THERE is hope for jobs being threatened by a property dispute between a council body and a manufacturing business.

City of York Council agreed at a meeting yesterday not to buy a site currently being used by a printing business for York Museums Trust to use as a storage space.

The sale would mean that Barringtons would be displaced with the loss of up to 20 jobs, Mark Snee, managing director of parent company Technoprint told councillors.

The decision on whether the council should buy the unit was referred to yesterday’s meeting after being stopped at a meeting of the full council.

All parties agreed that the council should not act to buy the unit, but that officers would work with both York Museums Trust and Barringtons to meet their accommodation requirements and retain the employment in York.

However, a report to the committee said that York Museums Trust was in a position to proceed on its own and acquire the unit through its own mortgage offer.

Mr Snee said: “This is some good news, that all three political party leader groups expressed their view quite clearly that the council shouldn’t be involved in things like that, which has an effect of losing jobs. But it was made very clear that the museums trust said it has secured its own independent funding. And I have been told it is hell- bent on acquiring the building.

“If all three political parties are in agreement that no way the council should be funding the purchase of that building, YMT, which is entirely funded by the council, would be in defiance of the council leaders’ views if it intends to press on.”

York Museums Trust was not able to comment at the time of going to print.

Coun James Alexander, leader of the council’s Labour group, said: “This half a million pound decision should not have reached full council without the correct information to base the decision upon. In this instance it feels like the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing and this has a negative effect on the council’s reputation.”