Recycling bins at Acomb full

Rubbish is being piled up beside the recycling bins on the Acomb Car Park. The bins have filled up during recent days. The Council doesn’t seem to have anticipated the increased demand which arises during public holidays.

Queues have also been forming at the Hazel Court recycling facility

Bulky waste collection fees for 4 or more items were raised by 85% from 1st April.

The fees now are £30 to collect 1 to 3 bulky items, and £50 for 4 to 10 items. More details can be found via this link

Acomb Car Park

Elsewhere the Council is refusing to bring foreward its grass cutting schedules. Indeed no information on when verges and amenity areas will get their first cut has been published.

If the cuttings become very long then not only will they make footpaths slippery but also, in wet weather, they may damage the mowers..

The recent prolonged period of wet weather has revealed new areas where water is ponding. These are usually the result of blocked gulleys or poorly profiled highway surfaces. The recurrent problems at the Newbury Avenue/Windsor Garth junction have been reported.

Newbury Avenue

Slightly better news from The Reeves. Following vehicle damage to part of the hedgerow at the front of the flats, the Council has confirmed that the missing section will be replanted

The Reeves damaged hedge

Hob Moor area being damaged by poor Council decisions

The York Council was warned, when it modified the cycle barriers at the entrances to Hob Moor, that it would give a green light to anti social behaviour.

The barriers were installed about 20 years ago expresly with the objective of preventing access by motor cyclists. Off road bikes had caused havoc for Hob Moor wildlife, footpath users and neighbouring residents. It had been relatively quiet until the barriers were heavilly modified in 2022.

Hob Moor today

Unfortunatey crime levels are now rampng up again with a motorcyle set on fire recently on the cycle path (above). The Council needs ot change its policies and offer more protection to pedestrians and neighbouring residents.

Elsewhere other problems have developed.

The salt bin which was located on Ascot Way has disappeared – just before the winter icy perid begins.

Cycle and foot paths are still obstructed by overgrowth, We reported issues on the Thanet Road/Herman Walk path and on Gale Lane. Dumping has been reported on Ascot Way.

Meanwhile those footpaths which were somehow missed off the Councils weed treatment programme this year are becoming more hazardous as moss growth increases.

Thanet Road cycle path obstructed

Dumping on Ascot Way

Obstructed path on Gale Lane

Paths in the Windsor Garth area will become slippery in the winter weather

Some good news though..For the first time this year, the cycle path link behind Kempton Close is free of overgrowth.

Cycle path near Hob Stones/Kempton Close is now free of overgrowth

Misty photos near Askham Lane in York

Autumn mists providing some atmosphere for Halloween?

Grange Lane park

Bit spooky in the woods

Damaged trees

We recommend residents to use the York Councils 24/7 on line reporting tool to highlight public service issues. (Click)

We’ve used it to report graffiti on Grange Lane and dumping on a former (unauthorised) camping site on Askham Lane. The graffiti “tag” is the same as has been reported at other locations in the area

Dumping

Graffiti

Some fly tipping removed but more arrives in west York

UPDATE 17/2/23 The York Council has written to say that the black bags in the field entrance on Askham Lane have been cleared and the case closed. Sadly that is not the case. We suspect that the Council are trying to pass the responsibility on to the farmer for the removal. If so, our sympathies are with the farmer. There is really no reason why he should have to clear up other people’s junk.

Also no progress yet on removing litter and dumping from the A64 between York and Tadcaster. We were told that work would take place near York earlier in the week. Current high winds won’t help, of course.

Black bags still in field on Askham Lane 17/2/23

UPDATE 15/2/23: The sofa dumped on Askham Fields Lane has been removed. The fly-tippers now seem to have moved on to Catterton Lane where builders’ waste has been dumped.

Fly tipping on Catterton Lane

The carpets, which were fly-tipped a few days ago on a layby on Askham Lane, have been removed.

Council officials visited the area yesterday and are pursuing the issue of the “green” waste which was dumped in black bags further up the lane. They are also arranging for the damaged no-tipping sign to be reinstated.

The problems have also been pursued by Dringhouses Councillor Stephen Fenton.

