'Turnkey' solution for Hungate HQ project

2:10pm Friday 10th October 2008

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NEW developers could be brought in to build City of York Council's controversial headquarters.

Such a 'turnkey' solution would be a U-turn on the current approach, in which the council was looking to build its own offices.

The change would mean multiple developers could bid for the main contracts.

Coun David Scott, leader of the Labour opposition on the council, said having an experienced firm build the offices was the right decision.

But he said: “It also means is that much of the £4.8 million committed to Hungate will be money that will have to be written off and that is a disaster of monumental proportions.”

Architects RMJM, who came up with the original designs for the new HQ, have now drawn up a range of new proposals, but that drew further criticism from Coun Scott.

He said: “Should the council not have established whether it was persisting with Hungate before committing any more residents' money? If the HQ goes to a different site then this will be yet more money wasted.”

He said it was time to abandon Hungate, as it was now a drain on taxpayers' money.

“This project will, and let there be no doubt about it, have cost the city millions more than it ought to have done, whatever budget it comes in at.”

Council leader Andrew Waller said: “It is very easy for Labour to stand on the sidelines sniping, they are not even making the effort to attend the all-party steering group which is receiving updates on the project.

“Council officers have been very busy since the summer assessing the options that are available.

“The majority of the project expenditure is for work that had to be done to the move to a headquarters building irrespective of where it was, and for the purchase of land for which the council has historically not made a loss.”