Latest Planning application Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward

Below are the latest planning applications received by the York Council for the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward.

Full details can be found by clicking the application reference
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Location: 8 Girvan Close York YO24 2XR

Proposal: First floor side extension

Applicant: Mr And Mrs Roddis Contact Mr Howard Berry Consultation Expiry Date 26 November 2013 Case Officer: Elizabeth Potter Expected Decision Level DEL
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Location: 17 The Horseshoe York YO24 1LY

Proposal: Single storey rear extension to form family room and utility room. Repositioning and altering windows, internal alterations, installation of sun tunnel.

Ref No: 13/03379/FUL

Applicant: Mr & Mrs Paul McKeown Contact Howard Thompson Consultation Expiry Date 26 November 2013 Case Officer: Carolyn Howarth Expected Decision Level DEL
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Location: 20 Academy Drive Dringhouses York YO24 1UJ

Proposal: Conversion of existing garage to habitable room

Ref No: 13/03409/FUL

Applicant: Mr John Mcrandal Consultation Expiry Date 26 November 2013 Case Officer: Carolyn Howarth Expected Decision Level DEL

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.

Labour’s housing waiting list scam – Freedom of information request submitted

click to access

A Freedom of Information request has been submitted aimed at getting to the bottom of the recent drop in the number of people on the social housing waiting list in York.

The number on the list fell from over 4600 families at the beginning of September, to only 2200 in October. No new social housing developments were completed for occupation during that period.

It turned out that a behind closed doors decision had been taken to kick more than half of the applicants off the list.

We now understand that most of these were deemed to be people who did not have a real housing need and who had not applied for any of the homes advertised during the previous 12 months.

Of the others, 140 were already homeowners and 187 had no local connection while 13 had no local connection and were also homeowners

57 applicants had their application banding changed from Gold to Silver.
The Council has to respond within 28 days to the FOI request.
The request seeks details of how the decision was taken, when and by whom.

It asks the Council what consultation was undertaken.

It seeks more information about the categories of people who have been thrown off the register.

York electric vehicle charging points

Tourists, businesses and residents in York can now benefit from the region’s first network of pay-as-you-go electric vehicle charging points.

In addition to the 12 charging points already located across York, a network consisting of six fast charging points has now been installed at five locations across city centre car parks (Union Terrace and Nunnery Lane) and Park & Ride sites (Monks Cross, Grimston Bar and Designer Outlet) to allow drivers to re-charge their cars on a pay-as-you-go basis.

The network is publicly accessible with a simple payment system so that users can pay by phone or text in a similar way drivers currently pay for parking in council owned car parks.

Each charging point allows two electric vehicles to top up their batteries at the same time with up to 22kW power output from a choice of type two or three pin charging sockets.
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Action to improve service standards in Chaloners area

Fly tipping

Tree detritus on Chaloners Road

Damaged verges

Dog fouling on snickets

Leeside footpath crumbling

North Lane pothole

Following a growth in complains about public service standards in part of Dringhouses a major push for improvements has started.

Ann Reid and the Liberal Democrat team have been out and about and have reported over 20 issues for Council attention.

Let us know if you have similar problems in your area.

The major problems concerned, dumping, dog fouling, vandalism, potholes, damaged signs and weed growth

Front Street closed tomorrow

Front St, Acomb will be closed to vehicles between York Rd & Green Lane junctions from 09:00 till 16:30 on the 06/11/13 due to hydrant renewal works

Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Residents Forum

The minutes of the last meeting can be read “on line” by clicking here

Askham Bar Park and Ride site due for May completion

Poppleton Bar Roadworks

It could be June 2014 before the A59 Park and Ride site near Poppleton opens.

The Tour de France is due to go through the junction on 6th July.

The work was initially held up because of delays in re-routing underground services

Askham Bar (Tadcaster Road) roadworks

The first main traffic management change has just been brought into operation to enable commencement of the subway construction.

The junction changes at Askham Bar will be completed in December with the main site opening in May 2014.

Both opening dates could be delayed if we have a bad winter.

Knavesmire sports pavilion slips 12 months……..Community Stadium update

New pavilion design

The ambitious plans to provide a replacement pavilion on the little Knavesmire for the Hamilton Panthers football team looks like being delayed.

The York Council has set aside £350,000 to part fund the £600,000 project. But it seems that funding from Sport England has been delayed.

The project which will see a new clubhouse and changing rooms built on the site of an old ROC World War II building was given planning permission in 2012.

At that time it was hoped that the new facility would be available for use in early 2014, but this now seems unlikely

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The Council is also saying that the new Community Stadium – which will be built on the site of the existing Huntington Stadium – will cost £1.85 million this year.

The total cost is now put at £18.6 million

It is unclear how the council intends to recover it’s investment (now thought to be around £4 million) or whether it includes the capitalised salaries of those who are working on the project.

It is understood that formal bids for the construction of the stadium will be considered in January, with the hope that construction will be completed in 2016.

The project is running 2 years behind schedule.

Labour to ditch York Community Centres.

The latest in a long list of poor decisions by the Labour Council could see four community centres in York close.

The provisional budget for next year sees all the community centres (Chapelfields , Foxwood , Tang Hall , and Bell Farm) lose their Council grants.

Typically a community centre costs around £50,000 a year to run with most income generated from hiring rooms.

The Council are to cut their financial support entirely leaving some of the centres with a 5 figure budget deficit.

Already the community centre caretakers have been issued with redundancy notices (although they are likely to be redeployed within the Council).

The Council says that it wishes to see the buildings transferred into the ownership of a voluntary committee with a community asset transfer by April 2015

This seems to be what has prompted the Tang Hall centre to announce that it is changing the legal status of its voluntary committee.

The voluntary committees undertake a thankless task and deserve Council support.

The Foxwood and Chapelfields centres depend entirely on the resources of local residents to continue, while Tang Hall was only kept going when Labour Councillors were parachuted into key roles.

Burton Stone community centre future unclear

Burton Stone is a larger building and its future is much more unclear.

Without caretakers, the buildings will be closed to general callers reducing their use as a focal point for neighbourhood communications. One Community Centre (Tang Hall) has already leased office space to an outside organisation.

All the Community Centres are located in what the Council regards as “deprived areas” .

The Council hopes to save £180,000 through the cuts. Most of this will come from the Burton Stone centre.

NB. The Council is planning to spend £1.6 million hosting just one day of the Tour De France cycle race.

Click here to download a full list of proposed cuts (see ref Can 12)

Christmas skills courses in York

Christmas skills courses click to access details

Courses include

glass engraving (snow flakes),
felt making (Christmas robins),
stained glass (Christmas Stars),
willow weaving (Christmas decorations),
flower arranging (Christmas wreath and table decoration),
dance (Christmas social dance workshop),
photography (Christmas lights workshop),
cooking (a freezer full of Christmas).

Click graphic to access full list of courses

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Friends of York Minster 2013 Christmas Cards

Cllr Stephen Fenton, Cllr Ashley Mason & Cllr Paula Widdowson

Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Liberal Democrats