Petition to reinstate Post Office services for Woodthorpe

Local Lib Dem councillors have launched a petition calling on Post Office Ltd to reinstate Post Office services for Woodthorpe residents as quickly as possible.

The Post Office shut on 13th May, leaving residents with a trek to Acomb or Tadcaster Road to access Post Office services

Post Office Ltd have failed to engage with local councillors or residents about the closure. They did issue a statement a few days after the Woodthorpe branch closed. It said:

“We are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community. In exploring this, it is important that any future service is sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office Limited. Future provision will reflect customer numbers and usage and we may take the opportunity to establish an alternative type of service. This may be a new style local branch which run alongside an established retail shop in newly refurbished premises and creates a more modern and convenient experience for customers.”

Stephen, Ashley and Paula are calling on local residents to sign the petition, which is online at https://www.yorklibdems.org.uk/post_office_petition

Stephen commented “It is important that we show Post Office bosses how much we value our local services.”

Post Office respond to resident outcry over branch closure

Post Office Ltd have belatedly responded to the outcry from residents about the closure of Woodthorpe Post Office.

They have issued a statement on their website setting out the current situation. It states..

“I would like to assure you that we are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community. In exploring this, it is important that any future service is sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office Limited.

Future provision will reflect customer numbers and usage and we may take the opportunity to establish an alternative type of service. This may be a new style local branch which run alongside an established retail shop in newly refurbished premises and creates a more modern and convenient experience for customers.”

Somewhat confusingly, an e-mail from Post Office Ltd to Cllr Stephen Fenton boasts that “Customer information materials will also be available in branch”!

Construction work impact hits Dringhouses residents

A number of residents have been in touch to express concerns about the disturbance being caused by construction work on the former site of 26 Tadcaster Road.

Planning permission was granted in 2018, despite overwhelming local opposition, for eleven homes to be shoehorned into a thin strip of land that sits between St Helens Road and Mayfield Grove.

Complaints raised include properties shaking, falling masonry and surface damage being caused by pile-driving operations. Additionally, the work is causing disruption to pupils at nearby Dringhouses Primary School who are currently preparing for their SATS exams.

Cllr Stephen Fenton has raised these concerns with the council’s Planning Enforcement and Public Protection teams. He has also queried whether the enormous advertising hoarding erected at the entrance to the site (pictured below) has, or requires, planning permission.

The council’s Public Protection team has contacted the construction firm and has been told that the piling for 9 of the 11 houses will be completed on 8 May.

New parking restrictions at Woodthorpe shops

Signage has been installed in the car park behind the shops on Moorcroft Road with the aim of limiting the amount of time that vehicles can be parked there.

Car park signage

Residents using the shops and other local services can park for up to two hours, with no return within three hours. We understand that staff working in the local shops have been issued with permits allowing them to park for longer than two hours.

We believe that these restrictions have been introduced in response to concerns that some residents were using the car park as a ‘park & ride’ facility, parking up in the morning and getting the bus into town. This makes it more difficult for people using local services to find somewhere to park.

The car park is private land, and therefore the council has no role in establishing or enforcing parking restrictions on this land.

Parking boost for Dringfield Close residents

The installation of seven new parking bays for residents on Dringfield Close, off Chaloners Road, has been completed. The bays are constructed from ‘EcoGrid’ with gravel filling and have helped to address a chronic lack of parking provision in this narrow cul de sac.

The scheme was funded by the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Ward Committee budget and the Housing Environmental Improvement Programme.

Woodthorpe residents hit by reduction in Post Office hours

Woodthorpe Post Office on Moorcroft Road has announced a reduction in its opening hours with effect from 16th April.

The Post Office counter will close on Friday afternoons at 1pm and will remain shut on Saturdays and Sundays. The shop will be open on Friday afternoons, but it will be closed all weekend.

The news comes as a blow to residents who work during the week and rely on being able to access Post Office services at the weekend. The weekend closure of the shop will hit residents who have newspapers delivered, and will particularly affect elderly residents who are less mobile.

Whilst the nearby McColls store sells newspapers, they do not offer a delivery service.

This latest setback comes after the Post Office closed without warning in November 2018. It subsequently re-opened in early December. Cllr Stephen Fenton has written to Post Office Ltd to request an explanation as to what is happening with the Post Office, highlighting the concerns being felt locally by the deterioration in the service.

TalkTalk online ‘Hub’ to provide updates on UFO installation

As the installation of Ultra Fibre Optic cable gathers pace along Tadcaster Road, TalkTalk has established a new ‘Hub’ web page where residents can register for email updates and read the latest UFO news.

The Hub includes a ‘planned build works’ button to find out about the network build and a Frequently Asked Questions section. The Hub will be updated every Tuesday afternoon.

The TalkTalk Care Line team continues to operate, and they can be contacted on 0800 542 8073 or ufo-help@talktalkplc.com

Meanwhile Cllr Stephen Fenton is following up complaints raised by residents on Pulleyn Drive about the quality of the grass verge reinstatement. The soil put down contains a lot of rubble, and as yet grass seed has not been sown.