Agenda and minutes

Drop-in Surgery 6.30 pm

1.1             Residents had the opportunity to talk with Cllr David Horton, Cllr Tracey Simpson-Laing, Cindy Benton, Neighbourhood Manager, Julie Hood,  Neighbourhood Management Officer, Michal Czekajlo, Neighbourhood Management Support Officer, Michelle Watling, Street Environment Officer, Peter Taylor, First York Operations Manager and Michael Golightly,  Environmental Protection Officer.

Welcome and Minutes

Including an update on any action points.

2.1    Councillor David Horton welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2.2    Minutes from last Committee Meeting on 26^th of July 2010 were accepted as a true record and signed.

2.3    Apologies were given for the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team, no one could attend due to their duty schedule. Their rota is being taken into account for future meetings.

First York

Peter Taylor, Operations Manager, First York will give a presentation outlining the recent changes to bus services through Acomb.

3.1    Peter Taylor explained that he was not involved in the recent changes to the service in Acomb but would answer as may questions as possible.  If he is unable to answer the question he will ensure the residents raising the question receives an answer as soon as possible.

3.2    First York  is facing some service cuts, but the buses are running on time.

The following questions were raised:

Q         When the bus service is due to end at the terminus but needs to return to town to the depot why can the driver not take passengers?

A         This seems to be dependant upon the driver, we are currently working on our customer service and will look at this within the review.

Q         Some of the buses are now running early, meaning that we miss them.  Why?

A         There are problems at the moment,  this issue to be taken back.

Q         Why has the number of the Number 1 buses operating in the morning been reduced? 

A              Regarding service cuts, they were cut because were not making money.

Q         Why do the timetables state ‘at regular intervals’?

A         If a time is advertised it needs to be on time 95% of time.

Q         The website still shows that the service is operating every 10 minutes?

A         This will be investigated.

Q         There is no relationship between the buses timetables.  As one bus (which runs at 30 intervals) arrives in the centre of town the connecting bus (again runs at 30 intervals) is just leaving so the wait for the next bus is 30 minutes.

A         The team based in Leeds are working on this, if there are any issues please let us know.

Q         Why there are no cross tickets arrangements between different bus service providers?

A            Unfortunately this has been the case for a long time, we will investigate the options .

Q            Information and timetables often differ between bus stops, why is this?

A         This is an internal problem and will be investigated.

Q         Could the bus timetables be available in the buses?

A         The timetables used to be available on the buses, it will be looked into.

Q            Reducing the service and increasing fares usually means that less people will use buses. As the fares are so high it is sometimes cheaper to get a taxi.

A            Unfortunately if less people use the service the cost needs to rise to cover the overall cost of the service.

Q-        Fares differ between the different bus providers for the same journey, it can be up to 50p per journey, why?

A-        Some companies make less profit and therefore their prices are lower.

Environmental Protection Unit

Michael Golightly will give an overview of the  work of the unit.

The Environmental Protection Unit deals with many different causes of nuisance for example:

4.1  Noise nuisance. This can be neighbour noise such as: Music, DIY, TV,  Intruder Alarm noise. Noise Patrol Operates between 9pm and 3am, Friday and Saturday nights. The phone number to contact is: 01904 551555.

4.2 Unpleasant odours for example from farms, takeaways, factories and sewage treatment works The unit relies on residents informing them when an odour is causing a nuisance.

4.2  Light nuisance. Artificial Light from security lights and bright porch lights can also cause nuisance for residents.

4.3 Nuisance caused by Dark Smoke which is created when burning plastic or   rubber which can have serious effect on health.

4.3The Environmental Protection Unit have a legal duty to carry out inspections on petrol stations, waste oil burners and dry cleaners.

4.4The Environmental Protection Unit hold records on past industrial activities and old landfill sites. There are over 3,500 potentially contaminated sites in York.

4.4Air Quality is an issue in York. Long-term exposure to air pollutants has an effect on mortality and thus decreases life expectancy.

The main issues in York are:

·        Narrow canyonised streets with long periods of standing traffic.

·        Many historic buildings and artefacts which make changes to the road network difficult.

