Agenda item

1.

WELCOME

Cllr Stephen Fenton welcomed everyone to the meeting.    He informed the meeting that there would not be a Planning Panel selection at this meeting as it needed to be promoted to make potential new members aware of the opportunity.  The Planning Panel selection would therefore now take place at the next Ward Committee Meeting

2.

POLICE UPDATE

PSCO Joe Moisley gave an overview of the work of his team.  They were based at Acomb Road Police Station and covered Woodthorpe, Dringhouses and Copmanthorpe.   He said that there were not many incidents of anti-social behaviour in these areas.    He said he had left some business cards tonight for people to contact him directly but that he could not respond to any incidents directly as these should be reported on 101 or 999.

The subject of litter was raised by a resident who asked when the police were going to make an example of people who littered.   Joe replied that the police could issue tickets for littering, but this responsibility fell mainly to the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team Officers at the Council who were based at West Offices.  As well as littering they also dealt with noise complaints and dog mess. 

His team’s role was to mainly deal with anti-social behaviour, parking and traffic problems. 

Cllr Reid said that prosecutions have been made but it was very much in the hands of the local press as to whether they published this information.  There was an issue of “age of consent” as to whether prosecutions could be made or not.  She would let residents have the relevant information.

She said the York College endeavoured to make their students aware of littering.

3.

VISION FOR YORK LIBRARIES

Charlie Croft, Assistant Director for Communities, Culture and the Public Realm gave a presentation on the York Libraries Consultation “Centre of Learning and Opportunity for all”. This Consultation is currently underway and closes on 14^th February.

He explained that the contract currently held by York Explore was coming up for renewal and there would be a new contact for library services in York in 2019.  Currently York libraries were successful as the current provider, York Explore had introduced many new services.   Visitor numbers and book issues were good, and the service offered excellent value for money and provided spaces for the community to come together.

York currently had a high number of library branches for its population and were in the upper quartile for usage of English Unitary Authorities.  The cost per visit ranged from £0.33 (Rowntree Park) to £2.82 for mobile libraries.  There was good support from volunteers and book stocks were borrowed on average 5 times per year.

Nevertheless, there was a need to continue innovation and build on successes to date.  The service needed to continue to meet changing needs and expectations in the coming years.  There was also a need to see an improvement in the fabric of the library buildings.

The vision for the future of York Libraries was for them to be centres of learning and opportunity for all, for them to continue to provide a broad range of books and material to promote reading and literacy and support people with the information they need for their everyday lives.

Libraries need to be modern, contemporary spaces which met the needs of all.  They needed to be fully flexible so that spaces could easily be transformed for other purposes.  They also needed to be fully accessible for reading, research and learning and outward looking, linking with the community and creating a sense of place.  Libraries should be open at times that reflect the needs of the community in which they are based.

It was envisaged that libraries would be:

·         Creative spaces that encouraged innovation and the sharing of knowledge

·         Shaped by local need, promoting community involvement

·         Transparent and visible from the outside, encouraging people to come in

·         Staffed by well trained staff with excellent customer focus

Libraries should be state of the art learning spaces encompassing:

·         Latest digital technologies

·         Flexible spaces for formal and informal learning

·         Study space and creative spaces

·         Range of learning programmes

·         Digital inclusion programmes to get people online for free

Charlie Croft said that they were asking for residents’ view now, because the Council was about to enter into a new contract as the Explore York contract comes to an end.  He asked residents what they wanted to see in the new contract which would probably be awarded for fifteen years.

Questions for residents to consider were as follows:

·         What would you like to see for the future of your library service?

·         Was the Vision for the service and ideas for the buildings on the right lines?

·         Where do you consider the most convenient place to access the library service in the future?

·         What kind of community involvement do people want to have in their local libraries

·         Any other specific aspects or issues you want to raise about the library service in the future?

He said there was an online Consultation on the Council Website and asked that residents go online and complete it.  Alternatively, residents could go into their local library and they could get help and support in completing the Consultation.  There was a whole range of ways open to residents to be involved. 

Q

A resident said that he had noted that there had been an improvement in the services at the Central Library and asked whose responsibility was it to maintain and repair the buildings, the Ward’s or the Council.

A

Charlie Croft said that it was Explore York’s responsibility under the terms of their contract but that he understood that there was a need to address the fabric of York’s Library buildings that existed before Explore’s contract and the Council was helping them with such repairs with for example Haxby library.

Q

Will the contract be awarded to Explore, or will it go out to tender?

A

When the contract was first awarded to York Explore there were no other providers but now there are other potential providers.  It must therefore go out to tender.

Q

Would the contract be for 15 years?

A

12-15 years would be about the right contract length, but the Council would not enter into any contract with any Company that did not have a good track record as a provider of library services.  Contract would be awarded on a mixture of quality and price

Q

Do all libraries have a late-night opening and if so how did you find out this information?

