Posted on by CWRA Admin

November 2022

If you are not already a member of the Chocolate Works Residents’ Association (CWRA), please go to www.cwra.co.uk and click on Join Us. It is currently free and guarantees you get our Newsletters. At present we have over 200 active members. Your contributions and feedback are invaluable in helping us identify which issues are of most concern to residents.

Keeping vehicle speed down on The Chocolate Works

You will have noticed the Homezone signs and 20mph restrictions on Robert Street. We hope these will remind people to keep their speed down in this area. We would also like to thank residents in advance for keeping their speeds down across the whole development in the interests of the safety of all residents. Watson has further 20mph signs on order which will be placed at the entrance to the development on Clock Tower Way.

CWRA Website

We have a website at www.cwra.co.uk where you can –

• Catch up on archived Newsletters (going back to March 2019)

• See who is on the Committee

• Join CWRA if you are not already a member

• Find useful contacts for issues which may concern you including –

      • David Wilson Homes
      • Watson Property Management
      • Yorkshire Housing
      • City of York Council
      • OFNL (Open Fibre Network Limited) for Satellite TV and Broadband outages.

If there are other contacts which you believe would be helpful to other residents, please let us know at www.cwra.co.uk/contact and we will start to build up the list.

York Dental Suite

We are pleased to note that The York Dental Suite has opened in the Liquor Store at Terry’s Chocolate factory. It is run by a resident on The Chocolate Works and former Vice-Chair of the CWRA. We wish them well in their venture. For more details go to their website at www.theyorkdentalsuite.co.uk

The Campleshon Road Co-op

No-one can have failed to notice that the long delayed opening of the Co-op has finally happened. A store has been planned for this space from the initial planning application in 2013 so it should not have come as a surprise to anyone. Many residents and people in the local area are very pleased that it has finally arrived.

However, there have been a small number of complaints about noise early in the morning so it has been gratifying to see the store manager of the Co-op has joined the Chocolate Works-Social Facebook group and offers to deal with these problems and any others, as quickly as possible.

A few complaints have also been made about the signage and the very existence of the store on the development. It is worth noting that the Committee has appraised residents via Newsletters at every step of the way of planning and licensing applications (over the last two years) associated with this, and of ways to object.

The Committee has made numerous objections relating to the potential noise of fans, loading and unloading times, licensing hours, opening hours, Amazon lockers (location and colour), car park signs and the four metre high sign on Campleshon Road. These were made in support of those residents most likely to be affected. They were reviewed at Council Planning meetings, and some modifications made. It is unlikely that many of these can now be revisited.

However, if there are further teething issues please be aware that the store clearly wishes to be a good neighbour and will listen to reasonable concerns. Neither Watson nor the CWRA have any jurisdiction over the store.

The Liquor Store Wine Bar/Deli

A licensing hearing was held on 27 October 2022 to debate a premises licence for the lower ground floor of The Liquor Store. We had alerted residents to this licensing application in the last Newsletter. Similar to our thoughts on the Co-op, the Committee was broadly in favour of this new resource, while also being concerned about the potential impact on those living closest to it.

Consequently, the Committee objected to aspects of the lateness of the licensing hours due to concerns on behalf of residents in respect of late night noise, traffic and potential anti-social behaviour.

Following our last Newsletter, only five resident from The Chocolate Works made an individual objection, perhaps indicating either support for the application or a neutral stance from the majority of residents. In total there were 30 objections (mainly from The Residence) and 11 statements of support.

The meeting lasted two hours and heard representations from three residents from The Chocolate Works and The Residence. The outcome is that some modifications were made and opening hours are now agreed as follows –

Supply of alcohol on the premises 11.00 – 22.00 (Sunday to Thursday),
11.00 – 23.00 (Friday & Saturday)
New Year’s Eve until 01.00

Supply of alcohol off the premises & 09.00 – 22.30 (Sunday to Thursday)
opening hours 09.00 – 23.30 (Friday & Saturday)
New Year’s Eve until 01.00

This equates to shutting 1½ hours earlier on each night than was originally proposed and represents a victory for common-sense. The residents who took up the issue are to be commended for their good work.

We understand the current plan is to open the ‘Old Liquor Store’ towards the end of February or early March 2023. If you are interested in the various vacancies on offer, or wish to comment, please visit www.the oldliquorstore.co.uk

Theft of items from front gardens

We have been made aware that a resident has had an item of garden furniture removed from their front garden, and would like to take the opportunity to remind residents to secure their belongings.

