Empty Guildhall building costing taxpayers £118,000 a year

Labour’s failure to identify a use for the Guildhall complex when officials moved to West Offices is rebounding onto taxpayers.

York Guildhall

Just keeping the building empty cost over £118,400 last year.

Much of this went on Business Rates (£63k) and energy costs (£27k).

A report on the future of the site is promised in October with some expecting to see a proposal to establish a “media centre”.

However, as we said 3 years ago, lack of a plan to ensure the continued use – and preservation – of this important building was a major flaw in the Councils economic plan.

Confirmed – numbers killed or seriously Injured on Yorks roads increased in 2013

Labour refuse to set improvement target

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
KSI	60	62	63	51	58

The York Council has confirmed that the number of serious injury accidents on York’s road s increased by 14% last year.

The Cabinet member who now has responsibility for accident reduction in the City has refused to set a target for accident reduction this year.

The number of accidents has reduced over the last 7 years from a high of 95 – a figure which gave rise to the “95 alive” campaign which saw a sustained reduction in accident levels.

The latest increase –and Labour’s reaction – does suggest that they have taken their “eye off the ball” and have spent too much money on the ineffective roll out of 20 mph speed limits.

Gulley cleaning halved by York Council

The Council has confirmed that it has reduced by nearly half the number of times that drainage gulleys are cleaned in the City.

There were approximately 20664 cleans last year compared to 38000 when the LibDems were in control of the Council.

The cuts are blamed by residents for increasing problems with ponding and flooding in some local streets.