In recent days there has been a spike in the number of Coronavirus cases in the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, and particularly in the Woodthorpe and Acomb Park area. In response, City of York Council is offering residents the chance to get a symptom-free test.
1 in 3 cases of Coronavirus have no symptoms but for some catching Coronavirus can have serious consequences. To help stop the spread, residents in Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward are invited to get a test. A testing site has been set up at York Acorn Rugby Club, Thanet Road, YO24 2NW. This site will be open from Wednesday 6th to Wednesday 13th January inclusive, between 9am and 3pm.
How it works
Book to have a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus. Please note that the Department for Health & Social Care will release booking slots later today (5th) for the morning of Wednesday 6th January, and will release afternoon slots on the morning of the 6th.
On this website select that you do not have symptoms of Coronavirus, but in the relevant section choose the option ‘my local council or health protection team has asked me to get a test even though I don’t have symptoms’. Then select the site at York Acorn Rugby Club. Testing can be undertaken on anyone aged 5 and over. It is not recommended that you are tested if you have tested positive in the previous 90 days. Ring 119 if you are not able to book online.
If you have symptoms of Coronavirus please do not attend this site, instead book a test through www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119 and select the Poppleton Bar site or a home testing kit.
Getting your results
You should get your results within 24-48 hours of your test.
If you receive a negative test result you can continue as you were.
Remember:
a negative test result provides information about the level of the virus at one point in time
it’s possible to become infected in the hours or days after taking a rapid test – so you must continue to follow government guidance on social distancing, good hand hygiene, and practice ‘Hands, Face, Space’
this type of testing will only be effective if people continue to follow the guidance
Positive test results
If you receive a positive test result you must self-isolate for 10 days.
The data for the seven days ending on 28th December show Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise, with Woodthorpe & Acomb Park having a rolling rate of 845.6 cases per 100,000 population, the highest in York.
These figures pre-date York being moved from Tier 2 into Tier 3 – it is to be hoped that the tighter restrictions will help to bring the case rate down.
The Government’s interactive Covid map is available HERE
It will of course continue to be vital that residents continue to follow the Hands / Face / Space mantra, and adhere to the Tier 3 restrictions summarised on the posters below.
Network Rail have announced plans for engineering work to be carried out on the railway as it passes through Dringhouses on 13 and 20 December, and 25 December to 27 December.
The work, which will take place during the day and night, is to survey and adjust the existing overhead line equipment, as part of the electrification of the line from York to Church Fenton.
Members of the community are invited to attend an online information session from 18:30 to 19:30 on Thursday 10 December. Members of the project team will be there to explain the work in more detail and answer any questions. To join the meeting on Thursday, please click HERE
The work will require the use hand tools and track access platforms. Steps will be taken to avoid noise, but this may still produce a level of noise disturbance for those who live close to the railway. Much of this work can only be carried out when the line is closed over the Christmas period, hence the timing.
Network Rail have produced a ‘Work Tracker’ newsletter, which explains more about the work being done along the line. It can be downloaded HERE
In response to suggestions from residents, a number of dog waste bins around Dringhouses & Woodthorpe have been ‘upgraded’ to dual use litter and dog waste bins.
There have been issues in recent months with dog waste bins quickly becoming full and needing to be emptied much more frequently. Hopefully the extra capacity that the new bins provide, along with regular emptying, will prevent a repeat of the overflowing bin issues that we have seen of late.
Dual use bins have been installed at the Ashbourne Way entrance to Acomb Wood (pictured below) and on Little Hob Moor at the fork in the path by the allotments and near to the exit onto Hob Moor Terrace.
Ashbourne WayLittle Hob Moor
Another improvement has been made at the Summerfield Road entrance to Woodthorpe Green, where some slabs have been laid to create a mud-free route for people to use to get the bin located there. Initially there was a muddy gap between the path and the new slabs, but council workers soon returned to finish the job.
The efforts of a local volunteer, Michael, are helping to keep drainage ditches in Acomb Wood clear of vegetation.
After periods of heavy rain the ditches through Acomb Wood between Girvan Close and Alness Drive often fill up, and so keeping them clear boosts their capacity and reduces the flood risk to nearby properties.
As well as clearing the ditches of vegetation and leaves, Michael also maintains and improves the area alongside the path through the wood that links Acomb Wood Drive with Alness Drive.
Cllr Stephen Fenton said “For many years Michael has spent a huge amount of his own time maintaining and improving this area for residents to enjoy, His ditch clearing work is particularly important in reducing the risk of surface water flooding.
“Many hands make light work, so it would be great if other local residents could volunteer as much or as little time as they have to help keep our green open spaces in good condition. If anyone can help, please get in touch with me on 787988.”
In response to requests from residents, local councillors have arranged for a bench to be installed outside the Woodthorpe Green playground, funded through the ward budget.
Since lockdown began, walking around Woodthorpe has become a more popular pastime, and for some residents the opportunity to take a rest is much appreciated. This led to calls for more benches to be installed, and the Woodthorpe Community Group is now consulting residents on other possible locations.
