NEWS UPDATE: University of St John pulls out of plans to buy Union Terrace Car Park...YORK ST JOHN UNIVERSITY SEE SENSE - EVEN IF LABOUR DON'T SEEM ABLE TO...Quite unexpectedly and out of the blue a bout of common sense broke out. Faced with the prospect of months of recrimination and PR disasters with public protests planned for their open days and conferences, the University of York St John made a wise and considered decision to look elsewhere for a suitable site for expansion rather than Union Terrace Coach and Car Park. They obviously value their relationship with their local community higher than any covetous instincts and should be applauded for such a move. I for one wish them well in their quest to achieve the University's full potential. There are suitable sites nearby and the Council should aid them wherever they can. The same sentiments cannot be expressed about Cllr Alexander and his hapless cabinet of "yes" people. For a party who has not been afraid of misrepresenting simple truths it is ironic that faced with inevitable defeat once St John's had made their decision, they didn't even have the political acumen to try and claim that they had listened to the people and had done what's right for Gillygate in supporting St Johns retreat. No - in behaviour reminiscent of a moody teenager Cllr Alexander's charmless reaction of "disappointment" typified the incompetent way that the whole debacle was handled from the start. What Labour have demonstrated in full view of the watching public is that they don't do due process. They don't do detail - whether they're not capable of understanding it or arrogantly dismissive of it is irrelevant - it has to be done. The Labour administration showed a total lack of competence in their procedural methodology. There was no initial public consultation over the potential sale (which fanned the flames of conspiracy) and then when the full facts and consequences of the sale of UTCP emerged, there started the unseemly spectacle of blame displacement regarding supposed previous Lib Dem commissioned "surveys" (no proof has ever been forthcoming from them) combined with a total inability of most Labour councillors to convey to the public and the Campaign Group that they actually were aware of all the facts surrounding the sale. The first public meeting that the Campaign Group held in Bennett's Tearooms next to the Minster was frankly an embarrassment. Senior Labour councillors - including Guildhall representatives Cllr's Watson and Looker as well as cabinet member Cllr Gunnell were quizzed on the finer details of the economic impacts of the sale of UTCP and all confessed to not being in possession of any of the relevant facts and that they were there "to listen". For a group that were going to make the tectonic decision to sell UTCP in just 4 days of that meeting (subsequently delayed) it was a breathtaking and alarming exhibition of incompetence. When we finally and begrudgingly had a consultation it effectively ignored the stated wishes of 22,000+ people who signed a petition for "No Sale". The online consultation detailed 5 options - ALL of which included selling some of the UTCP and which excluded an obvious 6th option if a totally representative consultation was desired. Cllr Alexander demonstrated his contempt for all the hard work that the Save Union Terrace Campaign Group had done to show the council the real voice of the residents of York by personally proposing to delete the "no sale" option at a Labour group meeting behind closed doors. The Campaign Group however were as clued up as Labour were clueless and should be hugely congratulated for the hard work they did on all fronts. It was not just a simple case of harnessing public opinion with their behemoth of a petition - they did far more than this in gathering hard facts about the economic impact of removing Union Terrace as a coach and car park. They knew their stuff and eloquently and convincingly made the public aware of it. They started a juggernaut of a campaign that eventually delivered what all rational people wanted - the preservation of a vital local resource and the saving of many livelihoods into the bargain. We've all got a lot to thank this small committed bunch of workers for. We were however particularly ill-served by a Labour council leader that exhibited all the hallmarks of going to any lengths to ensure that at least some of the coach / car park was sold to York St John University regardless of the wider consequences. Such hubris inevitably led to the ignominy of failure and the inevitable questions of Cllr Alexander's ability to carry out a job of such importance. His current lack of credibility is such that all of his future decisions will be met with more than a significant dose of scepticim and disregard. Do we need a lame duck leader or one that engenders respect and confidence. You'll have to make your own mind on that one. York needs talent, intellect and integrity in its leaders - not obfuscation and cynical political machevellian manoeuvring. Given the calamitous start to such an administration the portents are not good. Cllr Alexander needs to get his act together - and fast.  We wait nervously to see the next faltering steps... Best Regards |
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