Call for compensation after Council confirms that it did not consult on building compound location

In response to a Freedom of Information request the York Council has now confirmed that it did not consult neighbours or local Councillors before issuing a license which allowed a building contractor to occupy the “old allotments” site at the rear of the library car park.

This site has been owned by the Council for over 15 years. The developers of the adjacent bowling Club land (which does have planning permission) had previously said that they did not want to combine the two sites to provide a abetter overall layout.

Work on the site disturbed residents living in South View Terrace and part of Lowfields Drive.

The first that residents knew of the arrangement, was when heavy plant moved onto the site and started to clear it. This prompted complaints about noise, dust and vibrations.

Spoil heap heights reached over 4 metres at one point.

Local fauna and flora on the site were badly affected.

The Council now says that it granted a license to occupy its land on 8th April. There was no consultation undertaken with neighbours.

Residents complained to the Council on 16th May about the problems being caused.

It wasn’t until 28th May that the Council wrote to affected neighbours telling them about the license.

The Council says that working hours on the compound are restricted to 8:00am – 6:00pm, Mon – Fri plus 9:00am – 1:00pm on Saturdays.

The Council says that “The compound licence requires the developer to leave the property in a clean and tidy condition at the end of the licence, including the removal of hardcore”.  

It goes on to say that it expects the compound to be in use for 12 months.

An investigation into whether the developers have the necessary planning permission to use the building compound is still underway.

In our view affected residents have suffered unexpected and unreasonable disruption and should be entitled to compensation.

It is possible that the matter may be referred to the Local Government Ombudsman

York’s green spaces; going, going…

It is sad to see so many green spaces in the City being gradually eroded.

The reality of planning decisions, taken by the Council over the last few years, are rapidly becoming clearer. The trend is particularly evident in west York where former school playing field have proved to be vulnerable.

It started with the development of the playing field at the former Our Lady’s school site on Windsor Garth. The “Hob Stone” estate took up the whole of the site with no open space retained.

Next was the controversial decision to build on the Lowfields playing field. The decision was made worse when over £400,000, intended to fund alternative sports pitches, was earmarked for a site near Bishopthorpe, which is some 3 miles from Lowfields.

Concrete now dominates the Lowfields school playing field

The Hob Moor playing field has been torn up and is now part of a building site
The Acomb Bowling club and adjacent Council owned land on Front Street is now also a building site

There are alternative brownfield (previously developed) sites in the City. Strangely the local MP over the weekend announced her opposition to building 2500 homes on the land to the rear of the station while planners have omitted the Strensall army camp from Local Development Plans.

There seems to be little reason why a development at the latter could not be restricted to the “built footprint” of the former army buildings. This would still leave large amounts of new public open space. That option is under consideration as part of the latest consultation on the Local Plan

But for west York the outlook remains bleak. The Council is still dilly dallying on proposals to replace the Multi User Games Area on Kingsway West. The existing one is no longer usable as it is no part of a buildng compound.

…and the newly elected Council, despite lofty talk of having a new “stray” in the City, has noticeably failed to put any flesh on the bones of the idea. Prompt action is needed to secure more public open space on the periphery of the City.

Currently there is little sign of any urgency, or even engagement, by the occupants of West Offices.

Report casts light on life in Acomb since Roman times

An archaeology report, produced as part of the investigations into the bowling club development project on Front Street, has provided a further insight into the history of the village.

The report says that, “in February 2005 On-Site Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation on the disused allotments located immediately to the west of the current site. Within one of the evaluation trenches two small pits containing late 1st to mid 3rd century Roman pottery were recorded, cutting into the natural sand. A residual sherd of late 1st to early 2nd century pottery was recovered from a subsoil deposit in one of the other trenches”

The allotments land has now been bulldozed to form a building compound. No mitigation measures have been taken to preserve or record any archaeological remains on that site (which is owned by the York Council).

The report goes on to say, “There is no evidence of occupation during the Anglo-Saxon period although the name ‘Acomb’ is Anglo-Saxon in origin meaning “at the oaks”.

