Agenda and minutes

The drop-in surgery gives you the opportunity to talk to your councillors, Street Environment Officer, Safer Neighbourhood Team, Neighbourhood Management Officer or visiting speakers informally.

1.1            Residents had the opportunity to speak with cllr Dave Taylor and cllr Andy D’Agorne; PCSO Laura Smith  & PCSO Kathryn Bean from the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team; Cindy Benton and Toby Knight from the Neighbourhood Management Unit; Jackie Armitage from Street Environment Services;  Richard White from Neighbourhood Services.

The Main Meeting will begin at 7.30pm with welcome and minutes.

The Safer Neighbourhoods Team for Fishergate will give an update on police operations within the Ward and answer any questions you have.

3.1            PCSOs Kathryn Bean & Laura Smith gave an update on the Safer Neighbourhood Team’s activities in Fishergate:

3.2             The total crime figures for Fishergate ward are down 25% compared to last year.

3.3             All areas of crime are down aside from shop and cycle theft.

3.4             The ward priorities are: Anti-social behaviour, speeding and graffiti.

3.5             To help tackle anti-social behaviour the police have increased patrols at Fenby Field, Danesmead & Wenlock Terrace.

3.6             To tackle the speeding problems residents are still encouraged to fill out the ’95 alive’ forms.

3.7             If residents are aware of any graffiti issues, let the police know and they can photograph and add to their ‘Tag’ database to help catch the offenders.

3.8             On the 4^th, 5^th & 6^th May there is an event on Lawrence & Wellington Street targeting anti-social behaviour and cycle theft.

3.9             The police will be running an operation in the Millennium Bridge area to combat anti-social behaviour over the summer months.

Residents had the following questions and comments:

Q         There are limited places for young people to camp in York. What’s wrong with camping on the Green?

A         Sadly, not all people who camp there are innocent. Fires and littering result from some of the people who use the Green.

Q         Could we get a graffiti wall for graffiti artists to use?

A         Tough to find a suitable area. Also, this doesn’t combat the problem of taggers, who are only interested in spraying where they’re not supposed to.

Q         Could camping regulations be relaxed for two weeks over the summer?

A         The land belongs to CYC, so is not for the police to decide. Also, resources to police the area for the two weeks would be required.

Q            Cycling on the pavement in some areas has become an even worse problem recently in some areas around Fulford Road.

A         Mini-operations have targeted the area and have stopped a number of cyclists.

Jackie Armitage, Street Environment Officer, will be discussing what she’s being doing in the Ward and the plans for the next few months

4.1       Jackie Armitage, Street Environment Officer for Fishergate gave an update on her activities in the ward:

4.2       Jackie would be happy to have a walkabout with any resident or resident groups in the ward to look at environment issues and discuss the best way of tackling any problems.

4.3             Street Environment Services have responsibility for dealing with litter & unkempt streets, cutting back bushes and overgrown vegetation and the clearing of back lanes, among other things.

4.4       There is also work with the Community Payback team at the cycle track on Danesmead Meadow and also some planned work on Hospital Fields and New Walk.

4.5       When dealing with fly-tipping the bags are checked through to see if we can find any personal details, and fixed penalty notices are always available to deal with people dropping litter.

4.6       Fly-posting has been a problem of late and some organisations do not realise it is illegal to display posters advertising fares etc.

The following questions and comments were made by residents:

Q         There is a problem with floating rubbish whenever the river rises. It collects at points along the bank.

A         This is the Environment Agency’s responsibility. Will get in touch to inform them.

Q         Are there many back alleys that aren’t adopted?

A         Most are adopted. The council has a map to identify which are.

Q         Fast food containers and cigarette ends litter bus shelters in the area.

A            Neighbourhood Pride run a fortnightly service to clean up these areas. Phone in if you notice a big build-up.

Q         The contractors working on Fulford Road have destroyed some of the verges. Will they be tidying up when finished?

A         They are contracted to clean up after completing the works. Also, where verges are lost, compensatory green areas will be added.

Richard White (Assistant Director for Neighbourhood Services) will give a brief overview of Neighbourhood Services, Highways and winter maintenance.

5.1            Richard White (Assistant Director for Neighbourhood Services) gave an overview of the work undertaken by Neighbourhood Services (now part of  the Communities and Neighbourhoods directorate). He explained the following:

5.2            Highways Maintenance undertake work such as carriageway surfacing, street lighting, pest control, street signs and footway reconstruction.

5.3       They are also responsible for winter maintenance. This includes  gritting roads and footpaths.

5.4       Last winter was the worst for 30 years and included 20 days of snow and ice. 320 km of roads and 15 km of footpaths were gritted with 4,200 tonnes of salt being used.

5.5       As a result of these exceptional circumstances, there was a £450,000 overspend on the budget.

5.6       The department are reviewing the winter maintenance policy and would welcome any views and feedback from residents. You can contact them on 551551.

The key issues identified so far are:

• The location and availability of salt bins.
• Treatment of footpaths.
• Secondary routes: reviewing roads that are gritted.
• Cycle paths: identifying key routes which may be cleared.
• Pot holes: 7,000 potholes have been identified. The team are addressing those considered most dangerous first and are looking to have them all dealt with by the summer.

Residents raised the following questions and comments:

Q         Are Highways Maintenance responsible for gritting/salting steps?

A         Very few steps which they have responsibility for. They are mainly concerned with roads and footpaths.

Q         What about the steps on New Walk?

A         No, they are not responsible for those.

Q         There are some steps near cycle paths on the gritting list.

A         They won’t be routinely gritted, but could perhaps be done on request, or have a salt bin provided.

Q         Some people have been using the salt from salt bins on their driveways etc.

A         It is really for public footpaths and roads; not private property.

Q         It seems like there’s an imbalance; 320km of road gritted compared with just 15km of footpaths. Many elderly people were trapped in their homes due to the pavement conditions.

A         The authority can’t clear every road and pavement, so where do they stop? There is a policy which must be reasonably adhered to, but they will take comments on board.

Q            People don’t clear the snow and ice from the fronts of their houses for fear of being sued if somebody injures themselves walking past.

A            Nobody has been successfully sued for clearing the front of their house. The council cannot advise either way, but if a resident makes an honest effort to clear the pavement, then they are highly unlikely to be successfully prosecuted.

Q            Cycling paths are often quite treacherous with their gradients and curves.

A         Salt that is used to treat cycle and foot paths requires sufficient traffic to activate it, but often does not get this.

Q         The Millennium Bridge is a major route, but is not salted because it might damage the fabric of the bridge or the paint. Alternatives?

A            Unfortunately, the bridge was not built to carry gritters.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Your chance to ask questions about local issues and concerns. The meeting will be chaired by Jonathan Tyler.

6.1       Cllr Taylor made residents aware that the York Open Planning Forum was offering free training for planning panel members. Details will be circulated to former Fishergate Planning Panel members.