Good news on the way on home improvements?

It seems that good news may be on the way for council tenants in Dringhouses who are waiting for much-needed home improvements.

Tenants were invited to an exhibition at Foxwood Community Centre in July 2022 to select from a range of products and materials to modernise their homes. It had been expected that the improvement works (formerly known as ‘Tenants Choice’) would get underway in the 2022/23 financial year, but this did not happen.

Residents on North Lane, and elsewhere in Dringhouses, have been in the dark about the timing of improvement works

Residents have contacted their local councillors to seek confirmation of when they can expect the work to begin, and Cllr Stephen Fenton has received the following update from the council’s Housing team:

“We have been finalising a procurement exercise to appoint 2 contractors to undertake the works on our Home Improvements Programme (previously named tenants choice) as previous contracts had expired. I am pleased to say that this has concluded and our programme for this year is just about finalised. This will see us make a start on Dringhouses as well as attempt to gain access to the properties which have previously missed out on this work on estates where works have previously been completed. I must stress, not all properties awaiting work or missing out on work previously will commence this year and this is being planned over a number of years. A letter is drafted to send out to all properties in Dringhouses and the list of properties not completed elsewhere to inform them of the approach to the home improvements this year and the names of the contractors appointed and will soon be sent out now the contractors are confirmed.

I understand that expectations may have been raised with an event and there may have been intentions to start before now and if there has been no formal communication to this point, we apologise for that. All tenants affected by works this year will be notified in advance to allow them time to make plans for the works to take place. Once again, I apologise for any lack of effective communication to this point that may have caused distress to anybody living in our properties.”

Stephen has asked for a copy of the letter that is to be sent to residents.

Moor Lane resurfacing dates confirmed

City of York Council has circulated a letter to residents confirming details of the long-awaited resurfacing of the section of Moor Lane between Cairnborrow and Eden Close.

We reported back in March that the then Lib Dem / Green administration had allocated £211,000 for this work.

The Moor Lane road surface has been in a dire state for some time

The letter to residents (copied below) states that there will be a full road closure between 7pm and 2am from Monday 19 June for a period of 10 week nights, weather permitting. It is proposed to stop planing and other activities of a similar noise level by 11pm, however due to the nature of the works, there will still be some noise between 11pm and 2am.

The letter provides no information about what diversions to bus services will be put in place, with the numbers 12 and 14 affected. Cllr Stephen Fenton has asked council officers to provide information on this.

Concern for future of ward-funded activities

Local Liberal Democrat councillors have expressed concern that a ‘ban’ on allocating ward funding could lead to planned summer holiday activities for young people being axed.

Cllr Stephen Fenton at the York Knights session held at York Acorn ARLFC on 30th May

In recent years, Lib Dem councillors in wards across the city have jointly commissioned York Knights Foundation and York City Football Club Foundation to deliver free activity sessions for young people, which also included the provision of drinks and snacks. These sessions are open to all. When the council budget for 2023/24 was passed in February, Lib Dem councillors protected ward funding so that schemes such as these could continue.

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe’s Lib Dem councillors have now been told by council officers that they cannot allocate some of the 2023/24 ward budget to fund activities for young people in the July / August summer holiday period. It is understood that this ‘ban’ has been imposed as the incoming Labour administration plans to propose an ‘emergency’ budget in July, meaning that ward funding is in limbo.

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe councillor Stephen Fenton has called on the new administration to commit to retain the full ward funding allocations agreed in February, so that ward schemes and projects can go ahead.

He said “The summer holiday sessions run by the Knights and York City have been very popular, and at a time when family budgets are stretched, the ability to offer free-of-charge activities is more important than ever. It would be such a shame if we had to axe the planned summer programme because of a ban on allocating the ward funding that was agreed back in February.

“At this time of year, ward councillors would ordinarily be inviting local voluntary and charitable organisations to apply for ward funding to support local projects that benefit the community. It now looks as though we won’t be able to do this, unless there is a commitment from the new administration to protect ward funding.”

Police Commissioner to hold road safety online meeting

North Yorkshire Police, Crime & Fire Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe is to hold an online public meeting on Thursday 25th May on the issue of road safety.

Residents of York and North Yorkshire are invited to join the online meeting which will include allotted time for the Commissioner to ask questions of the Chief Constable that have been sent in by the public.

Questions relating to road safety are encouraged but questions for any area of policing and crime are welcome and should be submitted using the online form on the Commissioner’s website: https://www.northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk/YourVoice/

The purpose of these regular online public meetings is to hold the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police to account for their delivery of the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan, to ensure the force is achieving its objectives and generating positive outcomes in the interests of the public.