The bench outside the playground will also be a benefit for parents or carers whose children use the playground but who have had to stand outside if they have a dog. The bench will enable the parent or carer to have a sit down and keep an eye on the kids in the playgrounds.
The next local improvement being funded by the ward budget is the resurfacing of the uneven and badly potholed path across the Green between Summerfield Road and Glenridding.
The Government has announced that York will be subject to additional restrictions, following a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases.
From 00:01hrs on Saturday 17 October, York will be been placed at the high level (tier 2) of the Government’s new three-tier restriction system.
The new restrictions for tier 2 mean:
You must not meet socially with friends and family indoors in any setting unless you live with them or have formed a support bubble with them. This includes private homes, and any other indoor venues such as pubs and restaurants.
You may continue to see friends and family you do not live with outside, including in a garden or other outdoor space. When you do so you must not meet in a group of more than 6.
Visiting indoor hospitality/leisure/retail settings is restricted to one household i.e. two households must not meet in these settings (unless those two households are in a support bubble).
People are advised only to visit care homes in exceptional circumstances (further work will be undertaken locally to agree what this means).
People should only travel for essential reasons.
You can still go on holiday outside of your area, but you should only do this with people you live with, or have formed a support bubble with (dependent on any local restrictions in the area you are visiting).
People can play a team sport only where this is formally organised by a sports club or similar organisation, and sports-governing body guidance has been issued.
People should not attend amateur or professional sporting events as a spectators.
Wedding receptions and celebrations can continue for up to 15 people in the form of a sit-down meal and in a Covid-secure setting, not in a private dwelling.
Up to 30 people can attend a funeral (York capacity remains at 18), and 15 for a wake in a Covid-secure setting, not in a private dwelling.
What is a ‘support bubble’ and a ‘childcare bubble’?
Informal childcare can be provided via ‘childcare bubbles’. A childcare bubble is where someone in one household provides informal (unpaid and unregistered) childcare to a child aged 13 or under in another household. For any given childcare bubble, this must always be between the same 2 households. Friends or family who do not live with you and are not part of a support or childcare bubble must not visit your home to help with childcare. Childcare bubbles are to be used to provide childcare only, and not for the purposes of different households mixing where they are otherwise not allowed to do so. Find out more at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-covid-alert-level-high#childcare
To learn more about the new measures and what support is available locally, please visit www.york.gov.uk/Coronavirus. The council will also be holding a special Facebook Live ‘Ask the Leaders’ Q&A session at www.facebook.com/CityofYork on Friday 16 October, further details to follow.
City of York Council has set out a timetable for work to invest £5m on Tadcaster Road, following the award of the funding from the Department of Transport’s Local Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund.
The funding will enable to council to improve large sections of drainage along the route which will reduce localised surface water flooding. The work will include the delivery of additional pedestrian crossings and will ensure the road is maintenance free for the next 10 years.
Road works are returning to Tadcaster Road
Local councillors have for some time been pressing for a pedestrian refuge to be installed on Tadcaster Road near to the junction with Nelsons Lane to enable residents alighting the bus to be able to cross the road safely. It is hoped that this scheme will now be delivered as part of these works.
During the council’s liaison with the major utility companies to co-ordinate future work, it became apparent that Northern Gas Networks (NGN), were due to carry out major work in 2023. They have brought this work forward to October 2020 to ensure that disruption for residents and commuters is minimised. The council works are then scheduled to start in January 2021.
The council could have made NGN wait for three years before digging up the road, but that would have led to longer term issues of the road surface once again becoming a ‘patchwork’ of reinstatements. By bringing the NGN work forward, there is the opportunity to undertake proper reinstatement as part of the wider package of work.
The council has published some FAQs, set out below, which address questions and concerns that residents may have, such as why the NGN work is being done so soon after a section of Tadcaster Road was resurfaced.
Q. Wasn’t part of Tadcaster Road resurfaced earlier this year? A. Yes. The council bid to Government for a scheme on Tadcaster Road but received confirmation in March that it was unsuccessful and would not receive funding. Therefore the council resurfaced a section of Tadcaster Road as it was in need of urgent repairs between The Horseshoe and St Aubyns Place.
However, in June the council was then awarded the £5million funding to improve large sections of drainage along Tadcaster Road which will reduce the risk of localised surface water flooding.
Northern Gas Networks recently informed the council they have plans to carry out major works to their service at Tadcaster Road by 2025. The council was not made aware of these works before the section of Tadcaster Road between The Horseshoe and St Aubyns Place was resurfaced earlier this year.
Whilst it is not an ideal situation, the council would rather sacrifice a small part of the works that have been undertaken already rather than risk the digging up of the major £5 million scheme in a few years’ time for the Northern Gas Networks scheme.
The council and Northern Gas Networks have agreed to coordinate their programmes of works for the benefit of the larger Tadcaster Road scheme.
