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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40 Barkston Avenue York YO26
5DJ
Proposal Erection of single storey extension extending 3.850
metres beyond the rear wall of the original house, with a height to the eaves
of 2.450 metres and a total height of 2.450 metres
The York Council is being urged to get on with patching works on roads which are already damaged. Failure to act soon could result in the surfaces breaking up as frost takes its toll.
The Council are making good progress on the large resurfacing job on Gale Lane which should be finished by the end of the week
With winter settling in, and leaves filling gutters and paths, we’ve had a look back at some roads that were subject to complaints about weed growth earlier in the summer.
Sadly in some cases the weeds are still there. The Council will need to use mechanical means to remove the remaining growth.
The weed and grass growth is mainly in drainage gullies but some paths are still obstructed.
Erection of single storey extension
extending 4.464 metres beyond the rear wall of the original house, with a
height to the eaves of 2.5 metres and a total height of 3.5 metres.
These applications refer mainly to Health and Safety plans. In addition they indicate the phasing of the development, location of site compound/car parking and proposed access routes. (see drawings below)
After several stable years, we have seen some criticism recently of some bus services in the City. Changes to the number 12 service were poorly publicised following a late decision by the York Council to step in and save part of the service
Passengers in west York have criticised for a long time the lack of “real time” bus arrival information screens in the area.
Bus reliability stats, provided by tracking technology, are not shared with passengers, although a “one off” sample survey – due to be conducted in a few days time – does produce a snap shot of reliability.
One area that the York Council can help passengers with is the “bus stop experience”.
Unfortunately bus shelters, provided by the Council around 10 years ago, are now looking distinctly shabby.
The York council plans a £250,000 make-over of playgrounds in York. Their plans will be discussed at a meeting next week. The initiative is welcome, but the timetable produced means that improvements in our parks will not be evident until late next year.
Standards in many parks and playgrounds have declined in recent years. They have been an easy target for Council expenditure cuts. As a result, it has been left to volunteers to undertake minor refurbishment work while items of broken equipment have often remained unusable for months on end.
The Liberal Democrats – who are now part of the leadership of the Council – advocated for many years that at least one piece of equipment at each major playground should be renewed each year. This would have ensured that there was something novel to engage children’s interest on a regular basis while avoiding the whole-scale decline, and eventual expensive renewal, of complete play areas. This approach seems set to be abandoned by the new Council leadership.
We agree with the report, which has been written by officials, when it says “Whilst the number and geographical spread of equipped playgrounds is therefore generally good, their play value is more varied. This reflects their age and sporadic local and national investment that has been available”.
The report promises an “audit” of all playgrounds with a view to identifying “urgent investment needs e.g. replacement swings, seats, surfacing repairs”. The budget for this work will be £150,000. Thereport lists the qualifying play areas but omits some such as the one in Dickson Park on Tedder Road.
More controversial, is an allocation of £100,000 as a “challenge fund” for larger refurbishment schemes. One feature of these is that matching funding will be expected from parishes or social housing providers. In theory the fund will be available in non parished areas but the examples of fund raising quoted in the report (Poppleton, West Bank Park) refer to typical “Middle England” neighbourhoods where fund raising for new amenities is relatively easy.
It’s potentially bad news for areas like Westfield (the statistically poorest part of the City) which also has a high proportion of under 16’s in its population
The area has suffered badly as a result of recent Council decisions which have seen the removal of open spaces, sports facilities and the multi user games area at Kingsway West and Lowfields.
It seems that it may also be last in the queue for improved
play facilities.