Agenda and minutes

You will have an opportunity to talk to:

• Cllr John Galvin
• Cllr Christian Vassie
• Cindy Benton, Neighbourhood Management Officer
• Sarah Garbacz, Strategic Manager, Library Services
• Elizabeth Wray, Recycling Officer
• Claire Bailey-Lane, Street Environment Officer
• Safer Neighbourhoods Team

PLUS: Find out about the Sustainable Communities Act – what it is and how you can get involved.

1.1       Residents had the opportunity to talk to Cllr John Galvin, Cllr Christian Vassie, Cindy Benton (Neighbourhood Management), Elizabeth Wray (Waste Strategy), Clair Bailey-Lane (Street Environment) and the Safer Neighbourhoods Policing Team.

1.2       Residents also had the opportunity to speak to Andy Hudson, Assistant Director of Neighbourhood Services regarding the Sustainable Communities Act.

2.1    Cllr Christian Vassie welcomed residents to the meeting.

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

An update from your Neighbourhood Policing Team on ward issues and your chance to ask any questions.

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

3.1       There have been 178 crimes in Bishopthorpe this year compared with 116 last year.  Some youths have been arrested and put on ASB  contracts and no crimes have been repeated by them.

3.2       There were 112 crimes in Wheldrake last year compared to 107 the year before.

3.3       Anti Social Behaviour in Bishopthorpe has risen from 199 to 235

3.4       The police are aware of a spate of car crime in Bishopthorpe but someone was arrested for the incidents.

The following points and questions were raised by residents;

Q)                Why don’t your shifts get covered in the wards when your on rest days?

A)               Anything that is urgent will be picked up but non urgent things wait until we are back on shift.

Q)                How is the speed gun training going

A)                 It has not gone any further yet, we are still waiting for the training to happen.

Residents have asked if the Police can feed comments back about the overwhelming issue is regarding traffic and speeding.

The Police encouraged residents to fill in the 95 alive forms as this builds up a better picture of the problem.

Q)                Cycling on the pavements is a problem in Wheldrake with older children and adults.  It ahs been raised many times but nothing happens.

A)                         This is the same problem as in Fulford.  The Police do go into schools and get the message across but we are going to look in to going in to Wheldrake School.

Q)                           Can we have more cycle paths?

A)                            Cllr Vassie said that he is constantly raising this issue.  It would make sense to have a dedicated cycle track on the major roads.

Q)                Can we have a cycle track through Elvington Airfield to Fulford as the road is too dangerous for cyclists.

A)      A potential cycle track has been identified from Broad Highway to Heslington, however a small part of the land is privately owned so there is some disagreement at the moment.  A petition may help to get things moving.

Sarah Garbacz will be presenting the new plans for the development of the central library.

The Library Service was not represented at this meeting, however Cllr Christian Vassie gave an update on the plans for York Central Library.  The following points were noted:

4.1      York Central library is to be turned into an explore centre along the same lines as Acomb Library whose membership has more than doubled as a result of this.

4.2      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 bringing back the existing beauty of the building and freeing up the space to make it much more accessible and welcoming.  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.  There will be a huge emphasis on adult learning, with Aviva offering £200,000 sponsorship towards this. 

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

4.4      The opening times will be changing when the library re-opens.  More information on this will be available at a later date.

4.5      A longer 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.

An update on the allotment site and information on how you can become a member.  

Laurence George, Communications Officer for Wheldrake Allotments gave an update on the allotment site and information on how people can become a member.  The following points were noted:

5.1     Wheldrake allotments is an independent, self managed site with 59 plots which opened in March 2008.  The plots are currently subscribed but if residents are interested they can join a short waiting list. 

5.2     The allotments have had tremendous support in terms of volunteers and financial backing.

5.3     The team are committed to keeping a nice site and are working closely with council planners to ensure they stick to their planning conditions.

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

The following questions were noted:

a)  Two to three times a year there are horrible smells drifting over Bishopthorpe from Naburn.  Yorkshire Water admit it’s a result of them servicing the tanks at the sewage works.  Can anything be done?

Response was given that there is no easy solution to this and it will be monitored.

b)  Is cross ticketing likely to be introduced now that there are a number of different bus companies operating in the villages?

Response was given that Terry Walker from Transport Planning is working on getting this implemented.