I’ve been the Liberal Democrat Councillor for Fulford ward, to the south of the city of York, for 8 years. I was first elected in May 2003, and re-elected in 2007 and 2011. I live locally, on Main Street in Fulford. It is a great honour to represent Fulford at the Council.  

I am always keen to hear from residents about local issues and concerns, so please do contact me using the links on the left. To see some of the improvements I have campaigned for recently that affect your local area see this map of Fulford.

Please keep checking back for for updates and information.

Best Wishes

Keith

This year, the City of York will be 800 years old.  In 1212, King John gave York its first Charter so that it could have a council led by a mayor and be able to raise local taxes and trade without restrictions.  The day the charter was given was July 9th but the celebration was launched by the present Lord Mayor at a special Breakfast in the Mansion House recently.  

He was able to announce that Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting York Minster on April 5th , Maundy Thursday,  and will present 85 deserving pensioners with specially minted Maundy Money  –  one person for each year of her age. As celebration in 2012 will include the Mystery Plays, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics; it looks as if it will be year to remember.

The deadline for responses to the consultation on the new plans for Germany Beck has been extended once again. The deadline is now 15^th January.

The original deadline was 30^th December, but this was extended to 8^th January following pressure from myself and local residents. The petition that I launched last month calling for more consultation ahead of the submission of the reserved matters planning application for the development now has more than 150 signatures. The support shown by local people is one of the major reasons why the consultation has been extended.

If you have not yet signed the petition you can do so by clicking here

Residents can submit comments on the initial plans by visiting https://sites.google.com/site/germanybeck/

At the meeting of the Council’s East Area Planning Committee yesterday five members of the committee voted in favour of plans to turn the Fantasy World shop in Fulford into an 8 bedroom student house. Five members of the committee voted for it to be rejected but the application was passed after the Committee Chair used their casting vote to break the tie.

The previous application for a 9 bedroom student house alongside a garage conversion was rejected, but these new plans for an 8 bedroom student house and garage conversion still represented a significant development and the concerns of local residents remained.

The owner has engaged with Fulford Parish Council in a bid to overcome the concerns of local residents and it is a shame we haven’t been able to find a solution that suits everyone.

Local residents have raised concerns, particularly related to poor access to the property and limited parking provision at the house and locally.

Access to the property is through a very narrow passageway, which is unsuitable for regular access by car and prevents access by emergency vehicles. The access simply isn’t suitable for the likely traffic flow, it would be dangerous for pedestrians and drivers.

There is also a significant lack of parking and amenity space for 8 bedrooms. For a property of multiple occupation there must be adequate off and on street parking, this is still not the case and it will therefore cause an adverse impact on neighbouring properties.

The surrounding area on Main Street already has a number of large student houses, including both neighbouring properties. The Council will soon be deciding on a policy to limit the concentration of HMOs in certain areas and this is exactly the kind of situation that such a policy is designed to deal with.

As you may know City of York Council has been carrying out a review of Elderly Person’s Homes including Fordlands Care Home in Fulford. The Council’s plan is to close Fordlands and rebuild a larger home on the site featuring more modern facilities that better meet the needs of elderly people.

You can find out more by reading the upcoming report to the Cabinet which is on the Council website here .

The Council have also written to all current residents of Fordland and you can see a copy of the letter to them by clicking here.

If you have any questions about the plans please do contact me.

You may have read recently in The Press that City of York Council have removed some lamp posts in Selby Road and Naburn Lane, in Fulford, near the busy junction, a lamppost has also been removed in Glen Close.

I have already been contacted by a number of residents in these streets worried about elderly neighbours in Glen Close, and with safety concerns near the road junction. I have asked council officers to take account of these concerns in Fulford, but it is very unfortunate that the council has no real plan for the replacement of the lamp posts, or which lampposts might take priority, towards the end of the financial year. This would mean residents potentially having to wait months for a decision.

Hopefully these decisions will be made quickly, so that street lights in these locations can be replaced. If any other resident in Fulford has concerns, please contact me, and I will pass these on the council.

Residents in Fulford will get the opportunity to be involved in more consultation on the controversial Germany Beck development. This follows pressure from local residents and myself to extend the deadline for the submission of comments to Sunday 8th January.

