TalkTalk has published a timetable setting out when tarmac strips across concrete driveways will be replaced with concrete, and other repairs made to footpaths and verges following the UFO cable installation work.
Dates correct as at 31 May 2018
Lib Dem councillor Andrew Waller met with representatives of TalkTalk and contractors FNS on Friday 1 June to visit locations across Westfield and Dringhouses & Woodthorpe wards where there are concerns about the reinstatement works done so far.
Residents on the Middlethorpe estate have rejected a suggestion that concrete bollards could be installed at some junctions in the hope of protecting verges from being overrun by heavy vehicles (such as at the junction of Whin Road and Middlethorpe Grove, pictured below).
In response to a request for feedback in the Spring 2018 edition of Focus, all but one respondent said that they did not favour bollards being installed. Reasons given included that they would be ugly and would be difficult to mow around.
One alternative suggestion put forward was for template letters to be drafted which residents could be put on the windscreens of vehicles parked inappropriately, asking them politely to park elsewhere.
This suggestion chimes with a recommendation coming out of the grass verge scrutiny review in 2016, which was that:
“The Communications Team produces a pro forma letter to further promote community and neighbourhood pride and advise that it costs council tax payers £35 per square metre to repair damaged verges, which can:
Children over 7 years of age are invited to take part in a free skate park session at Moor Lane Youth Centre on Wains Road on Friday 1 June from 10am to 11.30am.
The session is run by the York City Knights Foundation, and follows a successful series of events held over the Easter holidays. Further sessions will take place over the summer holidays.
A team of volunteers joined councillors Ashley Mason and Stephen Fenton for a litter pick on Sunday 27 May at the old Askham Bar Park & Ride site and surrounding area. Over 25 bags of litter were collected.
Worryingly, a large number of discarded small silver flasks were found, which it is thought are being used for recreational ‘highs.’ The Police have been notified.
Residents of Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Westfield wards are incited to a joint Ward Committee meeting on Tuesday 5th June from 6.30pm at the Indoor Bowls Club on Thanet Road.
City of York Council has issued letters to residents on Middlethorpe Grove confirming that footpath reconstruction work will get underway on 11 June, and is expected to last for 16 weeks. The hours of work will be 8am to 3.30pm.
The scheme involves installing a pin kerb to the front of the footway, relaying the flags and replacing broken ones. Vehicle crossings will be reconstructed in concrete. Tactile crossing points will be installed across junctions. Residents within the area to be reconstructed are being offered a discounted extension or new vehicle crossing to be constructed as part of this scheme, at cost.
The map issued with the letter indicates that the footpaths on both sides of Middlethorpe Grove will be reconstructed from the junction with Hunters Way to the junction with Dringthorpe Road. This is welcome news, as it had been suggested by the council recently in a footways map accompanying an Officer Decision Report that only the even numbered side of the street would be reconstructed.
On 8 May Cllr Ann Reid joined fellow Lib Dem councillor Andrew Waller to meet with representatives of TalkTalk and council officers. The meeting followed a letter sent by Cllr Waller to TalkTalk last month expressing concerns received from residents with respect to the work being conducted as part of the Ultra Fibre Optic roll out.
A summary of residents’ issues raised were:
• Verge conditions – stones and gravel prevent grass growing or safe cutting by machines
• Tarmac on concrete driveways –uncertainty as to when tarmac will be replaced with concrete
• Cutting of other cables in the highway
• Bus routes blocked
• Pedestrians put onto the road due to closed footpath
There are concerns about the state of verges across Dringhouses
On communications, a new leaflet has been developed to encourage residents to call the Careline if there are issues and to reinforce the message that the crews will be returning to streets after the initial engineering works. There have been instances of other utilities having cables in the ground where they are not meant to be and this has resulted in some residents having telecoms cut (there is a BT Openreach worker with the teams at all times)
It was accepted that there needs to be a clearer communication of plans to residents and ward councillors in relation to:
• Replace temporary tarmac in concrete driveways with concrete (on like for like basis)
• Restoration of verges with re-soiling (replacing the rubble) and grass seed (within the timeframe when it is not too warm/dry for seed to successfully germinate)
• Step up tool box talks to gangs to reinforce customer service requirements
• Review pinch points where there are so many crews and vehicles that it starts to impact on transport in an area
• Review locations where pedestrians needed to go onto the road due to the works
There will be a new inspection regime to respond to residents’ concerns and ward councillors will be asked to check that issues raised by residents have been addressed before final sign off.
It is planned to have a web page for updates, and Frequently Asked Questions, and a summary of the position with roads which have been completed through the process.
Representatives from TalkTalk will give an update at the joint Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Westfield Ward Committee meeting on 5 June at 6.30pm at the indoor bowls club on Thanet Road.
Mayfield Community Trust and Friends of Hob are teaming up to offer residents a guided ‘Woodland Walk’ on Friday 18th May at 7pm.
The starting point will be the yellow railings at the entrance to the railway underpass on Little Hob Moor.
A number of blocked drains on Tadcaster Road are thought to have been caused by tree roots.
Cllr Stephen Fenton recently reported three blocked drains near to the entrance to Little Hob Moor. Investigations by council officers have indicated that a likely cause of the blockage is tree roots in a Yorkshire Water sewer.
We’ll be pressing for action that will enable the drains to be unblocked as soon as possible.
Two local groups in Woodthorpe are inviting residents to get together to celebrate the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
On Thursday 17th May from 1.30 to 3.30pm Dementia Yorkshire is hosting a Royal Wedding themed afternoon at St James the Deacon Church Hall on Sherringham Drive, with light refreshments and organised activities on offer.
Then on the big day itself, Saturday 19th May, the Woodthorpe Community Group invites local residents to a Royal Wedding Street Party on Woodthorpe Green from 2pm to 4.30pm. As well as refreshment stalls there will also be family games on the Green. Bring your picnic blanket or folding chairs and make it a fun afternoon! In the event of wet weather, the event will move indoors to St James the Deacon church hall.
