Blueprint for the future of York

YORK is changing. The Minster, the ancient city walls and York's historic bars may suggest otherwise, but the York of the next decade will be entirely different to that which we live in now.

Today York is straining. The pressures which face the city are perhaps as great as any which it has encountered in its history.

A growing population is hemmed into an area which still retains a huge number of historic features. The road system is breaking under the pressure. The population is struggling and many people can't afford to buy a house in the city where they were born. But the future is already under review.

There is an accusation that York "sometimes takes for granted" its outstanding historical and natural assets, but that mood is changing.

In March, a controversial report A New Vision for York was unveiled to the city. The report, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation under a watching brief from the Without Walls committee, plans for York in the coming decades.

Today the Evening Press considers that report, looking at York now and the visions contained in the controversial document.

There is increasing opinion that York could do better. And while its half-term grades may be satisfactory, Without Walls is planning for the future.

Later this month, the issues considered in the Vision report will be discussed at a city-wide Festival of Ideas.

By the end of the year, many of the recommendations contained in the report could become the basis of a draft policy document for York in the future.

The discussion has begun.

Tourism

A FIVE-star hotel for the city is vital if York is to capture rich Japanese and American visitors.

Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, says that although four million visitors make the trip to the city each year, York is still losing out on the lucrative overseas market.

Mrs Cruddas said that many richer tourists will not stay in York because hotels do not have the comforts they are used to.

"We have got to lead the way in encouraging standards to be raised. If we got a five-star or another four-star hotel, then we will raise the game."

Tourism is the industry which drives business inside the ancient walls; it is also the subject that generates the most discussion in the Vision report.

York is "not fulfilling its potential as the Gateway to Yorkshire" and is "short of attractions", according to the experts.

One of the more contentious proposals in the report is whether York should once again try for World Heritage Status.

Coun Keith Orrell, the council's new executive member for leisure and heritage, believes there are other priorities.

He said: "A World Heritage bid should not be a diversion from other projects aimed at enhancing pride in our city. We do have a significant issue with underused and unused churches. They are an important part of our heritage that I would like to see protected and enhanced.

"The last bid for World Heritage Status was unsuccessful so any future bid would have to address the reasons for the rejection."

York is also in need of another key visitor attraction to keep tourists in the city for longer, the Vision report continues. The report speculates that such an attraction could use York's burgeoning status as a science centre as a theme.

Mrs Cruddas said the argument that York does not have enough quality attractions is well worn.

"It has been suggested that an attraction could be a feature of the York Central development but it appears that everything is going in there.

"More than 78 per cent of visitors come back to York and people do want to know what's new. That's why we are working hard to put on festivals and events that appeal to large numbers of people.

"In order to remain competitive, we will invest in our existing attractions. We would like to see the galleries and museums get the kind of investment that has been so welcome at Jorvik and the National Railway Museum."

Another important feature of the city's tourism strategy will be strengthening the relationship between guest houses and the budget hotel chain.

Guest houses, the traditional face of York accommodation, are threatened by hotel chains offering hotel standard rooms at guest-house prices.

These hotels, springing up in number in the city centre, have clear economic benefits - encouraging people to stay closer and longer.

Mrs Cruddas said: "It is important to recognise that one of the strengths of these new hotels is that they are bringing positive investment in new facilities and this must be welcomed.

"We are concerned about some of the guest houses, but the best will continue and we will lead the way in encouraging the raising of standards.

"What we want is to offer the widest possible choice of accommodation."

Population

ACT your age may well be a mantra shunned by York's older citizens if population trends continue.

While York's population growth has been immense, nearly ten per cent in just ten years, the number of older residents has also increased.

The Vision report estimates that the number of children aged under 16 nationally will fall by nearly ten per cent by 2021.

Even more alarming is the suggestion that in York, the number of under-fives will fall by 13 per cent in the same period.

In 2002, York's population stood at 181,600 - an increase of nearly 16,000 on just a decade ago.

More people generate more waste, more social services care and a greater demand for housing.

By 2020 it is suggested that quantities of municipal waste will grow to record levels. But an older population will not necessarily adopt an 'older' attitude, the Vision report believes.

"The third age is becoming a second (or for many a first) teenage with the over 50s seeking experiences and identities previously thought unbecoming of someone their age".

