York Council promises to treat icy cycle paths…

….but remains inactive on weeds, hedges and other obstructions

The York Council will discuss next week whether to continue a trial which is aimed at removing ice from some cycle paths. A report says that a two tractors operated last winter brushing snow and ice for a small number of off road cycle tracks .

None of these were in the Acomb, Westfield or rural areas.

Cycle paths treated to prevent icing 2019/20

Only a small part of the Tadcaster Road cycle path was treated. “The routes were approximately 18km & 25km long and started and finished at Hazel Court James Street (see map). The service completed 59 runs in total using 9000 litres of pathway KA, the structure friendly non-corrosive solution, and 12000 litres of Probrine, effectively a salt water brine mix”.

The cost of doing the work was £47,000.

According to the report, the City of York Council Cycle Officer says feedback from cyclists can be summarised as “the trial is a vast improvement and that they’d like it extending to other parts of the network which were not included in the trial”.

The winter was (again) relatively mild without sustained periods of sub zero temperatures.

Cyclists in the suburbs and villages will view this report with some scepticism. Once again there seems to have been no objective attempt made to identify the needs of longer distance and leisure cyclists in west York.

Too many off road paths are impeded by weeds, thorn bushes and detritus. Several are now badly rutted. No regular maintenance inspections take place.

The York Council must start taking the needs of all cyclist seriously. Otherwise it will be guilty of posturing.

It should start by increasing the number of inspections that it undertakes.

It should also agree a routine maintenance programme covering sweeping, weed treatment and hedge cutting on off road paths.

It must also acknowledge that periodically it will have to renew notices and refresh white lines. At the moment many of these have just faded away.

Weeds obstruct Tadcaster Road cycle path

Thorn branches are hazard on cycle paths

Detritus on oaths which are not regularly swept

Tree growth causes sight line concerns

It happens every year to a lessor or greater extent, but low level branches (known as epicormic growth) sprout on some trees.

If left untrimmed they can cause sight line problems for drivers and may even obstruct footpaths. We’ve reported several over the weekend.

Weed growth around telegraph poles. The Council usually treats these with weed killer.

Weeds are impeding the disabled access gates at some of the entrances to Hob Moor

Overgrown hedge issues have been reported

Better news elsewhere. Dickson Park is looking very tidy.

While Corlett Court residents have turned their flower beds into a blaze of colour

& the Council have done some grass cutting near Herman Walk

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.

Council back down on garden care scheme plans

The Council is writing to vulnerable tenants telling them that they will continue to get their hedges and lawns trimmed for at least another year.

Earlier in the week, officials had told tenants that they would lose the long standing service, with some being offered £200 compensation in lieu.

Now the housing director has apologised to those affected and confirmed that a more considered review of the service will take place over the next few months. Any changes will be delayed until 2021 at the earliest.

The new letter to tenants still has a patronising tone. It talks about helping the elderly to “enjoy” their gardens. “Volunteers” are still seen as the solution to most problems although many will feel that that particular resource is in danger of becoming overwhelmed.

The letter rather confirms our view that the housing department needs new leadership and with it a commitment to be more open and to consult properly before making decisions.

The key first step is for executive councillors to exert more control over the department and for communication channels with residents associations to be restored.

The garden service is funded from Council house rents. The rent account has a large surplus.

Hedges – A good time to check if they need trimming

There were a lot of problems during the summer with hedges obstructing public paths. In some cases, the obstructions were caused by Council owned trees and bushes. The jury is still out on whether new processes and budget allocations announced earlier this week will result in an improvement during 2020.

Hedges on the boundary of private gardens and the public highway (including foot and cycle paths) are the responsibility of the hedge owner. Home occupiers must ensure that the highway is kept clear of obstructions at all times

Obstructions can be a significant problem for some users. The partially sighted are at a particular risk and cyclists being “swiped” by stray branches can lead to more serious accidents.

In some cases thorn buses like brambles and roses overhang paths representing an added hazard.

Thorn bush branches at eye height are a particular risk

Sadly, like the problems with damage to verges, in recent years the Council has been tardy in ensuring that hedges are cut back from paths. They do have enforcement powers which have been used in the past to force action. In extreme cases hedges have been cut back to the path line after notice periods have expired. The owners were charged for the work.

No such notices have been issued recently.

Of course, some occupiers may not be physically able to cut badly overgrown hedges. It has been suggested that this is a service area that a “not for profit” start-up could usefully exploit. There are already several local gardening companies which offer trimming services.

Even the Councils own cycle tracks were obstructed last summer

With leaves now off trees and hedges, winter is the optimum time to deal with long standing problems. This needs to be done before the start of the bird nesting season.

The Council also has powers to require its tenants to cut garden hedges as do social landlords.

We have advocated for some time the appointment of a paths supervisor who could trim back Council owned hedges and initiate action against irresponsible neighbours who cause obstructions. We hope that the Council will fund such a post in its new budget.

