Welcome to our website. This site will keep you up to date with key issues for the Haxby and Wigginton area and let you know about the work your local Lib Dem Councillors and campaigners are doing on your behalf.

Please do get in contact if you have any questions or issues you would like to raise.

During the recent cold snap we are all grateful for the hard work of the highways department keeping our roads gritted and refilling salt bins. Despite budget restrictions this year most of York’s primary roads have been kept clear of snow.

An interactive map showing salt bin locations and a schedule of gritting operations can be found at www.york.gov.uk/transport/roads/gritting.

If you know of a salt bin that needs refilling please let one of us know and do take care on the ice!

The York Branch of the Normandy Veterans Association were presented with the Freedom of Entry into the City of York at a ceremony in York’s ancient Guildhall recently.  As an ex-soldier, Cllr Paul Firth was pleased to be able to attend and honour the many years of service given by the 17 remaining veterans.  Paul listened as the present Sheriff, Alan Deller, read a moving poem written by an 11 yr old, remembering how our freedom was won by men such as these.  Paul will be our next Sheriff and will doubtless be involved in similar such event s during his year of office.

Although they are all now in their late 80s or 90s, the veterans wore their many medals proudly and accepted their individual copies of the Freedom Scroll from the Lord Mayor.

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.

As you will be aware City of York Council has recently removed some street lighting from a number of roads in the ward on safety grounds. This work was carried out without warning, with no advance notice being given to either Ward Councillors or local residents, leaving many people unaware of what was happening.

This is clearly unacceptable and residents should have been told that the work was being carried out and why. The Liberal Democrat Council Group will be raising the issue with the Labour Cabinet and asking why they failed to tell residents that street lights would be removed.

A number of residents have contacted us to ask when the lights are likely to be replaced.  Around 500 street lights have been removed across the city, meaning the Council needs to find around £1000 per lamp post to pay for replacements. The Labour Cabinet did not identify any funding for replacing the lights before agreeing to their removal and so far the money has not yet been found. It is likely that, at the very earliest, funding to replace the lights will not be found until the new financial year. This means that the lights are unlikely to be replaced before the summer and residents will be left to manage through the remainder of the dark winter nights with reduced street lighting. 

The removal of the lights has left many residents concerned about possible safety issues. While the weather has been unusually mild so far this winter, if there is a cold spell the reduced lighting will make it harder to spot ice on the pavements and many elderly residents are concerned about not being able to go outside. Concerns have also been raised about the effect the removal of the lights will have on the risk of crime.

If you have specific concerns about the impact that the lost lighting will have on your street, or the effect it will have on you or your neighbours, please do contact us on the details above and we will ensure that the Council is made aware of the issue. We will also push to ensure that the Council prioritises the replacement of lighting in areas with vulnerable residents.

If you have any other issues that you would like to raise, please do get in touch.

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Paul Firth will serve as Sherriff of York in the next Civic Year, alongside Liberal Democrat Lord Mayor, Keith Hyman. Keith and Paul will serve as Lord Mayor and Sherriff in an important year for the city as it celebrates 800 years of self governance. York will also take part in celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics during the year.

We wish both Keith and Paul the best of luck for their year in office and we will bring you updates about their activities on our website throughout the year.

I am an official visitor to ‘The Glen’, York’s specialist children’s home and I visited there recently.  This is the home where severely disabled young people can stay to give their parents a short break and them a change of surroundings.  There is plenty of specialist support and equipment provided to meet their needs.   I always enjoy going there and this visit was no exception. The children obviously enjoy the home atmosphere and are comfortable in their surroundings.

I was able to meet some of the staff and some young people who were staying overnight – in all, about 50 children have a short stay there on a four week cycle.  Ofsted said that the Glen provides ‘outstanding’ care and that the staff team are experienced and knowledgeable.  That is what I have found and it is good to know that young people with such specialist needs are so well cared for in this city.

A city wide initiative called ‘Treemendous’ is underway at present and the team were planting fruit trees near our area recently when I went to join them.  The aim is to offset carbon footprints by planting as many trees as possible in suitable areas of the city and it is all paid for by donations from those attending the Galtres Festival.

I talked to James Houston, the Festival organiser, who had donated £1,400 to cover the cost, with the labour coming from local young people and volunteers from Edible York and the Youth Service.    The aim is to plant 50,000 trees by 2014, an initiative started by the previous Liberal Democrat administration, when we were in power.

The people of Haxby and Wigginton are well used to planting things, including trees, and were involved in planting a wood in Wigginton to mark the Milennium.  It is good to know that the tree planting is still going on. I’ll be talking to James again and to local organisations to see what opportunities there are for more tree planting in our ward.

Salt bins have now been placed in a variety of locations across the ward for residents to use. The bins are free for all residents to use on footpaths and driveways throughout the winter months. They are inspected regularly, but if you find that your bin needs refilling, please phone (01904) 551551.

There is a list below of all the local salt bins. You can also see the exact locations of the salt bins by using the map on the City of York Council website.

Haxby & Wigginton Salt Bin Locations

Station Road
Birch Lane
Westfield Lane
Calf Close
Elder Grove
The Village outside the Black Horse Pub
Scriven Grove
Westfield Place
Little Meadows
The Village at the junction with Wyre Court
Kirkcroft
Green Dike
Usher Lane
Windmill Way
Moor Lane Outside Haxby Cemetery