The new York Council’s ruling coalition moved quickly a few days ago to publish a list of policy initiatives that it will take.

In the main they concentrated on reassuring residents that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated. So now know that

• The Castlegate centre (or the services that it provides) will be continued – the fifth announcement of a reprieve made during the last 6 months!
• The Yearsley Swimming pool would remain open (the fourth reprieve announcement)
• There would be no additional green bin emptying charges and grey bin emptying frequencies will remain as they are.
• The will be no more “wide area” 20 mph speed limits imposed. (although what happens to the existing ones remains a mystery)
• Government money will be used to freeze Council Tax levels (if it is offered)

In other areas the general intent is known but the targets and timetables remain unclear.

• We know there will be a new Local Plan but no one has yet set down the preferred economic growth assumptions (if any) or related the latest ONS population forecasts to land use demand.
• We know more will be spent on road repairs, “streetlights” (presumably repairs), gulley cleaning and litter bins. But we don’t know how much, where and when.
• Ward Committees will (rightly) be reinstated but with how much funding and when?
• We know that the Guildhall DMC centre scheme will be revised to “minimise the risk to taxpayers”. But we don’t know how much taxpayer’s money has already been committed to the project. The Arts Barge will get no more public money. It was incorrectly labelled a “vanity” project – the criticism was that it was a low priority project for the use of taxpayers money and that the business case was rocky to say the least.

There is no mention of the “in year” budget deficit which the Council faces. It’s so called “rewiring” project looks fanciful in the extreme, while rescinding Labour’s cuts to key services will require compensatory savings elsewhere.

So, over the next few days, residents will expect to see a proper statement of intent on a range of issues. These should include:

1. The way that the Council is structured and the way that it interacts with residents
2. What a revamped 2015/16 budget will look like
3. Confirmation that the Council has reached an accommodation on the York Knights RLFC participation in the Community Stadium (together with a solution to their interim match day and training requirements)
4. Confirmation of a start date and milestones for the Council estate regeneration project
5. Details of a sub-urban shopping area regeneration project
6. Practical help for those Community Centres in the City which had their Council funding removed by Labour
   

   Coppergate – York Council failure, to win their appeal against unlawful fines issue, could plunge it into a financial crisis

7. Confirmation that the Coppergate fines will be repaid and the method for so doing
8. The future of transport in the City
9. Our relationships with the WestYorkshire combined authority
10. The future of empty buildings and sites like Oliver House, Lowfields school etc.
11. Relationships with Trusts like those now running the libraries, museums, tourism, economic development etc
12. Management structures and appointments.

The clock is ticking