CASPON houses, Cropton Road

John Fareham and John Abbott are pressing for adequate steps to be taken to ensure that the four original CASPON houses are fully upgraded to acceptable modern standards of warmth. The corporate centre continues to behave, especially when allocating funds as if the only CASPON houses in Hull were those east of the river Hull. In fact these four were the first to be built and it does not reflect well on the Council’s record keeping that those they own continue to be left out of capital projects. It is our view that any programme of works for “the CASPON houses“ should include all of them and that such work should only be deemed complete when those living in them are as warm in winter as anybody else on Bricknell Estate. This is of course an objective towards which we will continue to work.

Base for BISF improvements

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the open land on Hotham Road North is to be used as a base by contractors doing forthcoming building works on the BISF houses we have campaigned for. The contractors Hobson and Porter will be using the opposite side of the Hotham Road North cycle track as a place to store materials and equipment – as the houses on Castleton Avenue and Slingsby Close are among those to be improved, it was felt that this was a convenient location for the contractors which would also have the incidental advantage of taking this patch of land out of circulation as far as a possible traveller incursion would be concerned. Local residents who may be concerned that this will cause damage to the grassed area may take comfort from the fact that we ensured the contract includes a requirement to repair any damage done to the grass as part of the deal.

Murrayfield Road land transfer

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the transfer of surplus Council land to residents of Murrayfield Road is nearing completion. We have now ensured that the paperwork has all been signed off and is now with the Council’s legal team to process the actual transfer. Whilst it has not proved possible to satisfy all who wanted land, we have at least ensured that this piece of land will not be a source of continued neglect from the Council. Those participating in the scheme can expect to hear from the Council in the near future.

Lythe Avenue pothole repairs

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured further repairs to Lythe Avenue pothole damage. We received complaints from local residents to the effect that not only was the carriageway surface once again in need of repair, but that vehicles including the 110 bus were passing over it and some of them were causing vibration and cracks in properties. We therefore insisted on action and in this instance secured it promptly. It goes without saying, of course, that we will continue to look out for this section of carriageway; whilst it may not need such radical surgery as is imminent for Bricknell Avenue after all the digging-up there in recent years, that is no reason for the position with regard to potholes to get worse, and we’ll both do all we can to make sure it doesn’t.

Rainhill Road wall repairs

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the damage to the outer wall of the Rainhill Road sheltered housing complex has now been repaired. As we reported in CONTACT! 1444, we contacted the Railway Housing Association and the Police in connection with a motor vehicle having run into the wall and left a rather substantial hole behind. They undertook to get it repaired and the work has since been completed. We would like to place on record our gratitude to all concerned for their prompt reaction to our report, and in particular to those who did the repairs; the bricks they used were an exact enough match that, when the weather has done its bit, it will be difficult to tell where the original brickwork ends and the repairs begin. As we see it, that’s how it should be, but since there remains no shortage of drivers who can’t tell Chanterlands Avenue and the Top Gear test track apart, we will of course keep an eye open for any other damage that needs reporting.

Strathcona Avenue road markings

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured an undertaking from the officers that the faded yellow lines at the Hull end of Strathcona Avenue will be repainted. We noticed the state of these markings and reported them at once to the officers – to be frank, it looks as if they are almost entirely gone. We have since had a reply from the officers saying that they will arrange to place an order with the contractors for the work to be done. We take a serious view of the maintenance of such markings – they are there to ensure motorists turning into and out of Strathcona Avenue do not have their view blocked by parked cars and they can’t very well do that or any other job if nobody can see clearly where they start and where they finish. We will of course keep an eye on them and if they wear out again, we will report it once more and get them redone.

Bricknell Avenue grass verge planting

John Fareham and John Abbott report that plans are being prepared for the refurbishment of the plants in Bricknell Avenue grass verges. The Council’s horticultural staff have been asked to provide costings for replanting individual beds on the Bricknell Avenue central reservation. The idea is twofold: firstly to increase the amount of shrubbery in the central reservation on an incremental basis, and secondly to provide additional shrubbery around the rocks that have been placed at certain key points to prevent further damage to the central reservation from drivers not taking a precise enough line at the various turning points. We will be working closely with the officers to secure the most harmonious possible combination of plants in terms of visual amenity.

