Litter and pothole problems on Askham Lane

The “rural” part of Askham Lane is looking a bit neglected these days. It is a busy entrance route into the City and it really should be kept tidy and in a good state of repair.

Hopefully when the current issues with flooding have been resolved the area will get an uplift.

Issues in west York reported – paths, flooding and verge damage

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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Former Lowfield School Dijon Avenue York

Condition 24 of 17/02428/FULM

Ref. No: AOD/19/00414 

Relates to sewer adoption

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Acomb Bowling Club Front Street York YO24 3BZ

Conditions 10, 14, 16, 17 & 18 of 18/00586/FULM

Ref. No: AOD/19/00410 

Relates to access arrangements for refuse vehicles, landscaping (see plan), drainage, road construction and cycle parking.

Front Street Bowling Club land landscaping plan

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94 Askham Lane York YO24 3HP

Single and two storey side extension

Ref. No: 19/02550/FUL 

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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

Crowds add to litter problems in York

Its not just the transport systems that have been under pressure in York this weekend.

People have been pointing to issues with street cleansing in the City centre. Can’t be easy for Council staff and the BID team to keep on top of the problems with such high volumes of pedestrians around (not to mention the security zones).

Even in suburban areas we’ve been finding examples of full bins and badly littered streets. All have been reported for Council attention.

Full bin at Askham Lane bus stop
Same issue at the Cornlands Road shops
Shops forecourt badly littered

Issues reported to York Council

While there has been some improvement in some local public services this week, we’re still finding, and reporting, a lot of local issues that require attention

ridge dumped at entrance to farmers field
A lot of local snickets like this one on Cornlands Road require more regular sweeping. Several now need to be resurfaced.
More Graffiti
…..and we’ve reported full litter bins on Beagle Ridge Drive and Acomb car park

Bus shelter clean up welcomed

We reported last week that several of the Council owned bus shelters in west York were looking shabby. Some were overgrown with weeds and undergrowth.

We are pleased to report that, following our highlighting the issue to the York Council , some of the shelters have been tidied up. Undergrowth has been cut back from the shelters making them much more user friendly.

However the work undertaken has also served to emphasise how much these shelters need a coat of paint and other refurbishment.

Many are now rusting quite badly.

Foxwood Lane shelter. No longer an Arboretum
Shelter near Otterwood Lane as tidied up
Askham Lane bus shelter, although very rusty, is now free of undergrowth

We were also pleased to see for the first time for some time today that the Cornlands Park was largely free of litter.

There seems to be a slow improvement in some public service standards in the City following a disappointing summer.

Cornlands park

& another burglary, this time in Askham Lane

At approximately 4:20 today (11/09/2019) there has been a burglary on Askam Lane. 2 offenders possibly ran towards the Tedder Road / Cornlands Road area.
If you saw anything suspicious or have any information that will assist the police with their enquiries please call 101 and state the reference number – NYP – 11092019 – 0341

York Council using wrong type of weed killer?

As problems with the weed control programme in the City intensify, one Councillor has discovered that contractors may have been using the wrong type of weed killer.

The approved weed-killer is  Glyphosate (Roundup). This has proved to be ineffective against many types of weeds including Horses (Mares) Tail and willow-herb.

Now Cllr Mark Warters has found that use of the  “Diamond” formulation on Mares Tail in his ward has had good results. He is urging the Council to use it in the future.

The news comes as residents wait to hear when – or even if – the Council is going to organise a clean up of the weeds and detritus which has grown up on the City’s streets this summer.

Although a report to an October meeting has been promised more urgent action is needed.

The expectation was that the executive Councillor with responsibility for street services would have reported on progress to the scrutiny meeting which is due to take place on 11th September.

However a report to the meeting published yesterday  pointedly makes no reference to the ongoing problems on our streets.

Askham Lane footpath gradually being eroded by grass
The footpath on Grange Lane is obstructed by nettles
The Walton Place/Grange Lane snicket is overgrown
Weed growth damaging the footpath on Sherringham Drive was reported 3 months ago
Metre high weeds overgrowing railings on Askham Lane
Ditto on Thanet Road
One of the underlying problems is poor street sweeping standards. These build outs on Gale Lane haven’t been cleaned for over 6 months. The resulting silt provides an ideal bed for weeds.

All these issues have been reported to the York Council for their attention