“The mediaeval period is when the village of Acomb took on a known form with the focus of the village being the area between The Green and Front Street. Acomb is listed in the Domesday survey of 1086 as a manor with 14 rent-payers. The Church of St. Stephen is an 1830 construction replacing an earlier 12th century church with possible pre-Conquest origins. Archaeological work has taken place behind 12-26 The Green, which produced evidence for mediaeval domestic activity and possible ploughsoil relating to medieval crofts or garden plots An evaluation carried out by OSA in March 2007 to the rear of 95 Front Street revealed late medieval boundary ditches containing pottery dated to the 15th and 16th centuries”.

The findings of the investigation can be read by clicking here .

A report on contamination on the site can be read by clicking here

Latest planning applications for the Westfield Ward

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Westfield ward. 

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference 

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Acomb Bowling Club Front Street York YO24 3BZ

Conditions 3,4,5,6,8,9,& 19 of 18/00586/FULM 

Ref. No: AOD/19/00169 

Relates to signed acceptance form; Phase 2 Site investigation report on archaeology; a Site Archaeology Ltd survey report on the significance of existing buildings, a contamination report and a highways dilapidations report.

The developers have discharged a condition requiring a record to be kept of the buildings that were on the site together with their history. A separate report charts the development of Acomb since Roman times. No reference is made to the controversial work taking place on the adjacent “old allotments” site, which is under investigation by planning enforcement officials

——-

Hob Moor Community Primary School Green Lane Acomb York YO24 4PS

Conditions 3,6,7,8,8a,8b,12,13,14 and 15 of 18/01475/GRG3 

Ref. No: AOD/19/00168 

Relates to archaeology

——-

23 Otterwood Lane York YO24 3JP

Single storey side extension 

Ref. No: 19/00889/FUL 

——

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/

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

Anger mounts as York Council ignores complaints about spoil heap on Front Street

As reported earlier in the week, residents living next to the Library in Acomb were dismayed to find that demolition contractors had taken over the adjacent Council owned land. The trespass apparently formed part of the plan to build on the bowling club

Plan shows Council owned site which has been bulldozed

Several days later and things are even worse.

A 4 metre high mound of spoil has now appeared. It is only feet from the gardens of nearby homes

Spoil heap is nearly 4 metres high

The Council appears to have done nothing other than send an environmental protection officer to the site to make an inspection.

The Council has remained tight lipped about whether they have granted permission for the work and whether the actions of the contractor breach planning regulations.

There are also questions about whether the activities conflict with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

There are complaints about early morning activities. Construction work on the bowling club site is conditioned not start until after 8:00am,.

It is very disappointing that the Council has not acted more promptly to reassure residents about what is going on.

Not a good start for the authorities new Executive members of whom we had expected better.

Another strange decision by York planners as local bowling club doomed

Land near Acomb Library which could be improved.

York planning Councillors decided yesterday to permit the development of the Acomb Bowling Club

The applicants claimed that there were no longer enough people interested in bowling in York to sustain the green.

Ironically the Planning sub committee then went on the insist that the developers pay the York RI bowling club £20,000 to expand their greens. Why such an expansion should be necessary when many bowling clubs already have spare membership places remains a mystery.

The RI site is a mile away from Front Street and lies in the Holgate ward,. The opportunity to invest the £20,000 from the S106 contribution in green space in the Westfield ward has been lost.

Planning Councillors should have insisted that the payment be retained and earmarked for the improvement of the old allotments site (behind the Library car park) which would at least have secured the future of some green space in the Front Street area.

Council officials have also claimed that no discussions about the expansion of the library (onto the Council owned land nearby) have taken place “since it was acquired in 2008”. Ten years ago officials in the council’s estates department were instructed to acquire the bowling green and the allotments site at the same time. They failed to do so and the bowling club limped on for a few more years.

The Bowling Club trustees have yet tor reveal what will happen to the substantial receipt they will receive from the sale of the green.

Westfield residents will now get the worst of all worlds. A sports facility is being lost. Another green space is being built on, an opportunity to provide a small “pocket” park has gone  and the need for an expanded library – incorporating a “one stop shop” – seems further away than ever.

Another bad day for west York

 

Acomb Bowling Club development plans recommended for approval

Westfield set to lose another area of green space

The report on this planning application has now been published (click)

It is recommended for approval.

