Residents of Gower Road joined local Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton for a ‘tidy-up’ session on the afternoon of Sunday 23 September.
City of York Council loaned some ‘half moon’ edging tools which were used to cut back grass verges which had started to grow over the footpath.
Any residents who would like to take part in similar tidy-up sessions on their street should contact Stephen to arrange for the loan of some tools.
All local residents are invited to attend the Ward Committee meeting on Tuesday 25 September at Woodthorpe Primary School. There is a drop-in session from 6.30pm, with the main meeting starting at 7pm.
On Saturday 15th September from 10am to 3pm there is an Open Day at Askham Bog, hosted by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
There’ll be activities for all the family including guided nature walks and pond dipping.
It’s part of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s drive to raise awareness of the importance of this nature reserve, and gather support for the campaign to oppose proposals that would see 500 homes built on land off Moor Lane next to the Bog.
Cllr Stephen Fenton met with representatives from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust at the Bog on Friday 14 September and pledged his support for the campaign.
You can find out more about the campaign Here
Local Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton is leading efforts to tackle flytipping at the recycling banks at the Askham Bar Tesco car park.
There are persistent problems with household waste being dumped here, and there is an accumulation of litter around the recycling banks. The popularity of the clothes and shoes recycling banks has also led to bags of donations being dumped next to the full bins.
Dumping at Yorkshire Air Ambulance clothing banks
Household waste flytipped
On 20 August Stephen arranged a meeting on site with representatives from Yorwaste, City of York Council and Tesco to discuss the problems and what can be done to improve the situation. Actions arising from the meeting included checking on the frequency of emptying recycling banks which are sometimes overflowing, and exploring options for more proactive enforcement to increase the chances of catching flytippers.
It was noted that the return of the second cardboard bank has helped to improve matters in recent weeks.
Stephen commented “There are many parties involved in the maintenance and management of this site – for example, a range of different companies are responsible for emptying the variety of banks. It was good to get some of the key players together to discuss the problems and try to come up with a plan.
“It’s important that when flytipping is spotted, the council’s Neighbourhood Enforcement Team is notified via neo@york.gov.uk or tel. 01904 551555. They can then look for evidence which will help to identify the cuplrit.”
Stephen has made contact with two of the companies responsible for emptying the donation banks for Yorkshire Air Ambulance (clothes) and Variety Club (shoes) following a build-up of donations piled up against the bins.
The response from both firms was positive. SOEX UK Ltd, which manages the shoe bank, confirmed that it will take steps to ensure that it is emptied every Tuesday. Bag It Up Ltd, which manages the clothes bank, stated that they are looking into these issues and tweaking schedules to get on top of any sites that have overflow issues.
Stephen said “I’m pleased with the quick response from the firms that look after the clothing and shoe banks, and their commitment to action. If any residents want to donate but find that the banks are full, please take the bags home and do not dump them next to the bins.”
Over recent months local Lib Dem councillors have been working with council officers to try to come up with possible solutions to help ease parking issues on Highmoor Road.
Vehicles parked opposite the entrance to Highmoor Close can make it difficult for large vehicles to get in and out, which has led to damage being done to the grass verges on the corners.
An initial idea was to create a parking bay in the verge outside the flats, similar to the one outside the flats on Wains Road. There are however utilities in the verge which would need to be diverted if tarmac was laid on the verge, which would be prohibitively expensive.
Residents are now being asked to have their say about three possible options.
Option 1
Option 1
This would provide 10 parking spaces aligned parallel to the boundary wall. Because this uses most of the lawned area, it requires a large area to allow vehicles to manoeuvre and to exit in a forward direction. This whole area would need to be converted to the EcoGrid construction.
Example of EcoGrid
The proposal would also require the provision of 2 wide vehicular crossings from Highmoor Road to allow access and exit from the parking area. Due to the extensive area needing to be provided, and the wider crossings, the cost of this option would be around £40,000.