We hope to see some well publicised action from West Offices over the next few weeks.

So what public service standards should we expect in each York neighbourhood?

One interesting side effect of the Council report, on improving graffiti removal processes across the City, has been the re-publication of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) or “Customer Contract” for Council estates. The agreement was last reviewed in 2013 and is one of several SLAs which were agreed for different public service areas across the City.

All references to them were removed from the Council web site several years ago.

The SLAs have never formally been abandoned by the Council, but even a casual glance at some of the requirements (above), reveals failings.

The Council promises to “Publicise the dates of estate inspections on our website” & “conduct an estate inspection every three months and to show you (the tenant) the actions identified and progress with it on our web site”

Tenants will search in vain for such information on the Councils web site.

The Council no longer even publishes the agendas & minutes of resident’s association meetings on its site. Lack of support from the Council, means that many of the listed residents associations have ceased to function.

Although the Council promises to “remove dumped rubbish within 7 days”, proactive cleansing no longer routinely takes place. A mobile “estate worker” reacts only to reported issues. This may explain the lamentable drop off in street cleansing standards in some estates this summer.

Customer satisfaction and KPI stats are not published at an estate level. Most are not routinely shared with residents’ associations.

Good environmental standards on estates require a lot more than litter removal, of course. Many complaints relate to poorly maintained roads, street furniture and anti-social behaviour.

Even when problems like overgrown trees and hedges are identified as an issue the Council fails to take effective action.

Little progress on estate improvements this year

In Foxwood a list of streets where hedges needed cutting back from public footpaths was identified 6 months ago. The estate improvement budget was identified as a source of resources with action to be taken over the winter period, but the work has, apparently, yet to be authorised by ward Councillors.

The Council should review and republish all its SLAs. Performance against target should be reported frankly and regularly at least on social media channels.

That fresh approach needs to start now. It will need the committed and public support of senior managers and executive Councillors

Time to tackle the hedges

We were pleased to here that the JoRo housing team have agreed to trim back hedges from Bellhouse Way near their Woodlands estate. The path there is obstructed as it is further round near The Gallops, although the problem there involves a more hazardous thorn hedge.

Some of the hedges to the rear of Foxwood Lane are also obstructing footpaths.

The Council will be dealing with these issues

JRHT will trim back hedges near their Woodlands estate

Gathering of milk bottles where the slide used to be on the Teal Drive playground. We’ve requested a tidy up

Thorn hedges like this one near The Gallops junction are a safety risk as darker nights approach

Householders are being asked to cut hedges back form public footpaths

With heavy rainfall expected, it is important to report blocked drainage gullies. This is a particular issue at the moment because of increased leaf fall and inadequate weed clearance during the summer months. Blockages can result in localised flooding

Check your hedge!

Council says weed killer being sprayed this week

Some bushes have been cut back from the entrance to the Thanet Road cycle path but tree roots are destroying the surface. The white lines need to be refreshed and the signs on Bellhouse Way also need to be refurbished. (Photos above Thanet Road Cycle track)

Boundary hedge owners are asked to check that, following the recent warm/damp weather, thorn branches are not blocking public paths. The Council says that their contractors have started to spray weed killer on paths but are impeded by the rain. Unfortunately there are now many instances of footpaths and gutters being blocked with weeds. (Photos from top left above, Wordsworth Crescent, Wharfe Drive and Foxwood Lane)

All issues have been reported via the Councils “do it on line” service (click)

Warm weather brings some good news

Lots of people out and about today tidying up their gardens. Hopefully some of the overgrown trees, hedges and weeds obstructing footpaths will be getting attention.

Council workers were clearing two of the flower beds in Corlett Court today. The third central bed has been taken over and is now being maintain by local residents.

The slide on the Teal Drive/Heron Way playground – which was damaged by vandals earlier in the year- has now been removed by the landlords (JRHT). The playground is being reopened for the summer holidays.

Little sign in Vincent Way that the Council’s weed killing programme is having any effect!

We’ve reported several trees in the area which are obstructing public footpaths. If you have a tree in your garden please inspect it regularly to ensure that it is not overhanging neighbouring paths.

Quite a lot of litter around. This has been reported.

Bats and hedgehogs at risk through Council developments

The Council has now published on their web site the comments of their Ecology and Countryside officer on the plan to extend Lincoln Court.

Comments of Council ecology officer March 2019

Contractors are currently ripping out the hedge on the school boundary of the site.

The officer states that a replacement hedge must be provided as part of any redevelopment.

There are also concerns about the displacement of bats.

One item, relating to the movement of small mammals like hedgehogs, will be of particular interest to local residents who are concerned not just about this proposal but also the plans for the nearby Lowfields site.

There a developer (Yorspace) is planning to replace the existing railings with a close boarded fence. Effectively such fences hinder the free movement of hedgehogs

The Ecology officer hasn’t commented on the Lowfield proposal although the wildlife issue has been highlighted by the Lowfields Action Group as part of their objection.