York community stadium worries (From York Press)

York community stadium worries

11:24am Thursday 19th August 2010 in

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HAVING read the front page of the Your City leaflet, which I believe has been delivered to all households in the York council area.

I was especially interested in the main article about the new stadium, which appears to be a complete inaccuracy from beginning to end. It would appear from the article that all the issues have been solved and that all is clear from all parties to go ahead.

That is far from the truth. Nobody in the other parties of the council are in the position of knowing anything about this.

I would think it appropriate for a council spokesperson to issue a statement as soon as possible to the press to that effect, and explaining how this came about and retracting the article so that the public are fully aware of this.

Unless it is true, then an explanation of why councillors have not been allowed to see this information, and, at the very least an apology to all should be made from the leader for being less than forthcoming with the facts.

Coun Brian Watson, Guildhall Ward.

Kersten England, chief executive of City of York Council, said: “The piece in Your City accurately reflects the decisions made by the executive and is consistent with the decision of the full council to grant money to support development of the stadium and York Sports Village.

“The piece suggests facilities that may be available at the stadium, its estimated cost and the anticipated timeframe for completion. While some of this detail is speculative, it is consistent with the stadium board’s plans. We thought it important to include this in order to distinguish the concept of a community stadium from more traditional forms of facility.

“The plans are at an early stage and subject to further rounds of public scrutiny and consultation, such as in the seeking of planning permission.”

• COUN Andrew Waller shows the same degree of ignorance the council has shown for years on warnings about its affordable housing policy, by dismissing that the value of Bootham Crescent will be reduced as claimed by Matthew Laverack (The Press, August 14).

The council’s consultants, Fordhams, use land values that are at a massive discount to market values to justify the proposed 25 per cent brownfield and 40 per cent greenfield targets for its affordable housing policy. This tactic is an attempt to unfairly influence land prices so that the council can force developers to hand over more affordable housing.

The problem is that landowners will not sell at the prices Fordhams predict, so house-building in York will continue to be held back.

This is serious for York City, as the value of its ground will not increase as Coun Waller expects. The policy has a sliding scale designed to increase the affordable take relative to house price rises, so land price rises will be limited.

I hope the council and football club will look into this before committing to a project that may no longer be viable for this reason.

Paul S Cordock, Durlston Drive, Strensall.

• COUN Andrew Waller shoots himself in the foot when he claims no one can predict the house-building market in three years’ time.

If that is so, the viability studies the council has commissioned from Fordhams to justify its latest affordable housing policies are worthless.

The unknown future market conditions relate to every housing project, not only the York City’s ground. Moreover, in three years things are likely to be worse than now. Those of us at the sharp end can see no upturn. The abolition of housing targets will not relieve the burdens heaped on house-builders since 1997.

Persimmon Homes proposed 93 flats and apartments at Bootham Crescent, but that was never approved and flats are no longer favoured by the planning committee nor buyers. The site is more appropriate to terraced housing and could accommodate something like 50 dwellings, of which 25 per cent would have to be handed over at less than cost price as affordable homes. That means that only 37-odd houses would have to support a purchase price of £3.7 million. That represents a base cost of £100,000 per house – before a single brick is laid, before roads are constructed, and so forth.

Matthew Laverack, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York.