Agenda and minutes

You will have an opportunity to talk to:

• Cllr Ann Reid
• Cllr Sue Sunderland
• Cllr Tom Holvey
• Andrew Williams, Street Environment Officer
• Your Safer Neighbourhoods Policing Team
• A representative from Group Response
• Annie Thompson, LINk
• Cindy Benton, Neighbourhood Management Officer

1.1  Residents that the opportunity to speak to Cllr Ann Reid, Cllr Sue Sunderland, Cllr Tom Holvey, the Safer Neighbourhoods Policing team, Andrew Williams (Street Environment Officer), Cindy Benton (Neighbourhood Management Officer), John Cooke (Group Response) and Derek Gauld (City Development).

2.1    Cllr Tom Holvey welcomed residents to the meeting. 

2.2    The minutes of the last meeting were approved and signed by Cllr Tom Holvey.

An update from your Safer Neighbourhoods Policing Team on ward issues and your chance to ask questions and raise concerns.

Sgt Sarah Bestington gave an update on Crime and Community Safety issues in the ward. The following points were noted:

3.1      The police priorities for the ward are anti-social behaviour and damage, burglary and speeding. 

3.2      The Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) recently led an action week called ‘not in my neighbourhood’.  The team were involved in a number of different activities to promote crime prevention including visiting burglary victims, shops and businesses, visiting vulnerable people to give out attack alarms, giving personal safety presentations at sheltered housing and schools and cycle tagging.  High visibility patrols were in operation during this week.  The team received a lot of positive feedback.

3.3      Operation Joypad is underway which involves the SNT testing the doors of residential property’s to see if they are locked.  If the doors are unlocked, the SNT will alert the residents that that their property is insecure.

3.4      The SNT’s shift patterns are changing as of 9^th February.  The SNT will now have three rest days in a row rather than four and will be working until midnight rather than 10pm.  This means the team will be more visible more often. 

3.5      The SNT have spent three days targeting cycling on footpaths.

3.6      The team recently carried out an operation on Moor Lane stray to target speeding and 12 cars were stopped.  ‘95 alive’ forms are available for residents to fill in to report speeding.  Residents are encouraged to fill them in so that the SNT can build up a picture of problem areas.  

3.7      There was a lot of auto-crimes in the ward over one weekend.  The team have been involved in initiatives to target this and so far 2 people have been arrested.

Residents asked the following questions:

a)  Do the police take away the passports of offenders on bail?

Response was given that this is not a police issue, decisions like this are made by the court.  There are certain instances where passports are taken off offenders on bail such as in cases of potential child abuse. 

b)  Can anything be done about delivery drivers who park on double yellow lines?

Response was given that this is the responsibility of traffic wardens, not the police.  There are some streets where they are allowed to stop for a short amount of time to unload as not all streets have parking bays.

c)  Do you take any action against people who park on footpaths?

Response was given that this is not illegal to park on a footpath as long as there is enough room for a double buggy/wheelchair to get past and it is not causing an obstruction to property.  Residents should get in touch with the SNT if there are any obstructions as they are able to issue a ticket to the owner of the vehicle. 

d)  Ashfield Court off Old Moor Lane has been the target of a lot of vandalism recently.  I have been told that I cannot report it because it has not happened  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

An update from Andrew Williams, your Street Environment Officer on issues he has been tackling in the ward.

Andrew Williams (AW) gave an update on street environment issues in the ward.  The following points were noted:

4.1 Forms are available for residents to take away and fill in to report any street environment issues they have.

4.2 The new Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) permit scheme comes into operation on 9^th February 2009.  Residents who use a trailer or larger vehicle will need a permit to use the sites.  Residents need to apply for the permits, 12 will be issued initially and these will be free of charge.  Information leaflets and application forms were available for residents to take away. 

4.3As part of a ‘community payback’ scheme, the Probation Service are providing help to clean up graffiti in the ward.  Private properties are currently a problem as the council has no power to enforce that the owners clean off the graffiti.  AW hopes that with the help of the Probation Service, the team will have the resources to clean it off with the permission of the owners.

Residents asked the following questions:

a)  What is the point of the permit scheme?

Response was given that there has been increasing problems with illegal tipping of trade waste at HWRC’s.  The permit system has been introduced to prevent abuse of the system. 

b)  What happens when people put trade waste in their household waste bin?