KWL heating works, Bricknell Estate

John Fareham and John Abbott have details of heating programme works to be carried out by KWL on Bricknell Estate council properties within the next few weeks. The list we have is no more precise as to timing than saying which month each property will be done, but it does make clear that various houses in Appleton Road, Cropton Road, Slingsby Close, Salton Avenue, Welburn Grove, Hayburn Avenue, Castleton Avenue and Thorgill Grove will form part of the programme. 47 homes in all can therefore look forward to a warmer winter than they might otherwise have expected, with the work done in ample time to ensure all is well before next winter begins. This is of course just part of the work done by KWL on the Council’s behalf; it forms part of a rolling programme so that other homes on the Estate may also benefit from this kind of work in the fullness of time.

Briarfield Road double yellow lines

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured the repainting of double yellow lines at the junction of Briarfield Road and National Avenue. We pursued action on this matter in response to requests from local residents, with which we fully sympathise – turning from Briarfield Road onto National Avenue is markedly less perilous if parked cars are not blocking drivers’ views as they leave and interfering with their decision about the right time to turn. We therefore raised the matter with the officers and they have since arranged for the work to be carried out. It goes without saying that we remain alive to the safety implications of all matters relating to road markings and if yours require another coat of paint, we will take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that another coat of paint is applied.

Bricknell Avenue carriageway reinstatement

John Fareham and John Abbott report that a scheme to repair the joints and redo the surface of part of Bricknell Avenue is in the Council’s capital maintenance programme for 2014-15. This means the Council have drawn up their shopping list of repairs they can afford this year and part of Bricknell Avenue is on that list. The work to be undertaken involves repairing the joints in the concrete below the tarmac and resurfacing the area concerned, on the outbound side from the roundabout to National Avenue, with surfacing materials used on roads such as this which are busy but not excessively so. We do not have a start date for the work yet - neither, to be fair, do the officers – but we will pass the date on when we have it and are encouraged by the reflection that the first part of Bricknell Avenue from which we received reports of heavy-traffic vibration is also the first to be fully resurfaced. We will of course keep in at the officers to resurface any other part of Bricknell Avenue that requires similar attention.

Kenilworth Avenue double yellow lines

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for the double yellow lines at the junction of Kenilworth Avenue and Fairfax Avenue to be extended to their correct length. We received complaints from local residents that lines of sight at that junction were being compromised by cars being parked too close to the junction to the detriment of safety. We therefore checked with the officers who came to see for themselves – we of course already had - and found that the original Traffic Regulation Order had specified that the lines be considerably longer than they actually were. They have now placed an order with the contractors for the double yellow lines to be extended to the correct length.

Bricknell Avenue-Fairfax Avenue CCTV camera

John Fareham and John Abbott report that plans are under consideration to install a CCTV camera at the junction of Bricknell Avenue and Fairfax Avenue. The purpose of this camera would be to monitor traffic flow at the junction, something of considerable concern to those local residents who often find themselves stuck at the lights for several minutes at a time. The officers have agreed to pursue a bid for funding via the Highways capital programme so that the money can be found to bring the camera from its existing location and connect it to the city-wide CCTV network. We do of course support this proposal and will do all we can to ensure it is indeed funded; we will also keep local residents informed of the progress of the scheme.

Setting Dyke rubbish

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured promises relating to the clearing of rubbish accumulating on Setting Dyke between County Road North and National Avenue. We have received a number of complaints in this connection from local residents dissatisfied with the level of service in this respect. We therefore contacted the officers who in turn got in touch with the Environment Agency. They thought the drain had already been cleared but on hearing it hadn’t agreed to arrange for a local team to carry out the work. We will of course continue to respond to the concerns of local residents in this connection and if rubbish continues to accumulate on this location we will contact the Environment Agency again.

Loveridge Avenue highways scheme

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured the agreement of Wyke Area Committee to the funding of highways improvement works for Loveridge Avenue. “As all residents will be aware, when Loveridge Avenue was built nobody could have been expected to foresee the age of the two- or three-car household and the increasing pressure on parking space that would result. We have therefore approved spending £26,451 from our ward capital budget on a scheme to realign pavements and kerbs and provide additional off-street parking. It is hoped that as well as making life easier and safer for pedestrians, this scheme will also address the concerns of the emergency services who thought it might be difficult to get a fire engine or ambulance to the far end under present circumstances.

