Burniston Road grass verges

John Fareham and John Abbott have sorted delays with the cutting of Burniston Road grass verges. We received complaints from local residents to the effect that the verges were getting overgrown and that they had not been cut for some time. For all that we had been given to understand that the corporate centre had set up regular schedules for grass cutting, we nevertheless referred the matter to the officers with a request that they resolve the problem. This was just before lunchtime; within a matter of hours we received confirmation from local residents that the verges had now been cut. It goes without saying that we take all matters like this seriously and, in previous years, have cited the level of dandelion growth as evidence that something needed to be done. Equally, if we receive any further complaints about the state of grass verges here, we will take such steps as are necessary to rectify the position.

Briarfield Road TRO again

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the consultation exercise on the traffic proposals for Briarfield Road will be advertised in the Press this week and notices put up to go with that. Papers for the May meeting of Wyke Area Committee stated that the consultation exercise would take place in the month of June, but the officers subsequently told us that the notice would appear in the Hull Daily Mail on Wednesday May 25th and notices would be posted in the street for the duration ofd the consultation period. We would wish to stress that if local residents decide not to approve the proposals prepared on our behalf by the officers, this does not preclude the preparation of an alternative scheme at some time thereafter. Others sought, during the recent local elections, to wilfully misrepresent both the proposals on offer elsewhere and the process by which those proposals had been arrived at. The proposals on which Briarfield Road residents will be asked to pass comment are precisely those which we arrived at with the officers on the basis of comments passed at that stage by local residents.

Hutton Close dog mess

John Fareham and John Abbott continue to work to resolve problems with the disposal of dog mess in and around Hutton Close. We continue to receive reports that the bins in this vicinity are overflowing and that, contrary perhaps to our understanding of best practice, council employees are refusing to remove bags containing dog faeces. We have therefore referred our concerns about this being the case to the officers with some degree of incredulity and we will continue to pursue this matter as long as is necessary to achieve a solution. To our way of thinking, adding additional bins or increasing the capacity of the ones we have simply postpones the inevitable; arranging for the corporate centre to ensure that the bins are emptied regularly and correctly seems to us to be the way forward.

Loveridge Avenue traffic proposals

John Fareham and John Abbott wish to explain the principles behind the proposals for Loveridge Avenue traffic schemes. Council policy requires any resident wanting to acquire a dropped kerb to have a gap of at least 14ft. between the front of their house and the boundary of their property. This policy was set by the ruling Labour group; since no gardens on the north side of Loveridge Avenue are that long, we are trying to get round Labour policy so you can park on your property. . As John Fareham made clear at Area Committee, supported on matters of fact by the Council officers, neither we nor any officer of the council have said the proposals mean that those on the south side cannot apply, through the usual channels, for dropped kerbs at their own individual homes if their gardens are the right length. It is of course lamentable that others, in the pursuit of their own party political objectives, have suggested otherwise in defiance of the facts.

Hotham Road potholes

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured repairs to all the potholes on Hotham Road North regarded by the officers as actionable. We visited Hotham Road North recently and had our attention drawn to the fact that, while some potholes had already been filled in, others had not. We therefore asked the officers to take a fresh look at the position and fill in any remaining potholes. They have since replied to us and told us that they have done as we suggested. If, in the view of local residents, this is still not sufficient, we will of course raise the matter again until all concerned are certain all the necessary repairs have been carried out.

Windsor Road pavement works

John Fareham and John Abbott have the latest information on the proposals for slurry sealing Windsor Road pavements. We received inquiries from local residents as to when exactly this work was to take place. This is entirely understandable since CONTACT! stated some time ago that this work was to be undertaken. We therefore made enquiries with the officers who now tell us that, if the engineers feel that the state of the pavements warrants slurry sealing, the work will be undertaken in 2016-17. If not, an assessment will be undertaken as to whether some other form of work is considered necessary. Either way, we share the concern of local residents as the condition of Windsor Road footpaths and will continue to work to ensure that they are brought up to an acceptable standard.

Cottingham Road pavements

John Fareham and John Abbott have secured the reinstatement of a section of Cottingham Road pavement. We received a complaint about this from a local resident who attended our pioneering and trailblazing mobile forum. As you might expect, we immediately made representations to the officers asking for the matter to be attended to. They got on with the matter rapidly – so much so that we first heard the work was going on from local residents, not from the corporate centre - and the work undertaken looks to be thorough for engineering reasons, not just a case of slapping some slurry-seal on and leaving it at that. It goes without saying that if any local residents feel other parts of Cottingham Road pavements are equally in need of attention, we will refer those to the appropriate officers as well.

