Now Private Eye magazine highlights scale of muddle over York Council grass cutting policies.

Seems the York Council is being criticised from all sides with even Private Eye magazine taking time to comment on another bizarre mistake.

It seems that Council – or more likely one of its contractors – has cut a wildflower verge just as the carefully cultivated plants were beginning to bloom.

Something similar happened in Foxwood, where the Council failed to cut the Foxwood Park wildflower meadow in the spring. Without regular maitenance the wildflowers have little chance of getting established.

A request, for a 1 metre wide footpath to be cut round the perimeter of the madow, has also been ignored. The path would have allowed park users to avoid trampling down the wildflowers.

Elsewhere residents have criticised the Council for failing to cut back hazadous weeds on public footpaths (see below).

The Council claims that its new “no cut” policies are aiding biodiversty.

In reality, the reverse is the case. Dominant weeds like nettes are smothering the very types of flowers which are most important for pollinators.

Those currently in charge seem to have honed their environmental credentials from the most cursory use of Google search.

Getting the balance of nature right is complicated. It is also expensive and not something therefore that the Council leadership are likely to embrace with any enthusiasm

Adding insult to injury, the Council are currently bombarding social media with”Get York Buzzing” propaganda messages. They show a staggering lack of self awareness

Earlier: Is this a record? Examples of poor public service standards in – York 6th June 2024

2 metre high thistle on residential verge in Kingsway West.

Potentially hazardous weeds like these are supposed to be treated by the York Council, but the strimmg and weed control programme has been chaotic this year

There are many other examples of poor maintenance standards around the City

Westfield

Osbaldwick

Westfield

Westfield

Lowfield Green

Rawcliffe – cycle access obstructed

Holgate weeds

Westfield weeds

Holgate verges uncut

Council must rewrite Local Plan traveller site section

The planning inspectors have now published their conclusions on the Councils policies on Gypsy and Traveller accomodation They a re heavilly critical of the sttae of repair of the sites in general and Osbaldwick (see photo below) in particular..

The adoption of the Local Plan is now further delayed while the Council finds a form of words which addesses the Inspectors concerns.

The Inspectors are content for additional pitches to be provided at the Clifton and Obsbaldwick sites but only after a Masterplan for both has been approved.

The Inspectors conclusions can be viewed via this link

It is unclear how much further delay will be involved or what the implications will be for the rest of the, hugely expensive, Local Plan which has been many years in the making

Extract from Inspectors report

Earlier 6th May 2024

York Council confirms that it will spend £5 million on campsites

A report to a meeting taking place later this week says that the Council will spend £5 million upgrading and extending Traveller caravan sites in York.

The report also takes a broader look at the needs and challenges of the Traveller community. It identifies continuing problems with access to health and education services. This will be awkward for those who were charged with making improvements when the last strategy document was agreed some 10 years ago.

It seems that little progress has been made.

An annex to the report provides more information about the 86 caravans currently parked on authorised sites in the City.

City of York Council owns and runs three main Traveller sites throughout the City:

• Water Lane, Clifton
• Outgang Lane, Osbaldwick
• James Street, York

In addition, a small number of Travellers are living on a non CYC site in the Naburn area

Site residents pay rent, council and utility charges.

In total, there are 61 individual pitches; most are big enough for 2 caravans and 1 or 2 vehicles. Each pitch has its own service block which includes a kitchen area and bathroom. There are “regular visits from support workers who manage the site and provide help when required”.

An unknown number- yet considered the majority- live in “bricks and mortar” housing throughout the city. In York, approximately 368 residents identified as Gypsy or Traveller in the Census 2021.

Officials claim that “York’s high cost of living causes significant stress for the communities with many on low incomes struggling to afford the basics”.

As usual the elephant in the room is the relationship between the Travellers and neighbouring communities. Differing lifestyles produce tensions and there is little evidence that the Council has addressed these issues effectively over recent years.

