Action taken to improve our area

Following requests from residents there have been improvements to walking routes in Westfield Ward.

The snicket between Grange Lane and Walton Place has been improved to take out the smashed up fence.

Improvements to snicket from Grange Lane

Also following complaints from residents that the area around the gate in Westfield Place leading to the field was waterlogged on a regular basis a better draining surface has been applied with funding from the Ward Committee budget. The old dog bin has also been replaced as part of the citywide investment in replacement bins as they have reached the end of their useful lifespan.

Pressing for improvments in Chapelfields

Westfield Ward Councillors have been pressing for improvements to the area on behalf of  residents. One of the longest campaigns has been to tackle the broken fencing along the snicket between Grange Lane and Parker Avenue/Walton Place. Finally progress is being made with the replacement of broken fencing which collected litter, and had been regularly vandalised.

Broken fencing BEFORE

Snicket fencing being installed September 2018

 

New Dog bin Grange Lane

Old dog bin Grange Lane

New dog bin Bramham Road

 

But there are other areas  that need attention. Andrew has written again to  Virgin to ask them to  take responsibility for their cable box on Bramham Road – and surely making it more  secure would save them  money in the long run !

 

Virgin cable box broken again !

 

Cllr Sue Hunter asked at the York Full  Council  meeting on 19th July why the flat on Bramham Road (behind the bus stop) had  been boarded up for so long (first reported by councillors in January as needing to be tackled). The response from the council was that the contractors who repaired properties ‘needing extensive work’ were unable to cope with the demand, however, a completion date of mid August was given. We have asked again and we are now told that a new tenant has picked up the keys and the boards will be removed shortly . Residents had been asking why it was not  being used for all this time and so the team will continue to  press for homes to be brought back into  use as quickly as possible.

 

Flat boarded up for many months

Reponse from First York to Residents Survey Complaints

Number 1 Bus

First  York respond to resident complaints on reliability and lack of response from information phone line, and shortage of  drivers.

Westfield Ward Councillors have been busy over the summer meeting residents through the annual survey. Issues have been followed up, and for the Chapelfields Estate the number 1 bus service did trigger a number of comments;

To summarise the comments were for the number 1 service;

1. Service has buses missed out, particularly between 8am and 9am which is difficult for people trying to get to work on time
2. no reply to the enquiry line
3. some services have unexpectedly terminated at Ridgeway
4. one comment mentioned “seems to be more bus breakdowns than in the past”

At the time the request for information from  First York the results from residents on satisfaction with the “bus service” were;

Good 56%, Satisfactory 37%, Poor 7%

The response from First York has come through from the Managing Director and is as follows;

“Thank you for contacting me with regards to the issues raised by residents of Chapelfields estate.

Whilst 93% find service 1 satisfactory or good, I note there are a number of concerns with both the service and our customer enquiry line.

Looking at our own data performance since April, I can see that performance (particularly between 0800 & 0900) has improved to an average of over 95% reliability in August. However, over this period the journeys at 0835 & 0847 have been inconsistent and I’ve asked the team to monitor these particular trips as well as ensuring journeys operate their full route so we can maintain the recent improvement. I can also confirm that we are now fully staffed following a period of difficulty in recruitment so this will also ensure we have greater flexibility going forward.

I’m sorry to read the concerns about the enquiry line. We have recently restructured the team into one UK customer service centre which is now also taking calls on Sunday. The team is now better resourced with much improved call response times so I expect customers now receive a much improved experience. Customers can of course also complete our web form 24/7 via our website at http://firstgroup.com/York

I trust this helps with your response to residents and if I can be of any further assistance please do let me know.

Marc Bichtemann
First Bus York
Managing Director”

 

The Ward Councillors for Westfield will be following up with residents and keeping them in touch via FOCUS.

Local Activities Saturday 25th August

Today there is lots going on in Westfield Ward today including the monthly Acomb Market 9am-3pm , Acomb Green Summer Fayre 1pm -4pm , and even a gin tasting at the new Hop and Glory shop on Front Street noon-4pm !

 

If you’ve not had chance to try the glorious Cooper King Dry Gin, this Saturday is your chance! Distilled less than 10 miles away at Sutton-on-the-forest, it is a true Yorkshire gin champion in our book and they are 100% green! Chris from Cooper King will be at Hop & Glory between 12-4 to talk to you more about their fantastic gin and more importantly will have free samples for you to try!