The online public meeting will be streamed live on Thursday 25 May at 14:30 and can be accessed via:

  1. Commissioner’s website https://bit.ly/OPM-May-2023
  2. YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vl-EHowLfUdwI3GN-wubw/live
  3. or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/1985748441770374

The meeting will also be recorded and become available to watch on the same channels.

Thank You!

We would like to thank Dringhouses & Woodthorpe residents for their support at the local elections held on 4th May. We look forward to continuing to champion the needs and aspirations of local residents.

The full election result is set out below. The turnout was 40.4%.

CandidatesElectedPartyNumber of votes
Timothy John AshmanNoThe Conservative Party403
Stephen Daniel Fenton YesLiberal Democrats Party2,233
Bronwen GrayNoGreen Party253
John David GrayNoGreen Party192
Clive John HibbertNoThe Conservative Party479
Ginevra Claire HouseNoGreen Party247
Samuel KindNoLabour Party880
Ashley Robert Mason YesLiberal Democrats Party1,955
Kataya McKeever-WillisNoLabour Party828
Bob ScraseNoLabour Party840
David Malcolm StuartNoThe Conservative Party405
Paula Maureen Widdowson YesLiberal Democrats Party2,026

Underpass lighting scheme completed

Lighting has been installed in the Hob Moor underpass, two years after the suggestion was first put forward by local councillors.

In early 2021, in response to feedback from local residents, councillors began to explore options for the installation of lighting to help improve the safety of this well-used route.

Councillors delivered letters to around 600 homes near the Hob Moor underpass to gauge whether there would be support for installing lighting. The vast majority of respondents were supportive. Many people said that if the underpass were lit they would feel safer using it, though a small number of respondents
expressed concerns about anti-social behaviour.

Council officers then liaised with Network Rail to scope out and cost the scheme, which has now finally come to fruition.

Cllr Paula Widdowson commented “I am very grateful to council and Network Rail staff for their persistence in bringing this scheme to life. As a ward team, acting on residents’ suggestions is our priority, and so it is pleasing that we have been able to deliver this resident-inspired scheme.”

Number 12 bus free of charge on Saturday 1st April

Transdev will cease operating the number 12 service on Friday 31st March and the new operator, East Yorkshire, takes over the route on Monday 3rd April. This potentially meant a gap in service on Saturday 1st April, which thankfully has been addressed.

Council officers have arranged for York Pullman to operate the number 12 service on Saturday, with assistance on the day from Reliance Buses. The service will remain hourly as per the present timetable. In order to encourage usage and to avoid any ticketing complications, the bus will operate free of charge to all passengers on Saturday.

From Monday 3rd April the number 12 will be operated by East Yorkshire under their newly-launched ‘York Locals’ branding. Any unexpired Transdev weekly tickets will be accepted during the first week of operation. Full details of the East Yorkshire service can be found HERE

2023/24 highways programme published

City of York Council has published its highways maintenance programme for 2023/24, available HERE. Decisions about which roads and footpaths are resurfaced are made by council officers, not by councillors.

In Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, £211,000 has been allocated for much-needed resurfacing of Moor Lane between the junctions with Cairnborrow and Eden Close.

It is also proposed to resurface a section of the A1237 roundabout at the end of Moor Lane.

A number of roads in the ward that are in very poor condition, such as Acomb Wood Drive, Crummock, Wains Grove, Hob Moor Terrace, Middlethorpe Drive and the Ryecroft Avenue / Acorn Way junction are not listed. There is however an extra £500,000 on its way from Government for pothole repair – this is welcome and will hopefully enable the council to repair potholes that it currently considers to be not worthy of fixing.

In relation to footpaths, ‘slurry sealing’ is proposed for the paths on Ashbourne Way, Acomb Wood Close, Foxton and Skiddaw.

New number 12 bus operator revealed

East Yorkshire has been revealed as the the new operator of the number 12 bus service from 3rd April.

The company will be running the service on a two-year contract agreed with City of York Council.

The company has announced on their website that the service will run under a new brand called “York Locals” and will continue to operate on the same route between Foxwood Lane, Woodthorpe, York city centre, Elmfield Avenue and Monks Cross.

The buses will have USB charging points and next stop announcements. For customers who have already purchased tickets for Transdev’s Service 12, these will be accepted on the new East Yorkshire buses until Tuesday 11th April.