New council HQ design blasted

York Civic Trust claims in its formal response to the planned complex in Stonebow that the authority risks repeating the mistakes made in the past with Stonebow House - which it says has long been viewed as completely unacceptable for York.

Company secretary Peter Brown says in a letter to the council that the headquarters would be a "formal box-like structure that bears little relationship with its immediate surroundings."

He says there is a "grudging acknowledgement" of the historic Black Swan pub next door through the style of glazing. "But the sheer verticality of the office block, rising so close and nearly three times the height, only goes to reinforce the sense of alienation created around this Grade II* listed building."

The trust is even more damning in its views on proposals for a timber-clad, seven-storey "eco-tower," saying: "This will not create a beacon to sustainability, as one councillor described it, but an ugly, unrelenting erection, totally out of place and next to a residential area."

The trust says the problems with the office complex start with an impossible brief, which appeared to be to cram as much as possible into the available space at the lowest possible cost.

"To try to accommodate 1,200 staff on a site of less than one hectare will inevitably lead to gross over-development which, apart from its effect on the size of the building, is not conducive to a happy, healthy working environment."

The trust claims the scheme will create a "one-site solution we will live to regret," and suggests that the council should design a building for fewer people, allowing the architects more freedom. Otherwise the offices could become a "text-book example of how not to design in relationship with the York vernacular."

The letter said one member of the committee had compared the "overbearing slab-like appearance" of the offices to Clifford's Tower, "an earlier attempt to stamp civil authority on the citizens of York "Perhaps a modern open government would not wish to perpetuate such an image, but buildings are powerful weapons of subliminal communication and we fear that the citizens will read the proposed structure in just such a way - intimidating, alienating and unwelcoming."

The trust also criticised the use of reconstituted stone, saying: "Most of us know this as concrete, and we regard this as a wholly unacceptable material for fronting on to a Conservation Area, with its rich pallet of brick, stone, pantiles and slate."

Mr Brown said that the letter had been written after the proposals had been examined by the Trust's planning sub-committee, whose members included professors of architecture, architects of great stature and town planners.

Comments to be reviewed

CITY of York Council leader Steve Galloway said today that all comments received by the authority about the proposed HQ building would be carefully reviewed.

"Where possible, modifications will be made prior to a planning application being submitted," he said.

"What the council is able to do is influenced by the size of the site, the number of staff to be accommodated and the funding that we have available. This part of York is typified by modern architecture and this tends to polarise opinions."

He said he recognised the contribution made by the Civic Trust to the conservation of historic buildings in the city, but claimed: "Its corporate view on modern architecture, sustainability and value for money may be rather less authoritative."

He said organisations such as English Heritage would also have an opportunity to offer a considered view - "hopefully without recourse to hyperbole."

The HQ was hailed by the authority's head of property services, Neil Hindhaugh, as "iconic" when the plans were unveiled earlier this month.

The eco-friendly design includes a green roof, rainwater-harvesting system and a raft of other environmentally-friendly features.

The complex will bring almost all council services under one roof, replacing 16 buildings around the city.