Hotham Road North parking scheme

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured Wyke Area Committee’s approval to fund a scheme to improve parking on Hotham Road North at the junction with Fairfax Avenue. Area Committee agreed to our proposal to spend £15,000 on a scheme which will improve visual amenity and safety whilst protecting five more parking spaces and clearing traffic bottlenecks – always useful in a place where bollard damage is frequent and parking space at a minimum. The corporate centre has agreed to meet the additional cost of diverting services under the area of highway concerned. We will of course let you know when the works are due to start and will be ready to assist local residents with any problems that may arise from the works being in progress.

Newland Park blue bin emptying

John Fareham and John Abbott have met with local residents and officers to discuss problems with blue bin emptying in Newland Park. We thank the officer from Streetscene who came to our monthly mobile forum and faced a full bus of local residents who could not understand why, when they had taken notice of the changes to Council’s recycling policy and acted on it, their bins had still not been emptied. We also thank the Residents’ Association for working closely with us on this issue. Between us we have secured an undertaking that, in the light of Newland Park residents not having been kept in the loop, the new hard-line recycling policy will be implemented here from the next blue bin collection but one. This will give local residents time to ensure their recycling policies and the Council’s are in perfect synchronicity.

Hotham Road North litter bins

John Fareham and John Abbott are arranging for the positioning of additional litter bins on Hotham Road North. Given the number of retail outlets in the vicinity already selling food and drink, including more than one hot food outlet, the demand for additional litter bin provision to cope with the attendant level of packaging has been obvious of late. We have therefore placed orders for two new litter bins to be installed on lamp posts at the appropriate height towards the low-numbered end of Hotham Road North and we will also arrange in the future for the installation of further bins if demand for waste provision were to continue to increase significantly.

Hotham Road North bollards

John Fareham and John Abbott are working to secure the replacement of at least one missing bollard on Hotham Road North. We noticed that one of these bollards was missing in the course of our pioneering and trail-blazing mobile forum. We therefore contacted the officers to ask that the bollard, and any others which may be missing, be replaced and offered to fund the replacement should it be necessary to do so. We will of course continue to press for action on this matter until an appropriate outcome is achieved; as experience round the corner on Fairfax Avenue suggests, to leave a gap or gaps in any row of bollards is to create a window of opportunity for less responsible road users.

Fairfax Avenue traffic sequencing

John Fareham and John Abbott are working on further issues to do with the condition of Fairfax Avenue. We are working to resolve the problem of cars being stuck at the lights for minutes on end by working with officers to ensure the street light sequencing is correct. If only a handful of people can get through at any one time, clearly all is not well and we will persist with this until we get the results we need. We are also working with McDonalds to ensure their litter patrols achieve the results required – it remains the case that food packaging is being dumped in grass verges and even in gardens We have also arranged for the installation of additional litter bin provision to replace a bin removed some time ago, and we are working to secure the removal of superfluous growths at the roots of trees.

Fairfax Avenue highway issues

John Fareham and John Abbott are working on a range of problems to do with traffic and parking on Fairfax Avenue. The list is considerable, but we are making progress on all of them and we thought a summary of what’s been reported to us and what we’re doing about it would be of interest. The problems we are, or have been, dealing with include:- • Drivers getting onto the grass verge at the top near the shops – a new bollard has been inserted and more protection will follow • Parked cars blocking the view as vehicles turn onto and off Fairfield Road – we have asked traffic officers to find a solution • Area in the grass verge, again at the top, where rainwater is accumulating – officers have undertaken to look into this and see what the cause is • Broken bollard in front of the shops – a delivery vehicle ran into this on the 10th and officers we have asked to get it repaired or replaced are looking into the costs • Damage to the grass verge across from the shops by cyclists and others - officers have agreed to look into means of letting them follow the desire-line rather than just relaying the turf all the time.

Allderidge Avenue street lights

John Fareham and John Abbott have further information on the height and positioning of the new street lighting in Allderidge Avenue. The lights were not exactly as ordered, but the corporate centre’s engineers informed us that they were placed as close to the positions of the original lamps as possible so that the light would come from a familiar direction. The height of the lamps was chosen to get the required lighting levels, which would not have been possible with lamp standards the height of those being replaced. Indeed, it would have been necessary to add 4 or 5 lamp standards of the same height as the originals to achieve the same luminescence levels. The officers assure us that if there are any issues with the new lamps shining in through upstairs windows, these problems can be resolved by shielding the lamps; this has been undertaken elsewhere in the ward with success.

