Woodthorpe residents encouraged to have their say on CCTV plans

Local Lib Dem councillors are encouraging residents to have their say on plans designed to tackle anti social behaviour in parts of Woodthorpe.

Example of a body-worn CCTV camera

Residents have expressed concern about vandalism and anti social behaviour in the Ashbourne Way and Summerfield Road area and also around the newly-refurbished playground at Woodthorpe Green.

In response, the Ward Budget is being used to fund a six-month trial of daily visits by a Gough & Kelly security patrol with body-worn cameras.

The aim is to gather evidence of the nature of the problems, with a view to informing a decision about whether a fixed CCTV camera would be beneficial.

The survey, which has been set up by Gough & Kelly, can be accessed at  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TH7XT3Q

The questions posed in the survey are:

  1. Do you feel there is a need for patrols with body-worn video in the Summerfield Road / Ashbourne Way area?
  2. Would having patrols make you feel safer?
  3. Are you happy that patrols have been considered as a way of documenting evidence to support the installation of a fixed CCTV camera?
  4. Are you happy for images of you to be recorded and stored for 31 days?
  5. Can you think of incidents where CCTV would have been useful in the area?
  6. Do you have any other comments, questions or concerns?

Clean Air Day, Thursday 21 June 2018

It’s Clean Air Day, which is an opportunity to find out more about air pollution, share information with friends and colleagues, and help make the air cleaner and healthier for everyone. There is information and resources available at https://www.cleanairday.org.uk/


City of York Council is about to start a consultation on plans to set up a Clean Air Zone for the city centre. You can find out more at https://www.york.gov.uk/press/article/2580/clean_air_day_21_june_2018_your_views_on_new_clean_air_zone_for_york_s_city_centre

Local Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton said “Clean Air Day is a chance for us to focus on what more needs to be done to encourage cycling and walking in York. Better air quality is key to that, as are improvements to cycle lanes, both on and off road.”

Stephen out and about on his bike!

Burglary on The Horseshoe

A house burglary took place on The Horseshoe on Sunday 17th June between 12:30 and 5:30pm when an individual entered a property and took various items.


 

 

 

 

 

North Yorkshire Police are appealing to residents to contact them if they saw anything suspicious between these times and suspect it was related to this incident. Please phone 101 to pass any relevant information

Moorcroft Road parking woes continue

Local Lib Dem councillors are calling on City of York Council officials to recognise the problems being caused by inconsiderate parking on both sides of Moorcroft Road in Woodthorpe.

Parking outside the doctors surgery and the dentist is causing difficulties for the number 12 bus, which serves Woodthorpe, which on occasions has been unable to get through.

An officer report to the Decision Session of the Executive Member for Planning and Transport on 17 May noted that residents who had objected to the proposed double yellow lines outside the doctors had said that the restrictions would be better placed on the other side of the road, outside the dentist. This suggestion was rejected by officers, who responded in the report by saying that “parking here [outside the dentist] is thought to be more intermittent.”

Cllr Ashley Mason attended the 17 May meeting to make the case for parking restrictions outside the dentist, but this was refused. Instead, it was agreed to defer the installation of double yellow lines outside the doctors surgery to enable more evidence to be gathered via a 7-day video traffic survey, which the councillors propose to fund from the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward budget.

Cllr Stephen Fenton commented  “We first made the case for parking restrictions outside the dentist at a Decision Session of the Executive Member for Planning and Transport held on 14 September 2017, but this was refused. It is disappointing that the same has happened again. Parking outside the dentist is not ‘intermittent’ as the officer report suggests – it is persistent. The photograph below, taken on 6 June, demonstrates this.”

Moorcroft Road – dentist on left, doctors surgery on right

 

TalkTalk publish timetable for repair work

TalkTalk has published a timetable setting out when tarmac strips across concrete driveways will be replaced with concrete, and other repairs made to footpaths and verges following the UFO cable installation work.

Dates correct as at 31 May 2018

Lib Dem councillor Andrew Waller met with representatives of TalkTalk and contractors FNS on Friday 1 June to visit locations across Westfield and Dringhouses & Woodthorpe wards where there are concerns about the reinstatement works done so far.

