A Council working group is likely to endorse later today a plan which could have a significant effect on the appearance of City centre streets.

The strategy was subject to “public consultation” last year but attracted only 59 responses.

The consultation was conveniently “buried” by the Council in a deluge of documents published last May on all aspects of the Local Plan.

The document shows a patronising disregard for sub-urban areas, consistent with the policies of the present Council. They seem to be included only as an afterthought. This could mean that secondary shopping areas like Front Street continue to be starved of resources.

Although many of the ideas in the document will be welcomed, the underlying flaw in the strategy is the almost complete lack of analysis of cost effectiveness.

There is little point in having a policy of laying block pavers, if the City is simply unable to afford to install that type of surfacing over a wide area.

Flexible surfacing – such as that provided in Library Square – is cheaper and easier to maintain.

In most parts of the City such a surface would be adequate. Critically it would allow a larger area to be upgraded for the same level of funding.

Similar criticisms could be levelled at the sections on street lighting, cycle lane width and parking arrangements.

The document would also concentrate maintenance resources on the City centre at the expense of the sub-urban areas.

It quotes spending less on the outer ring road, but in reality it is housing areas that would suffer because they have a low pedestrian footfall.

All in all, this is a financially short-sighted – some might say idiosyncratic – strategy which will need to be revised when Labour lose control of the York Council.