Indeed the feeling is that conflicts are often brushed under the carpet..

None more so than on the issue of unauthorised road side campsites (There is a longstanding one on the  A166 )

The report does say that the Council is,

“Looking to identify a parcel of that land might be used for Negotiated Stopping arrangements”  

The Council will also have a“regular and supportive presence on the static sites, taking an educational approach to ensure people are aware of their responsibilities for issues such as waste management, fly-tipping, Scrap Metal Dealing and dogs, while at the same ensuring people are aware of the penalties for non-compliance”.

It will come as a surprise to many residents if this hasn’t happened in the past.

Conversion of family homes into student lets still causing concerns in York

Yesterday’s story on population changes in York over recent years revealed a large increase in the number of students living in the City.

This has caused increased pressure on family housing as many properties are now being let as “houses in multiple occupation”. The change requires planning permission. Some objectors point to parking problems and impacts that empty properties have on neighbourhood outside term time.

There is also the more general issue of students not being liable for Council Tax charges. This harms the Council’s finances.

A “tidy up” operation has been taking place for several months with the owners of properties, being used as HMOs but without the necessary permissions, seeking retrospective approval. There have on average been 2 such application each week.

A petition was also collected recently which asked for the threshold of the proportion of homes that could be converted into HMOs in a neighbourhood to be halved.

A planning committee next week will determine applications for two new HMOs. Both are in the Osbaldwick area, neighbourhood which has seen a large increase in its student population because of its proximity to the University

One application would see a Chiropodists surgery converted into a small HMO.

The second application would see a dwelling house converted into a HMO.

York Council faces £5.25 million bill for Gypsy/Traveller campsites improvement

In an unexpected turn of events, The York Council is being told that it must spend £5.25 million bringing its three Traveller sites up to standard.

The sites are located at Water Lane in Clifton, Outgang Lane in Osbaldwick, and James Street in Layerthorpe.

A report to a meeting taking place next week says “

The evidence base for the emerging Local Plan identifies the need for additional pitches to meet an identified need. These will be provided through a combination of new pitch provision on both strategic housing sites and direct delivery by the council. As well as providing new pitches, there is a need to invest in existing pitches and sites to improve the quality of accommodation and facilities for residents.

This report identifies how the additional pitches will be delivered by the council alongside improvements to existing facilities. This programme of works will be forward funded with a full business case to be developed and brought before Executive this year.

It is estimated the cost of the additional pitch provision and improvements will be around £5.25m.”

Council report March 2024

Angry opposition Councillors have said that the Labour Council knew about the commitment when it tabled its budget a few days ago covering 2024/25, but failed to make the necessary financial provision.

A public enquiry into the draft Local Plan is currently taking place. Government Inspectors have challenged the Council’s approach to meeting the unmet demand for pitches.

Of the £5.25 million potentially £1.95m will come from future s106 (developer) contributions. This would leave a £3.3m long-term borrowing requirement for Council taxpayers.

Planners say that an additional 20 pitches will be required by the end of 2027. Current plans are to expand the Osbaldwick site.

LOcal residents have been critical of the Council’s management arrangements at and near the Osbaldwick site for several years.

Lendal Bridge “recovery hub”, Children’s Nursery “TIPI’s” on Boroughbridge Road and a house extension in Osbaldwick all hope to gain planning approval next week

Planning committee Councillors are being urged t approve three planning applications at their meeting next week. Click headings for more details

The Environment Agency, Ground Floor, The Hub Station, Wellington Row, York (Lendal Bridge)

This involves a change of use of ground floor office space to a ‘Recovery Hub’ community centre

The host property is a two-storey grade II listed building originally constructed in the early 20th century as an electricity substation. It is situated in the Central Historic Core conservation area next to Lendal Bridge on the west bank of the River Ouse.

The building was previously in use as a public drop-in centre/exhibition space with ancillary office accommodation used by the Environment Agency and has been vacant since September 2022.

