The fate of the former Peasholme Hostel for the homeless was sealed last night after the council leader refused to put the building back into use before it is demolished.

Labour Group leader Coun. David Scott put forward a proposal to have the building used either by a charity or a commercial organisation in the interim period, but council leader Andrew Waller would only confirm the building's demise in response.

Coun. Scott said:

"This is an horrendous waste of a perfectly good building whilst we wait to see what the Hungate site will eventually be used for. We have no way of knowing how long it will be before the site can be brought back into long-term use, so this decision is precipitous and wasteful to say the least. It is just another wasted opportunity.

"We fully support the move to attract Civil Service jobs to York, which we hope will happen following the budget announcement last month to move 15,000 jobs out of London. But there is no point proceeding on the assumption that this will happen until we receive a positive response, which will take time.

"In the meantime what we will now see is a perfectly good building demolished with no prospect of anything appearing in its place for the foreseeable future. The Executive has failed in a major way to do anything useful where the Barbican is concerned and my fear is it will clear this site and then see it sat baron for years, serving no purpose, in the way the Barbican is.

"This is further evidence of waste and a desperate attempt to remove evidence of the waste of the Executive on the failed Hungate HQ, where millions were lost. Residents expect and deserve far better".