Barbican deal is set to go-ahead

Labour opposition leader Dave Merrett said today he expected contracts to be exchanged with developers Barbican Venture (York) Ltd "very soon with completion maybe a week later".

Councillors have already decided how they want to spend the proceeds of the sale, with about £4 million paying for a new pool in Acomb to replace the Edmund Wilson baths, with the rest going towards a long-term proposal to build a new pool at Heslington, in partnership with the University of York, and repairs to Yearsley Pool.

The land being sold comprises the Barbican car park, swimming pool and bowling green, but not the auditorium, which is set to be revamped and redeveloped by new operators, Absolute Leisure.

A massive row blew up this time last year when City of York Council announced it was getting about £2 million less for the land than it had originally expected, because of delays in selling the site.

The authority said that because of the shortfall, which was blamed by leading Liberal Democrat councillors on legal and planning challenges by the Save Our Barbican (SOB) campaign, it was abandoning plans for a replacement community pool on land at the nearby Kent Street coach park. Following criticisms by organisations such as SOB, the Audit Commission reviewed the deal, but announced in October it could find "no significant weaknesses" in the way the sell-off had been handled.

However, it did urge the authority to take three steps to improve the way it handled key decisions in future. Asked by The Press why the sale had still not been completed, council leader Steve Galloway was staying tight-lipped today. He said: "Sorry, but we are not going to make any further comment about the Barbican at this stage. When matters are concluded, a joint statement will be issued."

However, he strongly dismissed rumours that the developers - who have permission to build a hotel and apartments on the land - were seeking to pay the council less than the agreed £7 million.

Coun Merrett said that, after speaking with officers, he understood the council had needed to wait for three months after the resolution of a planning issue but contracts would now be exchanged shortly.

"I am not aware of any issue that will block the exchange of contracts or any reason why it won't take place this month," he said.

Ernie Dickinson, leader of SOB, said: "As far as we are concerned, this remains a very bad deal both for local residents and the taxpayer."

Series of changes to revamp plans

CHANGES to the proposed revamp of York's Barbican Centre have been submitted to planners.

Operator Absolute Leisure was granted permission in 2004 for a refurbishment of the auditorium and the construction of new bars and restaurants. Now it has applied for a series of design alterations, including the enclosure of a proposed roof terrace at first floor level on the east side to form a covered bar.

The company also wants:

* A new design for glazed curtain walling at the front, along with an angular canopy.

* Different glazing to a first floor balcony area on the west side

* Proposed link to an adjacent hotel to be sited on the ground floor instead of at first floor level.

Absolute Leisure has told City of York Council it believes all the proposed design changes respect the building's original form and are appropriate to the Barbican's relationship with the nearby Bar Walls.

The company told The Press recently that it expected refurbishment work to start later this month or by early February, with the work completed by the end of the summer in time for the Barbican to re-open for an autumn programme of events.

Asked today whether the fresh planning application might delay the start of work, managing director Tony Knoz would only say: "The plans to open in the late summer of 2007 are unaffected."

Ernie Dickinson, spokesman for the Save Our Barbican campaign, said it would be opposing the changes. He said it had concerns about both noise and light pollution from the rooftop terrace.