Historic Local Landmark Set For Facelift Thanks To Ward Committee

The Tyburn, the site which hosted executions in York for more than 400 years is to get a facelift after local Councillors agreed to fund improvements from the local Ward Committee budgets.

The Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward Committee has allocated £1500 of funding to pay for the area to be cleaned up and the bench repaired. The area will also be replanted in the Spring with new flowers to brighten up the area.

If funding allows it is hoped that an extra new bench could be installed at the site along with a new information board to explain the history of the site to visitors.

Executions at the Tyburn took place until 1801 when the events were moved to the castle. Possibly the most famous execution at the Tyburn took place in 1739 when notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was executed for horse theft.

The site is currently marked by a small paved area and a plaque.

The Tyburn is an important part of local history so I am pleased that the Ward Committee is able to fund these improvements.

The site has a fascinating, if gruesome, history so I am pleased that the improvements look set to include a new information board to explain that history to residents and visitors.

Dringhouses has a rich history and is a key gateway to the city so it is important that we invest in restoring the site and promote pride in the area.

You can see The Press coverage of the story here.

Survey Results – Speeding On Tadcaster Road

As part of our ongoing survey around the ward we have been asking residents about problems with speeding on Tadcaster Road and seeking their views on potential measures that could be taken to reduce the problem. The results are below:

Install a Vehicle Activated Sign
Yes 81%
No 19%

Increase the number of Police checks
Yes 49%
No 51%

Install traffic calming measures
Yes 15%
No 85%

Concerns Over Proposed Development Near Aldersyde Court

Plans to build a house on land near the junction of Tadcaster Road and Old Moor Lane have drawn objections from residents in nearby Aldersyde Court.

Following discussions with residents about their concerns, I have written to City of York Council to formally object to the plans.

This is a revised plan for this development as a previous application was rejected earlier this year. Many residents objected to the original application and their concerns haven’t been addressed by this new application.

My main concern is about the impact the development will have on the residents of ground floor flats in Aldersyde Court.

The proximity of the proposed development to Aldersyde Court means that many of the people in the ground floor flats see a great deal of their light blocked out by development.

The layout of the flats means that the living areas are largely to the side of the building where the new development is proposed and so residents would be losing their light and view from rooms in which they spend a great deal of their time. I believe this would have a disproportionately large effect on the lives of the residents of those flats.

There are also some concerns about the impact this development will have on the drainage of the area, as well as issues regarding access. Overall, I think these proposal will have too much of a negative impact on local residents and should therefore be refused.

Survey Results

Over the past few weeks we have been out surveying areas of the ward and asking residents for their views on issues affecting their streets, as well as issues affecting the whole city. Some of the initial results from the surveys can be found below.

We will be continuing to survey around the ward throughout the summer so keep an eye out for us in your area.

Parking on Middlethorpe Drive

24 hour parking ban on Middlethorpe Drive (from Tadcaster Rd to Lycett Rd) 
Yes 25%
No 75%

Parking restriction 8:00am—6:00pm,  Monday to Friday Middlethorpe Drive (from Tadcaster Rd to Lycett Rd) 
Yes 73%
No 27%

Extend the double yellow lines at the Tadcaster Rd junction.  
Yes 55%
No 45%

Install double yellow lines at the junction with Lycett Rd.
Yes 37%
No 63%

Extend the restrictions into Lycett Rd. 
Yes 48%
No 52%

Leave things as they are. 
Yes 40%
No 60%

Moor Lane Snicket

I have suffered from anti-social behaviour /damage because of the snicket  
Yes 17%
No 83%

I support the permanent closure of this snicket 
Yes 38%
No 62%

I support the closure of snicket between 6pm and 6am 
Yes 74%
No 26%

Leave things as they are  
Yes 67%
No 33%

Parking on Whin, Spinney & Middlethorpe Grove

Whin, Spinney, Middlethorpe Grove 24 hour parking ban 
Yes 14%
No 86%

Whin, Spinney, Middlethorpe Grove No parking  8:00am—6:00pm,  Monday to Friday 
Yes 24%
No 76%

Whin, Spinney, Middlethorpe Grove Extend the double yellow lines at road junctions.
Yes 62%
No 38%

Whin, Spinney, Middlethorpe Grove Waiting limited to 60 minutes, 8:00am—6:00pm,  Monday to Friday 
Yes 16%
No 84%

Whin, Spinney, Middlethorpe Grove Leave things as they are. 
Yes 73%
No 27%

New Recycling Boxes On The Way

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Over the coming 5 months, City of York Council will be delivering new kerbside recycling boxes to 66,650 homes across the city.

