Just ten days after the Tory-Lib Dem government was unceremoniously disbanded by the Westminster electorate, the same partnership is being tried in York.
The Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups are to join forces to run City of York Council after the local election left no one party with a majority.
Tory leader Chris Steward will become leader of the council. His Lib Dem counterpart Keith Aspden becomes deputy leader.
The new council executive will consist of four Conservatives and four Lib Dems. This move will be authorised at the annual council meeting on Thursday (May 21).
What they said
Cllr Steward said the arrangement would “give direction and focus for York’s council”.
He added:
We will drive forward on the priorities we were elected upon of keeping council tax low, prioritising frontline services and delivering a Local Plan that protects our Green Belt.
“This will also be an administration that engages with and listens to residents and we will respect the views of other parties.
The Labour and Green groups had been “offered a seat at the executive table” to give their input Cllr Steward said.
Lib Dem leader Cllr Aspden said the election proved “that residents wanted change from the way Labour has run York since 2011”.
The new administration would “put the priorities of residents first”. He said:
Crucially, we have come to an agreement to radically alter the Local Plan in order to protect the Green Belt and the character of York. This is not something Labour were prepared to consider either before or after the local elections.
Yearsley Pool will be kept open and the services offered at Castlegate will be protected. We are also ruling out further charges for green bins and cuts to the frequency of grey bin collections.
They have also pledged to put a new governance system in place to ensure “decision-making is done in public with transparency and cross-party input”. You can read the full agreement here (PDF).
Policy – what’s in and what’s out
The coalition has agreed a 12-point plan which “seeks to provide stable leadership and puts the needs of residents first before narrow political interest”.
So what’s in and what’s out?
In: Green Belt
“We will prepare an evidence-based Local Plan which delivers much needed housing whilst focusing development on brownfield land and taking all practical steps to protect the Green Belt and the character of York.”
In: More bin collections
The coalition pledges to reintroduce additional winter green bin garden waste collections and cancel Labour/Green budget plans to introduce further charges.
There will be no cuts to the frequency of grey bin collections.
In: Yearsley Pool
The new administration will “focus resources into frontline services” to ensure the under threat swimming pool stays open.
Increased spending on “road repairs, streetlights, gulley cleaning and litter bins” is another pledge.
– Coalition
In: the Living Wage
“We will support the Living Wage, support voluntary organisations and develop financial inclusion work with measurable outcomes.”
In: Ward committees
Ward committees are to make a comeback, supported by “a very significant increase in funding so that communities can make greater decisions about local services”.
Out: Guildhall as digital media arts centre – and other ‘vanity projects’
A plan to turn York’s historic Guildhall into a £9 million digital media arts centre has been dropped. The new administration promises to:
In: 29 Castlegate
A recommendation to close the drop-in centre for vulnerable young people, 29 Castlegate, will be reversed – although the location may change.
“The services currently provided by the Castlegate Centre will continue to be provided at a suitable city centre location that is not West Offices,” says the statement.
The new council leaders also pledge:
- to continue to support Children’s Centres, youth services, and apprenticeships in partnership with local businesses;
- extra support to help pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Out: More 20mph funding
The council will “support rural bus services and in communities where they are needed”. But there will be “no further expenditure on blanket 20mph project”.
In: Local business support
This promise is to “ensure that local businesses are adequately supported by helping them bid for council contracts and cutting red tape”.
And there will be “work to ensure that York gets a better deal from regional partners”.
In: Value for money
The new administration will:
In: Recycling
As well as their pledge on bin collections, the coalition has a two point pledge to reverse the decline in recycling. They promise to:
- Work with residents and commit to an aim of increasing recycling to 50% through extra investment;
- Develop a long-term plan to cut the council’s carbon emissions and re-establish a Green Jobs Task Group.
In: Health and social care review
The 12th and final coalition pledge…
The reaction
A spokesperson for the Labour group, which had run the council since 2011, said they would issue a response on Tuesday (May 19).
Green Party leader Andy D’Agorne, who saw his councillors double to four in the last election, said that it was “a big disappointment that the opportunity to build a cross party administration that reflects the views of voters has been lost, because the two largest parties (Labour and Conservatives) are not prepared to compromise in the interests of York and its people”.
He added:
However I can understand that the Liberal Democrats have come down in favour of the best deal for them, with better concessions on changes to the way the council operates than Labour were prepared to offer.
