Good weather in York has encouraged walkers and cyclists to take advantage of local open spaces.
The Knavesmire has been popular with walkers while the Millennium Bridge and Rowntree park were very busy today.
Most of the leaves are off the trees now. A lot of clearing up still to do in some areas
The government has launched a welcome initiative this week aimed at encouraging more active lifestyles. There has been a lot of support for cycling as a way of keeping fit and losing weight. That is very welcome and we hope that it soon translates into a Council initiative aimed at improving maintenance standards on off road cycle paths, many of which are in poor condition in York.
Less attention has been paid to leisure walking – an option open to virtually everyone.
There has been renewed interest in the use of local Public Rights of Way (PROW) as residents sought to follow daily – social distance – exercising guidelines. The route across Acomb Moor to Acomb Wood became more popular. A local bulletin board has seen several people criticise the farmer who blocked off all entrances to the moor before ploughing it.
Access to Acomb Moor blocked
While the owner is entitled to cultivate his land, he should not have blocked the Foxwood Lane access at least while the current PROW application is being actively considered. We have asked the public rights of way officer to intervene.
More needs to be done to enhance and improve access to the natural environment at least on the west of the City.
The Councils own annual survey of opinion revealed that 44% of panellists thought that the Council was not doing well at improving green spaces.
59% thought that the Council wasn’t doing well at reducing air pollution.
The Council planted 515 trees last year. It had previously claimed that it would plant “50,000 trees by 2023”. It had also promised to expand the City’s strays and introduce more wildflower meadows in an attempt to encourage pollinators.
We understand that a report will be considered by the Council in August which will set out proposals to acquire land which will enable the creation of a “large new area of woodland in close proximity to the city to provide green amenity space for residents and plant trees that will contribute to the council’s commitment to become net carbon neutral by 2030”.
There has to be balance. The country does need to be more self sufficient in food production, so the retention of good quality agricultural land is also important.
However, the creation of a country park on land near Askham Lane would be a welcome step forward. It has been a vision for several years. It would allow hedgerows to be re-established and PROWs to be maintained in good condition.
It would also provide some compensation for the sports and leisure land lost through recent developments in the area.
It only now remains to be seen whether Councillors have the drive and determination to deliver on their promises.
Only 29% of York residents feel that they can influence decisions in their local area. 91% however feel is important that they should be able to influence their local area.
The paradox is revealed in the latest set of performance indicators published by the Council. They outturn figures for the last there financial years.
Another perhaps significant finding is that only 31% of the members of a residents “talkabout” panel “speak positively about the Council”; 28% speak “negatively”.
However, 52% agreed that the Council treated them “fairly and with respect”.
The figures predate most of the lockdown period.
Highways England removed the carcass of the dead badger from the A64 yesterday. The response was very swift.
There is still too much dog fouling going on in parts of York. Owners who do not clean up after their pets can face an on the spot fine of £75. This could be increased to £1000 if the case goes to a magistrates court.
You can report a fouled footpath by clicking here
If you spot a full poop scoop bin it can be reported via this link
The Council says, “If a dog bin is full or overflowing, we’ll empty it within 2 hours. If we get your report after 3.00pm, then the dog bin will be emptied before 10.00am the following working day.
If a bin is damaged or missing we’ll repair or replace it as soon as possible”.
Residents from the Huntington and Heworth areas have added their voices to the criticisms of the Council’s performance in keeping local streets clean and tidy. Although, like Woodthorpe on the west of the City, some streets in Huntington appear to have been well swept, they are outnumbered by those where even basic weed clearance has not taken place this summer.
One again it is the main entry roads into the City which are most neglected. It presents a poor image for visitors
A report is now being taken to the council’s Executive to provide an update on the next steps to progress the climate change action plan.
Following the climate emergency declaration, a new cross-party climate change policy and scrutiny committee was created to help develop the climate change action plan. Its first meeting will take place in September (and every other month after that).
The council is in the process of recruiting officers to two new posts to address sustainability and climate change to support on this work.
A report detailing the next steps will be taken to a public Executive meeting on Thursday 29 August.
York has a strong history of taking the lead on reducing carbon useage, including:
The project was touted as being integral to the consultations still taking place on the future of the “Castle Gateway” area.
That is the consultation which started off in an exemplary and inclusive way but which is now disappearing into a mass of self-contradictions and public agonising.
Projecting artwork images onto Clifford’s Tower will tell us little more than we already know.
So, what could £40,000 buy that might make a bigger, and probably more sustained, difference to the York visitor economy?
The answer may lie in what you see when you look out of a train window when approaching the City. The Minster dominates the skyline but lower down we have a different picture. We have our fair share of graffiti and weed infested public spaces.
It affects the image of the City and gives an impression of neglect.
The priority given to environmental crime by the Council can be seen in a report that its executive will receive next week. It reviews the successes and failures of the last year.
Littering and dog fouling don’t merit a mention. Prosecutions for those offences are rare
The number of graffiti cases does get a passing mention. There has been a recent upward trend in reports. N
o information is provided on the number of successful prosecutions.
It seems that people may have stopped reporting issues because the Council refuses to address those that are on “private property”. This includes boundary walls and telecoms junction cabinets. The real impact is probably much greater than the authorities will currently admit.
Some Councillors commendably are taking local initiatives.
In Dringhouses Cllr Stephen Fenton has been out with a graffiti removal kit.
Independent Councillor Mark Warters has called for the owners of street cabinets (companies like Virgin Media) to be more systematic in getting graffiti removed quickly.
The new LibDem administration has promised to reinstate the Street Environment Officer system which worked well during the last decade when dealing with environmental crime issues.
All these initiatives are welcome.
However, an initial clean-up of all graffiti in the City followed by the deployment of camera surveillance to identify any repeat offenders would be a good way to invest any LCR funds which may be available.
