Agenda and minutes

You will have an opportunity to talk to:

• Cllr Ann Reid
• Cllr Sue Sunderland
• Cllr Tom Holvey
• Cindy Benton, Neighbourhood Management Officer
• Your Safer Neighbourhoods Policing Team
• A representative from Group Response Community Rangers
• Tony Lee, Operations Manager, York Racecourse

PLUS:

Find out more about the Sustainable Communities Act.

Come and see the proposed plans for the equipment in Leeside Park.

1.1           Residents had the opportunity to talk to Cllr Ann Reid, Cllr Sue Sunderland, Cllr Tom Holvey, Cindy Benton (Neighbourhood Management), the Safer Neighbourhoods Policing Team, Andy Williams (Street Environment) and Tony Lee (York Racecourse). 

1.2           Residents also had the opportunity to speak to Andy Hudson about the Sustainable Communities Act and find out more about the plans for Leeside Park. 

2.1    Cllr Tom Holvey welcomed residents to the meeting.

2.2    The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.

Paul Thackray, Head of Highway and Street Operations will be presenting the final plans of the new Park & Ride site at Sim Hills.

Paul Thackray, Head of Highways presented plans for the new Askham Bar park and ride.  The following points were noted:

3.1       The new Park and Ride will be a much bigger site replacing the current one which is no longer big enough to meet demand.  

3.2       It will be similar in design to the park and ride at Monks Cross.  The building will be as sustainable as possible, features will include a wind turbine, ground source heating and a green roof. 

3.3       The proposed land is a former land fill site.  Certain parts of the site will be dedicated for nature conservation. 

3.4       A token system will be introduced on the new site; people using the site will receive a token which must be validated on the bus to allow them to exit the car park.  The aim of this is to stop people using the car park who are not using the park and ride facility.

3.5       There will be a facility for locking bikes up overnight for people who want to drive to the park and ride and then cycle into town.

3.6       The team are currently carrying out pre-planning application consultation.  An exhibition of the plans was held recently which was attended by over 350 people.  It is hoped that the planning application will be submitted at the end of May/early June 2009.  If the application is approved and funding is obtained from central government, construction will start in autumn 2010.

3.7       No decisions have been made about what to do with the existing park and ride but there has been a lot of interest in keeping the existing bus stop. 

3.8       Part of the plans are to widen the footpath along Tadcaster Road to allow for cyclists and pedestrians.  The team are also looking at making improvements to the crossing between the college and Tesco as a lot of traffic is getting backed up there. 

The following questions and comments were noted:

a)  A lot of people in the neighbouring area walk to the current park and ride site to use the service.  As the new site is going to be a lot further away, will the buses be making stops along the route?

Response was given that there are no plans to increase the number of stops.  The idea of a park and ride is for it to be a direct route through to the city centre.  There are a number of other bus services that cover this area.  Cllr Tom Holvey stated that the team will push to keep the bus stop at the existing park and ride site.

b)  We could not get to the exhibition because of work commitments, the timings were not suitable for office workers. 

Response was given that this will be taken into consideration for the next set of consultations.

c)  Where is the funding coming from?

Response was given that 85% of the funding is coming from central government. 

d)  Major cutbacks have been announced under this years  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Tony Lee, Operations Manager will give you an update on the recent works at York Racecourse  and will answer any questions you may have.

Tony Lee, Operations Manager for York Racecourse gave an update on the recent works.  The following points were noted:

4.1         Racing has been taking place on the Knavesmire since 1731.  The racecourse is leased from City of York Council, specifically the racing surface and the stands.  All the profits are put back into racing.

4.2         The racecourse brings £44m to the local economy and offers 1350 full time jobs.  8% of all visitors to York are connected with the racecourse and account for 15% of spend in the city.  The racecourse holds conferences and exhibitions, university, school and college trips, supports local services and has hosted training for police dogs and close protection units. 

4.3         A lot of work has been done to the race track with the aims to a) ensure the racecourse can effectively manage the racing surface in climate extremes, b) help provide a more consistent racing surface throughout the season, c) provide a service road alongside the track for various uses, d) increase options to provide fresh ground throughout the season and e) remove the anti-camber on the south bend.