 Permission is sought to repurpose the existing ground floor space as part of a community centre ‘Recovery Hub’ operating from the whole property, including the first floor, which already sits in the relevant use class. This application therefore relates to change of use class for the ground floor only. Works to the building would be restricted to renewal of interior décor. There are no proposed changes to the fabric of the building.

The proposed new use of the property as ‘York Recovery Hub’ is to serve as a venue to enable people with both direct and indirect lived experience of substance use disorders to have an important role in helping more York residents enter, establish and sustain recovery.

The Recovery Hub’ would be used to host:

• · a wide range of activities to support social connections, improvements in health and wellbeing and confidence in life in recovery, including employment
• · mutual aid group meetings, including for family members affected by someone else’s substance use
• · opportunities to meet and find out about local services / employers
•  · access to counselling / therapy groups / recovery coaching, drawing on a range of approaches to recovery. 1.5 The Hub would be open 7 days a week from 7am-10pm.

The application is in the name of the York Council and is recommended for approval. 67 letters of support have been received. There hss been one objection from the York Rowing Club (which has premises nearby) The objection mainly concerns a lack of consultation and fears of anti-social behaviour.

2 Muddy Boots, The Gardens, Boroughbridge Road, York,

Change of use of land to open air recreational space and erection of 2 Tipis with associated access and landscaping. 

The application site is Muddy Boots Nursery, where a former agricultural building has been converted and is in use as a children’s preschool nursery providing general childcare. Adjacent to the nursery buildings, the application site includes an existing outdoor play area enclosed by post and rail fencing and an open field to the southwest. The site area is approx. 1.54 hectares. The application site is located in the Green Belt. Access to the site is from the A59 via a shared private drive serving the nursery and two adjacent houses.

The proposals relate to the change of use of land to form an open-air recreational space and the erection of two tipis, with associated access and landscaping. The tipis would be erected on a temporary basis for a period of 5 years.

The two adjoining tipis would be located in the north-east part of the field, adjacent to the nursery building and existing outdoor play area. The tipis are of a relatively large scale, mass and footprint. The tipis would be approx. 7.4m in total height, and approx. 6.8m in height to the head of the canvas part of the tents. The tipis would be approx. 10.3m in length. With the sides down, the total width of the tipis would be approx. 20.6m, and with the sides up, the total width of the tipis would be approx. 26m. The applicant has confirmed that there would be no fixed play equipment on the site, with only natural resources used for activities such as den building, assault courses, bug hunts etc. Toilet provision for the forest school would be via two portable toilets located adjacent to the north field boundary. At the time of the site visit, a single tipi or cone shaped tent was in situ in the field to the south[1]west of the nursery building, with two portable toilets adjacent.

The purpose of the proposals is to enhance the existing nursery provision with the opportunity for outdoor play in a ‘forest school’ setting. The tipi structures are intended to provide an interesting and exciting place for children to learn and explore. The proposals would enable 16 children from the Muddy Boots nursery in Acomb to travel by minibus to attend sessions at the forest school. This would in turn create additional early years and childcare places in the Acomb nursery setting.

The application is recommended for approval

3. 34 Tranby Avenue, Osbaldwick, York,

 This application is for a dingle storey front/rear extensions and two-storey side extension.

The application has been “called in” for committee consideration following concerns that the enlarged building could d be used as an HMO, with consequent adverse impacts on parking and highway access arrangements in the street.

Community comes together to support Village Hall refurbishment

When Osbaldwick Village Hall put out an SOS for building materials, the community the York trade community responded.

Cllr Mark Warters and Mark Armour of Burton Roofing Group

The original building was a methodist chapel built in 1871 but was utilised for community purposes and housed a nursery which folded in 2021, leaving the hall empty.

The Parish Council took over and began a project starting in October 2023 to expand and refurbish the facility starting in. It became clear that the single storey extension built in the 1970s was structurally unsound so the opportunity was taken to demolish and replace with a two storey building and mezzanine floor in the original building.

