Liberal Democrat councillors say plans to spend £9.2million on a ‘Digital Media Hub’ at York’s Guildhall should be reconsidered.

The proposals were rubber-stamped by the Labour Cabinet last night despite concerns raised at the meeting by Lib Dem Cllr Ian Cuthbertson. Under the plans, City of York Council will spend an initial £500,000 on the project. The overall scheme is due to cost £9.2million with cash coming from council capital funds, borrowing and the council’s ‘Economic Infrastructure Fund’. £1.7million in funding is yet to be found.

The Lib Dems say there is not enough evidence on income to justify the spending and have ‘called-in’ the decision for review. The proposal will now be reconsidered at a cross-party scrutiny meeting in January.

Cllr Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Finance and Performance, commented:

“It is astonishing that the Labour Cabinet has brought forward these proposals without a proper business case which shows how the council hopes to get a return on its investment to justify the spending. There is also currently a £1.7million black hole in Labour’s plans.

“If this plan proceeds, York taxpayers will be asked to underwrite £9million of risk on the project. As well as a huge upfront capital cost the plans would greatly increase the council’s long-term borrowing commitments, a burden which has already increased under Labour.

“The report passed presents no evidence that other options for the Guildhall have been properly considered, that this is the right location for the use being proposed or that the private sector will take on any of the risk of this project.

“At a time when Labour are cutting frontline services for ordinary residents and considering moving to monthly rubbish collections, we cannot support this sort of speculative spending on vanity projects in the city-centre.”

 

Liberal Democrat councillors Keith Aspden, Ian Cuthbertson and Andrew Waller have given the following reasons for their call-in:

The report lacks many crucial details needed to support the proposal. These include:

• A thorough business case to justify council expenditure on the project.
• Detail on the revenue projections including estimated rental income.
• A proper analysis of alternative options for the Guildhall.
• An examination of whether this is the correct location for the use being proposed or any comparison with other similar projects.
• An analysis of how the risk could be more appropriately shared with the private sector, especially on elements which might be better handled by organisations more experienced in the specific fields of business.

Details of the Guildhall plans can be found here (Item 12): http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=8618