Once again, Elizabeth Smith, armed with her historical knowledge, will be providing an hour long Hob Moor History walk. No advance booking needed and attendance is open to all. The walk shines a light on the often dark history of Hob Moor with plagued corpses and the coffins of knights being only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this ancient site. So join Elizabeth at 2:30 on the 6th of August at Hob Stone on Little Hob Moor for an enlightening afternoon.
If you want a relaxing and peaceful insight into the beautiful landscape of Hob Moor then this is the walk for you! Elizabeth Smith is leading a wildflower walk on the 23rd of July which is open to all. The walk is completely free with no advance booking needed and will last for approximately 1 hour. The walk will start from the Hob Stone on Little Hob Moor, from where you will be shown around the best wildflower hotspots of Hob Moor. So join Elizabeth at 2:30pm at the Hob Stone on Little Hob Moor for an enjoyable stroll.
Lighting has been installed in the Hob Moor underpass, two years after the suggestion was first put forward by local councillors.
In early 2021, in response to feedback from local residents, councillors began to explore options for the installation of lighting to help improve the safety of this well-used route.
Councillors delivered letters to around 600 homes near the Hob Moor underpass to gauge whether there would be support for installing lighting. The vast majority of respondents were supportive. Many people said that if the underpass were lit they would feel safer using it, though a small number of respondents
expressed concerns about anti-social behaviour.
Council officers then liaised with Network Rail to scope out and cost the scheme, which has now finally come to fruition.
Cllr Paula Widdowson commented “I am very grateful to council and Network Rail staff for their persistence in bringing this scheme to life. As a ward team, acting on residents’ suggestions is our priority, and so it is pleasing that we have been able to deliver this resident-inspired scheme.”
The Friends of Hob Moor are organising a History Walk on Sunday 11th September at 2.30pm. The walk will start at the Hob Stone, and is free to attend.
The pedestrian and cycle tunnel under the railway line at Hob Moor is to close temporarily for improvement works to be undertaken by Network Rail in the form of lighting.
Signage has appeared at the entrances to the underpass stating that it will be closed from Monday 15 August to Friday 2 September inclusive.
Cattle have been reintroduced onto Hob Moor, initially restricted to North Lane pasture.
The cattle had been removed from the moor in June after frequent escapes into nearby residential areas. These were as a result of City of York Council having failed to put in place promised mitigating measures – in the form of lengthened cattle grids – after removing the restrictive base plates from the barriers late last year.
The lengthened cattle grids have now been installed which will hopefully make it more difficult for cattle to escape.
We understand that the plan is to leave the cattle on the moor for as long as possible, to try to get on top of the grazing that has been absent for the past eight weeks.
Friends of Hob Moor have organised a Butterfly Walk on Saturday 9th July from 2pm. The meeting point is the yellow railings at the entrance to the underpass from Little Hob Moor.
Dringhouses & Woodthorpe councillor Stephen Fenton has called on council bosses to take urgent action to enable the cattle that usually graze Hob Moor to be reintroduced.
The cattle were removed by the farmer earlier this week following an increasing number of incidents where cattle were escaping from the moor through the barriers into neighbouring residential streets. This was happening up to four times a day, which led to the livestock manager being called out on each occasion to round up the cattle and return them to the moor.
Earlier this week the council put in place some additional fencing around the barriers in the hope that it would discourage the cattle from approaching the exits from the moor, but it had no effect.
Cattle have grazed Hob Moor for many years, and their presence has been a key part of a ‘Higher Level Stewardship’ agreement between the council and Natural England. In previous years, cattle escapes have been a rare occurrence, but it seems likely that this year’s dramatic increase in escapes is a result of a failure to put mitigations in place following the removal of the restrictive ‘base plates’ from the barriers at the entrances to the moor.
Cllr Fenton believes that this situation was foreseeable and could have been avoided, and is calling for urgent action to be taken so that the cattle can be brought back on to the moor as soon as possible.
“As far back as April 2021 I was involved in a discussion with the livestock manager and council officers where a need was identified to lengthen the cattle grids if the barriers were to be amended to allow better access to the moor for all types of bicycles. The Hob Moor cattle grids are much shorter than those at Walmgate Stray for example, so this change seemed a relatively easy step to take to reduce the risk of cattle escapes after the base plates were removed.
“When the barrier base plates were removed in December 2021, the agreed mitigating measures had not been put in place. Councillors for Dringhouses & Woodthorpe and Westfield wards were told that this would be part of a second phase of work and were assured that efforts would be made to get this work done before the cattle came back on in April. It is very disappointing that this work hasn’t happened – if it had, recent events which have led to the cattle being removed from the moor could well have been avoided.”
Cllr Fenton has written to the Transport Executive Member, Cllr D’Agorne, and senior officers, asking for sight of the plans for the cattle grid lengthening. He has also asked whether any assessment was made of environmental impacts that might arise from the removal of the barrier base plates without any mitigating measures being put in place.
“Going forward, delivering the promised mitigation measures is the top priority, but there also needs to be much better engagement with local councillors and greater transparency around decision-making. For example, before the barrier alterations were made there could have been a public report detailing what was to be done, the steps to be taken to reduce the risk of motorbikes getting on to the moor and cattle getting off, and how any impacts would be monitored.”
Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Lib Dem ward councillors are seeking residents’ views on a proposal to install lighting in the Hob Moor railway underpass.
In recent months a number of local residents have suggested that installing lighting in the underpass would make it a safer and more pleasant route for pedestrians and cyclists. Similar comments have been made about the bridge over the railway line at Love Lane, and this too is being considered for lighting.
Cllr Paula Widdowson met on site with council officers who have subsequently liaised with Network Rail and worked up a proposal which would see LED light fittings mounted to one side of the underpass at ceiling height across the length of the structure. The light fittings would have vandal-resistant lenses and would be enabled for dimming control both remotely and manually for 24 hour illumination, so the timings and intensity of the lighting could be amended after installation.
The anticipated cost would be around £28,000 with a small proportion of this being funded by the ward budget (‘promoting community safety’ is one of the ward priorities).
Before this scheme is progressed any further, local councillors are asking residents for their views on this proposal, and in particular whether there are any concerns which would need to be taken into account before a final decision is made.
Feedback can be sent by e-mail to cllr.pwiddowson@york.gov.uk or by phone to 01904 787988.
Three new benches have been installed around Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward, in response to requests from residents for more places to stop for a rest whilst out for a walk.
Two benches have been installed beside the path that links the Revival estate with the Green Lane cycle / footpath. The route has become increasingly popular with walkers since the first lockdown.
And one bench has been installed on Little Hob Moor, further down the hill from the location of an existing bench.
Meanwhile the Woodthorpe Community Group is progressing plans to install benches at locations including outside the shops on Moorcroft Road and outside the playground on Woodthorpe Green.