It appears that one of the first acts of the new coalition led Council was to submit (on 22^nd May 2015) a Heritage Lottery Funding bid for the creation of a visitor attraction incorporating the Guildhall and Council Chamber together with Common Hall lane.

There was no consultation prior to the bid being submitted.

The bid is for £1.8 million.

A previous application for funding had been turned down by HLF on the grounds that the project was too “commercial”.

Who authorised the new bid is unclear.

It is claimed that it would create a “heritage” destination attracting 30,000 visitors a year and would “tell the story of York”. In that respect it has echoes of the “York Story” exhibition which was available for public view in St Mary’s Castlegate until about 25 years ago. That project collapsed due to reducing visitor numbers. St Mary’s currently is operated by the York Museums Trust and stages a variety of exhibitions.

The bid talks in glowing terms of the digital media hub. “The planned digital media arts hub based within the heritage complex provide a remarkable symmetry”. This despite the £9.2 million expenditure on the media centre having been clearly rejected by electors only 3 weeks previously.

The bid document fails to include any kind of business plan for the “heritage attraction”. The impact on Council taxpayers is unclear. Ongoing revenue costs are likely to be high.

It is unlikely that the HLF would grant any funding without being confident that they project could be sustained.

Although worthy of further development, it is unlikely that any responsible member would formally commit to the project on the basis of the figures so far made public.

A draft revenue account income and expenditure forecast should be made available to the meeting.

A report on the future of the Guildhall site more generally is being considered by the Council’s Executive next week.  
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The Green party representative voted with Labour Councillors last night in favour of the plan to turn the Guildhall into a Digital Arts and Media centre.

The scheme was passed by 6 votes to 5 with Tory, LibDem and Independent Councillors voting to require other uses for the complex to be more fully explored.

The project could eventually cost York taxpayers as much a £9.2 million.

The meeting became a farce when a presentation of key figures was made which could not be viewed by members of the public.

It will, therefore, remain a mystery to many why the Green party supported the extravagant plan – the latest of a series of “vanity” projects which have seen the Council plunge deep into debt.