Mixed news about getting local paths cleared of overgrowth
The SUSTRANs cycle track near Riccall has now been cut back. Unfortunately the section of track in Bishopthorpe (near Coggan Way) is still overgrown with nettles in places Tadcaster Road cycle path blockages
Meanwhile the York Council is now claiming that they are not responsible for keeping the cycle track, which is located next to the slip road from the A64, clear of obstructions. The Council did actually cleared similar problems this time last year.
We will be very disappointed if this turns out to be a jurisdiction stand off between the York Council and Highway Yorkshire. The latter is responsible for maintaining the cycle path along the side of the trunk road.
All scheduled household waste collections have been made.
We also collected outstanding missed household waste from Monday 8 June.
Recycling
We were unable to collect all recycling waste from all properties in the following areas due to operating under COVID-19 restrictions:
Acomb
Bishopthorpe
Heworth
This will be collected on Wednesday 10 June. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am. We collected outstanding missed recycling from Monday 8 June.
Garden waste
We were unable to collect all garden waste from properties in the following areas due to capacity issues:
Derwent
Heworth
Osbaldwick
Westfield
We’ll attempt to collect missed garden waste on the evening of Tuesday 9 June, but may not be able to revisit until later in the week. Please leave your green bin out and we’ll get to you as soon as we can. We also collected outstanding missed garden waste from the Monday 8 June.
We were unable to collect household waste from Railway View and Moor Grove in Dringhouses due to blocked access.
We were unable to collect recycling waste from areas of Fulford and Hull Road due to vehicle breakdowns.
We’ll attempt to collect all this waste on Tuesday 9 June. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.
We’ve been unable to collect garden waste from areas of Fulford, Naburn, Hull Road and Bishopthorpe.
We’ll attempt to collect missed garden waste from Bishopthorpe on Tuesday 9 June, and the rest on the evening of Monday 8 June, but may not be able to revisit until later in the week. Please leave your green bin out and we’ll get to you as soon as we can.
UPDATE – Just as we published we got the following response from SUSTRANs
Yes, we are aware of the problem with this path either side of the York / Selby boundary and at time of heightened usage of all of our traffic-free routes around York due to the coronavirus lockdown.
We’ve done some initial estimating of cost for the whole section that needs resurfacing, which comes to £446,000 approx. – a sum that Sustrans on its own cannot afford as I’m pleased to see you recognise
However, Selby DC (copied in) also have this on their radar and have indicated a strong willingness to work with ourselves and City of York to find the necessary funding.
I’m in discussion with land management / estates colleagues within Sustrans to identify how much we may be able to contribute, and therefore how much is needed from LA partners / other funding sources.
The fact you’ve now raised this with relevant City of York councillor’s is very helpful. We’ll continue to bring all parties together to come up a with funding package that can deliver the necessary improvement as soon as possible.
We’ve suggested to SUSTRANs that they launch a crowd funding appeal to raise money for resurfacing parts of the York – Selby cycle path.
The path is very uneven in places as a result of tree root damage. At one location, the roots have now broken through the bitmac surfacing increasing the hazards for cyclists and walkers.
Roots are now breaking through cycle track
SUSTRANS describe themselves as the custodians of thenational cycle network. It is possible to make a donation towards their work via their web page but we think that a more focused campaign is needed if the York cycle path is to be properly funded.
The path has been heavily used during the health crisis with large number taking the opportunity to take some exercise in what is a relatively safe space. Many young children are getting their first taste of cycling on the track. It is the latter group for whom the surface represents a particular hazard.
SUSTRANs have yet to respond but we have had a prompt reply from Cllr John Galvin who represents that Bishopthorpe ward, in which part of the track is located. He has pledged his support for the appeal.
Any work would need to incorporate the use of root shields to ensure that any new surface continues to be useable for the foreseeable future.
Uneven path surfaces deter use
Many of the problems occur in the section between Naburn and Riccall. We hope that the Government and local Councils will back the SUSTRANs charity if they launch a crowdfunding appeal.
Hopefully some donations will come from the hundreds of new users who are currently enjoying the facility.
NB. It appears that no application was made for support from the York Council’s £500,000 cycling budget which was delegated to be spent by local ward Councillors.
The missed bins from yesterday and due for collection in Haxby, Huntington, Fulford and and Bishopthorpe today weren’t collected. This is put down to continuing staffing and vehicle reliability issues.