The development, as it is presently proposed, is not in line with residents wishes as expressed in responses to a recent survey. They wanted to see a comprehensive plan for all the sites which lie to the rear of the Library.

There are two significant tissues.

  1. Planning officers claim that no discussions have taken place on the possible extension of the library. We don’t believe this is true The future of the “allotments” land, and also of that to the side of Chancery Court, must be determined together. They are inextricably linked.
  2. To offset the loss of open space on Front Street, officials are proposing a section 106 contribution to provide part of a bowling green at the York RI. This is located in the Holgate ward, about a mile from Front Street. While this may meet the need for bowling facilities (the site is already  green field sports pitch) it does nothing to help Westfield or to address the cumulative deficiency in green space provision in the ward. (It is almost as insensitive as the Councils decision to “relocate” the sports field from Lowfields to land near Bishopthorpe).

There is a very good argument to be made that the Front Street area needs more open space to accommodate the incremental increases in population that are occurring, not least as a result of commercial properties in the area being converted into residential accommodation.

This latest proposal just adds more pressures onto the rapidly diminishing areas of green space in the area.

The planning meeting is open to the public and takes place on Thursday 4th October at 4:30pm at West Offices. The planning committee will visit the site the previous day shortly after 10:00am.

Opposition mounting to Front Street building plans

Pensioners petition against proposal to develop Bowling Green

Acomb Bowling Club

The Council has told the proposed developers of the Acomb Bowling Club green on Front Street that they need more time to come to a view on their proposals. They say that there are access and other problems associated with the proposal to build 11 houses on the site.

comment on planning application

The news came after it emerged that a petition, signed by pensioners in an adjacent block of flats, and objecting to the loss of green space had been lodged with the Council. The pensioners were also concerned about potential noise nuisance from the site.

Sport England have also sounded a warning about the plan highlighting the continued erosion of sports pitches in the Acomb area.

Concerns have also been raised about the impact on the local bat population and other wildlife in the area.

The Council’s own heritage officer has pointed to the historical significance of the site. It is thought that there may be important archaeological deposits in the area.

Comment on Planning application

Although the balance of comments is against the development in its present form, perhaps surprisingly local amenity societies, Ward Councillors and adjacent property owners have so far failed to make their views known.

The proposals – which could jeopardise plans to bring derelict land to the rear of the Library back into use, while providing much needed accommodation for older people – are a particularly poor piece of incremental planning.

Hopefully a more coherent plan for this part of Front Street will emerge now.

Acomb Bowling Club blow

Front Street green space threatened.

Acomb Bowling Club

Acomb Bowling Club want to quit their Front Street home and sell the land for a housing development. A planning application submitted over 3 weeks ago has only just been published on the Councils web site.

Reference           18/00586/FULM

Address Acomb Bowling Club Front Street York YO24 3BZ

Proposal              Erection of 11 dwellings following demolition of existing buildings

This is not the first time that this area of open space has been threatened. Over 10 years ago the club was also on the brink of folding.

At that time York Council officials were instructed to offer to buy the land. The intention was to use the car park associated with the site to supplement the parking available at the Acomb Explore Library.

The bowling club would have continued to enjoy use of the greens for a nominal rent.

The Library would have been expanded onto land, already owned by the Council, at the rear.

The intention was to provide flats above a “one stop shop” facility incorporating a extension to the library.  It later transpired that officials had failed to close a deal for the club site.

The scheme was quietly dropped when the incoming Labour administration decided in 2011 to centralised customer contact facilities at West Offices in the City centre. The Councils existing “Acomb Office” was closed.

The new coalition administration was invited in 2015 to look again at how the areas of land to the rear of the library – including the bowling green – might be used in the future but progress has been slow.

The Bowling Club application may reinvigorate the need for a comprehensive development brief for this part of Front Street.

Residents have already criticised any attempt to reduce still further the amount of green space in the Westfield area. It already has the lowest proportion of open space and sports pitches of any sub-urban ward.

The Councils plans to build on the Lowfields playing fields will make the situation even worse.

Residents can object to the planning application by emailing planning.comments@york.gov.uk quoting reference 18/00586/FULM.

Library precinct plan 2011