We will work with the new administration on areas where we agree and will welcome the strengthened ward based focus and commitment to focus on limiting expansion into the Greenbelt.
However we will continue to push for an independently chaired expert advised commission to come up with solutions to the challenges of congestion and traffic pollution in York.
The numbers
With 26 seats between them – 14 Tories and 12 Lib Dems – they comfortably outnumber the party with the most number of seats, Labour with 15.
Even if the former leader of the council, Labour’s Dafydd Williams, were to form an alliance with the four Greens and two independents it would still only add up to 21 votes.
| Party | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 15 seats | 6 |
| Conservatives | 14 seats | 4 |
| Liberal Democrats | 12 seats | 3 |
| Green | 4 seats | 2 | Independent | 2 seats | 3 |
What other projects would the new councillors deem as vanity projects? It seems to me that a good number of projects and arts groups are emerging in York and this small cultural revolution must be encouraged. It isn’t providing arts experiences for the benefit of the few, it is bringing culture to those who may otherwise miss out and who benefit immeasurably. I’m not involved with Artsbarge but I became aware of it as a small, perhaps slightly disorganised, outfit with a dream of making the arts more accessible in York. This wasn’t vanity, it came across to me as sheer dogged determination to do something about the lack of small-scale arts activities and opportunities in the city. Through this determination I was delighted to see them achieve funding and become a more organised unit with clearer goals. How are they supposed to continue to prosper if they are not given the outright support of the City’s council leaders? They need to be taken seriously and the people of York deserve to hear more about their various events and achievements through more council-initiated publicity.
It is a shame that some people see The Arts Barge Project as an easy target. The term “vanity project” has become some kind of knee-jerk shorthand to insult any particular project that some see as wasting money. There has been plenty of money wasted by the City of York Council over the years on all sorts of things but the Arts The Arts Barge Project could never be considered a waste (of time or money) This project has been working towards a long-term goal for over 8 years now: to provide a unique premises, utilising the river as a venue for a mixture of artistic activities, many of which will benefit members of our community who do not currently have access to creative activities (which are life-enhancing, as opposed to simply wealth creating). While we do have to make savings and concentrate on income generation to a reasonable extent, if that is the only measure of a successful society, then we are really missing something. To be a truly successful community, we need happy and fulfilled individuals, and art is one of the most important outlets for people to express themselves and so feel fulfilled. The Arts Barge Project is staffed by volunteers who do not take a wage, and they deserve our support so they can go on to the final stretch of the project, gaining more funding from crowdfunding sources and grant funding bodies. Let’s get behind them instead of attacking them, please!
Arts Barge is essential to York, and not even council funded. How can it be a vanity project?
York is one of a tiny number of cities that has no arts centre. Of course, any city can manage without an arts centre, just as an individual can manage without culture but a city with less culture is less civilised. Arts centres play an important part in the life of a city. They help vitalise the social environment, creating networks of people with an interest in music, theatre, dance, and art. They help create economic benefit because people from out of town and tourists come to the city to participate. Small arts centres often grow into larger ones. All the major European city arts festivals began in a very small way with projects like the Arts Barge. (The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which brings millions of pounds into its city started with a tiny group of enthusiasts). Thousands of hours have already been given to the project by volunteers who are absolutely committed to the future of the City of York as a working and cultural environment. Of course York can manage without an arts centre but the city will be a brighter place when the Arts Barge is up and running. It is mean spirited and unworthy of decent York councillors to attack expenditure on such ventures by labelling them as vanity projects.
We join with many others in being appalled that the Arts Barge should be considered a vanity project and its funding threatened. We have been to many Arts Barge events that have brought innovation, creativity and fun to varied audiences of all ages. To lose all the huge amount of voluntary work that has gone into this project would be tragic. Rowena Field and Adrian Lovett
How exactly is the Arts Barge a “vanity project”? Community-based art is vain? I am only a recently transplanted resident in York, and I guess I have a lot to learn about the politics here.
For a city that relies heavily on tourism and visitors from surrounding areas, it’s a bit rich to call schemes that attract these visitors vanity projects. I mean, this is York we’re talking about here, not Croydon.
I am shocked by the awful wording of “vanity project”. How dare the new coalition defame The Arts Barge project. They absolutely do not speak on my behalf as a resident who chose to live here because of the vibrant arts scene I saw when coming to study here 20 years ago.
