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Residents recently voted on how they would like to see the Ward Committee budget allocated for the next 12 months. The results are reproduced above.
It is unclear how much money will be available for this activity during the next financial year, although cuts have been forecast.
We will publish the final list on this web site when the budget allocation has been decided.
This year, the City of York will be 800 years old. In 1212, King John gave York its first Charter so that it could have a council led by a mayor and be able to raise local taxes and trade without restrictions. The day the charter was given was July 9th but the celebration was launched by the present Lord Mayor at a special Breakfast in the Mansion House recently.
He was able to announce that Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York Minster on April 5th , Maundy Thursday, and will present 85 deserving pensioners with specially minted Maundy Money – one person for each year of her age. As celebration in 2012 will include the Mystery Plays, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics; it looks as if it will be year to remember.
As you will be aware City of York Council has recently removed some street lighting from a number of roads in the ward on safety grounds. This work was carried out without warning, with no advance notice being given to either Ward Councillors or local residents, leaving many people unaware of what was happening.
This is clearly unacceptable and residents should have been told that the work was being carried out and why. The Liberal Democrat Council Group will be raising the issue with the Labour Cabinet and asking why they failed to tell residents that street lights would be removed.
A number of residents have contacted us to ask when the lights are likely to be replaced. Around 500 street lights have been removed across the city, meaning the Council needs to find around £1000 per lamp post to pay for replacements. The Labour Cabinet did not identify any funding for replacing the lights before agreeing to their removal and so far the money has not yet been found. It is likely that, at the very earliest, funding to replace the lights will not be found until the new financial year. This means that the lights are unlikely to be replaced before the summer and residents will be left to manage through the remainder of the dark winter nights with reduced street lighting.
The removal of the lights has left many residents concerned about possible safety issues. While the weather has been unusually mild so far this winter, if there is a cold spell the reduced lighting will make it harder to spot ice on the pavements and many elderly residents are concerned about not being able to go outside. Concerns have also been raised about the effect the removal of the lights will have on the risk of crime.
If you have specific concerns about the impact that the lost lighting will have on your street, or the effect it will have on you or your neighbours, please do contact us on the details above and we will ensure that the Council is made aware of the issue. We will also push to ensure that the Council prioritises the replacement of lighting in areas with vulnerable residents.
If you have any other issues that you would like to raise, please do get in touch.
Salt bins have now been placed in a variety of locations across the ward for residents to use. The bins are free for all residents to use on footpaths and driveways throughout the winter months. They are inspected regularly, but if you find that your bin needs refilling, please phone (01904) 551551.
There is a list below of all the local salt bins. You can also see the exact locations of the salt bins by using the map on the City of York Council website.
Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Salt Bin Locations
Annan Close
Spey Bank
Eden Close
Moor Lane
Nairn Close
Orrin Close
Silverdale
Wordsworth Crescent
Summerfield Road
Lowick
Summerfield Road
Alness Drive
Deveron Way
Nevis Way
Hillcrest Gardens Near
Middlethorpe Grove
Middlethorpe Grove
Ganton Place
Don Avenue
West Thorpe
Leeside
St James Place
St Helens Road
North Lane
Orchard Way
Southfield Crescent
Herdsman Road
The Horseshoe
Royal Chase
Moorlea Avenue
Wains Grove
Slingsby Grove
Lindale
Tadcaster Road
Ashbourne Way
The York Council has teamed up with the Yorkshire Energy Partnership to offer free home insulation to York residents through the ‘Warmer Warmer’ scheme.
Subject to a free, no obligation home survey, householders can get free loft and cavity wall insulation in their homes, on a first-come first-served basis. The scheme is open to all private homeowners in the City of York Council area, including landlords. The deal expires on 31 January 2012.
For more information or to claim your FREE insulation, call Yorkshire Energy Partnership on 01904 55 44 06 quoting ‘Warmer Winter’.
The £100,000 scheme aims to to tackle fuel poverty and keep the cold at bay during the freezing winter months and is being funded by national energy providers and City of York Council.
Garden compost bins are available to York residents subsidised by the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership.
A 220 litre Compost Converter is £10 or a 330 litre Compost Converter is £13, plus £5.49 delivery per order or buy 1 get 1 half price. The offer is limited to 2 units per household.
You can order online at www.getcomposting.com, quoting reference YNY01L; by phone on 0844 5714444, quoting reference YNY01L; or by post via a leaflet (available at 9SLP and Library Square receptions or by contacting YCC) to:
FREEPOST RRSX-TXTE-RCCB, Evengreener, YNY Offer, Leeds, LS1 4BN
The closing date for this offer is 31st March 2012.
Most of the land fenced off earlier in the year has now been handed back, although the area immediately behind the Hob Moor Terrace houses which has been cultivated as garden is still under dispute. The Council has written to the developer involved again and is waiting for a reply.
Meanwhile Health and Safety works are being undertaken on the site. Work has been carried on the trees that were identified as being dangerous, the building has been demolished, metal and debris in the ground is too be removed and the gas vents on the meadow repaired. All these works should be complete by the end of October.
Two notice boards are on order and will be funded by the Ward Committee.
The Ward Committee recently held a special meeting for residents to discuss the problems they encounter with overflow parking from the College.
The College Principle outlined the parking policies of the College and the measures that they have taken to subsidise bus travel and increase walking and cycling.
There are only 46 less car parking spaces now than there were on the two old sites combined and although there has been a significant increase in the number of students using public transport, walking and cycling there has also been a significant increase in student numbers as the College reputation grows.
Councillors are now working with the College and Council Officers to come up with come solutions and a follow up meeting is expected to be held after Christmas.
Our Street Environment Officer has finally made contact with the owners of the shops who have agreed to repair the canopy along the shop fronts.
Notice has been served on the tenants on the flats above and work is due to start on “in the next few weeks”. She is also in correspondence with the Co-op who are responsible for most of the forecourt.
Hopefully we will see improvements soon. Meanwhile a suggestion that the flower beds could be planted with vegetables as part of the Edible York scheme received support at a recent Ward Committee.
The Edible York project would also support this but we will need volunteers to care for the beds.
Please contact me if you are interested in becoming involved.
The area of woodland closest to Acomb Wood Drive will be thinned this winter.
This area has been planted more recently than the majority of the woodland and work needs to be done to allow some trees to grow bigger and provide light to ground vegetation.
Work will also continue to improve the footpaths in the woodland. The area of footpath between the Quaker Wood Pub and the entrance onto Acomb Wood Drive is particularly muddy all year round as it goes through a hollow.
It is getting wider as people try to avoid the mud so the plan is to divert the footpath by cutting a new path through the neighbouring vegetation and blocking up the current one.
The section of vegetation to be removed is only approx. 20m long and hopefully the current path will grow over quickly. These plans have already been discussed with the Friends of Acomb Wood who support the work, and signage will be used to tell site users what is to be done and why.