Cattle set to disappear from Hob Moor

The sight of cattle grazing on Hob Moor is likely to be absent this year after City of York Council confirmed that the area will be mown for a hay crop instead.

The council has also confirmed that there will be no cattle on Walmgate Stray either, though it is understood that cattle will be kept on Bootham and Monk Strays.

Cattle grazing on North Lane Pasture

Cllr Stephen Fenton was told the news in an e-mail from a council officer after rumours had circulated locally that cattle would not be returning to Hob Moor this year:

“With the loss of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), the largest rural payment scheme providing financial support to the farming industry, farmers are increasingly having to diversify their operations to meet lost income. With the associated difficulties of managing stock on Hob Moor, the 24/7 availability of a nearby staff member is essential. However this will not be possible with the loss of BPS and the loss of income from the refused planning application.

“From a nature conservation point of view ideally we’d want both cutting and grazing, to better reduce the nutrient status of the land. The cutting and removal of vegetation in summer should keep bulky species in check and allow the more delicate species to flourish. Flowering heads are fewer on grazed land, so with the absence of cattle more wildflower seed could be set.”

The planning application referred to relates to a farm diversification project under which storage units would have been permitted to remain on a farm at Strensall, generating income for the tenant farmer. The application was however refused by members of the council’s Planning Committee.

In recent years Hob Moor has been mown as well as grazed, though there have been concerns from residents that mowing at the wrong times of the year could destroy the nests of any ground-nesting birds.

Cllr Fenton has asked council officers whether any attempt will be made to find a farmer who would like to keep cattle on Hob Moor this year and has asked for further information about the proposed mowing regime.

Residents encouraged to have their say on Sim Balk Lane housing plans

Following the publication of a planning application by Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust for 114 homes to be built on a site in the green belt off Sim Balk Lane, local residents are being encouraged to have their say.

General comments, or expressions of support or objection, must be submitted by 23rd February.

In March 2023 the developers held a drop-in session at York College at which the initial designs were shared for comment. Feedback from that consultation exercise has been published along with the detailed plans, which will be considered by the council’s Planning Committee at a meeting (date to be confirmed).

The plans are for 114 affordable homes, with a mix of social rent and shared ownership 1, 2, 3 and 4 bed properties.

The initial design included an area of 30 parking spaces for use by Bishopthorpe White Rose Football Club. This car park seems to have been removed in the final plans, although the ‘Statement of Community Involvement’ refers to a “dedicated parking area available for use by residents and those visiting Bishopthorpe White Rose Football Club.”

Two car parking spaces will be provided for all 2/3-bed properties, and three parking spaces for 4-bed properties. The Travel Plan refers to “promotion of car share scheme” and “communication every year to highlight particular aspects of the Travel Plan to residents, for example walking, cycling, car club or public transport” although the plans seem to suggest that there will be no dedicated car club spaces on the estate.

Comments can be submitted via e-mail to planning.comments@york.gov.uk, quoting reference 24/00129/FULM, or via the council’s planning portal HERE.

Bus shelter upgrades get underway

Improvements to local bus shelters have got underway, with digital displays and audio installed at the bus shelters on Moorcroft Road (near the shops) and Eason View (near the junction with Chaloners Road).

The work has been made possible thanks to the £17.4m Bus Service Improvement Plan funding that was secured by the previous Lib Dem / Green administration which ran City of York Council before May 2023.

Where the display shows minutes, eg ’11 minutes’ then that is a real time estimate based on location information sent by the bus. When the bus is approaching (less than 1 minute away) it will display “Due”. If the display does not receive information from the vehicle it will display the scheduled timetable departure from that stop eg ‘12.25’.

The display may not receive information for a variety of reasons such as the equipment on the bus is missing/faulty or it is passing through an area with poor network signal. It is only as good as the information provided by the operators.

It is planned to roll out these features to more bus shelters over the coming months.

Council confirms scaling back of Tadcaster Road improvement scheme

City of York Council has published an ‘Officer Decision‘ setting out the details of the £600k overspend that will mean that some of the measures to support walking, cycling and bus use along the Tadcaster Road corridor have been dropped. The report states….

“The ground conditions issues arose from an early stage in the project and have been monitored from early in 2023. The project team initially instigated a ‘value engineering’ exercise in conjunction with the contractor. This is an exercise to identify where proposed works can be removed from the scheme without detriment to the outcomes, and also where time can be reduced by approaching the work in a different way.

When it was realised that ‘value engineering’ on its own would be insufficient to meet the needs of reducing costs, a second process of more difficult decisions was undertaken. This involved cutting back to the absolute minimum where proposed works would be allowed to go ahead.

