The reinstatement of litter bins removed by the previous Labour administration has begun in Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward.
The first two bins have been installed, on St Helens Road and Chaloners Road. Four more bins are due to be installed over the coming weeks, including at Woodthorpe Green play area.
New bin at St Helens Road bus stop
New bin at junction of Chaloners Road and Sandcroft Road
At a public decision session today (Friday 23 September) Cllr Nigel Ayre (Executive Member for Leisure & Culture) agreed to transfer the management of the Chapman’s Pond site to the Friends of Chapman’s Pond on a trial basis, to improve the long-term care of the site.
Chapmans Pond Summer Fair 2016
The paper that was discussed at the decision session is available here.
Chapman’s Pond is a 2.6 ha site off Moor Lane in Dringhouses. The pond itself covers roughly a third of the site with other habitats including woodland and meadow. It is currently managed by the Council with the assistance of the Friends of Chapman’s Pond.
The Friends are a long running group and have over the years carried out practical maintenance tasks and conservation enhancements. They have also assisted with fund raising, in particular for the circular path in 2011/12 and, for the last three years, in partnership with Love to Eat Café, a summer fair has taken place on site.
Local Lib Dem councillors support the lease arrangement. Cllr Ann Reid commented
We are pleased to report that Network Rail have taken action to remove the rubbish that had been dumped at the end of North Lane by the railway line.
Gone at last!
This will come as a relief to local residents who had been concerned that the rubbish had been left to accumulate for many weeks.
We’ve reported detritus, weeds and litter on the cycle path near the Tesco roundabout.
Detritus on cycle path
There are problems are at the underpass (near the park and ride site). It has its fair share of graffiti and litter.
Happily the underpass walls themselves are currently free of graffiti
In partnership with Yorwaste Ltd, City of York Council is offering free compost for use on gardens and allotments in York. The compost is produced from the garden waste that is collected from green bins.
The dates, times and location for compost collection are set out on the poster below.
Local Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton has secured a scrutiny review into the state of grass verges across the city.
Stephen called for the review in response to local concerns about damage being done by vehicles parking or driving on the verges, particularly in suburban streets.
His call for a review was approved at the council’s Economic Development and Transport Policy and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 16th March. Details of the proposed scope of the review can be found here.
The cross-party review will look at the council’s current policies and legal procedures. It will also explore how the council can work in partnership with residents to protect and improve the condition of verges. A council survey in 2000 found that just over 11 miles of verges across the city were considered to be in a ‘poor’ condition.
‘Grass’ verges around Dringhouses are taking a hammering
Stephen commented: “Since being elected last May, residents have raised concerns with me about the state of grass verges. Parking and driving over verges makes some areas of our city look like badly ploughed fields and these verges can cause problems for other motorists and pedestrians. However, there often seems to be a lack of clarity whether parking is allowed and what enforcement work currently takes place.
“With continued national funding cuts the council does not have money to throw at the issue so we need to look at what currently happens and how we can work in partnership with residents. I also want to look at what other councils have done to tackle the issue whether this be trees, posts, grass filled plastic cells or other solutions.”
Stephen is asking residents to e-mail him with examples of verges being destroyed by inconsiderate motorists, at cllr.sfenton@york.gov.uk
The ‘Clean for the Queen’ weekend of community clean-up activities was wholeheartedly embraced by many residents, including in Foxwood and Woodthorpe.
Lib Dem councillors Sheena Jackson and Andrew Waller (Westfield ward) and Stephen Fenton (Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward) joined volunteers in a clean-up at Foxwood Park, which forms part of the boundary between the two wards.
Andrew, Sheena and Stephen, suitably tooled up!
As well as litter picking, there was a lot of environmental work done, such as cutting back some of the trees along the boundary with Bellhouse Way.
A good morning’s work!
Stephen also ventured further afield to do some litter picking at Woodthorpe shops, on the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust’s Woodlands estate and at the old Park & Ride site at Askham Bar.
On Saturday 5th March there are a number of ‘Clean for the Queen’ activities across York, including some in our area.
Local activities include:
All are welcome!
The council is taking action to address drainage issues in Woodthorpe.
Work is underway to unblock a drainage channel that runs from Acomb Wood Drive to Alness Drive and beyond.
The channel had been affected by tree roots, which have been removed. Work is also being undertaken to dig out the channel, in order to increase capacity and reduce the flood risk to nearby properties.
Alness Drive, looking down the woodland path towards Acomb Wood Drive
Traditional orchards are wildlife havens which contain elements of woodland, pasture and meadow grassland, and are often bordered by native hedgerows.
They are recognised as representing ‘biodiversity hotspots’ and have been identified as priority habitats through both the national and local Biodiversity Action Plans.
However, statistics from the national charity Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has found that around 90 per cent of these habitats have been lost since the 1950s.
In order to help halt this decline and to protect these important habitats, City of York Council is inviting individuals and communities to get in touch if they own or care for an orchard, which they believe may be of heritage interest to help get this new group off the ground.
(more…)