Plans to close Castlegate centre shelved by City of York Council

City of York Council’s cabinet has decided to shelve the proposals for 29 Castlegate in order to review them and consult with those directly involved with the under-threat building.

A packed meeting saw concerned users, families, counsellors and teachers speak passionately about why it should not be moved to the authority’s Station Rise offices. Lara Foster addressed the meeting after previously benefitting from the service: “My life was turned around by Castlegate and the 19-25 services which are facing cuts. Without this my life would have turned out very differently and I may not have been here to talk to you today.”

Hayley Robson, of Young Adult Carers, added: “My major concern is if the service is moved to West Offices I would have to bring young people here and that will mean taking more time away from other carers.” Their pleas were heard and it was decided a new proposal would be drawn up, this time with the involvement of those who know Castlegate best.

This idea was also put to councillors by the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling-In), which suggested the plans were reconsidered.

Cllr Janet Looker, cabinet member for Education, Children and Young People, said: “At the moment I want to take the time to do other consultation and other reviews of the work that has been suggested tonight. We need to look at and consider all of the statistics around Castlegate to make it clear who is using the service.”

Cllr Tracey Simpson-Laing, chairman of the meeting, said the council would learn from what was put to them by speakers, but defended the use of West Offices as an alternative to Castlegate. She said: “This building is accessed by all residents in the city and a lot of them are vulnerable. There are a number of services within the council and we do try and understand all the services, but it’s not until you speak to someone who has used them that you do understand them.”