Jsck Kaye Walk bridge issues

John Fareham and John Abbott are working to resolve issues with the railway bridge over Jack Kaye Walk.

We hear comments from local residents that the bridge is a magnet for drug users, that Jack Kaye Walk in general is inadequately lit, and that the space under the bridge itself is unpleasantly dark at night.  We have therefore contacted the officers to ask that they get in touch with the Police in pursuit of action on the drugs issue, see if the CCTV camera is any use, establish the cost of providing proper lighting for the bridge and for Jack Kaye Walk as a whole, and see if Network Rail have any say in the matter and what their stance on it is if they do. We will of course keep local residents in touch with progress on this issue as it develops.

William Gee School site trees

The facts about the damage to trees on the former William Gee school site are as follows:-

-The developers applied for outline planning permission in 2015.

·       -   Outline planning permission was granted in 2016.

·      -    Planning Committee – of which John Fareham was and is a member – ordered that no building should take place until a full landscaping scheme (including of course what should happen to the trees) was approved.

·  -  On the very day - 15^th May this year - they started cutting trees down without  permission we took action, asking the officers to enforce Planning Committee’s position. We also told local residents about that in  CONTACT! at the time.

·     -  The developer was contacted the same day and said the trees weren’t protected by law.  Following our lead, the officers insisted he look carefully at his landscaping plans so they would repair the damage.

·- The developer said in May that a full planning application would be submitted within four weeks.  Hull City Council are still waiting to receive it.

Bricknell Primary School access

John Fareham and John Abbott report on the latest bit in the ever-growing saga of the Bricknell Primary School gate.

We received complaints that the people building the special-educational-needs facility were saving themselves work, and inconveniencing local residents, by delivering goods via the back gate. We went into action and were told that it would not be happening again because those deliveries had finished. We were annoyed to have been unable to stop it sooner but have asked, at the very least, that an apology is sent to local residents. Obviously, the fact that the SEN facility is being built led us to ask where the school intended letting people in from so we asked. We received the assurance that it was to be from Bricknell Avenue, but that would need monitoring to ensure compliance. We have asked what monitoring will be done, and how, and await that answer which we will share with you.

Scholars Drive street light shielding

John Fareham and John Abbott report that arrangements have been made for shielding to be fitted to Scholars Drive street lights to prevent them from shining into local residents’ homes at first floor level.

The fact that Scholars Drive is still in the process of becoming an adopted highway has complicated this matter somewhat, but we now understand from the officers that, after fairly prolonged pressure on our part, the developers have placed the matter in the hands of KWL and the work should, it is hoped, be completed this week.  KWL enjoy an excellent reputation within the Council and beyond but local residents here are, as they may by now have come to expect, welcome to raise with us any concerns they may have regarding the outcomes of the work.

Hotham Road North resurfacing

John Fareham and John Abbott report that works to dress the surface of Hotham Road North were carried out on Friday 10^th August.

The work was carried out by East Riding Council employees on behalf of Hull City Council and forms part of a wider scheme including such arterial roads as Beverley Road and Holderness Road. We welcome this work insofar as it should go some way towards countering the effect of Service 3 buses continuing, in spite of continuing pressure on our part to re-route them away from here and previous undertakings from East Riding to make the changes necessary at the West Bulls junction to allow Stagecoach buses to go that way instead of this way, to go via Hotham Road North, cause vibration, and put the carriageway surface under undue pressure.

Ancaster Avenue fly tipping

John Fareham and John Abbott have arranged for an instance of fly tipping on Ancaster Avenue to be attended to.

We received a complaint from local residents to the effect that a large roll of loft insulation material had been abandoned in a tenfoot and that the local residents concerned had been advised not to take it to the pavement for fear of being accused of fly tipping and punished accordingly. We therefore contacted the officers and asked them to arrange for its removal, if possible by working with the local residents to get it to the pavement and from there to a Council vehicle. This proved not to be practicable but the officers managed to have the offending item removed anyway.

Scholars Drive multi games area

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the legal formalities for Scholars Drive residents to gain access to the University multi-games area are nearing completion.

Local residents attended the July meeting of Wyke Area Committee and asked what the state of play was. We were able to inform them that the University had completed drafting the necessary legal documents but that the appropriate officer of the Council had still to sign off on them and would be going on holiday on the 23^rd. If he could get the work done before then, he would, but if not he would get on with it as soon as he returned. We hope this is a sufficiently clear indication of the timeframe involved; it certainly suggests to us that all should be well within about a month.

Cropton Park security

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Commission have further postponed setting up a task and finish panel on park security.

A report recommending the setting up of the task and finish panel was brought to the July meeting. Members of the Committee including John, who was standing in for me, were openly at a loss as to why, when the motion we both got passed at full Council on this subject went through in July 2017, it had not been possible to set up the panel and hold all its hearings before the election. No explanation was forthcoming as to the cause of matters being delayed until it was too close to the election to get started. However it was decided to discuss the matter again at the Committee’s next meeting when hopefully the officers will have found answers all of the Committee wanted as to how to resource the panel. There is, however, some good news; the local rugby club are working with the Council to ensure that Cropton Park gates are opened and closed at the right times.

Loveridge Avenue Home Zone scheme

John Fareham and John Abbott report that the formal consultation exercise for the Loveridge Avenue Home Zone scheme has been put in place.

 The packs are about to be sent to all residents of Loveridge Avenue, and to the two properties on Chanterlands Avenue adjacent to Loveridge Avenue. The Council’s tree experts have been called in to advise on the location of new trees and the semi-circular area originally meant to have resin-bonded aggregate surfacing will now have block paved areas instead which are expected to last longer. These changes are described in more detail in the packs local residents will by now have received.