Covid-19 testing extended at Acorn Rugby Club

With infection rates remaining at a high level in the west of the city, City of York Council has announced that the symptom-free Covid-19 testing that has been available at Acorn Rugby Club on Thanet Road for the past week is to be extended.

So far around 1,000 tests have been carried out and to offer more people the chance to get tested, the site will be open on Thursday 14 January and then from Saturday 16 January and Wednesday 20 January inclusive with the same opening times as before (9am-3pm).

It is not a ‘drive-through’ site, so you can attend on foot. Testing can be undertaken on anyone aged 5 and over.

1 in 3 cases of Covid-19 have no symptoms and people can spread the virus without knowing it to those who may have a more serious illness as a result of catching it. Finding these symptom-free cases will help to reduce rates in the coming weeks.

You can book a test by visiting www.nhs.uk/Coronavirus or calling 119 and selecting the option that you were asked to attend by your local council.

On the website you may find that Acorn Rugby Club doesn’t appear as a testing site to choose. This happens most afternoons. If Acorn doesn’t appear on the list, please try again after 6.30pm when the testing slots for Acorn are usually released for the following day.

Thanks for your support.

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe residents invited to get a Covid test

In recent days there has been a spike in the number of Coronavirus cases in the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, and particularly in the Woodthorpe and Acomb Park area. In response, City of York Council is offering residents the chance to get a symptom-free test.

1 in 3 cases of Coronavirus have no symptoms but for some catching Coronavirus can have serious consequences. To help stop the spread, residents in Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward are invited to get a test. A testing site has been set up at York Acorn Rugby Club, Thanet Road, YO24 2NW. This site will be open from Wednesday 6th to Wednesday 13th January inclusive, between 9am and 3pm.

How it works

Book to have a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.  Please note that the Department for Health & Social Care will release booking slots later today (5th) for the morning of Wednesday 6th January, and will release afternoon slots on the morning of the 6th.

On this website select that you do not have symptoms of Coronavirus, but in the relevant section choose the option ‘my local council or health protection team has asked me to get a test even though I don’t have symptoms’.  Then select the site at York Acorn Rugby Club.  Testing can be undertaken on anyone aged 5 and over. It is not recommended that you are tested if you have tested positive in the previous 90 days. Ring 119 if you are not able to book online.

If you have symptoms of Coronavirus please do not attend this site, instead book a test through www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119 and select the Poppleton Bar site or a home testing kit.

Getting your results

You should get your results within 24-48 hours of your test.

If you receive a negative test result you can continue as you were.

Remember:

  • a negative test result provides information about the level of the virus at one point in time
  • it’s possible to become infected in the hours or days after taking a rapid test – so you must continue to follow government guidance on social distancing, good hand hygiene, and practice ‘Hands, Face, Space’
  • this type of testing will only be effective if people continue to follow the guidance

Positive test results

If you receive a positive test result you must self-isolate for 10 days.

Covid-19 rates continue to rise

The data for the seven days ending on 28th December show Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise, with Woodthorpe & Acomb Park having a rolling rate of 845.6 cases per 100,000 population, the highest in York.

These figures pre-date York being moved from Tier 2 into Tier 3 – it is to be hoped that the tighter restrictions will help to bring the case rate down.

The Government’s interactive Covid map is available HERE

It will of course continue to be vital that residents continue to follow the Hands / Face / Space mantra, and adhere to the Tier 3 restrictions summarised on the posters below.

Rail engineering work in the Dringhouses area

Network Rail have announced plans for engineering work to be carried out on the railway as it passes through Dringhouses on 13 and 20 December, and 25 December to 27 December.

The work, which will take place during the day and night, is to survey and adjust the existing overhead line equipment, as part of the electrification of the line from York to Church Fenton.

Members of the community are invited to attend an online information session from 18:30 to 19:30 on Thursday 10 December. Members of the project team will be there to explain the work in more detail and answer any questions. To join the meeting on Thursday, please click HERE

The work will require the use hand tools and track access platforms. Steps will be taken to avoid noise, but this may still produce a level of noise disturbance for those who live close to the railway. Much of this work can only be carried out when the line is closed over the Christmas period, hence the timing.

Network Rail have produced a ‘Work Tracker’ newsletter, which explains more about the work being done along the line. It can be downloaded HERE

Bigger Bin Boost – Updated

In response to suggestions from residents, a number of dog waste bins around Dringhouses & Woodthorpe have been ‘upgraded’ to dual use litter and dog waste bins.