York is said to be experiencing an air of rebellion as this group begins to treat their surroundings as "a playground".

Single person households will become the norm and the proportion of under 25s will fall as the number of middle aged and over 65s grows even further.

Household numbers will continue to increase as the size of households decreases, helped by increased life expectancy, more single parent families, a reduced birth rate and higher levels of divorce.

The population is forecast to increase by a further five per cent in the next two decades - hitting about 190,392 in 2020.

A rising population will place even greater demands on York's service providers, with the council likely to demand extra cash to meet increasing budgets.

Transport

CONGESTION charging may ultimately be the only way of preventing increasing traffic levels in York.

The scheme has been hugely successful in London and, while traffic congestion in York declined by 4.6 per cent last year, the number of cars in the city - especially in Gillygate, Bootham and the Inner Ring Road - still causes regular gridlock.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, the council's former transport chief, said: "It needs to be under constant review. If we miss our targets reducing congestion and improving air quality, we don't know what the Government is going to suggest.

"I would hope that we would let the people of York make the final decision."

One group in favour is bus company First. The more cars that are kept out of the city centre, the more people will use its services.

Peter Edwards, commercial manager, said: "We are working very closely with the council to try and find ways of reducing congestion.

"If congestion charging were to become an element of its strategy, then there would be benefits for us if more cars were kept out of the city centre."

Andrew Waller, the council's deputy leader, said: "I don't think we would want to go down that road without exploring the alternatives.

"We have to persuade people that there are ways to get about without using the car."

The alternatives - Park&Ride, cycling and walking - are slated in the Vision report. While council chiefs have lauded new cycle ways and enhanced pedestrian facilities, the report muses: "Though York has at times been a leader in the field of sustainable development... there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it still has some way to go in this area."

Park&Ride is described as having limited capacity and public transport is branded as "relatively expensive" and "unreliable", despite recent improvements.

This assertion is denied by Mr Edwards. "We have invested heavily in a new fleet. The standard of service in York is very favourable when compared with other places."

Also on the transport agenda is a bus station for the city. The debate has raged for more than 50 years but the York Central site finally provides an opportunity.

First, however, is not keen. "The nature of our cross-city services at the moment means that people coming from one side of the city can travel right across it," Mr Edwards says.

"That may be more convenient rather than being shunted to a bus station that might not be in the central area."

Free buses and trams in the inner ring-road? Boat buses? All are among the ideas being touted.

They may be among the more bizarre, but consensus is clear - improvement is needed if the 'toll' is not to ring for congestion charging in the not too distant future.

Poverty

ONE in six people in York is unable to afford a basic diet due to poverty, the Vision report claims. The shocking figures belie York's rose-tinted image as a prosperous city in which to live.

Professor Gary Craig, of Humberside University, reveals that a significant number of people in York are unable to pay housing costs, water rates, have proper sanitation and get basic health, education and information.

His report shows that, despite rising standards of living, life has changed little for some people in York since Rowntree's poverty study a century ago. He says that while York appears to be a prosperous city, and one not typically associated with poverty, it has clear pockets of deprivation.

Mr Craig says this level of extreme poverty has led to ill-health, homelessness, crime, debt and alcohol and drug abuse. Low wages are a major cause of many of the problems and Mr Craig singles out the tourism industry, in particular, for criticism.

Mr Craig writes of York's hotels, theme parks, visitor centres: "The service sector as a whole, despite the arrival of the minimum wage, continues to be low paid and insecure and offers relatively few employment opportunities for training."

Mr Craig says 75 per cent of the jobs in York are "within the service sector" offering "inherently unstable job prospects".

Tackling the persistent poverty levels is difficult in the light of a shift away from the engineering and railway industries towards lower paid service jobs. Relying on tourism to provide work is also regarded as a danger.

Bringing the problem to heel will need new anti-poverty strategies, Craig believes. "The council might like to consider whether it has adequate effective poverty monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and structures in place.

"Creating jobs alone is not enough: the jobs have to be sustainable, adequately paid, relevant to the local economy and meeting the needs and aspirations of local people for good quality, secure employment".

But the York 2020 report believes that little will have changed in two decades time. Inequality will remain and the gap between those who succeed and those who don't will have increased.

