Former Peasholme Centre homeless hostel in Peasholme Green is demolished (From York Press)

The amount of good community related uses that building could of been used for is limitless. What an absolute waste of a perfectly good building.
I'm disgusted!

Woody Mellor wrote:
The amount of good community related uses that building could of been used for is limitless. What an absolute waste of a perfectly good building. I'm disgusted!

Such as? Tell me something that wouldnt need staffing? Or would cover its own staff costs? Or should the taxpayer just pour money into this for no return?

As the building was reasonably new and perfectly sound, it is a complete sin that it was ripped to shreds so that it'll all end up in land fill whereas if it was carefully demolished, a lot of the roof tiles and other fixtures and fittings could have been reused. No attempts were made to control the dust either.

I reckon that site will lay empty now for more than 5 years, maybe 10. I can't see where any new occupants are going to come from. Unless they give up on the employment use for that section and it just gets absorbed into the housing of the Hungate development (assuming they ever get the finances to start phase 2,3 and 4).

The building could have been let to any number of other organisations and at least brought some money into the council until such time there was a development plan for the site. Just sums up York Council really, a complete Shambles!

Henry Swanson wrote:

Woody Mellor wrote:
The amount of good community related uses that building could of been used for is limitless. What an absolute waste of a perfectly good building. I'm disgusted!

Such as? Tell me something that wouldnt need staffing? Or would cover its own staff costs? Or should the taxpayer just pour money into this for no return?

What's wrong with employing people and using tax payers money to pay them if they are providing a service to the community may I ask? How about a refuge for victims of domestic violence, an in town Police Station, etc etc etc. Sheesh, do I need to go on?

Woody Mellor wrote:

Henry Swanson wrote:

Woody Mellor wrote: The amount of good community related uses that building could of been used for is limitless. What an absolute waste of a perfectly good building. I'm disgusted!

Such as? Tell me something that wouldnt need staffing? Or would cover its own staff costs? Or should the taxpayer just pour money into this for no return?

What's wrong with employing people and using tax payers money to pay them if they are providing a service to the community may I ask? How about a refuge for victims of domestic violence, an in town Police Station, etc etc etc. Sheesh, do I need to go on?

How about the Council dsoent have enough money to spend on existing services (oh and shouldnt a police station be financed by the police rather than the council anyway).
Let them sell the land and use the money for something usefull, rather than keeping it on, emplying someone and raising taxes again!

The building was purpose designed as a homeless hostel. It met the standards of 30 years ago but times have moved on and this is a prime site for job creation. Last thing that council taxpayers need is the ongoing cost of maintaining a grafitti ridden eyesore.
It would have been very expensive to convert to any other use. There are dozens of empty properties in the City that could be converted to police offices (there is one in Friargate already) while youth hostels now provide much better standards of privacy than ever could be achieved in this building.

Minsterview wrote:
The building was purpose designed as a homeless hostel. It met the standards of 30 years ago but times have moved on and this is a prime site for job creation. Last thing that council taxpayers need is the ongoing cost of maintaining a grafitti ridden eyesore. It would have been very expensive to convert to any other use. There are dozens of empty properties in the City that could be converted to police offices (there is one in Friargate already) while youth hostels now provide much better standards of privacy than ever could be achieved in this building.

I agree. Progress is what's required. I wonder if that reduces the number of "affordable housing" claims CoYC make?

What happened to the "anti council" posts that were here a while ago?

Its a scandal
Private developers cannot demolish buildings in central york without a viable replacement plan but it seems CoYC can just because they feel there was no sustainable and viable use for it. This will open the floodgates for developers to demolish and avoid empty rates leaving eyesores in york for years
I am ashamed of the double dealing that is happening

Its a scandal
Private developers cannot demolish buildings in central york without a viable replacement plan but it seems CoYC can just because they feel there was no sustainable and viable use for it. This will open the floodgates for developers to demolish and avoid empty rates leaving eyesores in york for years
I am ashamed of the double dealing that is happening

meme wrote:
Its a scandal Private developers cannot demolish buildings in central york without a viable replacement plan but it seems CoYC can just because they feel there was no sustainable and viable use for it. This will open the floodgates for developers to demolish and avoid empty rates leaving eyesores in york for years I am ashamed of the double dealing that is happening

Here here. One rule for some heh!

Minsterview wrote:
The building was purpose designed as a homeless hostel. It met the standards of 30 years ago but times have moved on and this is a prime site for job creation. Last thing that council taxpayers need is the ongoing cost of maintaining a grafitti ridden eyesore. It would have been very expensive to convert to any other use. There are dozens of empty properties in the City that could be converted to police offices (there is one in Friargate already) while youth hostels now provide much better standards of privacy than ever could be achieved in this building.

