More waste collection issues hit west York

It looks like the Council has caught up with the collection of domestic waste at least in the Westfield area today.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for commercial waste with some problems reported weeks ago still to be resolved.

Council bins, to rear of Front Street, filled to overflowing
Not just Council bins full. These BIFFA bins are also behind Front Street. Bin that was subject to an arson attack was reported some weeks ago.

That was the week that was in photos

Unusual to see full bottles dumped next to the bottle bank at Acomb Car park!
Sadly still some dumping next to the bins. it has been suggested that the larger amenity sites like Hazel Court should reopen to residents. They have remained open for the disposal of trade waste. With green and bulky waste collection suspended, this would make sense provided social distancing can be maintained. We think that use levels could be controlled if specific days were allocated to individual neighbourhoods – possibly using a colour codes system. Real time “on line” monitoring of queue lengths – also suggested for supermarkets – would also help.
We’ve reported the full litter bin (and dumping) at the Acomb Car park
On the other side of the City, local Councillor Mark Warters has brokered an agreement with B & Q (which has now re-opened) aimed at avoiding HGVs blocking the access road. They will in future move straight into the delivery yard.
Elsewhere the recent mix of rain and sunshine has resulted in a rapid growth in weeds and hedges. Some are now blocking paths
Snicket still accessible on Wetherby Road but has been a problem in the past
Nettle growth at the entrance to the Westfield park has caused problems in the past. It should be on the new weed control programme but there is no evidence of “die back”
Nettles can also be a hazard when they reduce the width of public footpaths
We’ve asked for detritus to be swept from the Chesney Field snicket …..
& from the drainage gulleys in The Green area
An accumulation of litter on this snicket in Foxwood. Generally, though, the estate has been much cleaner recently.
The section of Gale Lane from St Stephens Road to Foxwood Lane which will be resurfaced this year.
Unfortunately there are many potholed carriageways which don’t appear in the Councils programme. This one is in Foxwood.
….and still no action to repair the poor road surface on Lowfields Drive
Uneven footpaths in Chapelfields have also not made it into the Councils repair programme
There was some hope that the budget delegated to wards specifically for improvements for pedestrians would lead to hard core being put down on part of the Grange Lane park access path. No programme of work has been published by the Council although the funding has been available for nearly a year now.
Damaged fence on Lowfields Drive reported
Finally we hope that the local Councillors will get round to publishing a neighbourhood list of takeaways which are continuing to provide a delivery service for the local community. Many have gone to great lengths to observe “social distancing” guidelines. We need these local businesses to survive the current lock-down difficulties. They deserve the support of the Council and local residents. At the very least the Council should maintain an up to date list of the food delivery services available within each local community. The list should be publicised on local noticeboards and on social media. Ideally it should be included on a leaflet delivered to each home. (The leaflet that the Council recently delivered only included about 20% of the suppliers still operating in the Acomb/Foxwood/Woodthorpe area).
We are compiling our own list which we hope to publish here next week.

Catching up with maintenance work

We’ve been out and about checking on public service standards in west York in the wake of the recent storms. These are some of this weeks reports

  • Road repairs needed on Huntsmans Walk
  • Verges damaged in Thoresby Road
  • Broken play equipment
  • Uneven path in St Stephens Road
  • Dumping on St Josephs Court – Cornlands Rd snicket
  • Dumping next to Cornlands Park

The Council have promised a thorough review of the snickets in the area. The residents association is currently conducting an audit of standards. In several there are problems with worn paths, weeds, litter, dumping and damaged boundary fencing. During the summer months, anti social behaviour is an issue in some while other s are obstructed by trees and hedges.

Hopefully these issues will all be addressed later it the year.

Issues reported in west York today

Hedges need cutting back during winter
More potholes
Snickets need sweeping
Verges need tidying up and damaged equipment replaced.
Fly tipping needs removing
Another one for the new graffiti removal team
Acomb Moor damaged stile still not repaired. We understand that local Councillors are dealing
Council bus shelters are filthy

Dumping and litter blights nature area

“Investment in waste and environment services to include additional staffing on waste rounds, improved city centre cleaning and effective weed control”. That’s what the York Council is promising in their newly published budget for next year.

In total – over two years – an additional £1 million will be found for a new system of “neighbourhood working”.

This, says the Council, will “improve the waste collection service to residents by increasing the number of green waste collections, adding two extra green waste collections each March from 2021 onwards.

The pilot of 3 free replacement boxes per property will continue and be made permanent.

The Council will develop neighbourhood working models across public realm and waste to better respond to the communities needs building on the success of local management, ownership and responsibility elsewhere in the council.