Skelton was also missed today
The Council says that it will try to empty all outstanding waste and garden bins tomorrow (Saturday)
It does increasingly seem that the bin emptying service, which was often regarded in public satisfaction surveys as the most appreciated local service provided by the Council, is now in decline.
More streets in York have not had their refuse, recycling and garden waste collected today.
Areas affected included Dringhouses (Middlethorpe), Bishopthorpe, Acomb, Chapelfields, Tang Hall and Lockwood Street
Some residents have called for the service to be “outsourced” (privatised).
Until the Council is more candid about the causes of its current problems, then it is difficult to know whether different management arrangements would lead to a more reliable service.
Bin emptying arrangements have been plagued with problems over the last few days.
According to the Councils web site many bins in Fulford and Bishopthorpe weren’t emptied today. The Council blames staff sickness and vehicle problems for the poor service.
Missed bin collections Friday and Monday
Last week several neighbourhoods suffered delayed collections. These included parts of Strensall, Haxby, Wigginton, Acomb, Huntington and Heworth.
On Friday garden waste collections didn’t take place in Poppleton.
Residents were told to leave their bins out for emptying on Saturday but they were missed again.
Incredibly the Council has failed to issue a media statement explaining the delays, apologising and indicating when they expect to catch up with their collection schedule.
The responsible Executive member is aware of the problems
Residents are being invited to have their say on plans to build eight new sports pitches on fields near Askham Bar.
The drop-in consultation event, which will take place between 4pm and 7pm at Askham Bar Park & Ride on Wednesday 24 January, will offer the chance for people to feedback on plans to build three 11-a-side pitches, two 9-a-side pitches and three 7-a-side pitches with relevant on-site facilities.
The event comes after the council’s executive in November agreed that officers should continue to work on plans for sports facilities on the land near the Ashfield estate.
Sensibly the Council has now stopped trying to link the new provision with the loss of football pitches at Lowfields
This will help to provide much needed community sports facilities to the south and west area of York.
The council’s public heath team are also working with Bishopthorpe White Rose FC to prepare a club development plan that will help them thrive in the future and access grant funding.
The cost of these works will be funded from the Football Foundation, Bishopthorpe White Rose football club, local sponsorship and small grants, with the remainder from the capital programme agreed by City of York Council. (more…)
2.9 miles from Lowfields to replacement football pitch
The Council is toconsider next week a plan to spend £400,000 providing new football pitches for a team based in Bishopthorpe.
Good luck to “Bishopthorpe White Rose Football Club”. We wish them success.
However the Councils claim that this project will replace the football pitches, on which they hope to build, at Lowfields is complete “tosh”
The Tadcaster Road site (behind the London Bridge Service Station) is 3 miles from Lowfields. There is simply no way that Lowfields residents – old or new – would regard Sim Balk Lane as a convenient alternative for any kind of local leisure facility.
The truth of the matter is that the Bishopthorpe Football Club’s needs have grown over the years and they have (rightly) approached the Council for help. It is a coincidence that the Lowfields project came along at the same time.
The Council is being duplicitous in linking the two projects.
If a section Section 106 contribution towards sports facilities is available, then the £400,000 should be spent in the Westfield area. Last year, when the Executive first hatched its plan, they were talking about providing the current users of the pitches (Woodthorpe Wanderers) with new facilities. That idea seems to have been quietly forgotten.
Better still, the Council should leave the existing Lowfields pitches alone. Such a decision would be in line with the decision taken at the last Executive meeting which agreed to review open space provision in the City.
The plot hatched by Council officials is aimed at persuading Sport England to remove their blocking objection to the current Lowfields Planning application.
The beleaguered Labour Leadership have been challenged over rumours that they are intending to close at least one library under their 2015 budget plans
Bishopthorpe Library
Usage of libraries varies greatly across the City but Labour are likely to target those in areas represented by opposition Councillors.
Those that look to be vulnerable include Bishopthorpe where some Councillors apparently have hopes of building social housing on a cleared site.
Libraries were one of the City’s success stories during the last decade with use increasing from 750,000 a year in 2003 to over 1 million in 2011.
Bishopthorpe library attracts over 20,000 user visits each year.
Labour then outsourced the management of the libraries to a social enterprise company but retained the right to force library closures by reducing service grant levels.
They hope that any public odium will then fall on the “Community Interest Company” rather than their paymasters.
We suspect that library users are rather too sophisticated to fall for that line.
