Future of Willow House site

Residents are being invited to start a “conversation” about plans for the Willow House site next to the Bar Walls.

It is the first sign of activity by the Council on a property which has been empty and unused for over 5 years. Together with the former Oakhaven care home in Acomb, it is one of the Councils major ongoing embarrassments.

News that any redevelopment planning application will not be ready for over 12 months will just add to residents frustrations.

Given the value of the site (over £3 million), it is a surprise that the Council are going to seek to redevelop the site itself using its “Shape Homes” front organisation.

The Council says, “The first drop-in event on the site of the former Willow House on Walmgate, will start sharing ideas between residents and architects from Stirling Prize-winners Mikhail Riches. This will include asking residents about the area and what they would want from new homes and open spaces.

It is hoped that the site which was an outdated care home can be added to the council’s ambitious Housing Delivery Programme. The programme will deliver 600 homes with twice the number of affordable homes required by planning and built to be highly energy efficient.

This will be the first of a series of three resident consultation events for this site, the same approach as was used successfully on other Housing Delivery Programme sites at Duncombe Barracks, Burnholme and Ordnance Lane”.

The drop-in event will take place on 29 June from 4-7pm on the green next to Walmgate Bar. Residents can also join a walk around the site at 5pm. In the autumn, we’ll invite residents to a hands-on design workshop with the team and, early in the new year, we will also organise a local exhibition and an online survey on the plans to date. A full planning application is planned to be submitted by summer 2022.

Barbican site

Meanwhile, just over the road from Willow House, the long term empty building site next to the Barbican has apparently been occupied by squatters. Whether this improves the appearance of one of York’s biggest eyesores – and missed opportunities – remains to be seen.

Certainly, according to media reports, the protestors have a very naïve view of what can be achieved using the Council’s compulsory purchase powers.

Yet fundamentally they are right. Persimmons – the owners – have consistently failed to explain why they haven’t developed what is a valuable prime site. Their position is doubly confusing when judged against a background of continuing heavy demand for city centre properties in the City.

They have exacerbated the problem by failing to keep the area tidy.

We doubt that the York Council would do any better – they have left too many of their own properties vacant in the City (see above) to able to preach.

There may be a germ of an good idea, though, if a “Friends of Barbican Park” group could take over the maintenance of the area. At least in the short term, it has potential to be a welcome “natural area” in what otherwise is a largely concrete enclave.

Certainly those who walk the City Walls would appreciate an improved view.

Lowfields “public service building” future to be decided

The Council is set to allocate a plot on its Lowfields development for new residential facilities for people with learning difficulties.

The Councils “forward plan” summaries a proposal which would see “specialist accommodation built for 6 adults with a learning disability who have dementia and 6 other adults.

In addition to the 12 units, there will be up to 6 cluster flats for the first steps into independent living. The building of these units will enable a pathway through specialist supported accommodation for adults with a learning disability.

There will be staff on site 24/7.

The proposed site for this specialist accommodation is the Public Service Plot at Lowfield Green”.

The Councils Executive will be asked, at a meeting which is being held on on 24th June, to agree the specialist accommodation, the procurement of a housing provider to build the accommodation and a support provider to deliver the care and support element.

*The public service building is located near to the Dijon Avenue entrance to the site*

The public building was originally advertised as the location for a health centre and police station. After planning permission was granted, the Council jettisoned both of those proposed uses.

*This is the original plan for the site published by the Council in 2017*

The action group operating in the area is currently concerned about the dust and noise emanating from the site.

They are also anxious that the promised 3 year delivery timetable for the whole project will be extended with disruption continuing for several more years.

At least the plan to provide more specialist housing will remove one of the unknowns from the development plan.

Good news for key workers seeking a home

But media story on Council house sales was misleading

The York Council is offering first refusal to key workers on one of its housing development sites (see box).

They are right to do so.

The eight homes can be reserved by key workers who meet the Government criteria (the definition of which is drawn fairly wide) and who are eligible for the Help To Buy scheme.

The advertising blurb is misleading of course.

There will be no “abundant outside space” at Lowfields as the adjacent playing fields are also being built on. Such open space as is planned, is unlikely to be landscaped for several years as sections of the development, including public service buildings, elderly persons accommodation, communal housing, and playgrounds, have yet to leave the drawing board.

The development has however avoided some of the eccentricities seen elsewhere in the Council’s house building programme.