Usual council propaganda - I assume you're on CoYC, are you? "Very expensive to convert" my eye - do you honestly expect York tax-payers to swallow the destruction of such a new building with that excuse?
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Let's be clear (for once), shall we?: The reason the building has been flattened is to try and draw a line beneath (yet) another of the idiot council's preposterous mistakes: they built the new centre so they could build their new HQ on the old Peasholme site - then promptly were made to look like complete idiots when it emerged they'd failed to get full permission - cue lots of pathetic whining that English Heritage were to blame.
.
I agree with Meme - it’s a total scandal. Please don't treat York people like idiots - I know that's been the council M.O for years but (thank god) we have elections here next year - hopefully the moronic Lib Dums will finally be shown the door before we're saddled with more pig's breakfasts like this has been.

A new building is knocked down for no purpose other than council embarrassment! Why could it not have been used as a woman's refuge or some other use such as putting up visiting students?

What a complete watse. It could have been put to a similar use so wouldn't even have necessarily needed much alteration. Anyone who thinks it was a derelict eyesore needs their head checking - it was in perfectly good use up to very recently and demolishing it is just a way of the council getting rid of a reminder of how financially irresponsible they were.

As there are still more homeless people localy than the new shelter and the Arc-light have places for,could this building have not been put to it's former use?

xpgold wrote:
As there are still more homeless people localy than the new shelter and the Arc-light have places for,could this building have not been put to it's former use?

Absolutely, but as said above CYC have messed up just for a change.

Utterly disgusting wastfulness and destruction. To watch such a new building smashed into rubble makes me wonder what kind of lunatics we have running the asylum.

Henry Swanson wrote:

Woody Mellor wrote:

Henry Swanson wrote:

Woody Mellor wrote: The amount of good community related uses that building could of been used for is limitless. What an absolute waste of a perfectly good building. I'm disgusted!

Such as? Tell me something that wouldnt need staffing? Or would cover its own staff costs? Or should the taxpayer just pour money into this for no return?

What's wrong with employing people and using tax payers money to pay them if they are providing a service to the community may I ask? How about a refuge for victims of domestic violence, an in town Police Station, etc etc etc. Sheesh, do I need to go on?

How about the Council dsoent have enough money to spend on existing services (oh and shouldnt a police station be financed by the police rather than the council anyway).
Let them sell the land and use the money for something usefull, rather than keeping it on, emplying someone and raising taxes again!

Very poor reply Henry.

Another pile of bricks to go with the one on the Barbican site.

Minsterview wrote:
The building was purpose designed as a homeless hostel. It met the standards of 30 years ago but times have moved on and this is a prime site for job creation. Last thing that council taxpayers need is the ongoing cost of maintaining a grafitti ridden eyesore. It would have been very expensive to convert to any other use. There are dozens of empty properties in the City that could be converted to police offices (there is one in Friargate already) while youth hostels now provide much better standards of privacy than ever could be achieved in this building.

It was only 20 years old.

It disgusts me totally, that the council approved the demolition, they aught to be sued for wasting city property,
Some time ago I wrote that converting this building to four apartments for a modest cost would pay off for the city in the long run: too late now

Things aren't always as they seem.
Go back to 1998 and you will see where Mr Laverack is coming from.

The Press reported then.

"Fears over Groves hostel plan
Furious residents are bracing themselves for a second fight to keep a hostel out of their neighbourhood.
Concerned people living in the Groves area of York are holding a meeting to discuss a planning application by city landlord Geoff Laverack for a hostel in Eldon Street.
Five years ago, residents responded with outrage at Mr Laverack's application to open a hostel in the street. He later withdrew the application.
Today they are alarmed at a new application - to turn existing bedsits and a warehouse at 74 Eldon Street into a hostel.
Park Grove and Area Residents' Association is holding a meeting on Wednesday at 8.15pm in St Thomas' Church Hall, Lowther Street, to discuss the proposal.
Association chairwoman Gill Branscombe said: "It's like a re-run of what happened before."
She said Mr Laverack, who owns a string of properties in the street and rents them out privately, has been invited to attend the meeting along with local city councillors for the area.
Mrs Branscombe, 39, of White Cross Road, said: "It would be right in the heart of the Groves. We feel it is inappropriate."
She said homeless people needed specialist care which only qualified charities and organisations could provide, like the Peasholme Centre, the city's only night hostel.
Mr Laverack was not available for comment, but his brother Matthew Laverack, the scheme's architect, said there was an urgent need for hostels in the city.
He said: "There is supposed to be a housing crisis. This would be only the second hostel in the city. The council has one at Peasholme but people say they need more."
Commenting on the previous application, he replied: "There's been a lot of water under the bridge, I don't want to say more than that."
And he said he was unaware of any meeting on the issue and had not yet received an invitation.
Councillors will discuss the application at a meeting in the next few weeks.

absolutely unbelievable - the building was fine inside and out and when there are still many homeless people and those in very difficult circumstances who need a refuge - disgusting and destructive council stupidity.