Peasholme relocation decision

4 Fishergate has been selected as the best site for the relocation of York's Peasholme Centre.

At a meeting of the City of York Council Executive, senior Councillors heard representations from public speakers and considered comparative information about two sites, Lord Mayor's Walk and Fishergate. However the proximity of Lord Mayor's Walk to the City walls would seriously lessen the likelihood of getting planning permission for the building.

The existing Peasholme Centre must be relocated as it is currently sited at Hungate, an area which has been derelict for many years. The Council has a vision to redevelop this area, to provide housing, shops, a community building and a new bridge over the River Foss. In order for the new offices of the Council to be accommodated in a single site, the land currently occupied by the Peasholme Centre is required. Council officers did look thoroughly at the option of retaining the existing building, but it would be prohibitively expensive to build around it.

Cllr Andrew Waller (City of York Council Deputy Leader) said "We considered the evidence available to us, and believe that 4 Fishergate is the more suitable of the two available locations. In particular, we felt that the site will be able to accommodate the facility, and will maintain the close links to the city centre currently offered at Peasholme. The alternative, Lord Mayor's Walk was less suitable because the site has significant archaeological and heritage concerns, being so close to the Bar Walls, a scheduled ancient monument.

"The next stage of the process is for a detailed planning application to be submitted for the new building. All residents living near by will be able to comment during that process, in accordance with planning laws.

"However, one important point to come from the discussions we had about the work that takes place at Peasholme is that residents can be reassured by the track record in the existing location - there have been no external complaints about Peasholme in the last two years. Several of the consultation responses noted how well-run the existing facility is. Those who live at Peasholme are working very hard to tackle previous problems and build a positive productive life again, and the facility is a vital part of York's community."

Cllr Sue Sunderland (City of York Council's Executive Member for Housing) said "I am delighted that we have found a suitable site for a new Peasholme building. This decision allows two really positive things to happen. A brand new facility for the residents at Peasholme will be of great benefit to them. This is also the last piece of the jigsaw in redeveloping a long-derelict part of the City. I am confident that Hungate will offer huge opportunities for York residents, in terms of work, leisure, and most importantly, housing."

END

For notes:

Cllr Sue Sunderland's statement to the Executive Meeting 25th July 2006:

"From the housing perspective it is important to recognise the work and the nature of the work that Peasholme does. It offers supported accommodation for 22 people and is staffed 24 hours a day by a very capable and dedicated team. The residents are all from York or have a local connection to York. They are at a stage in the resettlement process which means that they are not far away form achieving their goal of being able to live independently. Whilst they live at the centre they must be willing and able to take part in a planned support programme, which is based on their individual needs and aspirations. Support is vital and is given in many different ways. A comprehensive programme of activities is provided through workshops and groups, and each resident has a key worker and co-worker who works very closely with the resident to ensure they can go on to be re-housed in suitable accommodation.

We must remember that we are not moving a facility which does not work, and we must not compromise the centre's ability to provide a good service which it already does extremely well. Therefore the new location must not be cramped and be in a city centre location which means that residents have access to all the services which are available at the present time."

Cllr Andrew Waller's statement to the Executive Meeting on 25th July 2006:

"The provision of service like the Peasholme Centre to give support to York citizens at a critical point in their life as they turn their lives around before they set up their own permanent homes is the mark of a civilised city. In order that more people can benefit from this service it is essential that there is an uninterrupted provision.

The proposed relocation has not been entered into lightly, this council takes seriously its responsibilities to homeless people, and does not believe that it has created a healthy climate in the city to stigmatise them in the way that they have been in recent months.

It is regrettable that the matter has got caught up at this stage. The need to find alternative council office accommodation has been know for many years with the clear end point of leases of offices coming up. Little had been done in terms of answering this need and planning ahead, until the Lib Dems took control of the council. Since then we have progressed the project to ensure that the council is not left financially exposed by hikes in rents, and is projected to make substantial savings over the next 30 years as a consequence of the Accommodation Review.

Officers have carefully examined how the centre might be retained in its current building, whilst building the new city offices. However, this has not been possible - and would apply which ever council department had been using the current building. The foundations were only made suitable for a building of this height, not the proposed city hall.

Nevertheless the centre will not be shunted to an unsuitable site, away from support services, for both of the proposals stand the tests that are required of them. It has been essential that the proposal is to relocate to land in current ownership of the city.

The Hungate development is going to be a fundamental re-development of that part of the city, and there will be considerable archaeological work in the area for a long period of time. This is even before the area becomes a considerable building site.

The key decision was made on the Executive of 22nd November 2005 which noted that in order to create a sufficiently large footprint of City of York Council owned land for the new council offices, that the Peasholme Centre would need to be relocated. Building around it, and creating a satellite office block would be expensive, and would negate the organisational advantages from having all the new offices together on one site. This has been agreed in principle by the Executive and Shadow Executive (see comments below)

During the recent consultation, alternative sites to the Fishergate and Monk Bar options have been suggested by the pubic. These have been thoroughly investigated by officers, and as none were in council ownership, would require the consent of the owner to permit this relocation. On the one site which may have been large enough for the centre, the land owner was not willing to give this permission.

Besides having a city centre location, the existing site is not a requirement of the efficient operation of the centre and so relocation is possible.

At the time of the 22/11/05 Executive the Shadow Executive said :

The Shadow Executive / Labour Group are supportive in principle of the proposed move to a new office at Hungate, linked to a major shift in the way the Council does its business. However we have a number of concerns about the specific proposals in front of the Executive.

[And wanted] assurance on the satisfactory relocations of the ambulance station and Peasholme Hostel, both of which serve important functions, and which need to be satisfactorily resolved with no detriment to the services they provide before proceeding.

The ambulance service were willing participants in the move and I hope that all members will see that the relocation of the centre will be to a satisfactory location.

Therefore the Executive is faced with a choice of recommending one of two sites to progress through the planning process. To this end Cllrs Ann Reid and Ceredig Jamieson-Ball will withdraw from the debate, and have not been provided with copies of comments by residents in order that they can sit on a Planning Committee which will consider the application for the relocation of the centre."