I launched a petition last month calling for more consultation opportunities. There are still concerns locally about the level of proposed consultation ahead of the submission of the latest planning application for the Germany Beck development. I would like to thank the many residents who took the time to support my petition; there are well over 100 signatures at this point.

I believed more consultation was important because these plans aren’t just covering the minor details and many of the issues will affect the whole of Fulford, not just the immediate surrounding area.

Following this campaign, the developers Persimmon Homes and Hogg The Builders have confirmed they are extending the deadline to Sunday 8th January. It is hoped that this will give local residents more time to view consultation documents and submit their comments.

Residents can submit comments on the initial plans by visiting: bit.ly/germanybeck

I am committed to making sure that local people are able to have a real say on the detailed plans. Any consultation that takes place with local people must be meaningful and the developers should ensure that they take on board any concerns raised. Please still sign the petition below to show support for further consultation.

As you will have seen from my website there have been concerns locally about the level of proposed consultation ahead of the submission of the latest planning application for the Germany Beck development.

The developers are holding one consultation event on 9th December, however along with many others I believe that there should be much more extensive consultation.

I believe this is important because these plans aren’t just covering the minor details. The plans will relate to access to the site, scale of the development, site layout and other issues that will affect the whole of Fulford, not just the immediate surrounding area.

I have launched a petition calling on the developers to carry out more consultation, ahead of submitting their planning application. You can sign the petition by clicking here.

The more responses we get from local residents, the stronger the case will be for more thorough consultation on these plans. Please take the time to fill in the petition so I can make sure the Council and developers listen to local people.

A new consultation on the controversial Germany Beck housing development is being rushed and risks preventing local people from having their say..

I am concerned about the proposed consultation as it has emerged residents will receive a weeks notice of the only planned public consultation event, which is being held ahead of the submission of a reserved matters planning application.

Residents are expected to receive a leaflet this week notifying them that a public exhibition of the detailed plans for the development will take place in Fulford Social Hall on 9th December.

I don’t think this will be enough notice for some people and it is not clear how residents will be able to share their views if they can not attend the exhibition.

The Germany Beck development is a big issue for local residents and I am sure there will be large numbers of people wanting to attend. However, only giving a weeks notice will make it difficult for many people and they may miss out on being able to give their views before the planning application is submitted.

I am also concerned that the planned timescale will not allow residents to get adequate feedback from Persimmon Homes. Residents and groups, such as Fulford Parish Council, will not only want to pass on their views, but they will also want to receive feedback from the developers about what they intend to do.

While I appreciate that the developers want to work to their deadlines, they have had many months and years to develop a community consultation plan. It does seem that they are rushing through this consultation and aren’t really that interested in getting local people fully involved.

I will continue to push the Council and Persimmon to make improvements to the consultation. It is vital that local people’s views are heard before the planning application is submitted in order for them to have a realistic chance of securing changes.

Below is the response that I have submitted to the Council on the proposals for the new Heslington Lane cycle route.

In general the proposals are welcome improvements to cycle safety in the area, particularly for Heslington Lane. I am pleased to see continued links between Fulford, the University and Heslington Village.

However, I am aware that local residents in the Low Moor Estate, Fulford (Heath Moor Drive and the surrounding roads) do have some concerns that I would like you to take account of. These concerns relate to the Low Moor Estate and the proposed 20mph speed limit. For example, some residents do not see the value of the whole estate being made a 20 mile per hour area.

They are particularly concerned about the associated signs and road barriers, which will negatively affect the environmental appearance of the area, for unnecessary expense. I would welcome feedback on this.

Will Mitchell Lane / the top of Heath Moor Drive need to have parking restricted, due to the cycle lanes and proposed refuge? If so, will this affect parking from the University area into other residential streets? In addition, the area is well used by vehicles, for example, by the caravan park at Bleak House Farm.

The proposed refuge may not be well used by pedestrians, as the footpath off Heath Moor rive directs residents to use the Mitchell Lane entrance the cross the road.

Fulford Parish Council will be considering a response in more detail.

The consultation is open until 9th December, you can find out more here.