Unfortunately further out of the City on Askham Fields Lane a sofa has now been dumped on the verge. We’ll ask for it to be removed

Sofa dumped on Askham Fields Lane near Askham Bryan

Elsewhere we have asked for leaf detritus to be cleared from the cycle tracks near the Tesco store on Tadcaster Raod. The detritus makes the surface of the path slippery in wet and icy weather.

Cycle path near Tesco on Tadcaster Road

What a welcome to York & North Yorkshire!

Update 14th February 2023:

Credit to Network Rail, who initially apparently banned the Council for removing graffiti from the cycle track rail bridge near Askham Bogs, have now said that their own team will do the work on Friday

Update 13th February 2023:

A local York Councillor has been told that litter picking is being arranged over the next few nights for stretches of rhe A64 near York.

Apparently the Council is working with Highways England as they are responsible for road etc on this stretch. The Council is undertaking litter picking activities in the late night/early hours of the morning tonight through to Thursday 16th February. Highways England will be undertaking various works for which they are responsible (highway maintenance, barrier works etc).

How much of the A64 gets done – and to what standard – remains to be seen, but at least the authorities have recognised that there is an iussue. which needs to be adressed

Tourists driving along the A64 towards York from the A1 will get a very poor first impression of North Yorkshire

The verges are covered in litter, dumped tyres, and even the rusting frames of discarded traffic information boards.

None of the responsible authorities appears to have litter management plans in place. Most of the litter is in rural areas and must originate from drivers or insecure loads..

It is time for a clean up and some litter enforcement activity surely?

Perhaps the newly empowered North Yorkshire Council will rise to the challenge?

Rubbish strewn verges

Problems with tyres and redundant traffic sign frames

Leaf mould and detritus impedes the cycle track near the Pike Hills golf course

Graffiti on bridges

Rubbish and graffiti reported

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  Cornlands Road

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  Ascot Way

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  Vincent Way

Let’s respect open spaces like Hob Moor

It was disappointing to see “poop scoop” bags and discarded clothing dumped on Hob Moor today.

Someone has to clean the mess up. They have better ways to spend their time.

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New 12A to restore half-hourly daytime bus service

Click for details

First York have announced that from Monday 27 September there will be a new 12A service which will run Monday to Saturday daytime on an hourly basis between Piccadilly, Foxwood and Woodthorpe,

This means that, with the continuing hourly number 12 service between Woodthorpe and Monks Cross, there will in effect be a half-hourly daytime service between Woodthorpe and the city centre.

The new timetable is available on the First York website HERE  

The 12A will operate between Woodthorpe shops and Piccadilly but will not stop at Askham Bar

It will go round the ‘Woodthorpe loop’ once, as the 12 does at the moment

There’ll still be an hour’s gap between the 6.25am and 7.25am departures from Woodthorpe shops, as the first 12A departure from Woodthorpe shops to Piccadilly will be at 7.55am

The restoration of the service follows representations from Dringhouses/Woodthorpe ward Councillors and local residents.

Meanwhile we’ve reported the fly-tipping around the recycling bins at the Acomb Wood Drive shops

Fly tipping reported to the York Council

…..and one ongoing “failure” to report, with no action from the authorities yet to tidy up the London Bridge tunnel (on the York – Selby cycle path).

It appears to be a congregating point for students who leave a lot of litter. The litter bins have been full for over 3 weeks.

London Bridge underpass

Some streets cleaner

Good to see that progress has been made in clearing moss and detritus from the Grange Lane – Chapelfields Road snicket. Nearby hydrants sign – damaged 2 years ago – has still not been repaired

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  Snicket cleared of weeds

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  Damaged fire hydrant sign

and the lane to the rear of the Front Street/ Beaconsfield Street is tidier than it has been for some time

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  January 2021

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  April 2021

March of the mattresses

We seem to have a blight of fly tipped mattresses in west York.

We reported one that had been dumped behind the railings on the Kingsway West/Green Lane snicket a few weeks ago. It’s still there as the Council claim that it is on “private land”. It’s actually on land that has traditionally been maintained by an internal drainage board. The authorities need to come to an agreement on how the “public realm” will be kept tidy in future.

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  Kingsway West

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  Chaplelfields Road

Elsewhere a mattress appeared on Foxwood Park and was subsequently set on fire.

And another has been duimped on the Chapelfields Road – Wetherby Road snicket.

We think that it is about time manufacturers to come up with an accessible recycling system for bulky items like these.