Minutes

Police gave a brief update on ward activities and the main issues.

Residents raised the following questions and concerns;

·        Is there anything being done about the drugs issues in the ward?

Warrants have been issued and arrests have been made.

·        Previous officers used to come to MOLYS and get to know the kids and interact with them.

PCSO’s will try and work more closely with them and visit the club

·        Do you patrol around Acomb Wood?

• Yes it is on the patrol route

David Webster came to the ward committee 18 months ago to show us the plans and get residents opinion on the roundabout at the top of Moor Lane.  The roundabout has now been completed and David was wanting to see if residents had any issues.

• The general feedback has been very supportive of the roundabout and its layout.

David then gave a brief overview of the Access York plans, these are;

• 1^st part of the plan is to construct 2 new Park & Ride sites and 1 advanced Park & Ride site at Askham Bar.
• The 2 new sites will be a 750 space site on the A59 and a new site on Wigginton Road.
• The 3 sites will be fully operational by 2011
• Another bid will be made for further improvements to the outer ring road.

Residents had the following questions and comments;

• Access is now brilliant from Moor Lane.  Can you clarify where the new Askham Bar will be
  • It will be the old landfill site and will 1250 spaces
• Why cant the Askham Bar bus start at the Designer Outlet
• What can the present site at Askham Bar be used for when it is moved?
  • Unsure at the moment but it is part of Greenbelt
• There is concern of where the water will go from the Askham bog when the new Park & Ride site is moved.
• The 40mph limit sign seems to be in the wrong place at the new roundabout from the  Moor Lane entrance.

Clair Suddaby, Local Nature Reserves Officer told residents about the work in Acomb Wood, this includes;

·        Have volunteer days and help the ‘friends of Acomb Wood’

·        Have developed an educational pack with the Wildlife Trust

·        Have been coppicing the Hazel and thinning out the Birch and the Hornbeam

·        Scarify the woodland

·        Keep the noticeboard up to date at the site entrance

·        Organise large scale litter picks of the whole site

·        Have done native woodland wild flower planting

·        Re-instated the old hedgerow lines with native tree species

·        Tree maintenance work has been carried out as part of the ‘Quantified Tree Risk Assessment’ Model.

·        Children’s holiday wildlife activities have been organised with the Wildlife Trust.

                 Residents raised the following;

·        The Wood used to be full of ferns, is there any left in there?

o       Yes at the top end

·        When Acomb Wood Drive was the Wood was split in to two sites, do you look after both sites?

o       The Woodland Trust look after the other smaller site.

·        The Wood cannot be accessed from Woodthorpe, can we please re-open our access.

o       There were objections to re-opening the entrance so it has to go to a public enquiry.

·        Can we have a 20mph zone at Pulleyn Drive

·        Why do we need speed humps as they are inconvenient?

·        Because not everyone sticks to the speed limit

·        The college never built enough parking spaces as there is still a problem with parking

·        The theory was to get the students using public transport

·        What is happening to the improvements at Middlethorpe Grove shops?

·        A lot of litter at the end of Simbalk Lane.

·        Dringhouses Dance group thanked the ward committee for the grant they received in the last financial year.

This was an opportunity for residents to talk to their ward councillors, Police and to report any street environment or any other ward-based issues.