Green bin hokey cokey

The Council is now advising residents in the Foxwood area to take back in green bins that weren’t emptied on 13th July.

Previously their web site had said leave them out so that the gangs could do a “catch up”.

We would expect that residents will understand the double pressures faced by the Council as a result of staff vacancies and the “coronavirus pindemic” which must make maintaining public service standards difficult.

However the Council needs to improve its communications. Few customers are likely to browse its bin collection web site on a regular basis (Click below for link)

Waste collection updates – City of York Council

The next scheduled collections, from affected streets, are next Tuesday (27th)

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New Council advice

Really about time the York Council told residents more about its bin emptying problems.

Below is the latest update on waste collection taken from the Councils web site. Waste collection updates – City of York Council

Some green bins have been out on the streets for emptying for a full week in the Foxwood area. They were supposed to be emptied during a “catch up” last Thursday but nothing happened.

It seems that even local Councillors don’t know what is going to happen and when.

While residents will understand if an absence of HGV drivers, or crews being “pinged” by the NHS app, is to blame, they deserve to be told what to do with their bins.

Currently it is the equivalent of a green bin “hokey cokey”.

The Council spends a lot of money on its communications team.

In this case communication systems simply aren’t working.

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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Address       17 Burgess Walk York YO24 3LP

Proposal      Crown reduce by 10% and remove dead wood from Oak tree protected by Tree Preservation Order no. CYC28

Reference   21/01433/TPO

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Representations can be made in favour of, or in objection to, any application via the Planning online web site.  http://planningaccess.york.gov.uk/online-applications/

NB The Council does not routinely consult neighbours by letter when an application is received

Some progress with public service standard improvements in west York

We were pleased to see that some public service in the Westfield area have improved over the last 7 days.

The Council have responded promptly to reports of problems with litter and fly tipping.

Most amenity areas have now had a, long overdue, visit from the mower although the length of the cuttings has itself caused a problem. They will look much tidier if they get a scheduled second cut within the next 3 weeks.

Elsewhere, several of the blocked drainage channels on the Chapelfields estate have been cleaned. These were mainly located on the inside of the traffic build outs.

They need to be swept regularly to avoid a build up of detritus and weeds.

Before and after. Drainage gullies cleared.
Some progress in cleaning channels on Barkston Avenue but but warning post will need to be replaced.

The Front Street shopping area was looking tidier yesterday.

We’re still waiting to learn of the results of the survey into the future of the area. An improvement budget of £1/2 million has been promised.

However, it is good to see that the back lane between Front Street and Beaconsfield Street is currently largely free of weeds and litter.

Beaconsfield Street back lane and Front Street

One remaining issue remains the reliability of the waste collection service. The Council says that it has recruited two new drivers and that this should ease the problem in future.

Time will tell.

That was the week that was in pictures

New COVID restrictions introduced today. Local testing is now available in Foxwood
  • Potholes on Ashford Place
  • Misaligned street sign Ashford Place /Windsor Garth
Reported on Sunday
We’ve asked the Council to speed up the replacement of snicket fencing, vulnerable to vandalism, with more robust railings. These were promised over 2 years ago
Work continues at Lowfields. We’re pressing the Council to allow prospective occupiers to have a choice of a living boundary hedge instead of a close boarded fence. A Freedom of Information request is outstanding. It asks when work on the communal facilities and the Yorspace section of the site is expected to be completed.
We’re urging Council estate managers to keep and eye on garage forecourt areas. These are too often forgotten and are subject to fly tipping.
The first weed control treatment should have taken place by now. We hope that Councillors will keep an eye over the summer on known problem locations such as back lanes and garage areas. Weeds and overgrown hedges are a problem most years

Housing management shambles in York

Standards seem to be slipping in the social housing sector in York with one JRHT tenant seeking crowd funding to repair damage caused by a leaking pipe.

The incident occurred on the Trusts flagship Derwenthorpe estate where the district heating system has proved to be problematic.

Crowd funding appeal following flooding damage

One local source says that the absence of isolating valves at some individual properties means that flooding problems have occurred which might have been avoided.

The incident perhaps points up a potential negative side for those in the forefront of adopting new technologies.

The York Council regards itself as an innovator and is spending huge sums on building “green” homes. While some features (insulation, solar power) are well established and beneficial, others have not been tested for long term durability in varying climatic conditions.

The rather wobbly logic behind the programme might in part be traced to a lack of professional leadership. The Council has not had anyone in charge of its housing operations since the beginning of the year.

A recent appointee to the post gave backword and it remains unclear where responsibility now lies for the day to day management of York’s 8000 strong council housing portfolio.

There are are growing problems in some estates.

In the Foxwood area, seven homes are currently empty. One bungalow was vacated by an older person when they went into a care home 3 years ago. The property has still not been relet even on a temporary basis.

Another bungalow has been undergoing repairs since it was vacated 9 months ago.

Bungalow empty for over 9 months

It also appears that the mistake made last year, of introducing a reactive cleansing service, has reappeared.

During the last lockdown the older “barrowman” approach was reintroduced . Cleaners were responsible for tidying a specific geographical area. There were notable improvements in cleanliness standards.

That system has now apparently been scrapped, with cleaners now only reacting to reports of issues.

Some estate manager posts are unfilled and the Council has failed to update its register of garages which are available to rent.

All in all, an area of concern.

Latest waste service update from York Council

Monday 15 June

We were unable to collect household waste from Granville Terrace in Guildhall due to blocked access. We’ll attempt to collect this waste on Tuesday 16 June. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.

We were unable to collect recycling waste from the following streets in Copmanthorpe and Foxwood, due to operating under COVID-19 restrictions:

  • Drome Road
  • Temple Garth
  • Temple Lane
  • Corlett Court
  • Morrell Court
  • Rodgers Court
  • Vincent Way
  • Walker Drive

We’ll attempt to collect this waste on Tuesday 16 June. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.

We were unable to collect garden waste from Chase Side Court in Dringhouses due to blocked access. We’ll attempt to collect this waste on Tuesday 16 June. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.

We were unable to collect garden waste from a number of properties in the following areas due to capacity issues:

  • Acaster Malbis
  • Copmanthorpe

We’ll attempt to collect this missed garden waste on the evening of Monday 15 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.