The refuse collectors would report it if it was obvious.  If residents suspect anyone doing this they should report it on 551551.

c)  Some of the side roads have been treacherous in the bad weather and have not been gritted, Mayfield Grove and Ainsty Grove in particular.  Why haven’t these been gritted?  A salt bin would be helpful in this area.

Response was given that the council has a set gritting route and it is not policy to grit side roads.  The ward committee provide funding for salt bins, the ward team will look into placing one in this area. 

d)  During the replacement of Moor Lane railway bridge the walls are being replaced by metal panels.  Is it right that we should loose the historical aspect of this bridge and will metal attract more graffiti?  Is it possible to put a brick finish on the metal?

Response was given that Network Rail are responsible for the replacement of the bridge, these comments will be passed onto them.   It is likely that graffiti will be easier to clean off metal than brick.

e)  When is the bridge expected to be finished?

Response was given that the expected finish date is 1^st March which is a couple of weeks later than originally expected.

f)  Could plants or bushes be placed in areas where graffiti is a problem?

Response was given that the team are looking at many different ways to prevent graffiti.  Cllr Tom Holvey suggested that a pot money from the ward committee budget for 2010-11 could be put aside to tackle graffiti.

g)  Can something be done to clean up the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1     Cllr Tom Holvey advised the meeting that as this ward does not have any parish councils it has a planning panel to consider and comment on any planning applications.

5.2     Roger Jennings, Secretary of the Planning Panel explained that the panel is made up of 8 volunteers who meet monthly to review all the planning applications from within the ward.  The panel considers the impact of the plans and makes recommendations to the planning department who make the final decision.  This involves three to four hours work a month.  If anyone is interested in joining the panel they should get in touch with Cindy Benton. 

5.3     Cllr Tom Holvey announced that all 8 panel members would like to stand again for election.  These are Mr R Jennings, Mrs A Gray, Mr C Wells, Mr I Tomlinson, Mr D Chapplow,  Mr P Fowler, Ms P Hartley and Mr R Sydes.

5.4     No objections were raised.

Find out what’s happening to progress the development of the former Terry’s site and have your say.

Derek Gauld (DG) gave an update on progress on the development of the former Terry’s site.  The following points were noted:

6.1      There has been a number of revisions to the original plan for the development. Some of the changes are to address the reasons for the refusal of planning permission.

6.2      The land review is still to be completed. 

6.3      There will be a number of good quality employment opportunities on the site.

6.4      The site meets the aims of the Local Transport Plan.  Traffic management has also been re-addressed and a new transport model will be proposed. 

6.5      In line with the Council Statement of Community Involvement the developers must involve the community and invite residents to get involved in the development process.   The team did a consultation event in November at the racecourse and a Community Forum has also been formed.  Cllr Tom Holvey is representing the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward on this forum and residents should pass any comments onto him. 

6.6      The revised planning application will be submitted in late spring.

The following questions and comments were noted:

a)  Are there any plans to build a by-pass at Bishopthorpe?  There is a lot of traffic in the area already and it will get worse when this development goes ahead. 

Response was given that a detailed report was going to Councillors in late March/early April which looks at the potential for a diversionary route for Bishopthorpe.  The report will look at the engineering, traffic modelling and planning/green belt issues.  This is being co-ordinated by Richard Bogg from Highways and the results will feed into the revised brief. 

b)  Will the clock tower remain on the site?

Response was given that the clock tower and other parts of the building are listed so will remain on the site.

c)  I would not like to see any green belt land lost to the development of more roads.

d)  I have read the amended brief and am very disappointed to see that there is no mention of using the river for any form of traffic during the development.  I thought this was a requirement of the developer. 

Response was given that there is no requirement to use the river during construction.  Initial thoughts are that this would be extremely costly and it would be necessary to cut through a fair substantial swathe of open green belt land between the river and the Terry’s site.  DG will discuss this further with colleagues and the developer to see if there is any potential to use the river during construction.

Information leaflets were available for residents to take away.

Have your say on local NHS and Social Services

Annie Thompson gave a brief presentation about the aims of the Local Involvement Networks (LINk’s).  The following points were noted:

7.1         LINk’s were set up following the abolishment of Community Health Councils and Public and Patient Involvement.