A

If you visited any library, you could find out this information.  Opening hours were not specific within the contract and the opening hours should be based on the needs of the customers within their area.   Acomb Explore had been open until 9.00 pm but saw little use after 7.00 pm so now close at 7.30 but open instead on Wednesdays when they were previously closed.

Q

A resident said the Dringhouses Library was an architectural treasure, the windows were lovely, but it was falling into disrepair.  Could nothing be done about public subscription.

The house next door to the library has recently changed hands and the owner was working hard to restore it to order but something in the garden was growing into the roof.    She noted that the bricks had been repaired at the front of the library.

A

Cllr Fenton said his attention had been drawn to the repaired brickwork, but he needed to talk to York Explore to see what their plans were in regard to further repairs.

The resident asked that she be kept aware of this issue.

Q

If the contract was awarded for 15 years, there would still obviously need to be a lot of maintenance on the buildings.

A

The contract would need to identify and help with this process.  A lot the buildings are coming to the end of their life and need major work.  Within the new contract there will need to be an appropriate mechanism to secure high quality premises for libraries over the life of the contract.

Cllr Fenton said that that he understood that the new contract would come into force in April 2019.  Charlie Croft confirmed that the Consultation Report would be made at the end of May on the outcome of the consultation.

Cllr Fenton said he would give Michal the link to email out.

4.

GAPS IN PROVISION IDENTIFIED AT THE SEPTEMBER WARD COMMITTEE MEETING

Cllr Fenton said that the following gaps were identified at the September meeting:

•      Activities and informal drop-in opportunities for young people (mainly aimed at 11-12 age group)

•      Opportunities for people with disabilities

•      More volunteer litter pickers

•      Better support for existing volunteers

•      Community transport to help elderly or isolated people access services

and asked if anything had been missed.

The following suggestions had been identified:

•      Engage with potential youth activity providers via the Local Area Team commissioning process

•      Commission ‘Urbie bus’ sessions to engage with young people on what they want

•      Talk to school councils to get young people’s input

•      Talk to York College about community art opportunities

•      Explore opportunities for community gardening

•      Support events designed to bring people together

These would help inform our commissioning for 2018/19.

He said that the Sunday 500 bus service was not now as frequent as it had been and did not cover the whole ward and asked residents if it were a bus service that they would regularly use.

It was felt that it was a good service and it was “better than nothing”.

Cllr Fenton said that discussions with First bus that resulted in them saying that if it was not economically viable then they would not run it.  He felt this was a subject for further discussion about investment in public services.

Community venues need to have better access for people with disabilities and asked if residents were aware of community facilities that could be better used is they were more accessible that the ward could fund.  

Engage with potential youth activity providers via the Local Area Team commissioning process

He had had a meeting with the John Stonehouse who was head of Children’s Services to understand what the Council’s plans were.  With regards to Moor Lane Youth Club this was part of a wider Council review of local assets i.e. Children’s Centres to join up as many Council services as possible.   There were some Council services based at Moor Lane Youth Club that were city wide i.e. children with autism or other needs.  There was no assessment of local young people’s needs and it would be helpful to identify what their needs were to inform a debate about how these assets could be meaningful.

A resident remarked that once upon a time Moor Lane had all the facilities but now they have all gone.  In terms of the Council’s Youth Service it no longer exists.

Cllr Fenton said that it was largely the condition of the fabric of the building and the running costs.  We need to be clear however about what outcomes we would like to see and how we could ensure facilities were better used.    He hoped that there would be something “concrete” to report by the next Ward Meeting.

Q

 A resident queried the use of school buildings.

A

Cllr Reid said that the Council’s ability to make more use of school buildings was not what it used to be.  For schools to open their premises they would need to employ a caretaker, the cost of which would negate the fees paid by groups to use their facilities.   She added that were schools were “academized” they were free to set their own fees.

Urbie Bus

Cllr Fenton said that the Urbie Bus was no longer run by the Council but that it could still be hired.

5.

WARD BUDGET UPDATE

The following bids from community/voluntary groups:

•      Woodthorpe York Community Group

•      West Thorpe Pre-School

•      Revival Estate Community Association

•      Dringhouses PC Scout Group

•      Mayfield Community Trust

•      Friends of Chapmans Pond

•      Dringhouses Bowling Club

•      Woodthorpe Wanderers Junior Football Club

•      Friends of Hob Moor

•      Dementia Yorkshire

•      Older Citizens Advocacy York

•      York Neighbours

£1,117

£264

£1,200

£1,975

£810

£1,006

£1,600

£900

£1,628

£1,500

£1,000

£1,000

Total awarded in grants

£14,000

2017/18 Budget

Some schemes had come in under budget which had led to £7,700 being available in the ward budget. There was no guarantee that we would be able to carry this sum forward to next year, so the Ward Team had identified some schemes to support:

