Local Lib Dem councillors are continuing to push for proper reinstatement of grass verges in Dringhouses following the completion of UFO cable laying.
Many verges on Leven Road have failed to recover due to the very poor quality soil used – in places there is more rubble than soil!
Following a joint TalkTalk / City of York Council walkout last week, it was agreed that additional topsoil was required, which will put down over the next few weeks.
Cllr Stephen Fenton led a team of local volunteers on a litter pick in the Askham Bar area on Sunday 7th October. Most of the 30 bags of litter collected came from the old Park & Ride car park.
The team also tackled the ‘orphan’ concrete bin near to the petrol station, which both City of York Council and Tesco deny responsibility for.
York’s city centre Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) has been expanded, after a decision was taken to include Coppergate. This comes after a recent presentation of York’s Annual Air Quality Status Report, which commends the Council’s successful approach to tackling poor air quality.
In a decision taken by Lib Dem Cllr Andrew Waller at his Environment Decision Session on 1 October, Coppergate will now be included in the city centre’s AQMA in order to tackle air pollution from diesel vehicles in the area and maintain progress in improving the city’s air quality. Time had been allowed since last year’s decision session on the annual review of Air Quality to see if the enforcement of the bus lane had a positive impact on air pollution levels.
Cllr Waller with staff from Amey on Clean Air Day 2018
As part of the decision session, it was also decided to retain the Fulford AQMA for a further 12 months, despite NO2 in the area remaining below the Council’s health bases objectives. This is to ensure that Fulford’s air quality is monitored in view of future nearby developments in the city.
At the meeting, Cllr Waller asked for future reports on how the new traffic lights systems and charging points for electric cars especially for people living in terraced areas can be delivered to make further improvements.
The decisions come as the Annual Air Quality Report highlights consistent improvement in York’s air quality, when compared to the previous years. The Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) even added that:
‘The Council are taking exceptional steps and effort to actively tackle air quality within the city and the success of this approach is reflected in their results.’
Cllr Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Environment, commented:
“It is good to see that our approach has had such an impact in improving the city’s air quality and that it has been recognised by DEFRA. I would like to thank the officers involved for their hard work in achieving this progress, however, we all accept that more work needs to be done to continue these improvements and ensure that future developments do not reverse our position.”
“The importance of ‘good’ Air Quality cannot be understated and we must continue to maintain these improvements through the use of our AQMA’s. We will continue to monitor in the Salisbury Terrace area”
“There is more public interest in particulates and unlike other authorities, York measures these, so we know the PM10 and PM2.5 levels at hotspots. Particulates will continue to be reported annually with the World Health Organisation and EU guidelines.”
“Looking further down the line, as we work to create the UK’s first voluntary Clean Air Zone, York will continue to lead the line in the fight to tackle poor air quality, with a report coming later this year to the Executive following the public consultation.”
For further information on the AQMA decisions that were made, or for more information on the Air Quality Annual Status Report, please visit: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=10835&x=1.
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.
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.”
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.
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