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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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

Reference           19/02326/LHE

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

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

Too many potholed roads in York.

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.

Kingswood Grove
Uneven carriageway on Queenswood Grove

The Council are making good progress on the large resurfacing job on Gale Lane which should be finished by the end of the week

Some streets missed again from weed control programme

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.

Weed growth and leaves in Queenswood Grove gutters
There has been a long term problem with these weeds which obstruct part of the Windsor Garth footpath

Latest planning application for the Westfield Ward

 Below are the latest planning application received by the York Council for the Westfield ward. 

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference 

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88 Wetherby Road Acomb York YO26 5BY

Proposal              Erection of detached outbuilding to rear to form part store/home gym

Reference           19/02311/FUL

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

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

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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Cornlands Road York

Removal of public payphone (outside the shops on Cornlands Road) 

Ref. No: 19/02322/TCNOT 

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60 Cornlands Road York YO24 3EA

Two storey side extension and single storey front extension with porch. 

Ref. No: 19/02257/FUL 

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

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

Latest planning application for the Westfield Ward

 Below is the latest planning application received by the York Council for the Westfield ward. 

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference 

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Hob Moor Community Primary School Green Lane Acomb York YO24 4PS

Proposal              Conditions 8, 10 and 11 of 18/01475/GRG3

Reference           AOD/19/00347

NB. An archaeological survey. Mainly relates to Ridge and Furrow farming methods in the area

Ridge and Furrow location

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

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

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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Rivington House 3 Ridgeway York YO26 5DA

Single storey side extension to extend existing garage to front 

Ref. No: 19/02086/FUL 

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24 Kir Crescent York YO24 3DF

Conditions 3 and 6 of 17/01440/FUL 

Ref. No: AOD/19/00335 

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Hop And Glory Ltd 43 Front Street York YO24 3BR

Change of use of retail unit (Use Class A1) to cafe (Use Class A3) with associated works 

Ref. No: 19/02075/FUL 

Hop and Glory to become cafe

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63 Beaconsfield Street York YO24 4NB

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. 

Ref. No: 19/01707/LHE 

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Former Lowfield School Dijon Avenue York

Conditions 4, 15, 17, 18, 22 and 29 of 17/02428/FULM 

Ref. No: AOD/19/00334 

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)

Access routes

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

NB. The Council now no longer routinely consults neighbours by letter when an application is received

Action needed, Action taken

Mixed outlook on several outstanding public service issues in west York

We’ve reported a broken utility sign at the top of Grange Lane
Exposed cables have been tied to street signs in Milner Street for several weeks now.
Graffiti and litter continue to blight the Grange Lane snickets
We’ve suggested that hard core be used to make footpaths in the Grange Lane Westfield Park usable in wet weather
New record holder for the largest weed award. This 3 metre monster in Dijon Avenue next to a telegraph pole.
Loose rubbish continues to blight the rear of Front Street
Overgrown snicket on Gale Lane becoming a crime concern. We”ve asked the Ward Councillors to act.
Reported yet again litter, detritus and weeds on the Tithe Close snicket. Issue recorded by the Council as “solved” Clearly not!
Weeds flourishing on Hotham Avenue
….and Foxwood Lane
….and School Street

….But weeds cleared from Dijon Avenue garage area by Council. Now looks very tidy.

Do bus passengers get a fair deal in York?

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 Foxwood Lane bus shelter has been re-purposed as an Arboretum. Weeds dangle from the gutters, and strangle the interior. The shelter is never cleaned, the perspex is opaque and the paint continues to peal.
The nearby shelter on Askham Lane is no better. At least the sight lines from the shelter are better this year as the Council actually cut part of the adjacent hedge in the spring. You can just about still see if a bus is on its way. Unfortunately they didn’t trim the hedge at the back of the shelter making cleaning and routine maintenance impossible. It is now very scruffy.
At least the weeds are held at bay on this Windsor Garth shelter. But it is rusting badly and also sports opaque windows.

York playgrounds to get overdue refurbishment

…but there is a catch

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.

Many of York’s playgrounds are poorly maintained with litter, weeds and dog fouling common problems

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. The report 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.