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Barbican’s new twist

From the archive, first published Tuesday 22nd Aug 2006.

THE latest Barbican delay is either a "minor hitch" or an "appalling blunder", depending who you speak to.

City of York Council leader Steve Galloway insisted last week all that was needed to get the Barbican plans back on track was a minor change to a planning document.

Not so, said Labour's opposition leader Dave Merrett. The latest "blunder" by the Liberal Democrat administration had put the whole future of the redevelopment at risk.

This newspaper isn't interested in political point-scoring.

What concerns us is the quality of sporting and swimming provision for the people of York.

As The Press reported on Saturday, the sale of the Barbican has now dragged on for five years. The centre itself has been closed - apart from the odd event - for months and, because of delays in completing the deal, the new Barbican swimming pool, which the people of this city had been promised, has been abandoned.

It is that last fact which appears to have led to the latest problems. A legal condition attached to the planning permission granted to developer Barbican Venture still refers to the development of a "community swimming pool".

If Barbican Venture is to go ahead, that condition will need to be removed - which will involve the entire scheme going back before planners.

A minor hitch or an appalling blunder? Perhaps the former, if the situation can be rectified quickly. If it can't, the consequences could be dire.

Barbican Venture may have to pull out of the £6.4 million deal. And even if an alternative developer could be found, it would take years to get back to where we are now - during which time the value of the site may dwindle.

That could mean less money for a new pool at Heslington, and less money for a new or refurbished pool in west York.

There might be one silver lining if the Barbican Venture deal collapsed, however. Planners could go back to the drawing board and insist on a new pool at the Barbican, which York people have said all along they want.