Agenda and draft minutes

Residents had the opportunity to speak to ward councillors, their community involvement officer, council officers about how to get involved in the Tour de France and the traffic implications and a council officer about the British Sugar Site development. Information was also available about Smarter York volunteering opportunities in the ward, resident forum grant applications and how to have your say about health commissioning in York.

Cllr Horton welcomed residents to the meeting and the minutes of the last meeting held on 22^nd April 2013 were approved and signed.

Derek Gauld gave a report on progress about the proposed development at the British Sugar site.  Options for the layout of the site had been presented to the Community Forum and exhibited in the autumn of 2013. The consultants, their designers and council officers are now working up a preferred option which will be presented to the Community Forum in the next few months.

The following questions and comments were noted:

§  Will notice be given when the proposal goes to a planning meeting?

Response: there is a statutory process for consultation which means that any resident affected by the proposals will be informed.  Information will also be made public via the York Press and site notices.

The first stage will be to submit an Outline Application establishing the principle for the development, the number of houses, landscaping and the traffic plan. Detailed plans will be submitted at a later date.  There will be many opportunities for consultation, and we are currently in the pre-application process.

Cllr Horton added that councillors receive a weekly report of all planning applications and would also prepare a local leaflet to inform residents.

§  Who is responsible for building the main road through the site?

Response: This has not yet been decided. For the site as a whole there will probably be a number of house builders involved to encourage different styles and designs.

§  As local residents, we are aware that this part of York does not have many open spaces, and the plans need to bear this in mind.

Response: This was picked up at the Forum and the layout includes a substantial amount of open space.

§  All three options included upgrading Plantation Drive where there is already an issue with parking. This will just add more congestion to what is a very small street.

Response: This is a highways issue. Derek Gauld will find out what the plans are and report back to the councillors.

§  The old Manor School site is still being well used.  Any demolition should be delayed until the current user is able to re-locate.

Response: No decision has been made about the Manor site as part of the British Sugar site, although the developer would prefer to include it in their plans. 

Cllr Simpson-Laing stated that the lease on the school is on a month by month basis and the site must be sold to help pay for the new school.

PCSO Matthew Lewis gave a report on behalf of the local Safer Neighbourhood Team. The following points were noted.

Matthew briefly outlined the proposed anti-social behaviour hub. The aim was to ensure more efficient and timely response to anti-social behaviour in the city. There will be a single team of officers whose sole purpose will be to tackle anti-social behaviour, but this would not result in fewer officers on the beat. More information will be available shortly.

Reported crime since January:

Anti-Social Behaviour

There had been a 45% reduction in anti-social behaviour over the last quarter. Things were usually quieter in winter, but year on year this was a 32% reduction over the same period last year.

There had been a 50% reduction in theft, burglary and theft from vehicles over the quarter, which represented a 21% reduction year on year, although there had been an increase in shop theft.  There had been five burglaries so far this year, but no vehicles had been stolen.

Criminal damage

There were a number of examples of good results with respect to criminal damage to report.  Youths who had damaged a fence in Tostig Avenue were identified and dealt with via Community Resolution Disposals and one youth caution. Boys from Carr Vikings involved in writing graffiti on their rival’s clubhouse were identified and a meeting took place at their school involving the boys, their parents, teachers and police.  The boys admitted what they had done, they were banned from football for three weeks, and had to clean up the mess they had made.

The following questions and comments were noted:

§  What is the attitude of the police towards cyclists on the pavement?

Response: The number of cyclists on footpaths in the city centre has decreased as a result of active policing there. Traffic police also targeted cyclists riding without lights.  Anyone who sees something that concerns them should let their local PCSO know.

§  A resident expressed concern about the number of drivers on the Boroughbridge Road who could be seen texting as they drove.

Response: If police witness this behaviour, we will always prosecute.

§  A resident expressed concern about people parking on the pavement and blocking it.

Response: If you call the police, we will ticket any car that is blocking the pavement.

§  The amount of time allowed for pedestrians by the traffic lights by Poppleton Road School is very short.

Response: Agreed to look into this.  Cllr Simpson-Laing said she would speak to the resident about this issue after the meeting.

§  A point was raised about the illegal use of the bus lane on the Boroughbridge Road.  It was also noted that the exit from Cranbrook Avenue onto the Boroughbridge Road had become very dangerous since new bollards had been installed.