Theft from car in Rogers Court

A car has been broken into on Rogers Court ; Message from the local police team

“Please be aware, there have been items stolen from an unattended vehicle on Rodgers Court at approximately 0200 on the 24/08/2018. If you have any information in relation to this incident please phone 101 quoting NYP-24082018-0061.
When leaving your vehicle we would urge residents to remove valuables from vehicles and ensure that all doors are locked and windows closed.”

 

 

Complaints about smells

Residents have been in touch with the Westfield Councillor Team about the appalling smell coming from the ring road covering Westfield Ward and even extending into the city centre. We have been in touch with the council’s enforcement officers in Public Protection who have been to the farm near Rufforth and Abatement Notices have been served on Whitkirk Waste Solutions. It is stated it would take a week to empty the lagoon so they must comply by Friday 24th – hopefully the smell will abate as quickly as the lagoon shrinks.

The Environment Agency have stated that because it is not actually classed as waste (It is a PAS 110 certified digestant) they do not have powers.

We have asked that action is taken to prevent a repeat as there have been smell issues in recent weeks at times when the weather has been so hot that people have had to leave windows open. Some residents will recall when this was last an issue in 2007 when there was a similar strong smell from the same area.

Flash Flooding hits York

Flash flooding hit York with local issues being in Front Street (Morrisons and Acomb Kebab), Green Lane, and Lown Hill. These have been reported through to the council, along with issues of problems with flushing toilets in the Foxwood area, for investigation. Across the city there were areas where standing water caused problems within Marble Arch, Kitchener Street, and the Fox and Ainsty Pub locations had localised flooding.

Some flats in Windsor Garth had reported to Cllr Hunter that water was coming through the roof and this has been reported to the Housing Department for repairs.

There were several areas of the city where radar data showed there was over 3cm per hour falling at times which overwhelmed drainage systems and so details are being collated for a meeting with Yorkshire Water, Environment Agency and partners on Monday to respond to the situation. If residents and businesses want to make sure that any issue near to them is being included they can email details through to FRM@york.gov.uk or ring 01904 551550 and ask to speak to Flood Risk Management.

 

Update on UFO Talk Talk construction

Following pressure from Westfield and Dringhouses&Woodthorpe Councillors Talk Talk have been issuing tables of when they are working and returning to repair concrete driveways and verges (although difficult in the current drought conditions to do the latter).

Ward councillors will be checking out the roads which Talk Talk say have been completed to ensure that the work is what residents have been asking us to make sure is done before they leave our area.

Issues have been raised with Talk Talk about the way in which construction has prevented the emptying of bins, and now they have linked in better with the council’s communication team, however, there are still reports of bin crews having to adjust barriers in order to access bins for emptying.

 

Returning to replace concrete in driveways and replacing temporary tarmac

Construction work

Grass Verge repairs

Grass Verge repairs

Free football sessions kick off in Westfield Ward with YCFC Foundation

Free football sessions for the summer have kicked off with support from Westfield Ward Committee at Chesneys Field on Tuesdays and Energise on Thursdays. The sessions are being run by York City Football Club Foundation with Tom and Kyle regularly running the sessions on an ongoing basis.  There will be other summer activities being supported by the Ward Committee and local partners to provide more positive activities for young people during the summer holidays.

Parental permission forms will  need to be completed before the sessions but these are very short forms to complete.

 

Kick about sessions

Kyle

Tom

 

Andrew and Sheena (who will not be attempting to teach football skills !)

Energise

Talk Talk produce timetables for street repairs

Westfield Ward Councillors have been pressing Talk Talk to come up with the timetable of when they are coming back to replace temporary tarmac on concrete driveways, to repair verges, and correct any other defects that have arisen. These have now been issued and are going to  be updated on a regular basis.  We will share them with residents to ensure that the public  are better informed, a situation which we feel required a large improvement.

Meetings had taken place with Talk Talk to detail the issues that residents had raised with the three Westfield Councillors, and a walk about took place on 1st June with representatives from Talk Talk and FSN the contractor delivering the streetworks. Residents were able to make their personal representations at the Ward Committee Meeting on 5th June at the Thanet Road Indoor Bowls Club.

We are aware of ongoing issues with Virgin connections being re-established in the Kingsway West area.

In the first instance when there is an issue residents can contact UFO Talk Talk direct on 0800 542 8073, open 7 days 8am – 8pm or to email ufo-help@talktalkplc.com.

Ward Councillors are following up some cases which require a more detailed response.