·        Upwards of 4 million visitors a year creating extra vehicle movements.

·        In recent years, establishment of cheap, privately owned, city centre parking facilities.

4.5Residents can help to improve air quality by cycling, walking, using the  Park and Ride and other buses and car sharing.

Residents raised the following questions:

Q         Would fires and barbeques in gardens cause an air pollution?

A         If a complaint is received the situation will be assessed and investigated.

Q         Does Bonfire Night cause problems?

A         We investigate all complaints. If we receive a complaint, we will investigate and assess the situation.

Q         Can residents burn rubbish?

A         The law regarding burning rubbish is very specific, we can deal with the smoke which is causing a nuisance.

Q         The hedge between my property and the ring road has been cut back causing the nuisance from light and car pollution to increase, can anything be done about it? 

A         This issue to be taken independently of the meeting by Michael Golightly.

Ward Budget Update

Julie Hood will give an update on what’s happening with the schemes for this year’s budget.

Julie Hood gave a presentation on some of the schemes prioritised by residents to be undertaken during 20010/11 are:

·        A grant to street sport to provide 10 two hour sessions of activity at Carr junior School at a cost of £2,000

·        A grant to York Playspace to provide ten outdoor play scheme sessions through the summer break for children aged 8 – 13 years, these have been held at Viking Road Park and Sovereign Park. At a cost of £1,950

·        A grant to York Young People’s Service provide extra sessions throughout the ward. Sessions include Wednesday evening, 4.00pm to 6.00pm at Carr junior School and Thursday evening 7.00pm to 8.00pm at Sovereign Park.At a cost of £6,000

·        A grant to Community Ranger Patrols to patrol 8 priority areas twice every evening. At a cost of £4,400

·        A grant to the Friends of Acomb Green to fund a summer fete and make improvements to the Green of £570

·        Provision of a litter bin on the corner of Beckfield Lane and Wetherby Road at the cost of £900

·        Provision of 2 dog bins on Sovereign Park at the cost of £1,146.

·        A notice board on Sovereign Park at a cost of £1,500

·        A grant to Carr Viking FC for nets and towards running costs of £1,000

Some schemes  to complete:

·        Fund to plant trees on Ostman Road outside the school, we are awaiting a report on any underground services. 

·        Fund for road safety (estimate cost of £1,500), will be completed when more information has been gathered.

Residents raised the following question.

Q         How many children attend the Play schemes?

A         The figures for this year are not available yet, last year there was an average of 19 attendees at each session.

Have Your Say!

Your opportunity to raise any issues that have been covered by the agenda including questions about the Local Improvement Scheme Suggestions in the Ward Action insert.

6.1 A representative of  Safe and Sound Homes gave a short description of the service and distributed leaflets.  The service is more cost effective than providing a homeless hostel.  There is a high number of homeless young people in Acomb and many of the host families are also in Acomb.

6.2 A representative of Carr Vikings Football Club gave an update on their activity. They went on to explain that the numbers of young people joining the football club is increasing as are costs with more training for coaches needed to meet new regulations.

The following questions were raised:.

Q         Group Response Community Rangers are not included within the ballot for schemes.

A         We will investigate if the information received earlier in the year remains current.

Q         Is it possible to install a sign to slow traffic, on Beckfield Lane, outside Sainsbury’s maybe a vehicle activated sign?

A         There is evidence that these signs are effective for three months only.  After this length of time drivers ignore the sign as they are used to seeing it.  We will investigate moving one from Norman Drive.

Q         There is some paving on Beckfield Lane lifting due to the tree, could this tree be removed and replaced by a smaller tree?

A         This will be discussed with Harvey Lowson.

Q            Boroughbridge Road needs a safe area to cross it is dangerous.

A         This issue has been raised several times.  Unfortunately the road is not wide enough to put in an island and the road layout is in compliance with the Department of Transport.  It will be investigated again.

Q         The junction of Old School Walk with Beckfield Lane remains unfinished.

A         This has been reported.

Q.        There are some very dark areas on the road outside Sovereign Park.  These could be rectified by putting reflective strips on the island.

A         This will be raised with the highways Department.