Community Stadium

Community Stadium Nov 2014York Knights Rugby League Club is to get a £45,000 subsidy from the Council next year. The payment will allow them to continue playing their games at Bootham Crescent.  The recommendation is being made to a Council meeting next week and follows reports that the rugby club has been taken over by new owners.

It appears that the builders of the new Community Stadium may be unable – because of the delays caused by a Judicial Review of the plans – to sustain the tenders that they originally submitted.

Officials warn that the cost of the project could, therefore, increase.

Although the new stadium could be open in the summer of 2018, if the Judicial Review is successful then a new planning application would be needed.

This could add between 6 months and 12 months to the timetable.timetable-dec-2016

Doubts continue over the future of the Yearsley swimming pool which – in the event of the new sports centre at Monks Cross getting the go ahead – could find itself in an increasingly competitive environment.

A report is expect early next year following discussions between the Council, Nestle and the Yearsley Pool Action Group.  Many residents would prefer to retain the Yearsley facility while jettisoning the expensive new pool at Monks Cross, which is inessential and adds substantially to the Community Stadium project costs.

The Council claims in the report that agreement has now been reached on the use of some facilities at the Community Stadium by the NHS, York Against Cancer and York Libraries,

The report pointedly does not provide an revised financial appraisal of the project or an updated business plan.

Taxpayers multi million-pound bill for York Central

It looks like the York Council will spend several million tomorrow buying the Unipart site on Leeman Road.

The site is described as an essential piece in the jigsaw of land ownership which must be rationalised before the ambitious York Central development can go ahead.

York Central is a 72-hectare (ha) area of land adjacent to the railway station and is one of the largest brownfield sites in northern England. It provides an opportunity for regeneration providing new homes and Grade A commercial office space. The site is identified in the Local Plan for residential development of up to 1,500 dwellings and 80,000 sqm floor space of high quality grade A office.

The Council is expected to pay over the market value for the Unipart site but is not releasing details of its bid.

The Council hopes that part of the funding will come from the Local Enterprise Partnership in the form of an interest free loan. This loan would be repaid over a 10 year period although it remains unclear how quickly the York Central site could start to produce revenue returns.

Land owned by York Council

Land owned by York Council

The Council originally allocated £10 million of taxpayers funds to support the project. £1/4 million of this has already been spent on salary costs while a further £1.56 million has gone on site preparation costs and other land purchases.

£7.4 million remains although the original expectation had been that this would be spent on infrastructure including an access bridge.

Now a report to the Council’s Executive tomorrow says that the bridge should be part funded by the West Yorkshire Transport Fund (£1.2 million) while the balance of the cost may fall on York taxpayers.

Joining the West Yorkshire Transport Fund is expected to cost York Council taxpayers over £1 million a year. As well as the York Central budget, York expects to get £34 million from the Fund to help pay for 7 new roundabout on the  A1237 northrn by pass

A Council report says, “It current year prices the total York Central Access Scheme was projected to cost £45m predicated upon CYC using £33m of WYTF funding and £12m of local funds. The project was split into 2 main elements: An access route from the local road network (including bridge over the rail lines), the main crescent road and an access to the rear of the railway station (£27.5m) and the demolition of the Queen St Bridge and the creation of an improved transport interchange at the front of the station (£17.5m)”.

Area is run down

Area is run down

The Council remains officially undecided about the access route although three years ago it purchased land near Chancery Rise for the route.  It is now promising that Alliance House (opposite the end of Cleveland Street) will not be demolished in the near future.

Sadly the area is already looking neglected.

Opponents of the Chancery Rise access option [the Friends of Holgate Community garden)  have produced a report on the issue Click here to read

Nowhere in the papers being considered by the Council tomorrow has any attempt being made to provide a clear statement of both capital and revenue liabilities for York taxpayers.  Many different aspects of the programme seem to rely on the Council being a financial underwriter. An uncomfortable position with the project already vulnerable to changing political and economic conditions.

So far a preferred partnership management and business model has still not been agreed

No scrutiny of York Community Stadium at key meeting

Project disappears from “to do” list

Every six months a committee at the York Council looks at the progress being made in delivering major projects. A report is being presented on 14th November to a scrutiny committee which lists all the major projects in the City.

Most of the major plans of the Council are listed.

Schemes listed for consideration at meeting on 14th November

Schemes listed for consideration at meeting on 14th November

We learn that the plan to improve the northern by pass has a “red alert” attached to it, meaning that progress has stalled.  Perhaps more surprisingly we are told that there is now nothing to prevent the Guildhall project from being fully implemented (other perhaps than the small matter of financial prudence).

However there is one major omission from the list.

The £44 million Community Stadium project.

When the committee was last updated in May details of the stadium project were included.

