Kings Square
The York Council’s Labour “Cabinet” is set to agree an additional £3.3 million increase in spending today. All of the money is to be spent in the City centre. http://tinyurl.com/3-million-York-plan
The programme is part of the Council’s so called “Reinvigorate York” programme which will eventually see the City’s debt increase by an estimated £20 million. Interest and repayments on this loan will leave residents with an extra £1.6 million a year to find. Much of it is expected to come from further cuts to front line services.
The decision comes at a time when the Council is facing a £6 million overspend on this years budget together with heavy criticism over its decision to cut home care support of 184 elderly residents. Ironically the Council will have to find £300,000 to pay for consultants to design the planned improvements. That is similar to the sum that is needed to continue the social care services which are set to be axed.
Graffiti display for tourist on river cruise
For a number of years the Council has (rightly) invested in a rolling programme of works aimed at improving the streetscape of the City. The last project to be completed was the paving of Library Square in 2011 and this was to be followed by improvements to Deangate, as part of the Minster Revealed project. The latter is running a little behind schedule but the next street to be pedestrianised and paved was due to be Fossgate.
Under the new plans Fossgate is pushed back and changes to Kings Square have been substituted. The 6 areas to be addressed over the next 2/3 years are:
1) Parliament Street (including Piccadilly/ Coppergate junction)
2) King’s Square
3) Exhibition Square/ St. Leonard’s Place/ Bootham Bar
4) Fossgate/ Pavement
5) Duncombe Place/ Blake Street
6) Micklegate
No figures have been provided for the costs of individual schemes. Officials acknowledge that work at the Parliament Street junction will be complex and no decision has yet been made on what will replace the old public toilet block (although the quality of street entertainment here has taken an upward step recently – http://youtu.be/s-_Ip_VJrLc)
The additional borrowing results from what should be a 4 or 5 year programme being compressed into just 30 months. An officer’s report on the project fails to produce a convincing business case for the investment. All that are quoted are case studies from wildly dissimilar towns and City’s which sought regeneration from a much lower base (and in most cases – because of unemployment levels – with the benefit of Regional and/or European funding).
With no measurable economic development targets identified, no one will ever know whether the investment was justified.
No money to repair verges in sub-urban York
What is clear is that sub-urban areas are being starved of resources with street level services in decline. Even the City centre environment is under pressure with graffiti on the increase – just the kind of image that will deter people from visiting the City.
So what should the Council do?
The improvement programme in the City centre should continue but at a pace that can be funded without recklessly increasing the City’s debt burden. Borrowing should be restricted to projects which generate a clear additional income stream for the Council and which can then be used to service debt charges.
The sub-urban areas should also receive investment with the aim being to generate pride in the whole of the City not just the area within the Bar Walls.