On the final day before the election Labour have decided to circulate a letter implying that we will close Dringhouses library. They have left it this late so that we cannot respond. It is a lie, we are strong supporters of the library and will fight for it to stay open. Please don’t believe these lies.
Some alarmist literature has been circulating in the area claiming that Police patrols are being cut. This isn’t true in Dringhouses and Woodthorpe.
There has been a police reorganisation, and the “Neighbourhood” and “Reactive” policing teams are now based at the Acomb Police Station.
Our Neighbourhood Policing team continues to be:
PC Colin Park and PC Mark Antonelli covering both Dringhouses and Woodthorpe and Westfield Ward.
PCSO Louise Harness covering Woodthorpe, Acomb Park, Middlethorpe and
Tadcaster Road South.
PCSO Angela Hollywood covering the Hob Moor area bounded by Thanet Road and Tadcaster Road as far as St. George’s Place.
PCSO Craig Bounphrey covering the Chaloners Road/Wains Road area.
Lindsey Stamp is the local Sergeant and Phil Cain the Inspector.
You can contact the Neighbourhood Policing team by telephoning 0845 6060247
Residents who wish to report an incident in person can visit the Acomb Police Station on Holgate Road. The desk is manned by volunteers and the current opening hours are: hours are:
Mon 10:00am – 12:00 noon
Tue 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Wed 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Thurs Closed
Fri 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Sat 10:00am – 12 noon
Sun Closed
The local Conservative party have failed to put up candidates in 14 seats across the city. Four of their nomination papers were rejected as they had been incorrectly completed, but they failed to even put in nominations for the other seats.
You can see from the candidate lists on the Council website that even the local Green Party have managed to put up more candidates than the Conservatives.
It is unbelievable that the Conservatives are so disorganised that they can’t even get candidates nominated for the elections. Their failure to put up a full set of candidates means that the Conservatives have no hope of controlling the Council after the elections.
The Lib Dems have hard working local candidates in every seat in the city. We have a record of delivering for local people and we are the only party to keep in touch all year round, not just at election time.
It is clear now that a vote for the Tories is a wasted vote. They have no chance of controlling the Council and cannot be trusted to even fill in forms correctly, let alone represent the views of local people.
The popular Dringhouses Library is set to benefit from expanded services, thanks to the local Lib Dem Council.
If plans are agreed next week, the library will be transformed into an Explore Library, similar to New Earswick Library and the larger Explore Centres at Acomb and York Central Library. This will mean better facilities with new opportunities for learning and community events.
I’m really pleased that the local Lib Dems are looking to expand our library services. Most other Councils are closing their libraries so to be in a position to actually expand services is great news.
Dringhouses library is very popular with local residents and is an important part of our local community. The extra facilities will mean it has even more to offer local people.
There will be free compost giveaways going ahead this year on the first Sunday of every month between March and October, in partnership with Yorwaste Ltd. (see the dates below for the giveaways):
Sunday 6th March
Sunday 3rd April
Sunday 1st May
Sunday 5th June
Sunday 3rd July
Sunday 7th August
Sunday 4th September
Sunday 2nd October
This compost has been produced from the green recycling that York residents put out. It is great news for Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, the free compost will only help our community look more spectacular.
Compost can be collected from Harewood Whin, Tinker Lane (off Wetherby Road) between 9.30am and 2.30pm. Residents must bring along a suitable bag or container to put the compost into and a shovel, as the compost is not bagged. The advice is to visit the site as early as possible as there is a limited quantity of compost and it will go on a first come, first served basis.
The hope is that the giveaways will be as popular as last year when it was estimated that they gave away over 1,600 tonnes of compost. This year the giveaways are starting earlier in the year due to popular demand.
The Tyburn, the site which hosted executions in York for more than 400 years is to get a facelift after local Councillors agreed to fund improvements from the local Ward Committee budgets.
The Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward Committee has allocated £1500 of funding to pay for the area to be cleaned up and the bench repaired. The area will also be replanted in the Spring with new flowers to brighten up the area.
If funding allows it is hoped that an extra new bench could be installed at the site along with a new information board to explain the history of the site to visitors.
Executions at the Tyburn took place until 1801 when the events were moved to the castle. Possibly the most famous execution at the Tyburn took place in 1739 when notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was executed for horse theft.
The site is currently marked by a small paved area and a plaque.
The Tyburn is an important part of local history so I am pleased that the Ward Committee is able to fund these improvements.
The site has a fascinating, if gruesome, history so I am pleased that the improvements look set to include a new information board to explain that history to residents and visitors.
Dringhouses has a rich history and is a key gateway to the city so it is important that we invest in restoring the site and promote pride in the area.
You can see The Press coverage of the story here.
As part of our ongoing survey around the ward we have been asking residents about problems with speeding on Tadcaster Road and seeking their views on potential measures that could be taken to reduce the problem. The results are below:
Install a Vehicle Activated Sign
Yes 81%
No 19%
Increase the number of Police checks
Yes 49%
No 51%
Install traffic calming measures
Yes 15%
No 85%
Plans to build a house on land near the junction of Tadcaster Road and Old Moor Lane have drawn objections from residents in nearby Aldersyde Court.
Following discussions with residents about their concerns, I have written to City of York Council to formally object to the plans.
This is a revised plan for this development as a previous application was rejected earlier this year. Many residents objected to the original application and their concerns haven’t been addressed by this new application.
My main concern is about the impact the development will have on the residents of ground floor flats in Aldersyde Court.
The proximity of the proposed development to Aldersyde Court means that many of the people in the ground floor flats see a great deal of their light blocked out by development.
The layout of the flats means that the living areas are largely to the side of the building where the new development is proposed and so residents would be losing their light and view from rooms in which they spend a great deal of their time. I believe this would have a disproportionately large effect on the lives of the residents of those flats.
There are also some concerns about the impact this development will have on the drainage of the area, as well as issues regarding access. Overall, I think these proposal will have too much of a negative impact on local residents and should therefore be refused.
The next Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday 21st April from 7pm at Dringhouses Primary School.
Prior to the meeting from 6.15 pm there will be a drop in surgery where you will be able to come along and talk to us as your Ward Councillors, the local Street Environment Officer, the Safer Neighbourhood Team and the Neighbourhood Management Officer about any issue that you want to raise.
At the main meeting itself there will be updates from the Safer Neighbourhood Team and local Trading Standards, who will be talking about the cold calling zones in the ward.
There will also be presentations on the York in Bloom initiative and the local planning panel, along with information about how you can get involvled in both projects.
I hope to see you at the meeting.