There have been issues in recent months with dog waste bins quickly becoming full and needing to be emptied much more frequently. Hopefully the extra capacity that the new bins provide, along with regular emptying, will prevent a repeat of the overflowing bin issues that we have seen of late.

Dual use bins have been installed at the Ashbourne Way entrance to Acomb Wood (pictured below) and on Little Hob Moor at the fork in the path by the allotments and near to the exit onto Hob Moor Terrace.

Ashbourne Way
Little Hob Moor

Another improvement has been made at the Summerfield Road entrance to Woodthorpe Green, where some slabs have been laid to create a mud-free route for people to use to get the bin located there. Initially there was a muddy gap between the path and the new slabs, but council workers soon returned to finish the job.

Woodthorpe Green

Ward funding decisions published

In September, Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Ward invited bids for a second round of 2020/21 ward funding. Applicants were asked to demonstrate how their projects would meet the ward priorities.

The applications were discussed at a Zoom meeting of members of the Ward Team, which helped to inform the decisions made by the ward councillors. Details of the grants awarded have now been published by City of York Council HERE.

  • St Edward the Confessor Church : £450 for wall-mounted hand sanitiser dispensers
  • Friends of Dringhouses Library: £450 for a water heater to provide hot water to the sink in the toilet
  • Friends of Chapmans Pond: £3,600 for tree work around pond, improvements to angling pegs for disabled users, improvements to path, re-establishment of damaged banksides
  • Dringhouses Scout Group: £176 for first aid kits
  • Woodthorpe York Community Group: £1,628 for three benches to be installed around Woodthorpe
  • New Visuality: £1,670 for a ‘Past, Present & Future’ creativity project involving pupils from Dringhouses and Woodthorpe primary schools
  • York City Knights Foundation: £500 for community outreach work designed to help tackle loneliness and isolation
  • Dementia Yorkshire: £250 for activity parcels for specific local residents, including individuals living with dementia and residents who are feeling lonely and isolated.

In addition, £1,740 is being invested in the establishment of a Cold Calling Controlled Zone covering 105 properties on Ainsty Grove, Ainsty Avenue, North Eastern Terrace and Mayfield Grove. This is in response to recent doorstep incidents.

Bus shelter revamps get underway

A number of bus shelters around Dringhouses & Woodthorpe are getting a much needed revamp.

Shelters are being rubbed down and given a fresh coat of paint. The perspex panels at some shelters – such as on Moor Lane near the junction with Moorcroft Road – are being replaced. This will hopefully make it easier for people inside the shelter to see the bus coming!

The shelters being re-painted are listed below:

  • Alness Drive
  • Moor Lane
  • Moorcroft Road
  • Ryecroft Avenue
  • Tadcaster Road – The Horseshoe
  • Tadcaster Road – St Edwards Church

Volunteer effort keeps ditches clear

The efforts of a local volunteer, Michael, are helping to keep drainage ditches in Acomb Wood clear of vegetation.

After periods of heavy rain the ditches through Acomb Wood between Girvan Close and Alness Drive often fill up, and so keeping them clear boosts their capacity and reduces the flood risk to nearby properties.

As well as clearing the ditches of vegetation and leaves, Michael also maintains and improves the area alongside the path through the wood that links Acomb Wood Drive with Alness Drive.

Cllr Stephen Fenton said “For many years Michael has spent a huge amount of his own time maintaining and improving this area for residents to enjoy, His ditch clearing work is particularly important in reducing the risk of surface water flooding.

“Many hands make light work, so it would be great if other local residents could volunteer as much or as little time as they have to help keep our green open spaces in good condition. If anyone can help, please get in touch with me on 787988.”

New bench for Woodthorpe Green

In response to requests from residents, local councillors have arranged for a bench to be installed outside the Woodthorpe Green playground, funded through the ward budget.

Since lockdown began, walking around Woodthorpe has become a more popular pastime, and for some residents the opportunity to take a rest is much appreciated. This led to calls for more benches to be installed, and the Woodthorpe Community Group is now consulting residents on other possible locations.

The bench outside the playground will also be a benefit for parents or carers whose children use the playground but who have had to stand outside if they have a dog. The bench will enable the parent or carer to have a sit down and keep an eye on the kids in the playgrounds.

The next local improvement being funded by the ward budget is the resurfacing of the uneven and badly potholed path across the Green between Summerfield Road and Glenridding.