Agenda and minutes

Fishergate Ward Committee - Wednesday, 8 October 2008 7.00 pm

Venue: St George's RC Primary School, Winterscale Street

Items
No.	Item
1.	Ward Surgery You will have an opportunity to talk to: Cllr Andy D’Agorne Cllr Dave Taylor Clair Bailey, Street Environment Officer The Neighbourhood Policing Team Rachel Smith, Yong People’s Service Officer Fred Isles, Maintenance Manager, Highways Infrastructure Colin Hunter, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service Michael Hawtin, Neighbourhood Management Officer Minutes: This was an opportunity for residents of the ward to talk to their local Councillors, Street Environment Officer, the Neighbourhood Policing Team, Young People’s Service Officer, the Maintenance Manager of Highways Infrastructure, a representative from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Neighbourhood Management Officer for Fishergate Ward.
2.	Welcome and minutes 7.30pm Welcome and minutes We will ask for your approval of the minutes from the last meeting. 7.35pm Your Streets Russell Stone will talk about street cleaning, how it is organised, how to report a street that needs cleaning. Fred Isles will talk about the maintenance of the streets and pavements, how it’s organised and prioritised. 7.45pm Ward Team Update You can find out what the Safer Neighbourhoods Team, Street Environment Officer and Young People’s Service has been doing over the last few months. 8.00pm Discussion of Local Improvement Scheme suggestions We will talk about the schemes to be voted on for next year. This is your chance to tell the meeting about any schemes you have suggested and give support to those that you think are a good idea. 8.40pm Have Your Say Your opportunity for you to discuss local issues and concerns. Minutes: The minutes of the last meeting were approved.
3.	Fulford Road Corridor Minutes: David Webster from the Transport Team spoke about the consultation surrounding Fulford Road. § They are now working on the schemes for Fulford Road, and hope to start the improvements by March. The possible schemes are: § Adjustable traffic signals with cameras to assess the levels of traffic on the road. § Cycle lanes on the road between Cemetery Road and Hospital Fields Lane, going in both directions. This was initially only going to be outbound but the problem with parking has been resolved so they can now go in both directions. § Off road cycle route from Heslington Lane to Hospital Fields Lane. This scheme only impacts on the houses in that section. § On road cycle routes at junctions: o Needs more consultation but hoping to start work in April / May. O Improvements on this section will be made in the next 18 months. § There is the possibility of there being a progress report at the February meeting.
4.	Your Streets Minutes: The chair introduced Fred Isles who spoke about the maintenance of streets and pavements in the ward: § Day to day maintenance: § 2 safety inspectors inspect all paths and roads at least once a year for potholes and defects. § Precincts, A roads, B roads and C roads are inspected on a monthly basis, with school areas inspected twice a year. § If a problem is reported, an inspector will go out within 10 days to inspect it, and report back to the person that reported it. § Issues raised by residents were: § How much is the budget for maintenance? o £7million per year. § How does the budget work in relation to larger problems? o Emergency works will be done on larger areas and then more lasting repairs will occur later. § The pavement outside Broadway shops has 5 inch holes, this is a health and safety issue.Have inspectors been there? o The area outside the shops is private so the council cannot spend money to improve this area. They can send inspectors round to assess the pavement and send a letter to the nearest property asking them to make it safe. o ACTION – Fred to arrange for this to take place. Manholes on New Walk lift up and raw sewage comes out into the road. o This is the responsibility of Yorkshire Water § Can the Council put pressure on Yorkshire Water? o If the road is dangerous, the Council can shut the road and send a bill to Yorkshire Water. The Council can also inform Yorkshire Water of any problems so residents can ring the York Pride number to report issues and Fred Isles can then pass on the information.