4.4         The work carried out included a) installing new drainage and irrigation systems throughout the course, b)  inserting a 3.5m wide tarmac service road, c) constructing a 10m south bend extension, d) re-grading surface levels on the existing south bend and e) constructing a canterdown to halve the amount of wear and tear the race track gets on race days.

Sarah Garbacz, Strategic Manager for Library Services will be presenting the new plans for the development of the central library.

Alison Jones, Strategic Manager for York Libraries gave a presentation on the library services across the city and plans for turning the central library into an explore centre.  The following points were noted:

5.1     There are 14 libraries across the city, 1 mobile library and a home library service. 

5.2     The services offered by the library are books, access to the internet, an enquiry service, CD’s and DVD’s, information on family and local history and IT training.

5.3     80,000 people visit a York library every month with over 1 million books being lent out a year. 

5.4     York Central Library is to be turned into an explore centre along the same lines as Acomb library.

5.5     Phase one of the work is to refurbish the ground floor and will start in September lasting for 2-3 months.  The work will be mainly cosmetic with the aim of bring back the existing beauty of the building and freeing up the space to make it much more accessible.  New features of the library will include a café and learning rooms.  £100,000 will be invested on new books, increasing the book stock from 70,000 to 100,000.  Self service will be introduced which will free up staff to give help and advice to library users.

5.6     The whole library will be closed whilst this work is ongoing – a necessity on the grounds of health and safety.

5.7     The library service will be holding a number of consultation days for residents to view the plans and make comments.  These are likely to be held in May; dates will be publicised nearer the time.

5.8     The opening times will be changing once the library re-opens; the late night opening will be changing and the library will also be open on a Sunday.

5.9     The long term plan is to move York archives into the central library to be housed with the reference library.  These plans will be looked at in more detail next year.

Residents asked the following questions:

a) Are alternative arrangements being put in place whilst the library is closed for people who are carrying out research?

Response was given that residents should contact the library and arrangements can be made on an individual basis.

b)  Is there any truth in the rumour that Dringhouses library is closing?

Response was given that there are no plans to close Dringhouses library.

Your opportunity to discuss local issues and concerns with your ward councillors.

6.1  The following questions and comments were noted:

a)      The fencing at Moor Lane Bridge is mismatched and looks unsightly.

Response was given that the team will look into this.

b)     There seems to be a lot of vandalism directed at ‘For Sale’ signs in this ward.

Response was given that residents should either report this to the estate agents who will come and remove/replace the signs or report it to the council on 551551.

c)      St Helens Road is full of cracks and is in a poor state of repair.

Response was given that the team are aware of this and have reported it.

d)     I am very disappointed with the work that has been done at Little Hob

Moor.  The damage to the land caused by the vehicles has not been repaired.

e)   Some of the footpaths in this ward are in a terrible state and are full of weeds. 

Response was given that all the footpaths and roads in the city are inspected once a year and graded on their state of repair.  Maintenance work is carried out on the priority areas.

f)        I thought shops had a duty to clear up rubbish in the area surrounding

their shop. Could we ask the fish shop to do this before they close?

Response was given that the shop has been there a long time so it is unlikely that this was a condition of their planning application however the team will ask them to do so out of good will.

g)  There is an increasing problem with litter outside Dringhouses library.  There is not a bin there anymore, it was removed on health and safety grounds.

Response was given that the team will try and get the bin replaced.

h)  There is a problem with litter getting blown around on windy days, the refuse collectors do not pick it up if it gets blown out of the bin.

Response was given that this will be passed onto the refuse team.  Residents can get lids for their recycling boxes by calling York Pride Action Line on 551551.

i)         Who is responsible for the maintenance of Dringhouses cemetery?

Response was given that the council are responsible however the team are very grateful to the residents who pick up litter.

j)  Are there any firm plans for the Number 12 bus to stop running at 7pm?

Response was given that there was some talk of this however this will not be going ahead.