The Conservatives – Paul Healey

Build on and enhance existing community initiatives & be open and genuinely participatory for local residents:

I’ve taken the liberty to answer these two questions together.  One of my campaign policies is to have an Urban parish for Micklegate to promote more local decision making so would be very supportive of local residents and groups taking an active interest.

 

Promote a safe and healthy community:

Not too sure that the Council/Network Rail or any Public/Private body promotes unsafe or unhealthy communities. However if your question is more should it follow the Councils Transport Hierarchy, then it obviously should. But that’s more relevant to your following question.  Please could you elaborate as reading your website hasn’t helped either.

 

Take a holistic overview of transport needs for today and in the long-term with special regard to pollution, traffic management and environmental concerns:

Taking the above question and this together I’d like to see the roads on the outside joining the existing network then the buildings/public space pedestrianized.  Also with no means of driving across the site to reduce through traffic.  Infrastructure added for later additional charging point when electric cars become more popular.  The Council already restricts the number of parking spaces for new developments but I’d be concerned about spill-over into the surrounding area as new residents parking zones aren’t universally popular due to the cost (currently £49.25 to £133 for the 1st car).

 

Promote job creation emphasising start-ups and encouraging entrepreneurs:

As this is going to be a high-cost site and the Council is going to use the resulting Business Rate income to pay the debt for the infrastructure I’d being promoting it to the National/International companies where the employees can commute by Public Transport principally train.  More suitable locations, such as the Guildhall and Blake House exist for start-ups and entrepreneurs that are much cheaper.  That’s not too say a private company may not want to sub-divide a large space for individual companies such as Internet incubator or Regis etc.

 

Build on York’s heritage to promote research, education and training e.g. for railways and tourism:

The existing plans already include the Railway Museum requirements which I support.  Additional school space maybe required but that maybe better provided off-site rather than a new school.  Network Rail already has a training facility there but I don’t know of any other research, education and training organisations that require space where this would be a suitable site.