A NEW ‘City Beautiful’ report from the York Civic Trust pulls no punches when it comes to describing the shocking state of some areas of the city centre.

The ‘Marble Arch’ tunnel in Leeman Road which leads to the NRM is ‘smelly, damp and dark’, it says; many of York’s unique snickelways are shabby, poorly maintained and oppressive; and the pedestrian exit from York station is ‘awful’.

The 22-page document also highlights a whole raft of other public areas that need to be improved – from the Piccadilly/ Parliament Street junction to the area around Clifford’s Tower and even the city’s Boer War memorial in Duncombe Place.

It isn’t simply about prettifying the centre of York, the report stresses.

York’s tourism industry supports 23,000 jobs – but York faces increasing competition from other cities in the UK and Europe for its seven million visitors a year. It cannot afford to be complacent.

Perhaps the best thing about the report is that it doesn’t just complain about how scruffy some areas of the city centre are: it proposes a list of measures to tackle them - together with some ideas about how the work could be funded.

The city council shouldn’t be expected to pick up all the bill, says the report’s author, Civic Trust vice-chairman Sir Ron Cooke. “Much can be done by private funding and partnerships.”

Not everyone will agree with all the suggestions – but that is as it should be. What the Civic Trust has done – and in an election year, too – is identify a clear set of priorities for potential city centre improvements, both big and small. It is politicians who would have to act on them. But at least the proposals are now out there for debate and discussion as we approach the local elections.