North Yorkshire Police will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement on the following roads between Wednesday 1 February 2012 and Tuesday 7 February 2012.

•A64 Seamer by-pass Scarborough
•B1249 Staxton Wold, Staxton, Scarborough
•B1249 Foxholes to county boundary
•A1039 Filey Road at Flixton
•A165 Reighton by-pass
•A64 Seamer Road, Scarborough
•A64 east-bound carriageway, Bowbridge Farm Tadcaster
•A64 west-bound carriageway, Bowbridge Farm, Tadcaster
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•The Village, Stockton-on-the-Forest, York
•A1036 Malton Road, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•York Road, Haxby, York
•Broadway, Fulford, York
•Murton Way, Muton, York
•Fordlands Road, Fulford, York
•A1237 Monks Cross, York
•B1222 Naburn lane, York
•B1228 Main Street, Elvington, York
•B1228 Dunnington Lodge, Elvington, York

The mobile safety cameras will be in operation at the above sites at various times during the dates stated. Cameras will not be in use on the above routes all day, every day.

School holiday activities at Energise

Energise run many extra courses and activities during school holidays, including climbing, trampolining, tennis and rollerskating. Details on upcoming holiday activities at Energise are available from the Shine webpages.

Activities can be booked by calling Energise on (01904) 552424, or visiting the centre in person. Cash, cheque and most credit or debit cards are accepted and payment must be made on booking.

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Residents can now find the consultation documents, about the layout of the new park and ride sites, on the Councils web site.

The access arrangements for the site at Askham Bar are considerably more complex than the original roundabout plan. However the entrance is still beyond the Tadcaster Road/ Sim Balk Lane junction and should have the effect of removing a lot of the incoming traffic which currently clogs up the Tesco roundabout.

There may be concerns about having 2 pelican crossings and two sets of traffic lights in Tadcaster Road all in the space of less than 1/4 mile. Outgoing traffic queues may, as a result, be worse during the evening peak.

Residents have until March to make their views known

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Residents recently voted on how they would like to see the Ward Committee budget allocated for the next 12 months. The results are reproduced above.

It is unclear how much money will be available for this activity during the next financial year, although cuts have been forecast.

We will publish the final list on this web site when the budget allocation has been decided.

As you will be aware City of York Council has recently removed some street lighting from a number of roads in the ward on safety grounds. This work was carried out without warning, with no advance notice being given to either Ward Councillors or local residents, leaving many people unaware of what was happening.

This is clearly unacceptable and residents should have been told that the work was being carried out and why. The Liberal Democrat Council Group will be raising the issue with the Labour Cabinet and asking why they failed to tell residents that street lights would be removed.

A number of residents have contacted us to ask when the lights are likely to be replaced.  Around 500 street lights have been removed across the city, meaning the Council needs to find around £1000 per lamp post to pay for replacements. The Labour Cabinet did not identify any funding for replacing the lights before agreeing to their removal and so far the money has not yet been found. It is likely that, at the very earliest, funding to replace the lights will not be found until the new financial year. This means that the lights are unlikely to be replaced before the summer and residents will be left to manage through the remainder of the dark winter nights with reduced street lighting. 

The removal of the lights has left many residents concerned about possible safety issues. While the weather has been unusually mild so far this winter, if there is a cold spell the reduced lighting will make it harder to spot ice on the pavements and many elderly residents are concerned about not being able to go outside. Concerns have also been raised about the effect the removal of the lights will have on the risk of crime.

If you have specific concerns about the impact that the lost lighting will have on your street, or the effect it will have on you or your neighbours, please do contact us on the details above and we will ensure that the Council is made aware of the issue. We will also push to ensure that the Council prioritises the replacement of lighting in areas with vulnerable residents.

If you have any other issues that you would like to raise, please do get in touch.

Salt bins have now been placed in a variety of locations across the ward for residents to use. The bins are free for all residents to use on footpaths and driveways throughout the winter months. They are inspected regularly, but if you find that your bin needs refilling, please phone (01904) 551551.

There is a list below of all the local salt bins. You can also see the exact locations of the salt bins by using the map on the City of York Council website.
Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Salt Bin Locations

Annan Close
Spey Bank
Eden Close
Moor Lane
Nairn Close
Orrin Close
Silverdale
Wordsworth Crescent
Summerfield Road
Lowick
Summerfield Road
Alness Drive
Deveron Way
Nevis Way
Hillcrest Gardens Near
Middlethorpe Grove
Middlethorpe Grove
Ganton Place
Don Avenue
West Thorpe
Leeside
St James Place
St Helens Road
North Lane
Orchard Way
Southfield Crescent
Herdsman Road
The Horseshoe
Royal Chase
Moorlea Avenue
Wains Grove
Slingsby Grove
Lindale
Tadcaster Road
Ashbourne Way

Garden compost bins are available to York residents subsidised by the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership.

A 220 litre Compost Converter is £10 or a 330 litre Compost Converter is £13, plus £5.49 delivery per order or buy 1 get 1 half price. The offer is limited to 2 units per household.

You can order online at www.getcomposting.com, quoting reference YNY01L; by phone on 0844 5714444, quoting reference YNY01L; or by post via a leaflet (available at 9SLP and Library Square receptions or by contacting YCC) to:

FREEPOST RRSX-TXTE-RCCB, Evengreener, YNY Offer, Leeds, LS1 4BN

The closing date for this offer is 31st March 2012.

Most of the land fenced off earlier in the year has now been handed back, although the area immediately behind the Hob Moor Terrace houses which has been cultivated as garden is still under dispute. The Council has written to the developer involved again and is waiting for a reply.

Meanwhile Health and Safety works are being undertaken on the site. Work has been carried on the trees that were identified as being dangerous, the building has been demolished, metal and debris in the ground is too be removed and the gas vents on the meadow repaired. All these works should be complete by the end of October.

Two notice boards are on order and will be funded by the Ward Committee.

The Ward Committee recently held a special meeting for residents to discuss the problems they encounter with overflow parking from the College.

The College Principle outlined the parking policies of the College and the measures that they have taken to subsidise bus travel and increase walking and cycling.

There are only 46 less car parking spaces now than there were on the two old sites combined and although there has been a significant increase in the number of students using public transport, walking and cycling there has also been a significant increase in student numbers as the College reputation grows.

Councillors are now working with the College and Council Officers to come up with come solutions and a follow up meeting is expected to be held after Christmas.

Our Street Environment Officer has finally made contact with the owners of the shops who have agreed to repair the canopy along the shop fronts.

Notice has been served on the tenants on the flats above and work is due to start on “in the next few weeks”. She is also in correspondence with the Co-op who are responsible for most of the forecourt.

Hopefully we will see improvements soon. Meanwhile a suggestion that the flower beds could be planted with vegetables as part of the Edible York scheme received support at a recent Ward Committee.

The Edible York project would also support this but we will need volunteers to care for the beds.

Please contact me if you are interested in becoming involved.