The announcement at the latest Without Walls meeting that the Community Cohesion Strategy, "One City", will be launched in September has been met with concern by one of York's leading councillors.

Without Walls member Coun. David Scott has concerns that the consultation will be rushed and merely go through the motions.

"We have been asking for years for there to be a Community Cohesion Strategy for York. I know that there has been some good work done by community representatives and by the Council but I am dismayed that the proposal for consultation is just not good enough", he said.

"Yet again this Council is rushing through consultation with its residents. It is proposed to ‘consult' residents at the end of July to the beginning of August, with the formal launch of the strategy taking place in September. The consultation will take place when many residents may be out of the city taking their annual holiday. "It will not provide a proper chance for residents' views to be taken into account, nor the opportunity for the strategy to be changed to accommodate those views".

"When will the Lib Dem's Leader learn that consultation is not about telling residents what it is about to do, but is a discussion as to what needs to be done with proper feedback given by everyone involved. It is ironic that a strategy that is meant to set the strategy for community cohesion is ignoring the community. York residents deserve better".