The Arts Barge is run by Volunteers and runs events for free for local residents. Someone please get the person who claimed they were a vanity project to explain themselves publically.
Utter Bollocks! About time! People choose their own “culture” and do not need guidance!!!
Can I add my voice to those who have expressed disquiet at the characterisation of the arts barge as a vanity project.
As is evident from the comments already expressed, that ‘project’ carries the support of a great number of York’s residents, myself included (and, for the avoidance of doubt, like many of them, I have no connection with anyone involved in the work itself. )
The council should reflect upon the fact that the arts are one of the few areas of modern BRitish industry where we truly lead the world, not merely creatively but in terms of commercial return. Having reflected upon it, it should then consider afresh its current short-sighted stance.
Wow, straight in for the kill. A society starved of art and culture is at risk of becoming bereft of soul. How sad the Arts barge, a project that has been tirelessly worked a lot longer than a fly by night coalition are unceremoniously dumped along with the fantastic media centre. Quite fitting for Soulless Tory/ Libdem hatchet job. A sad day for the city and its residents.
The arts and social/community activity should never be deemed as “vanity projects”, this shows a lack of understanding in what makes a rounded human being.
First off I’ll declare an interest …I’m a long standing supporter of the Arts Barge project – I think the work they have done has been valuable in making York a vibrant place to live and visit and their ambitions for a permanent floating art centre in our city make sense both socially and as a sustainable business proposition.
The Arts Barge team aren’t asking for, and have never taken, a single penny of York residents council tax spend – they were invited to apply for, and after an arduous selection process, won European Union funding (EIF) to bring the project to life
This money comes from the European Investment Bank (not from the council) and is earmarked for inward investment in SME projects that bring business development, employment and social benefit to the city …not one penny of which can be used for grit, bin collections or anything else.
Going back five years Mr ‘Call Me Dave’ Cameron was banging his tin drum about the need for the ‘Big Society’ … us, the people, taking hold of the responsibility to deliver social, arts and community projects outwith of ‘big government’
Many of us saw that as central government washing their hands of the youth services, the arts and public spaces and citizens advice bureau’s and all the stuff that make the world just a bit better and a bit easier in order not to have to raise taxes or rates by a single penny in a time of ‘austerity’
The Arts Barge should be part of a poster campaign for the Tory agenda, not a political football to be kicked around in the churlish school ground politics of York City Council – it’s an example of the ‘Big Society’ in action!
The Arts Barge does need the councils support – not in money – but in practical ways. It needs a council that., in their words, “ensures that local businesses are adequately supported” by helping with the planning process for a suitable mooring and actively , and publicly, supporting the project so that corporate funders (who will hopefully be supplying the majority of the money required) will feel confident in making their investment.
No one in their right mind could imagine the Council ever paying out money on building the barge when vital front line services are under such pressure – and no one has ever asked for that to be case – what the Arts barge needs is encouragement, assistance, belief and respect – if the City (and our esteemed local media) just gives them that then I’m sure they will deliver something truly remarkable and a major addition to the social and arts scene for residents and visitors alike
Thanks David. Important that some of the myths around this sort of nonsense are put right.
It should be further noted that for the limited amount of capital Art Barge have actually received in funding from any source, they have delivered exceptionally high “value for money” – they’ve created or been involved in numerous cultural events around the city, provided community support works and education, and generally contributed enormously to the arts culture which makes York such an attractive destination and such a great place to live.
If the council want to “reassess” their support for such cultural endeavours in York, they should bear in mind that they are a significant contributary factor to the council’s own revenue creation. It would be a feat of quite staggeringly myopic idiocy to attack the very thing which makes York so special.
Explain how investing in culture and the community is vain?
4th June, 6.30pm, 41 Fossgate
“Vanity Project #3”
Come and discuss the future for creativity and contemporary thought and practice under the new coalition council, and how we can action ideas, work together and fight back. Key speakers and agenda to come, visit our website for more info harperandcarr.co.uk/plans
This is a disgrace.
So what are they going to do with the Guildhall and that spare £9M? Are we getting a Thatcher museum for the north too?
Put quotation marks around “vanity” – otherwise it looks like YorkMix agree with the Tory/LibDem coalition. Is that your editorial stance, YorkMix?
Arts are essential for a civilised society. Money invested in cultural projects brings rewards in investment from business and tourism. A vibrant arts culture makes a city great.