At Duncombe, and in Burnholme, car parking is restricted to fewer spaces than there are properties, with the Council urging people to use a “cargo bike” to get the weekly shop in!

The change in shopping habits, with more people now shopping on-line, hasn’t been recognised with no delivery lockers included in design specifications.

Similarly, at Lowfields ,the option for purchasers to have a living boundary hedge (rather than a close boarded fence) is still is not on offer.

Still success looks likely against the background of a very buoyant housing market in the city at present. Sales should provide the income necessary to cross subsidise the Council house building element of the programme.

What may irk the Council is misleading stories like the one that appeared in the commercial media on Friday which highlighted that “right to buy” (RTB) sales exceeded the provision of new Council houses last year.

That has been the position virtually every year for half a century with successive governments maintaining the RTB policy.

The only disagreement between the Tories and Labour has been on the level of discounts to be offered.

Against the background caused by the pandemic, there will in any event be some delays in building replacements.

It is only relatively recently, that central government even allowed local authorities to reinvest the sales income to provide replacement properties for rent. The Council started purchasing replacements on the open market as recently as 10 years ago, although even this was resisted by some York Councillors.

We don’t believe that local authorities should be restricted in how much of their RTB receipts they can use to provide replacement homes.

Within the last few days, the government has announced further changes. In future, 40% of right to buy income can be used to provide replacement homes while receipts must be spent within 5 years (rather than 3) .

But the current Council deserves credit for getting the Council house building programme going again.

Providing good quality homes to rent with high insulation values, and hence lower running costs, is a significant step forward

Such progress should be recognised by the media, commentators, and pressure groups.

Free attic room insulation for eligible Clifton ward residents

Image result for attic insulation images

People with attic rooms living in the Clifton area of York are being encouraged to check their eligibility for free energy-efficient insulation following recent funding secured by the council.

If successful in Clifton, the council hopes to open the scheme to other areas of York.

The council received £300,000 from the Government to run the Home Upgrade Grant scheme, which targets homes with cold attic rooms with the aim of making the homes warmer, improving energy efficiency and helping reduce fuel bills.

The work is being arranged by Better Homes Yorkshire, on behalf of the council, with work carried out by Eclipse Energy. The work takes around two weeks to complete and involves the installation of insulation boarding to the walls and ceilings to keep the warmth in and the cold out. Following insulation, the room will be plastered and decorated in white to finish.

The council’s funding will be used to support residents with a joint annual income of £30,000 or less who live in homes with low levels of energy efficiency (those with Energy Performance Certificate band ratings of D, E, F and G).

To find out more about the scheme and to see if you’re eligible, please contact Eclipse Energy directly at 0800 8789187 or email northyorks@eclipseenergy.co.uk . More about energy efficient schemes in York is at www.york.gov.uk/HUG

House sales buoyant in York but uncertain future

It seems that the unmet demand for new homes – which built up during lockdown – has resulted in high demand and rising prices in York. The City has been named as one of “the” places to live in a succession of media surveys and that is one of the reasons for some sections of the housing market – in some neighbourhoods – are seeing a lot of activity.

It is a market that the York Council may be eager to exploit. It has several new developments in the pipeline including the huge York Central site, Duncombe Barracks, Castle Mills, Lowfields and the Burnholme Hub.

The latter two illustrate some of the challenges.

Lowfields

Neighbours of the Lowfield Green site have never been happy with what they view as an overdevelopment. A sports field will be built on without any compensatory public open space being provided.

But it is the pace of development, which is one of the current major concerns.

An FOI response has revealed that the Yorspace communal housing group have still not completed the purchase of their allocated plot (located in the south east corner of the development).

The site was used as a location for a spoil heap for about six months and the subsequent removal of this remains the only work completed in the immediate area.

Residents were promised that – from start to completion – the project would take a maximum of 3 years. A long time to suffer the drone of nearby heavy plant and increased traffic, but nevertheless the promise provided light at the end of the tunnel for neighbours.

It is 18 months since the builders arrived. So far there has been no progress on providing any community facilities or the promised retirement home.

Prospective purchasers are likely to be discouraged by the prospect of living on a building site for several more years.

More information can be found on the residents action group Facebook page

Burnholme

See the source image A similar situation could arise at Burnholme. As explained last week, a planning application for this development will be determined on Wednesday.

