We are pleased to report that the weed-infested patch of land at the end of Nairn Close, where it meets Moor Lane, has benefited from a deep clean – with remarkable results – see below.
We would like to thank the Community Payback team for doing such a good job here.
We are pleased to report that First bus have confirmed that a Sunday bus service connecting Woodthorpe with Askham Bar is to continue.
A revised service 500 will begin on 2 April. The bus will no longer go up Alness Drive & Acomb Wood Drive towards Foxwood, but will still serve the Moorcroft Road / Acorn Way / Ryecroft Avenue / Grassholme loop.
The 500 service will not terminate at Askham Bar but will travel through to the city centre, via Bishopthorpe and Bishopthorpe Road. Passengers boarding in Woodthorpe can however get off the 500 at Tesco and get on to the number 3 Park & Ride bus. The bus will be free for the first few weeks of operation, but after than normal fares will apply. The new timetable can be downloaded Here
A new path leading from Ashbourne Way to the entrance to Acomb Wood is taking shape, thanks to the efforts of a team from The Conservation Volunteers.
Work on the path, which has been funded from the Dringhouses & Woodthorpe ward budget, started on Thursday 23 March and should be completed on the 24th.
The FREE Service 500, which links Woodthorpe to Askham Bar on Sundays, will continue until at least the end of March.
The service utilises electric buses whenever possible.
Liberal Democrat councillors for the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward have warmly welcomed plans to invest £17,000 in each of two local playgrounds.
The Nelsons Lane and Woodthorpe Green play areas are two of ten sites across the city that are each set to receive £17,000 in funding from City of York Council. The funds comes from a £170,000 capital programme for 2017/18 for playground improvement. Full details of the citywide plans, which were announced on 30 January, can be found here: https://www.york.gov.uk/press/article/2083/170k_proposed_to_make_big_improvements_to_york_s_playgrounds
Dringhouses & Woodthorpe Lib Dem councillor Stephen Fenton has thanked the local community for their support last summer when the case for funding for the Woodthorpe Green and Nelsons Lane playgrounds was being put together:
“During my visits to Dringhouses Primary and Woodthorpe Primary Schools in July 2016 I gathered lots of ideas from pupils about how they think we can improve local play areas, and we gathered even more suggestions at the Woodthorpe Family Fun Day in August. This engagement helped us to demonstrate the level of community support for improving play provision in the ward, and I am looking forward to working with community groups to develop improvement plans for the two playgrounds.”
Welcoming the citywide plans, Councillor Keith Aspden, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Economic Development and Community Engagement, said: “Thanks to this proposed funding, ten of York’s play parks will be significantly improved for children and families in the city. Hopefully this will provide more opportunities for children and young people to exercise in a fun and safe environment.”
Under the plans, the £170,000 funding will be equally shared between the following playgrounds:
· Askham Bryan
· Badger Hill
· Cemetery Road, Fishergate
· Littlethorpe Close, Strensall
· Nelsons Lane, Dringhouses
· Rowntree Park
· School Lane, Fulford
· Victoria Field, Holgate
· West Bank Park, Holgate
· Woodthorpe Green
The report to go to the 7th February Decision Session is available at http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=735&MId=9472&Ver=4
Woodthorpe residents are invited to gather round the tree at the Moorcroft Road shops at 4pm on Saturday 3rd December for the big switch on! There’ll be a BBQ, mince pies and musical entertainment. And maybe a visit from santa….
The Woodthorpe Community Group is inviting local residents to get involved and support the Christmas event taking place on Saturday 3 December – see letter below.
In the run-up to Christmas, First York are trialling a Sunday service which will take passengers from Foxwood, Woodthorpe and Bishopthorpe, direct to Askham Bar Park & Ride, where they can connect with a direct, frequent buses on Park & Ride service 3 to York City Centre.
The service will also serve stops at Askham Bar Tesco.
At the time of writing First haven’t published a timetable for the service on their web site
The company says that recent changes by City of York Council have meant that residents of Woodthorpe and Bishopthorpe have been without a Sunday bus service. “We’re now launching a free shuttle bus service to Askham Bar Park & Ride to help you travel into York, and enjoy the Christmas shopping opportunities and festivities”.
First York Managing Director, Marc Bichtemann, comments: “At First York, we’re dedicated to providing our customers with the best service possible. We wanted to ensure that our customers in Bishopthorpe, Woodthorpe and Foxwood who want to travel into York in the run-up to Christmas, have the opportunity to do so. We will therefore be offering a free shuttle bus service to the Askham Bar Park & Ride from this Sunday, and look forward to welcoming our customers on board.”
The service, numbered 500, will run with an electric bus, subject to availability, to reduce noise and emissions. The trial will end on Sunday 18 December. We’ll then assess demand for the service before deciding if it can be extended into 2017.
Local Councillor Ann Reid was first elected to the York District Council at a by election held on 18th September 1986. 
Ann is now one of the City’s longest serving Councillors.
In 1986 Woodthorpe and Acomb Park formed part of the Foxwood ward with the other two Councillors for the area being David Horwell and Steve Galloway. Ann stood as a candidate in the by election which followed the departure of sitting Councillor Sue Auckland to Sheffield (where coincidentally Sue was elected to the Sheffield Council for the first time last May).
Ann was described as a Liberal Alliance candidate in recognition of a coalition with the SDP which existed at the time. (The SDP was made up of former Labour party members who had joined a new party in protest over a leftward lurch in their former parties policies – not much different from the current national political position really!)
The Foxwood and Woodthorpe area was very different in those days with a d
ebate ranging about plans to build a shopping area on Acomb Wood Drive. A “Save Acomb Moor” (from development) campaign was running.
The campaign that had to be revived in 2013 when Labour announced a plan to build on part of the historic moor.
Councillors were seeking a bus service linking the, still expanding, Acomb Park area to the City centre.
Some things never change though with newsletters published at the time indicating a constant battle to keep the Woodthorpe shopping area safe and tidy.
There were also campaigns for public access to Acomb Wood (which was in private ownership at the time), Hoggs pond and Chapmans pond.
There was pressure on rubbish collection standards although recycling was in its infancy 30 years ago.
Ann was to go on to become the City’s Lord Mayor in 1993.
In the 2015 Council elections she was re-elected to serve the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward polling 3104 votes. This is the largest number of votes secured by any candidate in a local authority election in York’s history.
The next York Council elections are scheduled to take place in 2019.