This coordination of works will see Northern Gas Networks advance their programme for delivery in 2020. The utility repair works will be carried out on the inbound carriageway only from 10 October for 16-20 weeks. As these works will affect 50% the recently surfaced road, the council will resurface this affected section again by recycling the material onsite. The council is planning to commence the drainage works in January 2021 followed by highways works and road resurfacing, these works are expected to take up to 9 months to complete.
Full details will be communicated in advance of the works, including letters to residents and businesses.
Pedestrian access will be permitted and maintained at all times, but vehicle access may be prohibited at times with traffic management (traffic lights). Everything possible will be done to keep this distribution to a minimum.
Q. Where are the works happening? A. The current scope of the £5m Highways maintenance works includes the full stretch of Tadcaster Road.
A full assessment of the road’s condition will be carried out in advance. This will help to determine the full details of the works including in addition to the resurfacing and drainage works, is if there is capacity to look at additional crossing points as well as improvements to the crossing points, footway or cycle routes, for example.
Q. Why are we doing it? A. There are serious defects we could not address without the significant level of funding from DFT, these include the road surface and drainage network, so this scheme will improve the quality of the overall highway. There are currently 35 non-running gullies and several hundred metres of un-mapped drainage, meaning this route particularly suffers during times of heavy rain and localised surface water flooding. The proposed scheme would deliver remediation measures to the road’s drainage, ensure its resurfacing is fit-for-purpose and can continue to meet the needs of its cycling users and support the local economy and the wider area.
Q. What is the impact on traffic during the works? A. A traffic management plan will be created in advance, alongside NGN, and communicated to residents and businesses. These works will be delivered under lane closures and traffic lights, which will be monitored closely on site by traffic marshals. Journey times may be affected, however we will be doing everything we can to keep this to a minimum.
Q. What will happen to public transport and buses? A. Residents and visitors are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes which will be busier than normal and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible. Bus services will generally be operating as normal for the majority of the works, as per national social distancing rules.
Q. Will I still be able to cross the road? A. Temporary crossing points will be available at all times during the works to ensure that all pedestrian crossings that are currently available are maintained. Traffic marshals will be on site to assist with pedestrians crossing the road.
Q. Will I still be able to access shops, cafe/restaurants in the area? A. Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times. We will be engaging with traders and businesses in the area to help promote the “open as usual” message. Vehicular access for deliveries will be maintained.
Q. What if I live or work in the area? A. Access to all properties and businesses will be retained at all times. Traffic marshals will be on hand to assist if vehicle access is prohibited at certain times.
Q. What about alternative travel plans? A. Residents and visitors are urged to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys on these routes and to consider alternatives and to use public transport where possible. Bus services will generally be operating as normal for the majority of the works but passengers are requested to visit www.itravelyork.info for more information.
Residents are being encouraged to have their say on pavement parking as part of a Government consultation.
Local councillors increasingly receive complaints from residents who find themselves having to walk in the road due to vehicles being parked on the footpath unnecessarily. This is a particular problem for anyone pushing a pram or buggy, for wheelchair users and for people who are blind or partially sighted.
No way through
The Government consultation on pavement parking is open until 22 November, and details can be found HERE
In summary, the Government wants to gauge the degree of support for ongoing work to improve the Traffic Regulation Order process as a means to tackle pavement parking where it is a problem. It is also inviting views on alternative approaches, with two specific options outlined. These are:
legislative change to allow local authorities with civil parking enforcement (CPE) powers to enforce against ‘unnecessary obstruction of the pavement’, or;
legislative change to introduce a London-style pavement parking prohibition throughout England.
The Government is also inviting any alternative proposals for managing pavement parking.
A mobility scooter would struggle to get past this van
There are existing statutes and regulations which allow proceedings to be brought by the Police under criminal law for situations where parking on the pavement, in such a way as to cause obstruction, is deemed to be avoidable. These include section 137 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended; for wilfully obstructing the free passage along a highway. Local authorities are currently unable to enforce against obstruction using their civil parking enforcement powers.
The installation of Ultra Fibre Optic cabling in the Acomb Park area has returned, with work being undertaken on streets that were missed out when the first tranche of work was done.
Cable is currently being installed on Coeside, but it seems that the company has failed to give residents advance notice. One resident contacted Cllr Stephen Fenton after returning home to find their driveway blocked and the ‘service strip’ part of the front garden dug up.
In mid-September Stephen contacted the council’s Streetworks team to ask about similar work being undertaken on nearby Ashmeade Close, and he requested a list of the streets in Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward where permissions had been granted for forthcoming utilities work. A council officer undertook to ask the company’s senior build manager in York to provide some information, but to date none has been received.
It is understood that utility firms are required to notify the council of forthcoming works at least 10 days in advance.
Stephen commented “It’s not acceptable for residents to find their driveway blocked and their front garden dug up with no notice or explanation. If the utility company doesn’t have the courtesy to tell residents what they are doing, and the council can’t compel them to, then it’s even more more important that ward councillors are kept informed.
“I have therefore asked that, when the council’s Streetworks team receives notification of utility works, this is communicated to ward councillors so that we have the opportunity to put out a street letter explaining what’s going on.”
