What’s on in York: Easter events at York Libraries start today

Stories, crafts and a craft fair happening over the Easter holidays come and check it out.

Easter Egg Hunt

Date: Tue 4 Apr – Tue 25 Apr
Time: Library opening times
Venue: Fulford Library and village
Cost: £1

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Children’s Easter Crafts

Date: Mon 10 Apr
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue: York Explore Library
Cost: £2

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Treasure Island Craft Club

Date: Thu 13 Apr
Time: 2.30pm – 4.30pm
Venue: Dringhouses Library
Cost: £2 per child/£5 family ticket

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Easter Stories & Crafts

Date: Thu 13 Apr
Time: 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Venue: Clifton Explore Library
Cost: £1.50

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Exciting Easter Crafts

Date: Fri 21 Apr
Time: 3.00pm – 4.00pm & 4.00pm – 5.00pm
Venue: Dringhouses Library
Cost: £2 per child/£5 family ticket

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Councillors try out limited vision tennis at Energise

Sheena Jackson (Westfield) and Stephen Fenton (Dringhouses) put on special glasses to demonstrate the impact visual impairment has for anyone playing sport.

The event took place at Energise at the weekend.

Stephen wore glasses that when playing gave him the experience of someone who has to live with “tunnel vision”.

The glasses Sheena wore completely blurred her vision and made things all fuzzy. Sheena said they “made you feel somewhat nauseus after a while when hitting a tennis ball”.

The ball that was used was a sponge ball which is used in short tennis and inside the ball was another ball the size of a golf ball with ball bearing inside which people with visual impairment would be able to hear when the ball was approaching them to enable them to make contact with it.

The Councillors said that the session was an interesting one and everyone who participated enjoyed that activities along with the glorious sunshine.

The local ward Councillors support the activities being put on at Energise. The weekend before they went along to see what coaching/drills/activities the new tennis section at Energise has to offer.

Surprise at ‘Valentine’s Fair’ plan for Askham Bar

Lib Dem councillors for Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward have expressed surprise at the news that a ‘Valentine’s Fair’ is planned to take place on council land at the old Askham Bar Park & Ride site between 17 and 26 February.

News to us!

         News to us!

We were not informed or consulted about the proposal – we found out about it earlier this week via a post on Facebook. We understand that Events & Attractions Ltd are to operate the fair and we are told that they are due to deliver letters to the surrounding residential properties which will include contact details, information about operating hours and how noise levels will be monitored and any complaints acted upon.

We have expressed our concern to officers at Make it York and City of York Council about the fact that councillors and residents have not been made aware of an event that has the potential to cause disruption to a residential area in which there already exist parking problems.

 

Success for playground investment campaign

Liberal Democrat councillors for the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward have warmly welcomed plans to invest £17,000 in each of two local playgrounds.

woodthorpe-green-play-area-2

The Nelsons Lane and Woodthorpe Green play areas are two of ten sites across the city that are each set to receive £17,000 in funding from City of York Council. The funds comes from a £170,000 capital programme for 2017/18 for playground improvement. Full details of the citywide plans, which were announced on 30 January, can be found here: https://www.york.gov.uk/press/article/2083/170k_proposed_to_make_big_improvements_to_york_s_playgrounds

Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton has thanked the local community for their support last summer when the case for funding for the Woodthorpe Green and Nelsons Lane playgrounds was being put together:

“During my visits to Dringhouses Primary and Woodthorpe Primary Schools in July 2016 I gathered lots of ideas from pupils about how they think we can improve local play areas, and we gathered even more suggestions at the Woodthorpe Family Fun Day in August. This engagement helped us to demonstrate the level of community support for improving play provision in the ward, and I am looking forward to working with community groups to develop improvement plans for the two playgrounds.”

Welcoming the citywide plans, Councillor Keith Aspden, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Economic Development and Community Engagement, said: “Thanks to this proposed funding, ten of York’s play parks will be significantly improved for children and families in the city. Hopefully this will provide more opportunities for children and young people to exercise in a fun and safe environment.”

Under the plans, the £170,000 funding will be equally shared between the following playgrounds:

· Askham Bryan

· Badger Hill

· Cemetery Road, Fishergate

· Littlethorpe Close, Strensall

· Nelsons Lane, Dringhouses

· Rowntree Park

· School Lane, Fulford

· Victoria Field, Holgate

· West Bank Park, Holgate

· Woodthorpe Green

The report to go to the 7th February Decision Session is available at http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=735&MId=9472&Ver=4

Chapmans Pond lease agreed

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

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

“The reinvigorated Friends Group has really got to grips with the management of the pond and addressed some long standing issues. It has now become a very pleasant place to visit and spend time and looks well cared for.    This helps to discourage some of the anti social behaviour and vandalism that has happened in the past.
“Granting the lease will help the Group pursue its programme to improve the area and manage the fishing more effectively. Representatives of the Friends Group attend our Ward Team meetings, are part of the community and are very supportive of other community groups.”

 

Charges likely for fishing at Chapman’s Pond

Charges are to be introduced for people wishing to fish at Chapman’s Pond on Moor Lane.
Chapmans pond children fishing 1971

Chapman’s Pond 1971

The charges will be levied when the lease of the site, to the Friends of Chapman’s pond, is concluded later in the year.

The charges are expected to be £3 per day or £15 per year for adults, £1 a day or £5 a year for 13 – 16 years olds and free for under 12s. This level of charging is comparable with the nearby Railway Pond. Fishing has previously been free at the site.

Last year the pond had to be closed to anglers following an outbreak of disease in the fishing stock. At the suggestion of the Environment Agency, and with the support of the anglers, the Council closed the pond during this year’s spawning period resulting in a huge reduction in the number of fish deaths compared to last year

An anglers group is expected to appoint volunteer bailiffs to police fishing at the pond.

The move is also expected to address anti-social behaviour problems at the pond although it is not yet clear whether the boundary will be secured.

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.

The area will be leased to the Friends for a nominal fee initially for three years.

The plan is being discussed at a Council meeting taking place on 23rd September.