The background has changed over recent days with anti-social behaviour problems escalating at the nearby Derwenthorpe development and within the Burnholme Hub itself.

We understand that the library has been a recent target for vandals.

All in all, that suggests a rethink of security across the whole neighbourhood is needed.

Expecting new residents to park their cars at remote locations simply adds to the risks.

Consultation starts on licensing smaller Houses in Multiple Occupation

Following approval by the council’s executive, the council is starting a consultation on extending licensing to a further 2,000, smaller Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

Views on this are being sought from tenants, landlords and partner organisations. Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are shared homes, and include houses and flat shares, student homes and bedsits.

A 10-week consultation is starting on a new licensing scheme to improve the quality of some of York’s less well-managed privately-rented homes.

Extending licensing arrangements for HMOs with three or four occupants would ensure a safer, better-managed and even more professionally run private rented sector. This work would focus on Hull Road, Guildhall, Clifton, Fishergate, Heworth, Micklegate, Osbaldwick & Derwent; and Fulford & Heslington wards. Landlords would benefit from a level playing field, and be offered additional training in property management which would improve the quality and value of the property and encourage tenants to stay longer.

The consultation will run from 16 April to 27 June 2021 at www.york.gov.uk/HMOConsultation

Muddled thinking on new Burnholme development?

A planning application for an 83-home development at Burnholme are set to be approved by the Council planning committee. The application is from the Council itself. It is high density and has been criticised by the Council’s own highways team who believe that the layout will hinder waste collection activities and exacerbate parking problems across a wide area.

Other major criticisms relate to a lack of car parking space and security. There is less than one space per home although experience elsewhere suggests that, at least, the 33 three and four bedroomed homes will house 2 or more car owners. Parking space permits would be allocated annually (maximum one per house).

Bizarrely only 4 of the parking spaces will have electric vehicle charging points although the development is supposed to be a model of self-sufficiency.

The terraced housing will have communal back lanes. Similar social experiments over the years have failed when occupants turned out to have different lifestyle choices than those envisaged by the scheme designers.

The homes are likely to be expensive to buy but have the advantage of low running costs due to high insulation standards.

At this development the Council seem to be edging towards supporting the option of living hedge boundaries – a choice their Shape housing company denies potential occupants of the Lowfields development.

Of the 83 homes 16 would be for Social Rent and 16 would be Shared Ownership. There are 5 self-build plots.

Just how many people are actually prepared to pay £300,000 for a home incorporating a folksy requirement to shop using a cargo bike plus cheek by jowl living with near neighbours remains to be seen.

Does high density development have a post pandemic future?

Developers have submitted their final proposals for building on the remaining plot on Hungate.

The latest planning application would see an increase in the number of flats proposed from 169 to 226. No on-site parking will be provided. There will be some ground floor retail units.

The announcement comes hard on the heels of a planning application which would see 211 apartments constructed on Rougier Street.

While a lot of people will be pleased to see the Hungate development – which started over 10 years ago – completed, there will be some scepticism about the number of apartments being provided on a relatively small site.

The lockdown restrictions have highlighted the need for access to safe open space. Unfortunately land values – established during a very different economic climate – make the provision of the alternative to flats – terraced homes with private gardens – financially challenging.

Barbican Road development site

This may be why the City center’s worst eyesore continues to lie empty and abused.

The site at the junction of Barbican Road and Paragon Street has been derelict for more than a decade. Originally intended for use as a student block, it has failed to attract serious developer interest.

Now it provides an embarrassing backdrop to the historic City Walls.

Perimeter hoardings now covered in graffiti.

Directly opposite – on the other side of the Walls – is the Willow House former elderly persons home which has been unused for over 4 years. The Council has still not responded to calls for the building to be used as temporary accommodation for the homeless.

The York Council itself is planning to build hundreds of apartments on the York Central site as well as at Castle Mills.

The next year will tell us how many people want to occupy small flats in high density city centre developments.

Post pandemic, we suspect that the option might be losing some of its appeal.

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.

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.

House building moving ahead in Westfield

Work on two house building sites in the Westfield area is continuing despite the problems with COVID and, more recently, wet weather.

On Gale Lane the much delayed redevelopment of a site opposite the end of Cornlands Road is now underway. The site had been the subject of several different planning applications over the years.

Elsewhere a further infill development is underway on Green Lane

The Green Lane site is close to the location of the bungalows which are due to be built on the Lowfields Site