·         Buying into a programme of youth activities that Westfield ward was commissioning

·         Re-painting Woodthorpe Green play equipment

·         Commissioning Brunswick Organic Nursery to build and install some planters

·         Tree trimming work in Silverdale Court and paying for trees to be planted at locations where they have been felled

·         Adopting the Revival estate salt bins

2017/18 Highways Budget

·         £2k left in the budget

·         Some 2016/17 schemes not yet done (Chaloners Road VAS, Little Hob Moor and Old Moor Lane paths, Tadcaster Rd pedestrian refuge)

Schemes we are supporting:

·         Tarmac runovers at Don Ave/Nidd Grove – done

·         Large patching on Lycett Road at the junctions with Lawson Road and Dringthorpe Road – Feb

·         New streetlight for the snicket linking Moor Lane with the old Askham Bar P&R site – done

·         Traffic surveys for Thanet Road / St Helens Road and Moorcroft Road / Acorn Way, to address concerns about speeding, safety and access –              awaiting quote

Housing Environmental Improvement Programme

·         £17k available to invest in capital projects that benefit council tenants

·         Schemes could be part-funded with ward budget / ward highways fun

 Possible schemes identified include:

·         Parking bays outside Highmoor Road flats

·         Storage provision for Southfield Crescent flats

·         Bin storage areas for Dringfield Close and Thanet Road flats

2018/19 Ward Budget

Groups will be invited to apply for funding for schemes which address our ward priorities:

·         improving the local environment

·         increasing community involvement

·         improving access to services and support

·         promoting community safety

Application window likely to be open from 1 March to 27 April

Ward Team will then meet to discuss applications received, and may choose to ring-fence some funds for schemes to commission

2018/19 Ideas for schemes to commission

Early suggestions included:

•      CCTV for Summerfield Road / Woodthorpe playground

•      More proactive tree trimming

6.

 HAVE YOUR SAY

Q

A resident said that the new sign at Moor Lane should actually read Dringhouses and not Woodthorpe as it was across the Parish boundary

A

Cllr Reid said she would look ino this

Q

A resident asked if the footpaths and verges could be cleaned up now that the cable laying had been completed as debris and loose tar is being carried into houses.

A

Cllr Mason replied that it was his understanding that Talk Talk had six months to put everything back to the way it was by tarmacing and tidying up the verges.  They had been power washing.

Q

A resident said that an area that had been recently repaired was not the area that should have been repaired.  Needing repairs to stop the flood water

A

Cllr Fenton said that he understood the area was to be micropatched.

Q

A resident said that Rawcliffe Parish Council were running a subsidised taxi service into town (10%) off fares which he thought was a good idea as it was not costing a great deal.  Users were required to register with the Parish Council.

A

Cllr Reid said she was not aware of this scheme, but she would enquire

Q

Could more gravel be put down in Acomb Wood as the paths were getting boggy

A

Cllr Reid said she would pass on the request.

Q

How often do the streets get cleaned as there was still a lot of autumn debris in gutters?

A

The Council publish maps showing frequency of mechanical and manual sweeping which take pace at certain times of the year.  People can report areas of concern to the Council who will send a team to clear up.  

Q

Regarding the old Park and Ride site at Askham Bar, looked to be scheduled for redevelopment for housing.

A

Cllr Reid said that this was still in the local plan, but other proposed sites at Cherry Lan and the stables on Tadcaster Road had been rejected by the Local Plan Working Group

Q

Resident suggested that as the old Park and Ride site was owned by the Council could they not look at alternative suggestions for example housing for the elderly or a doctor’s surgery with parking spaces.

A

The Council were not responsible for providing doctor’s surgeries but historically when looking at this there had not been much response from doctors when the Council had tried to encourage the building of surgeries. 

Q

Resident wondered if Brunswick Nurseries would help to support some flower beds?

A

They can provide a variety of beds of various sizes and would be very pleased to help.  Will provide resident with the email address.

Q

A resident said that there was no need for yellow lines or a crossing outside Lidl as there was no way traffic could exceed 20mph and the traffic stopped anyway.  Yellow lines do not work.

Q

Did anyone know when Tadcaster Road Post Office would reopen?

A

No.  Cllr Fenton said he had had difficulty finding a number for the Post Office but had been assured that they were working hard to restore a service as soon as possible.   It largely depended upon MACE or another provider taking over the shop.

Q

A resident using a mobility scooter expressed his frustration as people who parked half on the road and half on the kerb as it impeded his path.

A

Cllr Reid said that if there were yellow lines the Council could deal with it and he should ring the Parking Helpline.  However, if there were no yellow lines it would be a police matter as it was “obstruction”.   The police were reluctant to act if parking was only a little bit on the kerb.   If he could let the councillor know they could keep an eye on it.