Huntley Drive gating scheme

John Fareham and John Abbott have details of a proposed gating scheme for the Huntley Drive tenfoot. When the idea of a gating scheme was first mooted a couple of years ago, objections were raised on the advice of Council officers who thought there might be legal difficulties with closing off the tenfoot, as a right of way could exist. Police evidence, we are told, suggests unauthorised vehicles are now accessing the tenfoot and we believe we have to compromise. However, as a result of discussions held at the meeting on Baker’s Field, plans are now being formulated for a gating scheme that would block the tenfoot off to unauthorised vehicles but would allow pedestrians such as those wishing to walk their dogs on Baker’s Field to get through. We are in a position to offer significant funding from our community budget and will circulate further details if residents back the scheme.

Baker's Field meeting

John Fareham and John Abbott report that a further public meeting has taken place to discuss plans for the future use and remodelling of Baker’s Field. Many residents attended a meeting on February 4th as advertised in advance by both ourselves and the officers. The preference expressed by those present was for a scheme that would include allotments, a wildflower meadow and a community orchard. Local residents have been given few days to pass comment by E-mail if they so wish and the officers will be preparing drawings of a scheme along the above lines which will be brought to a further meeting in due course. Residents will then be invited to pass comments on the details of the scheme and a final plan will be prepared on that basis. Our agents will pass further details directly to you very soon.

Barrington Avenue street lights

John Fareham and John Abbott wish to know whether Barrington Avenue residents would consider new, traditional-style street lamps suitable as a replacement for those in Barrington Avenue. “The question is, perhaps a little less abstract now than it might have been some time ago – Allderidge Avenue has now received new street lamps and these are in the sort of retro style local residents there were asking for in preference to something overtly modern. Their old lights were installed in 1930, as were yours, and needed to be replaced. We therefore suggest that residents with strong feelings either way on the matter may wish to take a look at the new street lights in Allderidge Avenue and see whether they would consider street lights like those, perhaps fractionally shorter as there are more lighting positions in Barrington Avenue, or lights of the same general type, to be suitable for Barrington Avenue. For some residents the appearance of new lights has been the stumbling block to finding new lights acceptable; we would be interested in local residents’ opinions on whether the solution is already on display in Allderidge Avenue.

Fairfax Avenue verge protection

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured the installation of an additional bollard to prevent drivers cutting across the grass verge onto the tarmac in front of the shops and are working so secure a more substantial long-term solution. This is intended as an interim measure – plans are already in place to use some rocks we have in storage to protect two turning circles on Bricknell Avenue and we have asked the officers to prepare a scheme whereby the largest of these and perhaps some chains are used to provide proper long-term protection for these verges. The underlying principle of both these schemes is that the method adopted should do the job properly but in a manner that is as close as we can get to maintaining or even enhancing visual amenity. The corporate centre still on occasion needs a little recalibration about what that actually entails but we are confident that the time the new bollard should buy us will be sufficient to come up with a scheme that meets our criteria.

Allderidge Avenue street lights

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured the installation of new, traditional-style street lights for Allderidge Avenue. The new lamps had to be appreciably taller than those they replace, so as to spread light over a wider area. This route was adopted to avoid disruption caused by installing many more columns. That said, in accordance with the clear majority of preferences expressed when we asked for comments some time ago, the new lamps, whilst they are not in any way exact replicas of the eighty-three-year-old lamp standards they replace, and certainly are not painted in the colours the Council favoured many years ago, they are nevertheless intended to be broadly old-fashioned in their detailing. We hope that local residents will like them and will come to appreciate the higher standard of lighting they will offer.

National Avenue speeding

John Fareham and John Abbott continue to work to resolve the problem of speeding on National Avenue and to determine its extent. Having received complaints from local residents that some drivers were doing up to 70 or even 80 mph on National Avenue, we have now referred the matter to those responsible for the placing of local speed cameras with a request that they consider bringing such equipment to National Avenue. It is our hope that the use of such accurate measuring equipment will establish the situation with incontrovertible evidence that will enable action to be taken against those who ignore the speed limit, their own safety and perhaps also the safety of others.