Response:  Cllr Simpson-Laing said she would look into both issues.

Andrew Bradley explained that the highways objective for the Tour de France weekend was to protect the route of the Tour as best we can.  The spotlight would be on York.

The A59 from Water End will be closed to all traffic from early on Sunday morning. No parking will be permitted, and any vehicles parked within the zone will be towed away. The map showed which areas will be isolated. Anyone needing to use their vehicle on the day will need to leave it outside the closed area. 

At 8am the Council will hand over the route to ASO who control the Tour de France. There will be marshalls at all key points and at every crossing point.

Barriers will only be put up in the city centre and along Bootham as far as Marygate, after this point there will only be barriers at certain key points.

Roads are expected to re-open 2pm, but it will not be possible to travel to Harrogate for a while after this.

Disabled access – the usual blue badge parking in the city centre will not be available. Alternative arrangements will be made but have not yet been finalised.

Public transport – there will be an enhanced rail service running and enhanced bus services, although buses which run along the Tour route, such as the 5, 5a and 10, will not run, or will run a reduced and re-routed service.

Care workers – allowance will be made for care workers and CYC is in close contact with care services to ensure that everyone who needs care provision will receive it.

The race starts from the Knavesmire, preceded by a massive procession of floats.  The cyclists will start at 11am.  The route passes through the city centre, and they start racing just outside the ring road. 

Yorkshire Festival 2014

Dave Fleming explained that the culture festival will run for 100 days, from 27 March to 6 July, and is the first time that a festival has happened  in conjunction with the Tour de France. On 6^th July over 3 billion people across the world will be watching, and it is expected that it will bring over £10m into the local economy. More events are coming in all the time and are being added to the programme. The best place to look for information is the Tour de France area of the CYC website. The festival programme for York includes ways for local residents and groups to take part:

o   Planting the city yellow

o   A display of banners made by community groups displayed on the city walls

o   The Road to York painting, which will be put together at the Knavesmire on the day of the race.

o   Bike Story – local stories will be written up into a play by local playwright Mike Kenny, and performed in Rowntrees Park in June.  More details are available on the website.

Festival anthem – involving choirs, brass bands, and other performers.

Cllr Horton said that the ward priorities remained the same as last year. Application forms for grants were now available. The Ward Priorities for 2014-2015 are:

·        Increase and improve community facilities

·        Provide support and improve life for the residents on Carr Estate

Kristina Davey explained that Planning Panels existed in the city’s urban wards where they performed the same function with respect to planning applications as a parish council. A planning panel considers planning applications and makes recommendations back to the Council. Members received training and generally met monthly.  Acomb ward is likely to be a particularly interesting area to get a planning panel going due to the number of large developments coming up in the ward.

There were some cautious expressions of interest, but more information was sought regarding the level of commitment involved.  One person asked if there was any conflict between being on the existing Forum and the Planning Panel. Kristina Davey said there was not.

The following questions and comments were noted:

·        Is there any information about the proposed new infants’ school?

Response: Money has now been allocated to replace the existing building. More information will be available shortly.

·        What is happening about the Post Office on Beckfield Lane?

Response: It is moving and will be located in the Premier Shop on the corner of Ostman Road.

Cllr Horton noted that this area was very messy, but it was private land, and repeated efforts to get the landlord to tidy up had not been successful. Kristina Davey said she would contact the Enforcement Team.

·        A query was raised regarding single bus stops for both sides of the road after a bus had failed to stop.

Response: It was confirmed that the bus should have stopped. The Council are trying to eliminate all remaining stops of this type as they cause uncertainty for passengers.

·        The verge in front of the Holy Redeemer Church on Boroughbridge Road has been left in a very poor condition after it was dug up when the new bus lane was installed.

Response: Andrew Bradley said he would look into this.

·        Why had there been a change in format for Ward Committee meetings?

Response: Kristina Davey explained that tonight’s meeting was the one formal meeting of the Residents Forum. Other meetings are more ad-hoc and are arranged when there is a particular issue to address and the elected members wish to call a meeting.

·        Cllr Horton said that a meeting could be arranged ahead of the Tour de France.

·        The time and date of the next meeting will be confirmed at a later date.