Over the summer holidays York City FC Foundation is running a series of free kickabout sessions for young people in west York from 4 to 13 years of age.
The sessions, which are funded by the ward committees of Westfield, Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Micklegate wards, will be held on Chesneys Field, Woodthorpe Green and the Knavesmire.
Details of the dates and times of the sessions – and links to the websites to use to book a place – are set out below.
York City Knights Foundation are running free activity sessions for local young people during half-term week.
The sessions will take place on Wednesday 2nd June:
10am to 11.30am – Westfield Primary School
2.00pm to 3.30pm – Woodthorpe Green
The sessions are open to boys and girls aged 5 years and over. Booking is essential with limited availability. For more information and to book go to https://yorkcityknights.com/future-knights/
Local councillors are asking Dringhouses residents for their views on a possible funding bid to deliver improvements to the playgound on Leeside.
In December 2020 the council announced a £100,000 fund for play area improvements, through which communities can bid for up to £10,000 to be spent on replacing outdated equipment and refreshing play ideas with new kit. Any successful bid would need a 15% contribution from other sources, such as ward funding.
Cllr Paula Widdowson at the Leeside playground
In Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, the council playgrounds at Nelsons Lane and Woodthorpe Green have benefited from significant investment in recent years, but the play area on Leeside (which is also owned and managed by the council) has not seen any investment. In winter months it is very boggy due to poor drainage on the site – councillors have tried to address this, but Yorkshire Water have refused to allow a drainage channel to be installed to flow into their pipes.
Ward councillors are now asking local residents for their views on whether and how the Leeside play area could be improved. Feedback will help to shape an application for funding, if residents feel that the play area would benefit from some investment.
These are the questions on which we would welcome feedback:
Do you think that the Leeside play area would benefit from some investment?
The play area is very boggy in the winter, making it difficult to use. Would you like to see astroturf (or a similar surface) laid on the kickabout area to make it more useable during wet weather?
Are there any pieces of equipment currently in the play area which need updating? If so, please tell us which ones.
Are there new pieces of kit which could be added? If so, please tell us what you would like to see installed.
Do you have any other ideas or suggestions to improve the play area?
Residents are asked to send their feedback by e-mail to cllr.sfenton@york.gov.uk by the end of January, to allow time for the feedback to be collated and for a funding bid to be potentially submitted by the end of February.
York City Knights Foundation will be running some free outdoor activity sessions for local young people in west York over the half-term holiday. The dates and times are listed below.
Processes are in place to make the sessions Covid-compliant with spaces limited to meet current Government and RFL guidance, and as such booking is essential with limited availability. Once booked on, parents/ carers of participants are asked to download the Clubforce App which will help the Knights to follow Covid- 19 protocols.
The Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Westfield Ward Committees are funding a number of outdoor activity sessions for young people from 27 August to 4 September.
York City Knights Foundation will be running the sessions at the following locations:
Thu 27 August – Revival estate
Fri 28 August – Acomb Green
Tue 1 September – Woodthorpe Green
Fri 4 September – Chesney Fields
There are two sessions on each date – 1.30 to 2.15 and 2.30 to 3.15. Children can book onto either session 1 or session 2 but unfortunately not onto both sessions.
Booking is essential in order to comply with track & trace requirements. To book a place, go to the York City Knights Foundation website HERE
Parents and carers wanting to keep their children busy and active this summer can click through to a rich listing of fun for the holidays.
The activities, events and ideas on the Shine website are for children and young people, including thosewith special education needs and disabilities. All have social distancing precautions in place or are based online, and many are free of charge.
Shine, a council-run hub, gives businesses and organisations an opportunity to upload their own events on the website for free.
There is also a section on the site for other sources of information. These include:
York Explore with e-books, the summer reading challenge and the new reading cafes
The current list features all sorts from a Fairy and Troll trail at Bishopthorpe Pre-school Playgroup to Crazy Golf and Foot Golf at York Golf range, to wildlife watching from The Wildlife Trusts and mindfulness session. The events and activities will be updated throughout the summer.
Organisations or businesses that would like to list an event in Shine, but haven’t yet done so, can list their activity at Get Listed in Shine
The Westfield and Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Ward Committees are once again funding free summer holiday activity sessions for local young people.
York City FC Foundation will be running kickabout sessions at Woodthorpe Green and Chesney Fields on Thursdays from 23 July to 3 September from 10am to 12.45pm. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, pre-booking is required so that social distancing can be maintained. Places can be booked online HERE
The council playgtounds at Woodthorpe Green, Nelsons Lane and Leeside were all re-opened on Saturday 11 July.
Signage has been put up encouraging the use of hand sanitiser and reminding users of the continued need for social distancing.
The two playgrounds on the Revival estate remain closed. Greenbelt, the facilities management company which is responsible for the playgrounds, has yet to confirm that they have undertaken the necessary checks before the play areas can be re-opened.
On the back of some queries about the history of the rock that sits at the centre of the recreation space off Girvan Close, former councillor Ann Reid has provided some helpful background information.
When the nearby housing was given planning permission, this piece of land was allocated as a play area and the developers were supposed to equip it. Nothing happened until the council managed to secure some money from them so that they could do the work.
Objections to the site being fitted with play equipment were raised by residents and so the funds were instead used to landscape the area, fence it off and provide features for imaginative play. Hence the bamboo, the mound and the rock. Originally there were more stones along the ridge that looked a bit like a serpent and provided some seating. It was intended to be a dog free area.
At some point after 2003 ‘the serpent’ was removed following complaints about young people gathering on the seats and causing nuisance. Attempts to remove the rock were resisted as it is a bit of a feature and is not causing any harm.
City of York Council has today (3 July) published details of its plans to re-open its playgrounds around the city.
Woodthorpe Green playground is soon to re-open
Following the Government announcement on 23 June that play areas can reopen from 4 July, the council is putting in place a rolling programme to re-open its play areas starting on 8 July, subject to the necessary signage and social distancing measures being in place.
In re-opening council play areas, consideration has been given to the latest Government guidance
All council play areas will be inspected by council staff prior to re-opening to ensure safety standards are met.
Users will be asked to follow social distancing guidance and make their own hand sanitising arrangements. Where practical, a one-way in / out system will be instigated for those play areas surrounded by a fence. This will be supported with appropriate signage and the impact monitored, with a review due to take place in mid-September.