Residents reject bollard suggestion

Residents on the Middlethorpe estate have rejected a suggestion that concrete bollards could be installed at some junctions in the hope of protecting verges from being overrun by heavy vehicles (such as at the junction of Whin Road and Middlethorpe Grove, pictured below).


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In response to a request for feedback in the Spring 2018 edition of Focus, all but one respondent said that they did not favour bollards being installed. Reasons given included that they would be ugly and would be difficult to mow around.

One alternative suggestion put forward was for template letters to be drafted which residents could be put on the windscreens of vehicles parked inappropriately, asking them politely to park elsewhere.

This suggestion chimes with a recommendation coming out of the grass verge scrutiny review in 2016, which was that:

“The Communications Team produces a pro forma letter to further promote community and neighbourhood pride and advise that it costs council tax payers £35 per square metre to repair damaged verges, which can:

  • Be made available to ward councillors for distribution to drivers and residents when a particular problem is identified or reported;
  • Be circulated to residents online or by text message via the new My Account system;
  • Form the basis of a poster to be displayed in local libraries, community centres, other public buildings and included in relevant council publications.”

Askham Bar litter pick success

A team of volunteers joined councillors Ashley Mason and Stephen Fenton for a litter pick on Sunday 27 May at the old Askham Bar Park & Ride site and surrounding area. Over 25 bags of litter were collected.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worryingly, a large number of discarded small silver flasks were found, which it is thought are being used for recreational ‘highs.’ The Police have been notified.


 

Middlethorpe Grove footpath work to get underway

City of York Council has issued letters to residents on Middlethorpe Grove confirming that footpath reconstruction work will get underway on 11 June, and is expected to last for 16 weeks. The hours of work will be 8am to 3.30pm.

The scheme involves installing a pin kerb to the front of the footway, relaying the flags and replacing broken ones. Vehicle crossings will be reconstructed in concrete. Tactile crossing points will be installed across junctions. Residents within the area to be reconstructed are being offered a discounted extension or new vehicle crossing to be constructed as part of this scheme, at cost.

The map issued with the letter indicates that the footpaths on both sides of Middlethorpe Grove will be reconstructed from the junction with Hunters Way to the junction with Dringthorpe Road. This is welcome news, as it had been suggested by the council recently in a footways map accompanying an Officer Decision Report that only the even numbered side of the street would be reconstructed.

 

 

Talks on UFO restoration work

On 8 May Cllr Ann Reid joined fellow Lib Dem councillor Andrew Waller to meet with representatives of TalkTalk and council officers. The meeting followed a letter sent by Cllr Waller to TalkTalk last month expressing concerns received from residents with respect to the work being conducted as part of the Ultra Fibre Optic roll out.

A summary of residents’ issues raised were:
• Verge conditions – stones and gravel prevent grass growing or safe cutting by machines
• Tarmac on concrete driveways –uncertainty as to when tarmac will be replaced with concrete
• Cutting of other cables in the highway
• Bus routes blocked
• Pedestrians put onto the road due to closed footpath

There are concerns about the state of verges across Dringhouses

On communications, a new leaflet has been developed to encourage residents to call the Careline if there are issues and to reinforce the message that the crews will be returning to streets after the initial engineering works. There have been instances of other utilities having cables in the ground where they are not meant to be and this has resulted in some residents having telecoms cut (there is a BT Openreach worker with the teams at all times)

It was accepted that there needs to be a clearer communication of plans to residents and ward councillors in relation to:
• Replace temporary tarmac in concrete driveways with concrete (on like for like basis)
• Restoration of verges with re-soiling (replacing the rubble) and grass seed (within the timeframe when it is not too warm/dry for seed to successfully germinate)
• Step up tool box talks to gangs to reinforce customer service requirements
• Review pinch points where there are so many crews and vehicles that it starts to impact on transport in an area
• Review locations where pedestrians needed to go onto the road due to the works

There will be a new inspection regime to respond to residents’ concerns and ward councillors will be asked to check that issues raised by residents have been addressed before final sign off.
It is planned to have a web page for updates, and Frequently Asked Questions, and a summary of the position with roads which have been completed through the process.

Representatives from TalkTalk will give an update at the joint Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Westfield Ward Committee meeting on 5 June at 6.30pm at the indoor bowls club on Thanet Road.