HOW considerate of Steve Waddington, head of housing at City of York Council, to insist the Monk Bar Garage site could cater for the 22-bed Peasholme Centre (Homeless shelter can move to walls, May 23).
I'm sure that visitors to the city will be pleased with the view and the other problems associated with a homeless centre, as will the residents of Lord Mayor's Walk, Monk Bar and Goodramgate with the devaluation of their properties forgive the irony!
The council says the Peasholme Centre must move because it lies in the Hungate development area where the new council offices will be.
Why? Surely the most cost-effective solution would be to leave a perfectly good custom-built centre where it is, build any extra rooms required (at substantially less than the £1million relocation) on the former car park and ambulance station to the rear.
This would fit the required criteria of being near to the city centre while being close to the council offices where help should be at hand if needed with what have been quoted as the very few complaints regarding the present centre.
How does a council that makes its citizens recycle almost everything justify razing a perfectly good custom-built building, wasting our money, not theirs?
We taxpayers have already paid for a homeless centre, it could be extended if needed, and as Hungate is to be both residential and commercial (council offices) there would be no disturbance to existing residents from the clients using the facility. Any prospective residential purchaser will know beforehand that the homeless centre is in situ.
Mr Waddington, why do you not want the homeless centre in your new back yard? Are you afraid it will affect the purchase and value of the new development?
Anita Adams, The Golden Slipper, Goodramgate, York
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