Councillors Stephen Fenton and Paula Widdowson were out and about over the weekend supporting the hard work of local volunteers.
On Saturday Stephen joined the Friends of Acomb Wood for a litter pick, which was part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean activities, and then did a spot of graffiti removal.
Then on Sunday, Paula and Stephen helped the Chapmans Pond volunteer team with some tree-planting.
Residents are invited to the AGM of the Friends of Chapmans Pond, to be held on Monday 29 July at 7pm at the Indoor Bowls Club on Thanet Road.
The annual Love to Eat & Chapmans Pond summer fair will take place on Sunday 10 June from 11am to 3pm. Everyone is welcome at what is always a popular local event.
The sun shone on a successful summer fair on Sunday 11 June hosted by Love to Eat and Friends of Chapmans Pond. The Energise climbing wall was a hit with the kids, and a number of local groups and organisations ran stalls including Dringhouses Library, West Thorpe Scouts, Woodthorpe Community Group and Dementia Yorkshire.
Cllr Stephen Fenton also took the opportunity to check out the new storage container that has arrived on site, funded through a ward committee grant to the Friends of Chapmans Pond. The container will be painted green, and there are plans to create a vegetation ‘camouflage.’
The popular annual summer fair held at Chapmans Pond on Moor Lane takes place on Sunday 11 June from 11am to 3pm. There’ll be plenty to do for all the family!
The council has re-painted the faded white lines in the Chapmans Pond car park on Moor Lane. In addition, yellow crosshatch markings have been painted in front of the entrance to the pond area, to reduce the risk of motorists blocking access.
Chapmans Pond car park
Concerns have been raised about York College students using the car park for all-day parking, which reduces the spaces available for visitors to the pond and customers at the Love to Eat café. Cllr Stephen Fenton has raised this issue with the College.
An example of ‘problem parking’ is pictured below.
At a public decision session today (Friday 23 September) Cllr Nigel Ayre (Executive Member for Leisure & Culture) agreed to transfer the management of the Chapman’s Pond site to the Friends of Chapman’s Pond on a trial basis, to improve the long-term care of the site.
Chapmans Pond Summer Fair 2016
The paper that was discussed at the decision session is available here.
Chapman’s Pond is a 2.6 ha site off Moor Lane in Dringhouses. The pond itself covers roughly a third of the site with other habitats including woodland and meadow. It is currently managed by the Council with the assistance of the Friends of Chapman’s Pond.
The Friends are a long running group and have over the years carried out practical maintenance tasks and conservation enhancements. They have also assisted with fund raising, in particular for the circular path in 2011/12 and, for the last three years, in partnership with Love to Eat Café, a summer fair has taken place on site.
Local Lib Dem councillors support the lease arrangement. Cllr Ann Reid commented
Chapman’s Pond 1971
The charges will be levied when the lease of the site, to the Friends of Chapman’s pond, is concluded later in the year.
The charges are expected to be £3 per day or £15 per year for adults, £1 a day or £5 a year for 13 – 16 years olds and free for under 12s. This level of charging is comparable with the nearby Railway Pond. Fishing has previously been free at the site.
Last year the pond had to be closed to anglers following an outbreak of disease in the fishing stock. At the suggestion of the Environment Agency, and with the support of the anglers, the Council closed the pond during this year’s spawning period resulting in a huge reduction in the number of fish deaths compared to last year
An anglers group is expected to appoint volunteer bailiffs to police fishing at the pond.
The move is also expected to address anti-social behaviour problems at the pond although it is not yet clear whether the boundary will be secured.
Chapman’s Pond is a 2.6 ha site off Moor Lane in Dringhouses. The pond itself covers roughly a third of the site with other habitats including woodland and meadow. It is currently managed by the Council with the assistance of the Friends of Chapman’s Pond.
The Friends are a long running group and have over the years carried out practical maintenance tasks and conservation enhancements. They have also assisted with fund raising, in particular for the circular path in 2011/12 and, for the last three years, in partnership with Love to Eat Café, a summer fair has taken place on site.
The area will be leased to the Friends for a nominal fee initially for three years.
The plan is being discussed at a Council meeting taking place on 23rd September.