Stadium timetable presented to a scrutiny committee in May

Stadium timetable presented to a scrutiny committee in May

By now builders should have been on site but, of course, the project now faces a “judicial review”.

We think that there are some questions that backbench Councillors would want to ask about this project. There are hundreds of jobs hanging in the balance.

We wonder if there is an even more serious precursor of failure than a “red alert”?

New Business Rate levels in York

It looks like the new Business Rate levels announced by the government on Friday will have little effect in York.
Business rates

Click for more stats

In the main, business rates will increase in London and the south east.

The proposed new rate levels in the north of England are, at worst, steady but some areas – including Scarborough – are set to see reductions.

There were hopes that sub-urban shopping areas in York might benefit from lower rates but this has yet to be confirmed.

In Acomb, some long term empty properties do get a rates discount when brought back into use.

The York Council has so far made no comment on the new valuation lists which it received last week.

Business rates explained

All UK firms pay a tax on the shops, offices, warehouses and factories that they use. All businesses with properties that have a rateable value over £12,000 have to pay Rates. They are the third biggest outgoing for many small businesses after rent and staff costs.

Empty commercial properties brough back into use in Front Street are entitled to a Business Rates discount

Empty commercial properties brought back into use in Front Street are entitled to a Business Rates discount

Every five years the underlying value of properties is assessed to determine their “rateable value”.

That figure broadly represents the yearly rent – the rentable value – for which the property could be let. The revaluation published yesterday, is based on rentable values on 1 April 2015 and comes into effect on 1 April 2017

The rateable value is then combined with the “multiplier” – a figure set by the government each year – to determine the final bill.

When Business Rates are revalued the government provides a transitional arrangement, to help companies adapt. The transitional arrangement will limit the amount that bills will go up each year, offering a financial cushion that, in the first year, will apply to over 600,000 properties, according to the government.

At the moment, English authorities keep hold of 50% of locally-collected Business Rates. The other half goes into a central government pool and is redistributed back to the local authorities according to need.

The government is working towards allowing local authorities to keep 100% of business rates (with a proportionate reduction in other grants).

York Council explains reasons for secret staff payoff deals.

After some delay, the York Council has explained why it has entered into 41 “Compromise Agreements” with axed staff during the last 5 years.Top-secret-stamp-006

We reported in June that the York Council had spent £82 million on redundancy costs since 2011. 546 staff (not including teachers) had left the Councils employment with an average payment of £15,000.

The Council has also confirmed that 41 “Compromise Agreements” had been signed with staff. Usually these involve some sort of compensatory pay.

A compromise agreement is a legally binding agreement made either during or following the termination of employment. It is recognised by statute and is the only way an employee can validly “contract out” of their employment law rights. It usually provides for a severance payment, in return for which former employees agree not to pursue any claim or grievance to an Employment Tribunal.

A leading law firm says that the major reasons for using the compromise agreement (other than to settle an existing claim) are to “remove an employee on the grounds of poor performance or misconduct, to avoid legal challenge in redundancy situations and to make it easier to remove senior staff without embarrassment”.

The number of secrecy deals increased markedly when Labour took office in 2011

Three months ago, the Council were unwilling to specify why compromise agreements had been reached in so many cases.

Now, following an FOI appeal, they have lifted the veil a little.

Compromise agreements at City of York Council

Compromise agreements at City of York Council

Clearly the Council has come to several agreements to avoid the costs, and adverse publicity, often associated with claims that run through industrial tribunals.

The legal nature of the agreements means that they can’t be probed further.

Taxpayers may remain a little uneasy about the process and the robustness of the decisions that led to compromises being needed in the first place.

More concern over Community Stadium project

The proposed operator of the Council’s indoor sports facilities is under fire in some parts of the Country over safety standards.
PE extract 2nd Sept 2016

Private Eye magazine 2nd Sept 2016

According to Private Eye magazine (right) Greenwich Leisure has been slow to respond to complaints of tainted water in one of its pools in Swindon.

Greenwich Leisure is a not for profit “community interest company” which ran the Waterworld leisure centre on behalf of the council before it was demolished as part of a larger project to build a new community stadium.

Use of Waterworld declined rapidly and the, then Labour led, authority made additional subsidy payments to the operator between April and November 2014 to keep the pool open.

The payments were later subject to an auditor’s report.

Greenwich Leisure were appointed as the preferred contractor not only for the Stadium and associated swimming pool and sports centre but also the Yearsley pool and Energise sports centre on the other side of the City.

We reported in August 2014 that increasing costs were threatening the future of the Community Stadium complex. Things have deteriorated further since then with planning permission for additional commercial development now subject to a Judicial Review.

It has been clear for several years that the increasing size and complexity of the project has jeopardised not only the interests of taxpayers but has even brought into question whether some sports facilities in the City may also now face closure.