Housing

A CRASH in the city's housing market could bring the ambitious York Central plans to their knees, the Vision report warns.

With experts predicting that property prices in York have peaked, the report is concerned that raising the cash to kick-start the city's most ambitious development could falter in the event of a recession.

Developers are said to be unlikely to stump up the £20 million needed if homes and offices may not be filled.

More than 3,000 homes could be put on the huge brown-field site behind York Station.

The report states: "In such a situation, raising the £20 million needed to kick-start the York Central development will be hard unless it is seen as a priority, and developers will not put up speculative buildings without pre-lets."

But York is still not building enough housing to cater for the needs of its citizens, according to council chiefs.

Despite the increasing number of developments popping up at sites inside and close to the city centre, bosses at City of York Council say supply is not meeting demand.

Council research suggests that about 2,000 more homes each year are needed to cater for a growing population.

Alisdair Morrison, the council's head of regeneration, says: "There are an awful lot of planning applications for all sorts of places but there is quite a significant difference between the number needed and the amount of building that's going on.

"There is tremendous pressure to develop housing on suitable and appropriate land. There is the perception that homes are springing up everywhere, because they are quite small developments."

Affordable housing, making properties available for people on lower incomes, is set to be a staple of council policy over the next decade.

As new developments are built in the city, an increasing number of homes will be given over to be sold at 50, or even 60 per cent discount.

Paul Stamp, who specialises in affordable housing at the council, said that unscrupulous landlords would be unable to buy the properties to sell at profit or rent out at exorbitant rates.

"To gain an affordable house, you must undertake that any future sale of the property can only be sold at 50 to 60 per cent of the market value."

York's ability to cope with complicated housing demands will rest on whether enough subsidy for affordable housing is made available by the Government.

Land for homes is also a crucial consideration as pressure will continue to grow should the university expansion scheme progress.

More people in the South of England, attracted by the 'cheaper' property prices in York, may also flood the market.

The report states: "York needs to think strategically about the housing requirements not just of those living locally and unable to buy what they want, but in terms of the people the city will need over the years ahead."

Development

YORK Central is one of the most "exciting brown-field development opportunities in Europe", the Vision report says. But short-term pressures are already chipping away at the potential of the enormous former industrial site - approximately a third of the size of the city centre.

It has become the focus for hope and controversy as would-be developers and council chiefs argue over what should be included in York's biggest development for a century.

Key in the Vision report is the need for high-rise new housing, a new visitor attraction and an integrated transport interchange "recognising the citizens' desire for a bus station".

"Above all, an agreed vision is needed for the site which is consistent with that which emerges from the community planning process. World-class design standards need to be built in from the outset."

As controversial as York Central is, the subject pales when placed alongside the expansion of the University of York.

Yet the Vision report regards the institution as "a fantastic asset for the city, with the potential to become the major growth engine for the local economy". The report concludes that the institution should get the land it needs at Heslington, saying: "The city needs to ensure it delivers the proposed Heslington East land for the University to expand in physical terms in order to retain its top ten position".

Opponents of the expansion are concerned. Jeff Stern, who lives near the proposed site, said: "No one in the village is against the university expansion as such. What we want is to make sure that the alternatives are explored."

Professor Brian Cantor, university vice-chancellor, said: "Many believe that the expansion of the university is absolutely vital to the city's economic future.

"It will also bring huge benefits to the community in new arts and sports developments, new educational opportunities, and new links with local groups and businesses. We have a world-class university which wants to do its home city proud."

Arts and Leisure

PERFORMING arts in York should be developed with a new venue, the Vision report argues. It lists a new medium-sized venue as one of its five desirable developments - interesting but requiring further consultation before becoming part of future policy.

Yet a Vision survey of York citizens found that lack of time "rather than access or opportunity" was the principal reason people were unable to participate in leisure and cultural activities.

"They York people appear largely satisfied and modest in their outlook, with no evidence of significant under-provision in any particular area," the report said.

"Protection of what York already has far outweighs demands for new cultural or leisure facilities."

The York in 2020 report sees an increasing opportunity to create "significant leisure facilities" such as conferencing and hotels.

We can expect to have more free time, with York's inner city terraced areas adopting cosmopolitan and fashionable lifestyles.

Updated: 10:18 Tuesday, June 03, 2003