However it should be borne in mind that some items of work have gone past a point of no return and have to be completed. Likewise, finishing off processes such as carriageway surfacing, have to address the requirements of surface regularity and therefore have to be scheduled in.”

There is understandable dismay that the section of the route which is arguably most problematic for cyclists and pedestrians – the very narrow shared path near to Dringhouses Cemetery – will see no improvements, at least in the immediate future.

In better news, council officers have shared with local councillors details of a separate scheme to improve the spiral path at the entrance to the Solar System Way.

Cllr Ashley Mason at the entrance to the Solar System Way

The long-awaited improvements at this location were required as a condition of the planning permission that was granted for the construction of the Bishopthorpe White Rose football pitches which have been in use for some time.

Council officers have indicated that they do not believe that planning permission is needed for the path improvements here, as they are discharging a planning condition associated with the football pitches. It is understood that the works will get underway in March or April.

The plans shared with local councillors are set out below.

Wains Grove to be resurfaced

The council has announced that Wains Grove is to be resurfaced, with work starting on 23 January for three days.

The road – which has a tarmac layer on top of concrete – has deteriorated significantly in recent years, posing a hazard to pedestrians and cyclists in particular.

Councillors and residents have been campaigning for the road to be resurfaced

The works will be carried out between 8am and 5pm.

In order to carry out the work safely, the use of a full road closure will be necessary whilst works are taking place. All on-street parking will be suspended during the hours of the works for the full duration, but specific access requirements can be arranged by speaking to the site Traffic Management Operatives, who will coordinate with residents (and business requirements) around the ongoing work operations.

Emergency services will be permitted through the works in any situation.

Graffiti blitz hits Dringhouses & Woodthorpe

Litter bins, telecoms cabinets and bus shelters have been hit by graffiti ‘artists’ in recent weeks. The ‘tags’ used by these individuals are ‘Leeroy’ and ‘Rank.’

On 24 December Cllr Stephen Fenton cleaned graffiti at 20 locations, from Girvan Close in the west of the ward to Thanet Road in the east.

The Police have been asked to try to identify the culprits and charge them with criminal damage.

Network Rail have been alerted to ‘Rank’s handiwork on the St Helens Road railway bridge, which will need to be painted over.

Waste collection update

As had been feared, the less-than-clear council communications about waste collections over the Christmas and New Year period meant that some residents put out black bins for collection today.

As we have previously reported, information issued by the council indicated that those households due a collection on Monday 25th would receive a collection on Saturday 23rd instead. Some households that were due a recycling collection on the 25th interpreted this as meaning that they would get an ‘extra’ black bin collection on Saturday 23rd, which wasn’t the case.

Four-week gap between recycling collections confirmed

The council has confirmed that Woodthorpe residents will not have a recycling collection during the festive period.

Council comms materials that were issued recently led with the reassuring message that there will be changes to collection days over Christmas and New Year.

The more detailed information suggested that collections that were due on Monday 25th would take place on Saturday 23rd instead. The small print, however, confirms that the Saturday collection will apply only to those households that were due a black bin collection. Households that were due a recycling collection on the 25th will miss out, meaning their next recycling collection will be on Monday 8th January.

The communications issued by the council could and should have been clearer. For example, some residents have interpreted the table above as meaning that they will get an ‘extra’ black bin collection on Saturday 23rd, which isn’t the case.

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward councillors have queried with council officers why is has been necessary to drop some collections this year, when in previous years the council has been able to keep collections going whilst ensuring that waste staff get to take some well-earned time off. The response received is that waste collections over the Christmas and New Year period on the Saturdays rely on volunteers, and this year the council has been unable to secure enough volunteers to provide a full service for all waste and recycling streams. It’s not clear why the council’s approach this year has meant that volunteers have not come forward in sufficient numbers compared to previous years.

Councillors have also asked what steps are being taken to prepare for the inevitable increased pressure on the recycling banks at Acomb Morrisons and Tesco Askham Bar. With no kerbside recycling collections for four weeks, it is highly likely that these bring sites will see a large increase in usage, and so we would expect the frequency of emptying to be increased.

The response received is that the bring banks at Acomb Morrisons and Tesco Askham Bar are being emptied on 22nd December so they have the maximum capacity to cope with any additional materials presented, and agreement is being sought from Tesco for an additional cardboard skip to be installed at Askham Bar.

Councillors will monitor the situation over the coming weeks and will report any issues for attention, such as recycling waste being flytipped next to overflowing bring banks.