Recently the Council agreed to subsidise the use of Bootham Crescent by the Rugby Club until the new stadium has been completed. It is unclear how much this will cost taxpayers.

The York Council has yet to comment on the reports about swimming pool safety.

York Council to ramp up buying and selling plans

Castlegate
Castlegate

Castlegate

It looks like the Council will be selling its premises at 29 Castlegate later in the year. The building has been in use as a youth drop in centre for several years and before that housed a photographic gallery.

Closure of the youth centre provoked a strong reaction and the Council abandoned its plans to sell the building in 2015. However, a new home for youth activities has now been found at Sycamore House and it seems that the Council will resurrect is plan to sell the building to the York Civic Trust (who run the adjacent Fairfax House and which needs the space to expand).

A meeting on 24th November will discuss how to ensure that taxpayers get the best possible deal out of the change.

Leeman Road

Elsewhere the Council is expected to discuss in October whether it can buy the Unipart Rail site on Leeman Road. The site is one that will eventually be redeveloped as part of the York Central project.

The Council has so far failed to identify an investment model to drive forward land acquisition in the area. It has allocated £10 million in its capital programme to fund an access route into the site but many taxpayers are unhappy that this risk is not being born by commercial partners – or government agencies – who stand to profit from the development.

Piccadilly
Castle Mills car park

Castle Mills car park

It seems likely that the Council will fund the demolition of its Castle Mills car park on Piccadilly which is described as being in “poor condition”. It is likely to be replaced by a surface level car park until such time as the regeneration of the area actually moves forward.

Regeneration of the Coppergate/Piccadilly area has been stalled for over 15 years.

60% of York residents say road maintenance is “poor”

With the York Council’s ruling Executive due to discuss it’s first quarter performance later today, a new survey has revealed that many residents are unhappy with public service standards in the City.

West York survey results July/Aug 2016

West York survey results July/Aug 2016

Road repairs (60% rated “poor”) and footpath  repairs (57%)  top the list of woes, but there is also criticism of litter bin provision and car parking arrangements in some sub-urban estates.

Best rated service was recycling (92% rated good or satisfactory), with refuse collection also rated positively (89%).

The Council’s investment in new street lighting seems to be impressing people  with 87% now rating it as good or satisfactory.

However there is little evidence that the Council’s proclaimed priority – investing in street level service quality – is having a positive effect.

Dissatisfaction with roads and footpaths is at an all time high.

Councillors today will be given a different set of figures to consider. Their “key performance indicators” are not included on the Executive agenda but can be accessed via the”open data”  web site.

This is in itself a step forward from previous years when data was often hidden from residents.

Transport KPIs August 2016 click to access

Transport KPIs August 2016 click to access

However a closer look at the stats reveals that, not only are most quarter one figures unavailable, but also many of the out-turn figures for 2015/16 haven’t been updated.

No improvement targets are identified.

Quite what “performance”  – other than a bland anecdotal commentary – Councillors will therefore be considering later today is a mystery.

The York Council must now put more emphasis on customer satisfaction. Publishing the results of quarterly residents “talkabout” panel views would be a start.

The key message though, as the Council begins to construct its budget priorities for next year, is that  residents want to see more invested in repairing our roads and footpaths. 

 

Taxpayers invited to view how their £12 million will be spent on York Guildhall complex

Residents are being invited to view the latest designs and plans outlining the potential for the Guildhall complex to become a “state of the art venue for business” at an event on Wednesday 3 August.

The Guildhall will open its doors between 11am and 2pm on Wednesday and will welcome views from residents on the latest designs. At the event

77% increase in Guildhall hire cost

residents will also be able to meet the Project Manager who will be on hand to provide more information about the scheme and answer any questions.

The event follows proposals for the riverside complex being approved by Executive last month. The plans look to transform the Guildhall complex and ensure the future viability of one of York’s most significant buildings through the creation of a vibrant business and civic venue, with supporting commercial development on the riverside, maximising its economic use, heritage appeal and public access.

Tory Councillor Chris Steward who has presided over the escalating costs of a project that he inherited from Labour, said:

“The Guildhall complex is one of York’s most iconic buildings and these plans look to transform it from an underused asset to a unique venue for business which will bring significant economic benefit to the city of over £66m in Gross Value Added.

“We welcome the views of residents on this scheme and hope they take the chance to see the proposals, meet the team and comment on detailed proposals outlining the future of York’s historic Guildhall.”

A detailed business case will be taken to Executive and Full Council in February 2017 and if approved the work is expected to start mid 2017 with a completion by autumn 2018. Plans will continue to see the council retaining the use of the council chamber for Full Council meetings and the Guildhall for key civic and public events.