The team asked local suppliers to donate materials to support the project and were astounded at the response. Councillor Mark Warters explains: “We’ve been delighted with the response, from kitchens to bricks and electrical supplies to roofing materials, local businesses have been incredibly generous with their time and resources.

“The extension is sympathetic to the original style of the Victorian building using similar products and reclaimed bricks. A date stone carved by York Minster stonemasons will be added to the front of the new extension and when finished inside the building there will be a plaque highlighting all the businesses who have generously supported the project.

“The village hall will be a valuable resource which will house a nursery and provide a versatile space for community events and a meeting place for a wide range of groups.”

Ian Leigh, managing director of Burton Roofing Group, one of the business that have donated materials, said: “Suppliers to the building trade play an important role in the development and maintenance of our towns and cities and this was a nice opportunity for us to give back to the communities that support us and buy from us across our branch network.

“We were delighted to supply xxx from our branch in Sheffield and support this great community project.”

Other business that have supported the project include Selco, Howdens who are donating a kitchen, CEF are donating electrical supplies and A1 Haulage have done a number of free waste removal jobs.

A local windows company is providing a generous discount on window supplies and Hanson concrete supplies did us a favourable rate when the footings were poured. The Handmade Brick Co supplied white ‘special’ bricks at a discounted rate and a local tree surgeon has supported us with demolition and groundworks.

Large battery energy storage plan for land near York

The Proposed Development would comprise a utility scale grid management facility using battery energy storage technology with a storage capacity of approximately 100MW. It would operate for a period of 40 years, The facility would be located off Murton Way near Osbaldwick

According to the planning application, “The development would comprise a form of carbon zero energy storage to provide balancing energy to the electricity grid. Its grid balancing mechanism specifically forms part of the renewable energy infrastructure being developed to meet the UK’s obligations under the Renewable Energy Directive and transition to Net Zero

The Site measures approximately 3.4 hectares and comprises an existing agricultural field located immediately adjacent to the existing built-up settlement of York”

The documents supporting the application say

“Rapid deployment of renewable and low carbon energy technologies has a critical role to play: the UK will need to be entirely powered by clean energy by 20351 . In this context, the Government’s recently accelerated support at all levels of policy and guidance for renewable and low carbon energy is unsurprising.

The City of York Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and pledged to achieve net zero carbon for the city by 2030. The City of York Council have released the York Climate Change Strategy 2022-32 (2022), which sets out to reduce emissions by 77% by 2030.

 The wider context is that the UK Government has set a legally binding target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and achieving this target will require significant investment in the development of renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure both locally and across the UK.

The Proposed Development would provide greater capacity and flexibility in the energy generation network and the proposed batteries would support the move towards a low carbon energy network supplied increasingly by renewable energy schemes. The Proposed Development is required for the exploitation of renewable energy and will make an important contribution to ensure that the City of York Council can meet its own commitment to the climate emergency and reaching net zero”.

The application also contains an interesting heritage appraisal of the site which refers to the Derwent Valley Light Railway which used to run along one of the boundaries.

The site is located in the Green Belt.

The application is currently out for consultation

Large battery storage plan for Osbaldwick

Developers have requested an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Opinion from the City of York Council for a proposed renewable energy development occupying approximately 3.4 hectares of land at Murton Way, York.

The development comprises a battery energy storage system and ancillary development thereto. The development will connect to the nearby National Grid substation at Osbaldwick.

The Council is being asked to say whether a statutory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required

The application document says that “The Development would be a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) comprising circa 104. Containers with associated infrastructure and equipment including 132kV substation, fencing, security cameras, cabling, access track and new vehicle access towards Murton Way.

