Derwenthorpe - road adoptions and remediation work

On Monday 19 December, Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT) held information sessions to update residents on the next steps for the road remediation work.  

The team provided residents with the following update: 

• David Wilson Homes have contracted Hughes Brothers to carry out the work to the roads within Derwenthorpe.
   
• The first sections of work will begin mid-January 2023 – with two teams carrying out work to the roads adjacent to St Alfreds Mews (1-83 excluding 6,8,10,12, 14,16,18,22,24,28).  
   
• The type of the work will depend on the location but will include replacing kerbs, resurfacing roads with non- slippery paving, drainage work and the rebuilding of roads.   
   
• Due to the nature of the work, there will be significant disruption especially noise whilst the work is being carried out.  Although work will be restricted to the following hours:  
   
  • Monday – Friday (08:00 – 18:00) 
  • Occasionally Saturday (09:00 – 13.00) 
     

• Other disruption will include changes to access to homes and restricted parking for a limited period. 

• Hughes Brothers will be writing to impacted residents with further information including dates and times, likely impacts and any special arrangements (such as change to access to your home or / and restrictions to parking). 

• The first sections of work are expected to take 4 months to complete.  

• Hughes Brothers are currently working on plans for next sections of work.  

• JRHT will be holding another drop-in session focusing on the next phase of the work in spring once Hughes Brothers have plans in place.  

This page answers some of the common questions around road remediation and the impact this work will have on Derwenthorpe residents. JRHT will continue to consult residents on plans as appropriate and provide regular updates throughout.

The Different Areas in Derwenthorpe

Derwenthorpe is divided in to different phases:

• Phase 1 - Stephenson Quarter, 64 properties (Derwent Way & Derwent Mews) completions from April 2012 to June 2013
• Phase 2 – Lotherington Quarter, 121 properties (Lotherington Ave, Lotherington Mews & Temple Ave) completions from April 2014 to February 2017
• Phase 3 – Seebohm Quarter, 230 properties including 42 apartments (Derwent Way including Barron & Newman House, Derwent Mews, Derwent Place, St Aelred’s Mews & Seebohm Mews) completions from December 2013 to December 2019
• Phase 4 – Rowntree Quarter, 66 properties including 14 bungalows (Meadland Mews, Pearson Place & Holly Close) completions from October 2017 to September 2019

What is road adoption?

‘Adopting’ the roads is where a privately owned road becomes a public road. Adoption of the roads at Derwenthorpe would mean that the council becomes permanently responsible for the regular upkeep, repair, and maintenance of the roads, instead of JRHT.

Road remediation involves repairing, updating, and improving roads to bring them in line with the recognised standards set out by local authorities, so that City of York Council (CYC) will then adopt them.

Who is involved and what is their role?

JRHT, as the land and project owner will be overseeing the completion of the road remediation project and will act as the mediator between the parties involved.

David Wilson Homes (DWH), as the original developer, DWH is responsible for improving the roads to the local authorities’ standards so that they can be adopted by the local authorities.

City of York Council – Highways, are responsible for overseeing the project from the technical aspect and approving different stages. Ultimately, it will be Highways decision to adopt the roads, so it is crucial that they are involved in every stage.

City of York Council – Planning Enforcement – The enforcement team have contacted JRHT to check on the status of the road remediation on Phase 3, they are holding a firm position that the roads should be remediated as soon as possible. JRHT share this view and are working towards bringing forward the road remediation to Phase 3 in a timely manner.

What are the issues with the roads in Derwenthorpe?

Currently roads in Derwenthorpe are owned by JRHT, but they do not meet the standards required for them to be adopted by the local authority as public roads. This means that further work is needed to repair and improve them, as well as upgrade them to the standards required for City of York Council to consider adopting them.

Fifth Avenue is owned by the City of York Council but has been damaged during the construction process and so this road will also need to be upgraded and repaired.

Once the work is completed, residents will benefit from higher quality roads, and a better experience driving and walking through the estate. The visual appearance of the roads will also be improved.

The roads at Derwenthorpe need to be upgraded across all four phases in order for them to meet the standards for adoption. In some areas, roads will need to be reconstructed. In others, work will involve minor corrective improvements to resolve identified construction issues. Not all roads will be affected.

There are a variety of issues with the roads that will need attention. These include improvements to kerbs and gullies, ‘building up’ the strength of the roads and repairing ‘wearing courses’ (the top layer of the road which comes into contact with traffic).

Which roads are affected?

Roads across all phases (1, 2, 3 and 4) will require work. Derwent Way (adjacent to Barron & Newman House) in phase 3 will require more extensive work than other roads. We will inform affected residents directly when we know the full extent of the work required across each phase.

What work has been undertaken so far?

Considerable preparatory work has been undertaken in Phase 1 and Phase 3 which have been our priority areas to date.

Phase 1

In summer of 2021, JRHT carried out a consultation with residents of Derwenthorpe to establish the best option to locate an area for a compound for the road remediation work for this phase. As a result, the community car park was chosen to be used for this purpose. Following this decision, JRHT then submitted a detailed Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) to the local authorities and it has since been approved.

A CTMP, is required by the local planning and highways for approval before construction. This establishes vehicle routing, timings of vehicle arrivals and ensures that vehicles can access and egress the site safely during the construction phase.

Phase 3

In the summer of 2021 JRHT undertook extensive consultation with residents in Phase 3 about the future siting of works compounds to enable the remediation of roads in Phase 3. At this point we established that the former central compound would be removed and a smaller compound would be sited within the yard of the SSC. Between September and the end of the year, we cleared the old compound, creating a new, secure compound and a temporary wild flower meadow area. In April 2022 the initial investigation works commenced in the form of ‘trial pits’ to open up the highway to assess its compliance with the agreed design standards. These are holes in the ground, used to find out the condition of the roads before any construction work can begin. These trial pits were completed in May and the findings have been submitted to the local authority.

Contact information

For more information or questions about the planned road remediation works at Derwenthorpe, please email JRHT at derwenthorperoads@jrht.org.uk .

For urgent enquiries, call JRHT’s Customer Access Team on 0800 587 0211.