I think investing in the arts in York is hugely important, not just as part of being a civilised society but also for the local economy – partly by attracting tourists but also with local film production companies etc who attract work to the city.
The Arts Barge has been shamefully misrepresented on many occasions, by the media sadly and of course by successive opportunistic politicians looking for an easy target for a cheap sideswipe. York needs more culture not less, and it is worrying that one of the first statements by our new ConDem council should take such a tone. York is missing a blindingly obvious trick by not investing more in the arts and culture. It us incredibly difficult to get culturally enriching projects off the ground, leaving a vibrant York arts scene with too few outlets. The tireless voluntary efforts of the Arts Barge collective should be held up as a shining example of what is possible with genuine passion and work, rather than denigrated for the sake of lazy point-scoring.
I hope the Arts Barge project IS reviewed, and publicly. Then it will be seen how its funding works (it is not a burden on the council) and how its activities enhance the community and represent an increase in economic activity, and how their vision offers York a unique attraction for visitors and residents alike.
York is for old people who just want somewhere comfortable to die.
We need to get back to supporting the residents first and foremost who provide the council with the money through council tax !!!! York’s roads and pavements are atrocious !!!!
Agree about the condition of the roads. Handing back all the money from the lendal bridge “experiment” must be stinging too.
Vanity projects are wasting money when the council is £2m in the red!!!
This is bordering on business defamation. I hope that Yorkmix are considering their editorial stance on this. Our project has been exploited as shorthand for ‘waste’ for long enough don’t you think? 5 people, 5 years, voluntarily working to create a community arts space on a barge in the centre of York because it’s the only long-term affordable way we could do it. A fantastic track record of community arts events FOR FREE to the people of York because WE took the time and initiative to pursue arts council funding to make these things happen. Not for personal gain but to make the city we live in a better place to be. Politics should be better than this.
That guy used more exclamation marks than I did, so I concede he is right.
I AM a resident. The funding we received would never have been used for roads, bins, grit, paths or any of the other spurious claims made for it. You may not be aware of that but our local politicians are. It was funding specifically ring fenced for development of business.
I used to like Tories but now I’m not so sure.
Just kidding, Tory scum readers! You’ve always been despicable.
In what possible sense can The Arts Barge be considered a vanity project? This is disgusting. The council need to qualify that comment (which I don’t believe they can) or retract it.
Absolutely. Statement needs to be retracted as soon as possible, what a damaging thing to carelessly throw out there! This gives zero consideration to the immeasurable amount of work that has gone into the arts barge project and the fantastic things it has achieved. I’ve watched it be built up from its early begginings and it’s a unique and brilliant idea that york is perfect to accommodate. Before targeting the arts like some pathetic throw back to stalinist Russia, the council might want to consider the impact that it’s going to have on future creative projects in york. Naming and shaming the Arts Barge Project is an act of ill considered Toryism, trying to win ill educated votes based on the use of emotionally laden buzzwords. And while they’re trying to look like they have Yorks best interests at heart, they are still planning to develop massive housing associations on our beautiful green belt land? Can’t they chose one of the other? Do they need to wage war on both the arts and nature?
Vanity projects?! Don’t they realise that investing in new and unique projects, such as the arts barge, not only supports York’s thriving artist community, but also increased revenue for the city. As these projects become more and more established, they will attract visitors to the city. Visitors who bring their spending money along with them. It’s good PR for York, good business sense, and good for the local community.
Identifying the Arts Barge as a “vanity project” demonstrates a woeful lack of understanding of the AB mission, and the positive impact projects such as this have in our communities at many levels. I worry for our city.
Vanity projects?! Investing in culture is not vanity. the cultural industries are one of the continued success stories of this country, and this city in particular.
How is a ‘community ‘art space a vanity project !!!! ? It wasn’t so long ago that I was working in a youth club that was getting shut down apparently the conservatives see youth clubs ” pandering to the needs of children ” they were the words !!!!! It’s not all about money ! It’s terrible that a political part representing the city would bad Name any community collective from the city like that !!!!!! Shame
Yup
Heaven help us then.
20 mph speed limits seem a good idea. Other ideas seem quite good.
It has been widely demonstrated that 20mph restrictions are entirely innefective, mainly because drivers feel frustrated by being “bossed about” by what they perceive (rightly or wrongly to be nannyism. It actually makes sense to remove restrictions and rely on courtesy!