estate.

There are already acute parking problems in the area which have been exacerbated by the new Hob Stones development.

Page 1 nEWBURY aVE OPTIONS sEPT 2016Page 2 nEWBURY aVE OPTIONS sEPT 2016

 

Newbury Avenue- Council are right to pause any further development

Newbury Avenue garages

The new Council has suspended the letting of a contract to build on the garage site on Newbury Avenue.

The scheme, hatched by the last Labour administration, had been pushed through against strong opposition from residents who lived in the area. Most objectors had pointed to the lack of alternative car parking space on the estate and to problems with the road network (which is limited to a single entry route from Kingsway West).

The problems had been exacerbated by the Council’s decision to almost double the number of homes being built on the nearby Our Lady’s school site.

One idea, thrown out by Labour, had been a proposals that anyone affected by the new buildings, and who did not have an off-street parking space, would be offered a free dropped kerb/verge crossover.

The Council were asked to look at other sites including the derelict land to the rear of the Library on Front Street. A site which is very well located for the kind of amenities that the elderly occupants of the flats are likely to need.

 Local Councillor Dafydd Williams was blamed by many for the decision. He was forced to quit his Westfield seat in May and seek election in a ward located on the other side of the City.  The Councillor who claimed responsibility for the proposed development (Simpson-Laing from Acomb) lost her seat at the elections.

The project suspension will provide another opportunity for the issues surrounding this development to be reviewed.

NB Cllr Sue Hunter (Email cllr.shunter@ork.gov.uk) is making efforts to revive the local Residents Association. The last Association collapsed 2 years ago when most of is members resigned in protest against Labour’s controversial local development decisions.

Newbury Avenue development update

A Council planning committee will decide on Wednesday whether to give the go ahead for the development of the Newbury Avenue garage site.

click to access

click to access

The scheme has been heavily criticised for reducing still further the amount of off street parking available in an area which has a high proportion of flats.

The plan involves demolishing 28 garages.

The Council has refused to provide more parking lay-bys or to reinvigorate the dropped kerb programme to make more spaces available.

Last week – in a behind closed doors decision – they refused to act on parking problems being experienced outside the Carlton House  flats on Windsor Garth

Instead they have directed people who rent garages to other blocks some as far away as Foxwood. A waiting list for these garages is now building up and parking problems are becoming acute.

Now the published plans suggest that the scheme designers have failed to recognize the need for a secure boundary between the new buildings and Hob Moor. It is 25 years since the Council recognised that – to keep down crime levels as well as preserve the Hob Moor nature reserve – robust railings were need on the boundary. This lesson seems to have been forgotten.

The Council admits, “That the site is contaminated and that it lies near to a closed landfill site”

The scheme design is an improvement on what was originally proposed but many residents will feel that these 9 flats -when taken together with the 55 homes being built on the nearby Our Lady’s school site – represent an overdevelopment.

Damage to roads in the area is the first tangible sign of an accelerated decline in public service standards in the area.

Residents who wish to address the meeting (which starts at 2:00pm) may do so by telephoning (01904) 551031 or by Email to –louise.cook@york.gov.uk /catherine.clarke@york.gov.uk

The committee is expected to visit the site on Tuesday 7th October arriving at Newbury Avenue at 10:15am.

Newbury Avenue development – new layout proposed. Contamination and drainage concerns

New Newbury development site layout, Click for large maps

New Newbury development site layout, Click for large maps

A new layout plan for the controversial 9 flat development on the garage area off Newbury Avenue has been published.

It is unlikely that many residents will have seen the plan as objectors have not been alerted to the changes.

The new layout increases the number of parking spaces to be provided to 16 with an additional 5 to be located on vacant land at the Newbury Drive/Windsor Garth junction.

This is the junction which is subject to ponding after heavy rain.

Unfortunately at the same time the Council has said that it won’t be acting quickly to deal with the lack of proper parking opposite Carlton House. Vehicles parking on the bend have caused the bus to mount the footpath on several occasions.  It had been hoped that individual driveways for the house would have been provided across the green area with more parking for residents being constructed to the rear of the flats.

Flooding problems on Windsor Garth

Flooding problems on Windsor Garth

There is no news on where the occupants of the garages will park in future. It had been suggested that the Council should provide dropped kerbs/verge crossovers where the 24 garage occupants wanted to construct an alternative parking space in their  gardens. This idea has not yet been taken forward.

The background papers for the development can be accessed by clicking here

The 3 storey buildings will prove eight 2 bedroomed flats and one single bedroomed unit. Access to each will be by an external walkway.

There are some big questions on drainage arrangements which are yet to be satisfactorily answered.

A report from the Councils protection unit concluded “Therefore, there is a plausible possibility that residual contaminants may be present onsite”. This arises from its former use as a waste disposal site in the 1950’s.

In a later objection the Unit expresses concern about methane gas levels in the area and says,

“The soil sampling results identified elevated levels of lead, PAHs, arsenic and vanadium. Remedial work is therefore required, in order to ensure that the site is safe and suitable for its proposed use, and a remediation scheme must be submitted for our approval in due course”.

The ground conditions mean that piling will be required in the construction process.

It is expected that the application will be determined at a meeting which is scheduled to take place on 8th October.

Now asbestos fears hit Newbury Avenue plans

Newbury Avenue press headline

The Press are reporting that traces of asbestos have been found on land near Kingsway West.

Householders have been warned “not to dig down more than 12 inches” in their gardens.

We reported last year that a former landfill site in the area was being investigated.

Now it seems that there is some residual contamination but it is largely inert and unlikely to be a factor in existing residents everyday lives.

The Council – which is behind schedule in submitting its planning application for the Newbury Avenue garage site – now has another issue to address if it decides to go ahead with its controversial building plans.

 

Newbury Avenue development – plans published

Newbury Avenue development layout. Click to enlarge

Newbury Avenue development layout. Click to enlarge

The York Council’s controversial plan to develop the garage area off Newbury Avenue has taken a step forward with layout plans having been published.

The plans show a 3 storey block, containing 9 flats, on the site.

The main criticism of the Councils plan had been its impact on the availability of parking spaces in the area, increased traffic, the dominating effect of an additional 3 storey building and its impact on the adjacent Hob Moor conservation area.

It now seems likely that the Council intends to hijack the private space to the rear of the existing blocks of flats on Newbury Avenue and Windsor Garth for joint use by the new tenants.

The plans do show an allocated parking space for each new flat although the provision for visitors is unclear. No measures to address the needs of drivers displaced from the garages have been announced.

On street parking space in the area is very limited. and the dropped kerb and layby provision programmes have both stalled recently.

A planning application is expected to be submitted and determined in May. Residents will be able to object to the proposals and are permitted to address the Planning Committee before a decision is made.

The issue has become more sensitive since the Council decided to approve the building of 55 houses on the site of the former Our Lady’s school.

Newbury Avenue development plans click to enlarge

Newbury Avenue development plans click to enlarge

Newbury Avenue flats development – drop in session

Newbury Avenue garage block where Labour plan to builds flats

Newbury Avenue garage block where Labour plan to builds flats

A Public Information Drop-In Event has been organised for those interested in the plans for new Council flats on Newbury Avenue and Chaloners Road

The proposals fro Newbury Avenue were very controversial when they were announced last year.

The Council has still to confirm how it will deal with the extra car parking requirements generated by the vehicles displaced from the site.

The “drop in” takes place on

Wednesday 16th April between 4pm – 7pm

at the York and district Indoor Bowls Club, Thanet Road, YO24 2NW