You will receive two new boxes to go alongside your existing green box. One new box will be used for glass and the other new box will be for paper and cardboard. Your existing green box is to be used for plastic bottles and cans.

In order to cut down on the problem of paper blowing across the streets on windy days that many of you have contacted us about the new boxes come will complete with lids. You will also receive a net to use on your existing recycling box.

Having recycling sorted into three boxes will make collection quicker and easier for our crews and the efficiency savings this will generate will allow us to roll out kerbside recycling to those areas of the city that currently don’t have a collection.

York’s recycling rate has increased from 12% in 2003 to more than 45% in 2009, saving the city millions of pounds in landfill taxes and reducing the impact on the environment.

Delivery of the new boxes will be in two phases, phase one begins later this month and runs until the end of July. The second phase runs through September and October. No new boxes will be delivered during the school summer holidays to avoid any problems with people being on holiday and boxes being left out.

If you are in the first phase of the delivery, which includes the majority of Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, stickers will be placed on your grey bin to tell you when to expect your new boxes. You can also check the delivery date for your street on the City of York Council website here.

The assisted service for those who have difficulty carrying their boxes to the front of the property will continue.

If you have any questions about the new boxes you can read a list of frequently asked questions here or call York Customer Contact Centre on 01904 551551

Ward Committee Meeting 21st April 2010

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The next Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Ward Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday 21st April from 7pm at Dringhouses Primary School.

Prior to the meeting from 6.15 pm there will be a drop in surgery where you will be able to come along and talk to us as your Ward Councillors, the local Street Environment Officer, the Safer Neighbourhood Team and the Neighbourhood Management Officer about any issue that you want to raise.

At the main meeting itself there will be updates from the Safer Neighbourhood Team and local Trading Standards, who will be talking about the cold calling zones in the ward.

There will also be presentations on the York in Bloom initiative and the local planning panel, along with information about how you can get involvled in both projects.

I hope to see you at the meeting.

Local Roads Included In 2010/11 Resurfacing Programme

Last night the list of roads to be resurfaced by City of York Council over the next year was agreed by Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services and fellow Dringhouses and Woodthorpe Councillor, Ann Reid.
 
The list was boosted by an extra £1m investment in resurfacing that was agreed as part of the Liberal Democrat budget last month. The extra money was invested following the results of the public consultation which showed that the condition of roads and footpaths was the top priority for residents.

A number of roads and footpaths in Dringhouses and Woodthorpe have been included on the list, they are:

Roads
Tadcaster Road/St Helens Road junction
Eason View
Acorn Way

Footways
Deepdale
Ryecroft Avenue
Bannisdale
Bramble Dene
Troutbeck
St.Edward’s Close
Leeside
Swale Avenue

Once details of when the work will take place are available I will post them here.

The Liberal Democrat Budget 2010/11

On Tuesday the Liberal Democrat Council Executive agreed its budget proposals for 2010/11. The budget is designed to help prepare York for the economic recovery, while ensuring investment in vital services such as adult and children’s social care.

In preparing our budget we were also very keen to ensure we responded to the city wide budget consultation which went out in December.

Some of the budget highlights include:

Transport: To help boost the city centre, economy car parking charges will be frozen as will Park and Ride charges. Everyone except the owners of the most polluting vehicles will see ResPark charges frozen while charges for visitors to ResPark areas will be cut from £1.10 to 90p.

There will be more congestion busting improvements to the outer ring road. Following the completion of improvements to the Hopgrove roundabout there will be improvements to the A19 and A59 roundabouts.

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Kerbside Recycling Scheme Set For Improvements

York’s successful kerbside recycling scheme is set to undergo changes to make collection quicker and easier, allowing collection to be extended to cover the whole city.

Currently residents present their recycling in a variety of boxes and bags. Collection crews often have sort through the waste dividing it up as they load it into collection trucks.

A new system has been agreed which will see £490,000 invested in providing residents with three recycling boxes with lids to allow them to sort their own recycling.

Residents would be asked to separate their own recycling into paper and card, glass bottles and jars and plastic bottles and cans using the new boxes.

The changes would mean collection crews will no longer have to search through bags to sort the recycling at the kerbside and will be able work more efficiently.

The increased efficiency is expected to save the council £210,000 a year.

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