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Council’s secret list of HQ sites
11:00am Friday 5th September 2008
COUNCIL chiefs in York are considering building new offices on the Barbican site, in the latest shock twist in their headquarters saga.
The site is the third top choice out of 14 options on a top-secret list obtained by The Press.
Other options include land behind the former Frog Hall pub in Layerthorpe; West Offices, opposite the old GNER headquarters in Station Rise; and the car-parks in Marygate, St George’s Field, and Union Terrace.
Each of the 14 sites has been given a rating out of 25. Hungate remains the authority’s top choice, with a score of 20. But Frog Hall, the Barbican and Station Rise are not far behind, with scores of 16, 15 and 15 respectively.
The former Terry’s chocolate factory is also on the list of options, only days after councillors threw a £26 million redevelopment scheme for it. But the document says it is one of five sites that will only be considered if the other 15 are ruled out.
Bill Woolley, City of York Council’s director of city strategy, said all sites not owned by the council were on the list “subject to availability”.
He said it was not yet known if the Barbican land would be available, but said it did not include the auditorium itself, and he would not do anything to jeopardise the auditorium’s redevelopment and viability.
The former centre car park and swimming pool has been sold by the council for developers, but Persimmon Homes said earlier this year it was shelving plans to build new apartments there because of the housing market downturn.
Premier Inn, which has been planning to build a new hotel there, said it was “in discussions with a number of parties regarding the Barbican Site and the possible build of a Premier Inn,” but could not comment further.
Labour leader David Scott said: “I think the Barbican site, if the council still owned it, would be a good potential location for a headquarters building.
“It’s still a relatively sensitive site, being close to the Bar Walls, but it would have had a lot going for it.
“If the Barbican is now an option, then we have managed to sell something cheaply that we now need.
“It’s selling the family silver, then having it come home to roost for this administration.”
Tory leader Ian Gillies said: “On the face of it, it’s a city centre location but it would also cause the Lib Dems extreme embarrassment. I would think it would not be top of their list, for that reason.”
He said he would prefer to see the council move into West Offices, even though the council does not own them. He said: “It would be very sustainable from a traffic point of view, and potentially having everything in one place.
“It’s close to buses, trains and the city centre, and also close to the Guildhall.”
Council leader Andrew Waller initially said sites had not yet been ranked, but subsequently said simply that there was still a lot of work to do before a site was chosen.
He said: “At this stage we are looking at a range of options that we will be asking officers to work on, so that we can come to the best value solution for the city.”
Ernie Dickinson, leader of the Save Our Barbican (SOB) campaign, said: “People of York should take note if the council that could not find any money to build a swimming pool in the city centre can now find money to buy back half the Barbican site and put their headquarters there. The mind boggles.”
Mr Woolley, who has taken over control of the overall project, said the process of selecting sites was still at an “early stage” but said the Barbican was currently the third top option.
He added: “Possible sites within the city boundary are being assessed against criteria, including whether the land is available; whether it is large enough for the authority’s needs; whether the project could be delivered within the designated timescales and what the cost of the development would be.”
Your Say YourPress
Chris York Born&Bred, YORK says...
11:29am Fri 5 Sep 08
We are all Doomed.!!!!
Geoffers, Wigginton says...
11:43am Fri 5 Sep 08
Put it out to competition and let the architects take their cut from manageing the construction!
chrisatyork, york says...
11:43am Fri 5 Sep 08
joewatt, Skelton says...
11:45am Fri 5 Sep 08
chrisatyork, york says...
11:49am Fri 5 Sep 08
pedalling paul , York says...
12:05pm Fri 5 Sep 08
Chris York Born&Bred wrote:I suggest that Chris chooses his words more carefully. Local Authority Officers must display the highest ethical standards in their execution of their professional duties.
Mr woolley has taken over control.!!!!We are all Doomed.!!!!
Despite Bill Woolley inheriting this particular "poisoned chalice" I am sure that he will do his utmost to recommend the best solution to elected Councillors.
Man with a view, York says...
12:07pm Fri 5 Sep 08
Pepper, york says...
12:12pm Fri 5 Sep 08
ch, york says...
12:27pm Fri 5 Sep 08
TO ME,TO YOU, TO ME, TO YOU, TO ME
mztripps, says...
12:33pm Fri 5 Sep 08
LibDem, York says...
2:37pm Fri 5 Sep 08
The prime Hungate site - when it is cleared in a few months time - will be worth more than the Barbican site (and indeed probably more than the Council has spent on the HQ project to date) if they chose to sell it.
Talk of a design competition is fanciful. The specification for the building is known. The internal layout has been applauded. The high levels of sustainability (which heavily influence appearance) have been welcomed. The price ceiling has been established.
It is the exterior features and scale that have been criticised. Either Hungate can deliver the capacity required or it can’t. That is the starting off point.