Roof and Gutter Maintenance – Houses

The clearance of gutters and inspection of roofs of houses earlier this year was useful and positively received. It will take place again in 2023 after which the frequency will be reviewed.

David Wilson Homes

The Committee and Watson have been regularly chasing David Wilson Homes regarding outstanding works. We have been informed that planting, pruning and replacement of approximately 50 missing and dead trees on the boundary will commence on 1st December. Other issues remain ongoing.

Landscaping improvements across the development – an explanation

Some areas of planting on the development have been looking distinctly below par recently and we, as a Committee have been keen to begin to make improvements. However, we feel a responsibility to residents to ensure that improvements are paid for by the right people. This can prove challenging and lead to delays.

For example, the paragraph above about David Wilson Homes (DWH) planting trees is an excellent illustration of an area where work needs to be done. It is right and proper that DWH should fund missing or damaged planting which is their responsibility. However, getting them to the point where they have committed to do so is something to celebrate.

We need David Wilson Homes to do the following from their budget –

  • improve the perimeter of the development eg pruning overhanging trees, and planting to fill the gap where the gates had previously been located (this should take place in December)
  • improve the grass area at the Devon House and Carousel House car park nearest to Campleshon Road
  • grass the triangle of land nearest the Care Home and adjacent to the portakabins
  • make good the area at the back of Thistle House which becomes a swamp during winter.

The process of adoption of the development by the Council is another issue which acts as a constraint on improvements. We know, for example that the Council will adopt the verges on Clock Tower Way and Joseph Terry Grove, but believe that they will leave Bayldon Square, the triangle of plants at the top of Joseph Terry Grove (opposite the Care Home) and the planted area on Banks Drive as shared land managed by Watson.

A walk round the development will show that there are many other areas of planting around different apartment blocks and outside the Co-op, and we remain unclear which ones will become Council managed and which will still be under the control of residents and Watson.

This matters because we have already been informed that the Council will require David Wilson Homes to downgrade the planting on the northern section of Clock Tower Way to grass only, but we have no further information about what other plans they have.

The Committee has been eager to start replanting and improving areas across the development but believes it would be prudent to wait until we have confirmation of which areas the Council will adopt and which they will leave for us to manage. It would be foolish for us to plant in areas that the Council later rips up and turfs. Also we need to know whether the plants in areas such as Clock Tower Way can be removed by us to replant in shared missing spaces.

Once we have clear information we will be in a position to start planning these improvements. However, the process of adoption seems to be interminable and neither the Council nor the developer appear to be in a hurry to share information or complete. Hence, planting in these areas could easily be delayed by another year.

Landscaping improvements across the development – a question

At the same time as we have the above constraints and challenges, we have received three quotes to finish the planting on Bayldon Square with paving to mirror the Chocolate Orange side, improved drainage, and a central tree surrounded by a circular bench. The preferred quote is £11,495+VAT.

Given the costs involved the Committee now feels it would like to seek residents’ permission to ask Watson to spend the monies on this improvement.

It is worth noting that there is no other communal part of the development which we can use the funds for at present, until there is clarity following DWH’s snagging and the Council’s adoption process. Hence the money will simply accrue in Watson’s bank.

Points to consider –

  • The plan to do this work was agreed at the last AGM, and has been regularly advertised in Newsletters since then
  • The cost would be paid from reserves which have been accruing since 2019
  • Consequently, there is no additional cost to residents, nor any increase in fees associated with it
  • There is still some £15,000 in reserves which will be used to improve other areas of the development once the whole adoption process becomes clearer.

We wonder whether this work should take place now as costs will only rise, or whether a decision should be delayed until after we have seen David Wilson Homes and the Council address the other concerns we have.

Please let the Chair know if you have a view on this issue, by sending an email to chair@cwra.co.uk so that we can gauge the strength of opinion for approving or delaying the work. We hope to be able to make a decision at the next AGM which is expected to take place in February 2023.

We also would like to remind residents that we remain committed to improving the landscaping and planting across the WHOLE development and welcome suggestions for future areas to focus upon once adoption has taken place.

Distribution of Newsletter to Yorkshire Housing properties

We have received feedback that some Yorkshire Housing properties have not been receiving newsletters. As Yorkshire Housing Association is the biggest landlord on the development we are more than delighted to ensure they receive our updates. On this occasion the local liaison person for Yorkshire Housing is ensuring copies will reach all tenants.

For future reference, should you wish to continue to receive Newsletters go to www.cwra.co.uk/join-us and follow the instructions to join.