5.	Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service - Provision Review Minutes: Colin Hunter from the Fire and Rescue Service gave an update on the progress of the Fire and Rescue review taking place in the city: § There are currently 3 stations in the city, at Huntington, Acomb and York City Centre. § Requirements for the South East of the city are being reviewed, including the areas of Hull Road, the University and the A1079. § The first stage of the consultation ended in September and there was a poor public response, so more public opinion is needed in this second stage. § The public can give their views by logging onto the website to view the options and then email their ideas, or contact Clifford Street station directly. § The five proposals within the review are: 1. Rebuild Clifford Street station within constraints, including relocating the technical fire safety department 2. Relocate the technical fire safety department and community safety department to make more room at Clifford Street station 3. Make the station at Clifford Street smaller, with only one fire engine and water rescue and build another city centre station with one fire engine and an aerial ladder platform (possibly on Hull Road) 4. Move the aerial ladder platform to the Huntington station 5. Upgrade the Huntington station § The current preferred option is option 3 as this is good for the university, as well as there still being a station in the city centre. § The public’s views are required by November. § Issues raised by residents were: § Have the costs and benefits of each option been calculated? o They will be calculated and taken into consideration during the review. Log onto the website to view the proposals and email any questions to the Clifford Street station. § Has an emergency response time been calculated for each proposal? o This will be taken into account when looking at the options. § Isn’t the University less of a problem because they are modern buildings? The city centre has older buildings which will burn faster. o This will also be taken into consideration. The city centre will of course still be covered and the fact that option 3 is the favoured option at the moment is a positive sign for the city centre. § If option 3 is chosen there won’t be any laddered vehicles at the Clifford Street station. What if the Minster catches fire, will the response time be fast enough? o Response times will be taken into account. § If the aerial appliance is moved out of the city then it will have to travel in if there is a city centre fire. Surely York needs an additional station, not lessened city centre facilities? o It may be more beneficial to reallocate and split resources, but we need public opinion so costs and benefits can be balanced.
6.	Ward Team Update Minutes: Sgt. Andy Haigh gave a police update: § From the period of April to April crime is down by 11.2% in Fishergate. There have been 50 less victims so far this year (April to October) and burglary (dwellings and other) has seen the main reduction. § Residents are urged to send in their priorities on the ballot list. § Anti-social behaviour at Fenby Fields – offenders have been warned that their bikes will be seized and they will have to pay to get them back. § A drug dealer has been convicted and moved from the Fishergate area. § Issues raised by residents were: § How serious do you regard graffiti? o It has increased but it is being taken very seriously and the new Taagy website is helping with this. § Some graffiti is actually quite good, could we have a graffiti wall? o Sustrans own some areas and do let people do art (e.g. the underpass in Bishopthorpe). But street environment class it as graffiti so it is a difficult issue. § Are police responsible for speed limits on the river? o No, this is the responsibility of British Waterways. o A request for a speed limit sign is on the ballot list. § Have there been any increases in crime in Fishergate? o There have been 3 more car crimes this year than there were last year. § There is the need for a Keep Clear sign outside of Iceland o Put this to the traffic management unit.
7.	Discussion of scheme suggestions Minutes: Support was put forward for the following schemes: o No. 4 – ‘Freecycle Event’ o No. 5 – York Playground Action Group o No. 6 – Street Sports York o No. 7 – Accessible Arts and Media o No. 8 – Upgrade the gate on Walmgate Stray o No. 15 and 16 – Green Travel Guides for local schools o No. 21 – ‘York in Transition’ The following issues were raised by residents: § Why are some suggested schemes not on the list? o This is an issue to be discussed with the Neighbourhood Management Officer outside of the meeting. § Schemes are too vague, so it is hard to vote on them. o The levels of detail do need to be revised. § What is the total budget for the year? o Figures are not certain when the ballot list is published but it is about £32,000. § No. 15 and 16 – do we not already have these guides? o No, it is a way of getting the message back to parents. § Concerns were raised over the need for a football pitch (no. 25). § Concerns were raised over the cost of scheme no. 23. § Questions were asked regarding the location of alleygating (no. 29). § It was suggested that ‘York in Transition’ (no. 21) should not be supported as the group has had problems with their organisation. There was some discussion surrounding the groups circumstances.
8.	Have your say Minutes: § A clerk is needed for the planning panel – are there any volunteers? § The building on Heslington Lane / Fulford Road has been sold. Are there any ideas what is to be done? o Unsure § Some replacement doorstep recycling facilities will be available at meetings from now on.