Local groups are being invited to bid for funding from the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Ward Committee, with a closing date for applications of 12 October.
Bids are particularly welcome where funding can be used to help local groups adapt to the changes that have been brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
From Monday 7 September, Dringhouses Library will be welcoming back customers for drop-in browsing, borrowing and computer use. There won’t be any activities such as story times or reading groups yet.
Opening times from the week beginning September 7 are:
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:
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
At a meeting of the council’s Area Planning Committee on 20 August, an application for outline planning permission to build five detached homes on land to the south of Cherry Lane was refused.
Councillor Stephen Fenton addressed the meeting to express concerns about road safety at what is already a busy stretch of road. He asked the committee that, if they were minded to approve the application, a condition be added for speed limiting ramps to be installed to slow down traffic coming from Tadcaster Road.
As it turned out, the application was refused on a number of grounds including impact on the green corridor.
Data published by the Government has shown that between 11 – 17 August, three people tested positive for Covid-19 in an area of west York that covers Woodthorpe, Acomb Park and parts of Foxwood and Dringhouses, shown on the map below.
To view the online map, click HERE
Local councillors and residents were taken by surprise when a poster board appeared at the junction of Sim Balk Lane and Tadcaster Road advertising “another development opportunity by Gateway Developments.”
The poster helpfully displays a web address – www.gatewayyork.co.uk
The website of the developers, Gateway, sets out an ambition to develop four sites – two in Dringhouses either side of Sim Balk Lane, and two in Bishopthorpe on Church Lane and Copmanthorpe Lane.
In Dringhouses, the developers have identified 25 hectares of Green Belt land either side of Sim Balk Lane, highlighted in red on the map below, which they claim is suitable for “mixed use development comprising of residential, care home, hotel and leisure.” Neither site is earmarked for development in York’s emerging Local Plan.
The developers envisage that these two sites could accommodate 247 new homes, or could lend themselves to a mixed-use development, claiming that “this site would offer a great opportunity for a hotel in close proximity of the sites next to the college, similarly providing scope and expansion of the college facilities.”
The developers state that “the site, due to its current land uses, does not have an effect upon the historic visual character of the city of York and will enhance the surrounding developed sites with employment opportunities and facilities.”
No mention is made of the impact that any development would have on an already congested highways network in this part of the city, or how these impacts might be mitigated.
Local councillors will update residents as and when we learn more about the developers’ plans.
Plans to build five detached homes on land off Cherry Lane will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s Area Planning Committee on Thursday 20 August at 4.30pm. The officer recommendation is that the application is approved. The officer report is available to view HERE.
One of the concerns raised by objectors to the scheme is the impact on road safety, specifically the poor sight lines for vehicles exiting onto Cherry Lane. The officer report states that “details of the new junction have been agreed to ensure safety for all road users.”
We understand that this includes a speed hump on the narrow section of Cherry Lane on the approach to the entrance to the development, but disappointingly no measures are proposed on Cherry Lane on the approach to the entrance to the development coming from Tadcaster Road. The map below sets out some of the issues at hand 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 those with 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:
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
At a Transport Executive Member Decision Session held on 21 July, a number of parking restrictions in Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward were approved. A recording of the public meeting is available to watch on YouTube HERE (it is agenda item 5, Annex C).
The meeting discussed a set of recommendations provided by officers, which were all accepted. These were:
– Double yellow lines to be installed on a stretch of Moorcroft Road between the GP surgery and number 34
– Double yellow lines to be installed on the corner of White House Gardens and Pulleyn Drive
– Double yellow lines to be installed on the slip road from Yorkcraft to the Askham Bar roundabout
The double yellow lines that were advertised for North Lane will not be installed. Instead, the recommendation was approved for a white ‘H-Bar’ marking to be installed on the road opposite the entrance to the private driveway leading to four properties.
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
Woodthorpe Green dates:
– 23 July
– 6 August
– 20 August
– 3 September
Chesney Fields dates:
– 30 July
– 13 August
– 27 August