There are various options available, eg this could be reduced to 5 spaces thereby considerably reducing the area of EcoGrid and hence the overall cost. We have concerns about the feasibility of this option because the paths down to flats 10 & 12 and 26 & 28 would be removed.
Option 2
Option 2 (map should say 6, not 8, spaces)
This option allows for 6 spaces, requiring the installation of 275m² of EcoGrid and a 4.5m wide vehicle crossing off Highmoor Road into the parking area. The cost of this option is around £27,500.
The access path to the front door would need to be removed / relocated to a more suitable position, but a shorter section of the front boundary wall will need to be removed compared to Option 1.
The option does result in the need for only one vehicular access, at a more conventional width.
Option 3
Option 3
This option allows for 4 spaces, requiring the installation of 140m² of EcoGrid and a 4.5m wide vehicle crossing off Highmoor Road into the parking area. The cost of this option is around £19,000.
The access path to the front door would need to be removed / relocated to a more suitable position and a short section of the front boundary wall removed.
The fourth option is to do nothing and leave the lawned area in front of the flats as it is.
Residents are invited to send comments on the options to Cllr Stephen Fenton at cllr.sfenton@york.gov.uk or call 01904 787988.
A successful series of free activity sessions for young people, run by the York City Knights Foundation, have come to an end.
Skate park sessions and inflatable obstacle courses were some of the activities provided during the easter, spring and summer holidays, paid for from the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Westfield ward committee budgets.
Skate park session on the Revival estate
Fun on Woodthorpe Green
Local Lib Dem councillors would like to hear from residents about what they thought went well, and what could be done differently in terms of activity sessions in the future.
Local Lib Dem councillors are in discussions with McColls to try to get a much-needed deep clean of the larger of the two car parks to the rear of the Moorcroft Road shops.
The car park, which McColls has responsibility for, is in a very untidy state, with weeds, brambles and overgrown vegetation gradually taking over the perimeter, and major issues with litter and dumping. There is also a black Peugeot car which has been there for sometime, and appears to have been abandoned – the tax expired in April, two of the tyres are flat and one of the headlights is smashed.
Weeds and litter
Abandoned?
Cllr Stephen Fenton has met on site with the McColls area manager to discuss a plan of action, starting with McColls instructing their property management team to undertake a thorough deep clean of the car park. Stephen has also approached DVLA about the abandoned car – as it is on private land, there is nothing that the council can do.
Another concern is the seemingly increasing use of the car park as a ‘park & ride’ car park, with people parking up and getting the bus into town. This reduces the parking spaces available to shoppers and those visiting the nearby doctors and dentists surgeries. Stephen discussed with McColls the possibility of erecting some ‘Customer Only Parking’ signs to deter long stay parking.
TalkTalk have issued an updated timetable setting out when tarmac strips in concrete driveways will be replaced with concrete.
Meanwhile local Lib Dem councillors are continuing to keep up the pressure for proper reinstatement of grass verges where damage has been caused by UFO cable laying. The dry weather has meant that very little of the grass seed put down has grown, and in some places the lack of mowing has allowed large weeds to grow.
A damaged verge on Leven Road
In response to a question about plans to reinstate verges, TalkTalk told us that “We are required to ensure that a reasonable amount of growth has happened within 12 months following being reseeded, which we will make sure is the case. At this time there are no signs of concern as the current weather may have impacted any immediate grow.”
A litter bin next to the Askham Bar recycling banks has been removed, after it became a magnet for persistent flytipping.
Flytipping at Askham Bar
The bin has been relocated to Thanet Road, next to the bus stop opposite Eason View. Rather than relocate the old battered bin, it has been upgraded to a new dual use litter / dog waste bin.
New bin on Thanet Road
Summer holiday activities for young people, funded by the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward committee, are in full swing.
Successful skate park sessions, run by York City Knights Foundation, have been held at Moor Lane Youth Centre and on the Revival estate off Tadcaster Road.
On Friday 3 August at 10am the first of three outdoor activity sessions takes place on Woodthorpe Green.