The key objective remains to provide a HQ which radically reduces annual running costs; to use those savings to pay for the new building and later to invest the remaining surplus in providing better public services for York residents.
chunks, York says...
3:06pm Fri 5 Sep 08
During the recent lease negotiations a number of councillors and residents asked that specific provision be made in the lease to fund race day policing litter patrols and toilets. The LibDems pushed the lease through without these provisions despite the concerns of residents and councillors.
This is a real shame as in my view the LibDems missed a real opportunity and failed to protect the interets of residents.
Let's hope you can get it right this time.
Geoffers, Wigginton says...
3:12pm Fri 5 Sep 08
LibDem wrote:So, talk of a design competition is fanciful is it. Why?
If the Council wanted a HQ at the Barbican, or any other developer owned site for that matter, then they would expect to get a ready to use building from a supplier. As land values have fallen over the last couple of years they would expect to pay less for the site than they sold it for. It is the collapse of the housing market – and demand for flats – that makes this possible.The prime Hungate site - when it is cleared in a few months time - will be worth more than the Barbican site (and indeed probably more than the Council has spent on the HQ project to date) if they chose to sell it. Talk of a design competition is fanciful. The specification for the building is known. The internal layout has been applauded. The high levels of sustainability (which heavily influence appearance) have been welcomed. The price ceiling has been established. It is the exterior features and scale that have been criticised. Either Hungate can deliver the capacity required or it can’t. That is the starting off point. The key objective remains to provide a HQ which radically reduces annual running costs; to use those savings to pay for the new building and later to invest the remaining surplus in providing better public services for York residents.
You think you've employed the only architects in the country who can do the job? On what basis were they chosen?
Or is this just another example of the libdems not listening?
LibDem, York says...
7:01pm Fri 5 Sep 08
The last time that York used a design competition, it was to remodel Parliament Street. The favoured design - voted on by residents – included, what were then, new public toilets (now popularly known as the "splash palace"). An eclectic mix of modernist and traditional styles???
I don’t particularly like the design that the Councils HQ architects came up with. But I do recognise that public tastes sometimes have to play catch up; whether it be with the avant garde or more evolutionary trends.
Like it or not, our buildings will look different in future simply because we will have to put energy conservation and benign fuel sources higher on our list of priorities than medieval rampart defences or 19th century civic grandeur.
who2believe, York says...
7:05pm Fri 5 Sep 08
Geoffers, Wigginton says...
7:56pm Fri 5 Sep 08
LibDem wrote:Time is one thing that York has,and lots of it. Design competitions do NOT cost York a bean. York will only pay for the successful design but will have the benefit of having seen several others.
Design competitions take time and cost a lot of money. Professional architects don't work for free (or good ones don't anyway). There is no guarantee that any such competition winner would find favour with the English Heritage mafia. So we’d quickly be back to the square one.The last time that York used a design competition, it was to remodel Parliament Street. The favoured design - voted on by residents – included, what were then, new public toilets (now popularly known as the "splash palace"). An eclectic mix of modernist and traditional styles???I don’t particularly like the design that the Councils HQ architects came up with. But I do recognise that public tastes sometimes have to play catch up; whether it be with the avant garde or more evolutionary trends. Like it or not, our buildings will look different in future simply because we will have to put energy conservation and benign fuel sources higher on our list of priorities than medieval rampart defences or 19th century civic grandeur.
Your description of English Heritage as some form of mafia says it all.
Any architect worth his salt will work WITH all the agencies in order to secure a successful design that meets ALL the criteria. English Heritag are here to protect OUR heritage, not to cowtow to political pressure!
oldgoat, York says...
12:35am Sat 6 Sep 08
chrisatyork wrote:At a guess, you'd never fit 2000 plus staff in there, without having to build too high?
Following my last comment, Why not just use the empty building off cliffod st that used to be the jobcentre?
I notice someone mentioned the old Terry's site in the paper. Nice idea, but I reckon its too far out of town, with weak transport links - much the same as the Eddy Wilson pool site. You cannot just assume everyone can drive or hop on a bus to get there.
bri, york says...
12:35am Sat 6 Sep 08
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Land to the rear of the Barbican Centre auditorium, which could become the new City of York Council headquarters
There are 14 options for the site of the new council HQ , including one at Layerthorpe
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LizM, York says...
11:24am Fri 5 Sep 08
I think that rather than continue to give the retained architects money for apparently nothing, the council should open the design up to competition. This is a wonderful opportunity to build a landmark building, celebrating York's past, its heritage and its future! I'm not saying we go for a Guggenheim style construction - nothing as off the wall as that, but surely there are skilled designers out there who can take inspiration from York's current architecture and the surrounding venicular styles to come up with a concept that will show a little more creativity and at the same time, sympathy for its surroundings... or we could just carry on with the glass facades and boxy monstrocity.....