The Council will work with York Business Improvement District to review how city centre cleansing can be improved. The resilience of the services will be improved by removing the reliance on fixed term staff.

In addition they will invest in the weed control service to increase the areas treated and, in response to the world wide ongoing challenge about the use of glyphosate,  will trial alternative methods for dealing with weeds such as foams etc”.

The proposal is short on detail but improvements in cleaning services can’t come soon enough for some sub-urban areas.

Several amenity areas are now overwhelmed by fly tipping and litter.

The Westfield/Grange Lane park and adjacent nature area is a case in point and is particularly bad at present.

Westfield Park which is located between Grange Lane and Westfield Place

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Issues reported today in west York

The end of the holidays brings with it a need to deal with some issues. Today we have reported issues with

  • dog fouling,
  • dumping next to the recycling banks on Acomb Wood Drive,
  • leaf fall in the Greenwood Grove area
  • litter in the Chesney Field area &
  • more litter on the Tithe Close snicket

Hopefully they will be addressed quickly now.

Issues reported for Council attention in west York

Gale Lane carriageway breaking up. The section is only a few metres away from the area that was resurfaced a few months ago. The Council really should have resurfaced as far as the junction
Widespread damage to verges and speed humps in the Kingsway area blamed on heavy building plant. The Newbury Avenue bungalows should be finished at the end of the year so hopefully some repairs will then take place.
Dumped fridge in hedgerow at Chesney Field
More dumping in back Foxwood Lane
& again in the little Green Lane garage area
Graffiti in Howe Street area. This will prove to be a test of the Councils new graffiti removal processes which were implemented a few weeks ago.
Still a lot of leaf fall in some streets. This is Windsor Garth. Streets now need mechanical sweeping before mulch becomes embedded.
Litter in hedgerows near Doherty Walk. The Councils street cleansing systems still aren’t working with problems on several estates and at some shopping centres.
More litter!

£630 for fly-tipping furniture in car park

A York woman has been ordered to pay £630 for repeatedly fly-tipping, despite receiving waste disposal advice from City of York Council.

York Magistrates heard on Tuesday (3 December 2019) that Sharn Ogden (aged 27 of Martins Court, York) was seen disposing of a table and chairs in the car park of Martins Court on 29 July 2019.

City of York Council enforcement officers made multiple attempts to contact Ms Ogden, which she failed to respond to. On 13 August 2019, Ms Ogden admitted to leaving the waste and said she would take the items to the Household Waste and Recycling Centre. However when officers returned to Martins Court on 13 October 2019, the items had not been removed.

Since 2016, Ms Ogden has received several home visits from enforcement officers regarding waste issues in the area, six letters advising her how to present her waste correctly and two fly-tipping warnings.

Ms Ogden continued to present her waste unlawfully, has been charged for the removal of items and had now been prosecuted.

She attended court and pleaded guilty to one offence of fly-tipping. She was fined £312 by York Magistrates (3 December 2019) and ordered to pay costs of £286 and a surcharge of £32.

Tom Brittain Assistant Director for Housing and Community Safety at City of York Council, said: “We offer plentiful advice to residents on how to dispose of waste lawfully and safely and, as this and other cases show, we will take action when people fly-tip.

“It is important that rubbish is put out for collection as directed by the council. If you are unsure of your collection days, you can check at www.york.gov.uk/RefuseLookup or by calling us on 01904 551550.

“Residents can also take waste to our household waste recycling centres – see www.york.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling – or arrange for the council to collect it via www.york.gov.uk/BulkyWaste.”

Post bank holiday clean up needed!

There was a disappointing amount of litter lying around in some neighbourhoods today. We’ve reported over 20 issues to the Council

As well as litter, these included weed growth, hedges blocking footpaths and dumping.

Litter was particularly bad on Chesney’s Field while a hedge overgrowing from Hob Moor is now obstructing Kingsway West.

We are told that the Council will be making a statement about the failed weed control contract within the next few days.

Problems with litter, weeds, overgrown hedges, dumping etc. These were in the Foxwood area.

Fly tipping

York Council “doesn’t know” clean up costs

A York Councillor has been told, in a response to a Freedom of Information request, that it doesn’t know what the cost of clearing fly tipping in the City is.

284 cases of fly tipping have been reported in the last month. Guildhall, Micklegate, Westfield and Holgate wards worst affected.

The Councillor claims that new charges and access restrictions to the City’s recycling centres are resulting in more fly tipping.

There are certainly issues to be addressed in both east and west York.

West York
East York