YPI entertainments licence

John Fareham and John Abbott report that Hull City Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee have approved a much-amended version of the application for an entertainment licence for the former YPI site on Chanterlands Avenue North. Much as we would have liked John Abbott to be present at both the original meeting, adjourned in mid-March so that the applicant could gather evidence about noise levels, and the resumed meeting - those that arranged them did not consult our diaries - it remains the case that, by comparison with the application as submitted, there will be no outdoor boxing and wrestling – or indeed any licensable outdoor activity. The applicant also agreed that sporting activities would be kept in the main hall and that all other licensable activities would be confined to the club bar. On the applicant promising to submit revised plans along those lines the Sub-Committee gave him the green light.

Goddard Avenue grass verges

John Fareham and John Abbott have taken steps to protect Goddard Avenue grass verges from damage by motor vehicles. We have received a number of complaints from local residents to the effect that grass verges here have been damaged by motor vehicles driven onto them. This is not of course a problem unique to Goddard Avenue, and thus we have implemented the solution found to be successful elsewhere, namely the installation of several rocks in the right places to keep cars off the verges. This has the advantage of being a considerable deterrent to driving on the verge-who wants to argue with a rock?-whilst still being preferable in terms of visual amenity to bollards of whatever design or material.

National Avenue dead cat and rubbish

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for the removal of a dead cat and other miscellaneous refuse left behind by employees of the environment agency carrying out drainage clearance works on the National Avenue drain. During our pioneering and trailblazing mobile forum we were made aware that persons working for the Environment Agency had taken an extremely literal view of the dividing line between their responsibilities and those of the Council. They had removed the dead cat and other items from the drain and then left them at the side of the drain for City Council employees to remove. The corporate centre had not, by the time our forum was held, got round to carrying out the removal of these items and so we contacted the officers, asking them to hurry things along as there were obvious public health issues involving children taking undue interest in the cat. By the end of that afternoon we had been informed that the officers had made arrangements for someone to go and clear up.

Return of Chanterlands Avenue North buses

Your local Conservative Councillors JOHN FAREHAM and JOHN ABBOTT have news that bus service provision has returned to Chanterlands Avenue North. John Abbott says, “We have, in response to concerns from local residents, been discussing both with Stagecoach and with East Yorkshire this significant gap in bus provision which has existed since the withdrawal of the Stagecoach service 63 in the summer of 2009. We are therefore delighted to announce that East Yorkshire introduced, from April 11th this year, a new Service 23 which runs from the Interchange along Spring Bank, Chanterlands Avenue, Fairfax Avenue and Cottingham Road and then back via Chanterlands Avenue North. Not only does this reconnect Chanterlands Avenue North to the bus network, it does the same for Fairfax Avenue as well, and with the new Hull Card it will be possible to buy one weekly ticket for use with both operators in order to take full advantage of the new service and those with which it could connect.”

Bricknell Avenue pavements

John Fareham and John Abbott are working to secure repairs to a section of Bricknell Avenue pavement considered dangerous by local residents. We have had complaints from local residents that unevenness in the pavement surface are potentially a trip hazard with the possibility of ambulance-chasing claims companies licking their lips at the thought of claiming off the Council. We have therefore referred the matter to the officers who have agreed to send a highways inspector to take a look and see if they share our and local residents’ concerns. We have yet to hear back from them what conclusions they had reached, but local residents may rest assured that we will follow this up until a satisfactory outcome is achieved.

Barrington Avenue grass verge protection

John Fareham and John Abbott are working to resolve problems with motorists driving on the grass verge of the Barrington Avenue square. We have received complaints from local residents to the effect that some people have been driving over the grass verge and parking on the square. We have arranged for notices to be issued by traffic wardens to ask motorists not to drive in a manner which is devastating to the state of the grassed area. These have met with a response varying from agreeable to downright adversarial. We are therefore arranging for costings to be prepared for means to block the grassed area off, for example with rocks or other such obstacles. We accept that so far as parking space is concerned, demand exceeds supply but we do not consider that to be a valid excuse for wantonly trashing spaces of obvious visual and residential amenity.