7.2         The aim of LINk is to bring health and social services together under one common voice giving the residents of York the opportunity to have their say.

7.3         LINk is an independent body that is able to ensure that health and social services are tailored to suit the people of York.

7.4         LINk will encourage people to share their experiences and needs of health and social services in order to influence providers to adapt and improve their services.  This will ultimately make a positive difference to health and social services. 

7.5         LINk has legal powers to: visit services to see what they do, write reports about services and make recommendations, ask and receive information within a time limit and report findings to the Council OSC or Healthcare Commission and be told when they will take action. 

7.6         Residents can become involved by volunteering in a number of different ways: a) being a member of the LINk Steering Group to help make decisions about the work the LINk will carry out, b) being a LINk community representative to help to find out people’s views in a geographical part of York and visiting local people to let them know about the work of LINk, c) being a LINk ward representative to let local groups and individuals in the ward know about the work of LINk, d) being a member of the LINk readers panel to help read LINk publications to ensure they are understandable and clear, e) being a member of a LINk working group and giving views on a specific area of work such as dental services and care homes.

7.7         Residents can find out more about becoming involved by contacting the LINk office on 621313 or by sending an e-mail to participate@yorklink.org.uk. 

The following questions and comments were noted:

a)  Does LINk cover GP surgeries?

Response was given that yes it does, it covers all health services.

b) LINk will not work, the area covered is too wide and the aims are unrealistic.  The resident felt that it is insulting to health professionals that LINk are trying to tell them how to do their job properly.

Information leaflets were available for residents to take away.

Your ward councillors will present the provisional was schemes list for the coming year.

8.1        Cllr Tom Holvey explained that the provisional schemes list must be approved and formally signed off at this meeting.

8.2        Residents asked the following questions:

a)  What information will go onto the Dringhouses Cemetery noticeboard?

Response was given that it is likely to include a historical background to the cemetery, a plan of the plots and who is buried there, mini-biographies of some of the people buried there and information about where the records are kept.

b)  The funding to the Church of St Edward the Confessor to refurbish the clock includes £1500 to install an electronic or mechanical winding system – can we really justify spending that much money to wind up a clock?

Response was given that currently someone has to climb a very narrow staircase every 7 days to manually wind the clock up which is a very difficult job.  £1500 would be spent to install a much needed automated system.  The clock is considered to be a landmark in the ward used by many people and was very popular in terms of residents’ votes. 

8.3  No objections were raised to the provisional schemes list and it was formally approved.

Your opportunity to discuss concerns on local issues within the ward.

a)  What is the progress with the new Askham Bar Park & Ride?

Response was given that the plans have been worked up in more detail and these were available for residents to view at the meeting.

b)  What will happen to the existing site?

Response was given that this land is owned by the council and the options are still being discussed.   The council do not need to sell the land to finance the new development.  Tesco’s have expressed interest in buying the land to extend their car park so this is a possibility. 

c)  The hedges in front of Tesco seem to have shrunk.  Can something be done about this?

Response was given that a condition of the planning agreement was that the hedges would be a certain height.  The ward team will look into this. 

d)  Could we have a report on the development work at the racecourse at the next meeting?

Response was given that a representative from the racecourse will be invited to the next meeting.

e)  Is the council affiliated with ENCAMS?

Response was given that the council does work with ENCAMS. 

f)  Can the council look at putting some drainage on Woodthorpe Green.  It has been particularly bad this year.

Response was given that this will be referred to Leisure Services to see if they have any plans to improve it. 

g)  A number of grass verges in this ward are a mess due to cars parking on them.  What can be done about this?

Response was given that it is not illegal or cars to park on grass verges however it is illegal for them to damage the verges.  Residents should report anybody suspected of damaging the verges to the ward councillors or by ringing 551551. 

h)  Acomb Wood does not have disabled access; shouldn’t all York parks have this facility?

Response was given that a number of parks have disabled access however Acomb Wood is a protected nature reserve which makes it difficult to make any adjustments to it.

i)  Could we put something in the ‘Your Ward’ newsletter to remind residents that if salt bins are not used they will be removed by the council.

Response was given that the ward team will look at putting something in the next issue.