The battery storage compound consists of rows of containers housing batteries that can store energy and are able to quickly release or absorb energy from the power network. Being able to absorb and release energy, the development can be used to contribute towards the frequency balancing services, where the power is being generated or absorbed statically or dynamically depending on the system frequency.

When there is not enough power, batteries are discharged to balance under frequency preventing black and brown outs. To balance over frequency batteries are charged to prevent dangerous spikes across electricity infrastructure

Importantly, battery storage schemes also allow more renewable energy production to be integrated into the system. The intermittent and variable supply that is inherent in renewable energy generation creates peaks and troughs in electricity production. Battery storage facilities such as the one proposed reduced the peaks and troughs in electricity supply, being able to respond at short notice to requests from National Grid to generate electricity, when renewable sources are not generating and also absorb surplus renewable energy when it is generated but there is no demand on the grid.

The Development would comprise a form of carbon zero energy storage to provide balancing energy to the National Grid. Its grid balancing mechanism specifically forms part of the renewable energy infrastructure being developed to meet the UK’s obligations under the Renewable Energy Directive.

The development is unmanned and can be operated remotely. It is anticipated that under normal circumstances,
no more than 1 no. vehicles would need to access the site per month, and most visits to the site would be undertaken by an operative in a van/4×4, except in rare instances where repairs or replacements are required”

The proposal may generate some opposition as it is located in the Green Belt. Its site is currently used for agriculture with its land quality rated as “good”.

Parts of the site are subject to flooding. There may also be an issue with noise from cooling fans while some battery installations have been vulnerable to fire (click)

A formal planning application is likely to follow on from the decision on the scope of any required environmental impact assessment.

NB. Two other battery farms are planned for the same part of the City

Time for some leveling up in York?

There has been a lot of publicity recently about the need to improve standards in the north of England. Leveling up to match the standards seen in the south east of England is now government policy

Something similar is needed in York. The contrast between wealthy and poorer areas is stark. Too many public services in the latter are in decline. Politicians – of all parties – have failed to act effectively.

The are exceptions of course

We have praised before the work of the Osbaldwick Parish Council for their imaginative reuse of redundant direction signs. Recently they have adapted two more for use as bus stop flags.

This can be contrasted with similar facilities in the Windsor Garth area – one of the poorest neighbourhoods nationwide according to the last census.. One bus shelter has opaque windows while the nearby street sign is illegible.

Osbaldwick bus shelter

Windsor Garth

Kempton Close (probably!)

Petition on University parking chaos

Residents are being asked to support a petition urging the Council and University of York to ease the parking problems that have occurred in the Hull Road & Tranby Avenue area.

We reported previously that a new ResPark scheme on Badger Hill had resulted in verge parking and obstructions in th neighbouring area.

We have a lot of sympathy for the residents who are suffering as a result of the University’s travel plan having failed so dramatically.

Residents can sign the petition (which is preproduced below) by clicking this link. (registration required)

City of York Council SOLVE the York University related parking, don’t just MOVE it!

• We the undersigned petition the council to call upon City of York Council who have displaced this problem parking from one area to another, creating serious road safety issues in so doing to SOLVE the problem rather than simply moving it.

At the beginning of October City of York Council introduced an expanded Badger Hill Residents Parking Scheme, this scheme has had predictable consequences with displaced University related parking – staff and students relocated to Osbaldwick with Tranby Avenue badly affected as many residents have noticed.

Similarly sections of Hull Road leading to Nursery Gardens now see Archbishop Holgate’s sixth formers dumping cars during the school day.

The obvious solution is for City of York Council in conjunction with York University to revisit the University Travel Plan imposed as a condition of the Heslington East Planning Approval and open up the University Car Parks to free use by all students and staff to take car parking out of residential streets and on to currently virtually empty University Car Parks.

City of York Council are also requested to engage with the Headteacher of Archbishop Holgate’s School and advise of the need to allow sixth formers who travel by car to be able to park on the school grounds.

This ePetition runs from 16/11/2021 to 31/12/2021.