Bricknell Avenue central reservation works

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for community payback people to clear litter from the Bricknell Avenue central reservation. Whilst this is not quantitatively as severe a problem as is experienced elsewhere in the Ward in places where open space allows for fly tipping, it is nevertheless a nuisance detrimental to residential amenity, and we are no more patient with this kind of littering than we are with the other kind. We have therefore arranged for community payback workers to tackle the litter on the Bricknell Avenue central reservation as well as the fly tipping that has been going on elsewhere and we will seek to do the same again in future if, as is only to be expected these days, the problem recurs in the future.

Dent Road fly tipping removal

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for community payback people to carry out the removal of litter and fly tipping from Dent Road. This is not of course the first work of this kind that has been undertaken on this basis – nor is it the first attempt to keep on top of the problem. In an ideal world the selfish so-and-sos responsible for the fly tipping would be obliged to tidy up the mess they themselves had made, but as we do not live in an Orwellian police state with CCTV cameras on every corner, we hope that this alternative will at least restore the moral balance while providing the Council with the resources to do jobs it might otherwise be unable to undertake.

Bakers Field landscaping

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for further landscaping works on Bakers Field. Environmental Management Solutions, who planted 500 trees and shrubs on the site, will be returning during the spring to plant a meadow area in the vicinity of the allotment site. This, we feel, renews our commitment to making Bakers Field an important environmental resource for local residents in general as well as for allotment holders. We do not as yet have a start date for the work – we assume that the date chosen will be governed by horticultural reasons - but as soon as we do we will pass it on.

Skelton Avenue traffic markings

John Fareham and John Abbott are working to resolve problems with traffic markings on Skelton Avenue. Whilst we were making inquiries on behalf of local residents concerning the possible reinstatement of pre-existing junction and other markings, it came to our attention that certain markings at the junction of Skelton Avenue and Appleton Road had not been put down as a result of any traffic regulation order and should therefore not have been there in the first place. It also appears that a school keep-clear order installed in 2001, which referred to the single yellow line, was completely incorrect and was replaced by another one in 2007 which failed to mention either this location or any parking restrictions applying here. We are therefore investigating the possibility of an estate-wide reappraisal of all existing markings with any changes which might be necessary to be funded jointly by our own ward funds and those of the corporate centre.

Murrayfield Road and Southfield Road land handover

John Fareham and John Abbott report that delays in handing over surplus Council land to residents of Murrayfield Road and Southfield Road are about to be resolved. Much to our surprise we received a complaint to the effect that this was still going on from local residents. We therefore contacted the Council’s property agents NPS to ask what the delay was and were told that a variety of matters had caused the delay from arguments about the size of the plots to problems with fly tipping. However, we are given to understand that these have now been resolved and that NPS have prepared new drawings of the sites to be transferred. This should have allowed the Council’s legal officers to send out the necessary documentation to residents which will mean that the transfers can be completed.”

Briarfield Road Traffic Regulation Order

John Fareham and John Abbott announce that the Council are now proceeding with the traffic regulation order for Briarfield Road. John Fareham says, “We have asked the officers to proceed with the formal advertisement of the traffic regulation order. As the procedure requires, once all the comments from local residents are in, the decision will come to Wyke Area Committee to give (or not give) the final go-ahead for the traffic regulation order to go ahead and the markings to go down. We wish to emphasise that the formal consultation process is the best chance for all concerned to express opinions on the proposal, but it is also the last – once the Area Committee has considered the responses, if the general view is in favour, the work will proceed.”

Commonwealth Homes heating

John Fareham and John Abbott have been addressing problems with the central heating at Commonwealth Homes. We received reports from residents to the effect that the heating was off and that switching it off resulted in being unable to switch it back on again. We therefore reported the matter to the officers with a request that, having due regard to the time of year and the possibility of prolonged lack of heating being injurious to local residents’ health and well being, they should take steps as soon as possible to get the heating system up and running again.

Commonwealth Homes tree planting

John Fareham and John Abbott were provided with full details of the proposed tree planting in the grounds of Commonwealth Homes. The officers prepared a detailed scale drawing, showing exactly where the trees will go. Given the reputation of the corporate centre for being less than ideally proactive in matters relating to the maintenance of Commonwealth Homes flowerbeds, we welcome the level of dedication and willingness to work with members now being exhibited.