…as York Council slides further into debt
According to The Press the York Council leadership has now said that the tenders received for the sale of Oliver House will not be considered until a new Council “Cabinet” has its first meeting in June.
The former elderly person’s home has been empty for over 2 years.
We reported last week that an unexpectedly high £3.2 million bid, which would see 30 specialist older persons apartments provided on the site, had been deferred by the Council Leader.
Now it turns out that the sale will be delayed until the new Council, being elected on 7th May, has had time to sort out its new committees.
How long the offers will remain on the table remains to be seen.
Council debts spiralling
The full impact of the Councils financial management polices is becoming clearer. A freedom of information response has revealed a spiralling mountain of debt.
Capital debts – click to enlarge
The response reveals that, since the Liberal Democrats lost control of the Council in May 2011, the Council has been borrowing heavily.
The debt charges (interest payments) are partly responsible for the cuts that Labour are making to front line services.
Part of the debt increase was due to a transfer of historic housing debt to the City but this was coupled with a decision to allow all rents collected to be retained and used to service the interest payments.
The present Council also has several major projects in the pipeline which could add to the debt burden.
They include the conversion of the Guildhall into a media centre (£9 million) as well as funding a bridge into the York central site (£11 million).
The Council will also have to find several million to fund a replacement elderly care building programme following the abandonment of the care village project last month.