The Wednesday letters page agrees with the backlash against Nvidia’s DLSS 5 tech, as one reader wonders why Öoo was never in the UK Indie World.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

No star review
So the inevitable has finally happened and Starfield is coming to PlayStation 5 (but not Switch 2, for some reason, I noticed). As someone that has played the game on PC I would say now that it is not something to get excited about. I have no idea what the new story DLC will be but the problems with the game are so deep it’s literally impossible for it to fix it.

I really resent that game. It tied up Bethesda for years and is going to lead to something like a 20 year gap between Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls 6. 20 years! And the only other proper game they’ve made since then is Fallout 4. People talk about Sony wasting a generation, but Bethesda has wasted two. Skyrim was an Xbox 360 game, for pity’s sake!

The worst thing is that thanks to Skyrim I have little faith in The Elder Scrolls 6 being worth the wait. Starfield has a shopping list of problems but one of the main ones is that it’s so old-fashioned. The dialogue system, the AI for companions, and the way towns work is almost exactly the same as Skyrim.

And then the one thing you’d want to be the same as Skyrim – the exploration and open world design – is completely missing. Instead of getting an amazing open world with a secret around every corner you get an infinite collection of identikit, randomly generated planets that are about as interesting to explore as Milton Keynes on a Sunday. So no, I would not recommend Starfield to any PlayStation owners.
Korbie

Consumer backlash
GC always says the best way to stay positive about the games industry is to just go away and play some new games. That’s true but the other thing that gives me hope is how the majority of gamers are anti-AI, much more than you would expect of a hobby where technology is so important.

This Nvidia DLSS 5 tech is horrendous and emphasises the fact that AI is attempting the death of art. As if it wasn’t bad enough that all AI artwork looks the same, and it is everywhere because it’s so easy to make, now games have to look like it as well. The levels of uncanny valley are off the scale, while there’s no consistency of any kind (Grace doesn’t look anything like herself in AI-o-vision) and the lighting is terrible – like the game is constantly shining a high-powered spotlight at the screen.

As usual with AI, it’s all a solution to a problem that doesn’t actually exist and as usual I imagine Nvidia and other companies will respond to the intense, and very clear, negative reaction by… doubling down on it all and blaming gamers for not liking it. I don’t know about PlayStation 6 but it is very obvious that the next gen Xbox is going to do nonsense like this and I’m already sick of it.
Zeiss

Ugly future
That Nvidia DLSS 5 stuff is so ugly, I can’t believe anyone involved thought it was a good idea. Do they not have eyes? Digital Foundry is getting so much grief for being positive about it and I can’t say they don’t deserve it.

What makes me laugh about all the comparison images is that the only game that looks halfway decent is Starfield, and that’s because it already had a bland art style with dead-eyed characters, so adding an AI filter of exactly that didn’t make it any worse.

The Resident Evil Requiem shots are laughable though and the idea of video game graphics no longer being what the developer intended but some on-the-fly guessing game made up by the AI is disgusting to me. The future sucks.
Focus

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Secret mode
I love seeing the difference between how other companies show off their new products and updates and what Nintendo does. We get a big blog post and lots of details from Sony about their PSSR tech. Then we get some kind of preview blow-out from Nvidia about their AI thing, which seems to have blown up in their face. And then for Nintendo and their boost mode… they keep it a secret and don’t tell anyone.

I only found out about it from the news reports but giving it a quick twirl it does actually seem quite good. You can definitely see the difference it makes and that’s pretty rare in these instances, in my experience.

Now all we need is an annoucement for that ‘proper’ Nintendo Direct we’re all waiting for. Which could take place anywhere from tomorrow to December. Because it’s Nintendo and who knows what they’re ever thinking.
St1nger

Improved formula
Am I missing something? All Resident Evil bosses are just run around, pop off a few shots, rinse and repeat. Not played Requiem yet but I can’t imagine it’s much different. Not that this is a bad thing but it is part of the formula.

I’m saying this as a massive fan too, but I love the games as an overall experience, in spite of the boss fights usually.
Bobwallett

GC: You are missing that… maybe that part of the formula should be changed?

Spore reproduction
I was thinking of old games that never got a sequel or modern day equivalent and I remembered Spore, which at the time it came out I was kind of obsessed with. For those that don’t know it was by the creator of SimCity and The Sims, so it was a big deal at the time, and was about controlling a species from microscopic organisms to space-faring aliens.

That sounded great in theory but in reality it was just half a dozen minigames that weren’t that great. However, the creature designer was amazing and I had hours and hours of fun creating my own creatures and messing around the editor. It was the only thing at the time better than the WWE creator-a-wrestler.

I think it was a flop, so there was no sequel at the time and to be honest I haven’t heard anyone talk about it in years. I do feel it’s the sort of thing that could do very well today with an update though, as, to me at least, it was basically the Minecraft of its day in terms of you ignoring what the game was actually about and making your own stuff.

One of the big ideas was that the things you designed in the earlier eras carried through to the later ones but that wasn’t really very obvious when you played so I would focus more on that and making it more one game with the same controls rather than a bunch of separate ones. Civilization takes place over thousands of years but it’s still the same game, so something like that.

It couldn’t be an official sequel though, because it was by EA and I don’t see any chance they’d approve anything like that.
Sandlow

Nothing like it
Thanks for the review of Öoo. I had never heard of this game until now and I don’t understand why it wasn’t in the UK Indie World. Surely the whole point of them is to highlight games just like this?

Given the low price I have bought it already and look forward to playing it tonight. I love seeing how unusual and imaginative indie games can be, compared to big budget games. Don’t get me wrong, I love myself a blockbuster, if it’s well done, but even something like Resident Evil Requiem is getting criticised for being original. That doesn’t seem to be a problem for Öoo.
Royston

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Prehistoric gaming
RE: Grackle and Mickah. Having just turned 50, and been around games since I can remember, I have some very old gaming first memories. I think the very earliest one would have been Escape for the ZX Spectrum – a simple maze game where you had to find a key to ‘escape’, avoiding dinosaurs as you ran around the map.

I also remember playing Gorf in the arcades around the same time, whilst on a family holiday to Swanage, and being amazed when my brother told me it was the word frog spelled backwards! (Well, I was only six at the time.)

I’ll try and find the time to turn this into a Reader’s Feature as I’m pretty sure I can remember the first game I played on many formats, including Spike on the Vectrex, Shadow Of The Beast on the Amiga, Pac-Land on the Commodore 64, and Cuthbert Goes Walkabout on the Dragon 32.

Good memories, good times.
Jonathan Foley
Currently playing: Horace (Switch) and Virtual Boy (Switch 2)

GC: We look forward to that Reader’s Feature.

Inbox also-rans
So this Clunkin’ Bell restaurant hasn’t even opened yet? We’re getting leaks and rumours about GTA knock-off restaurants but nothing about the actual game? That about says it all.
Mentz

I’m sorry but if DLSS 5 or anything like it is part of the PlayStation 6 then that’s it for me as far as gaming is concerned. These artless, cynical tech bros trying to destroy art, just because they can’t make it, is revolting to me.
Devo

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Is Requiem the best Resident Evil game?

MORE: Games Inbox: What’s the first video game you ever played?

MORE: Games Inbox: Who will win out of PS6 vs. Project Helix?

JASPER, Ga. (AP) — There was a shooting Tuesday at a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in a small town at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains in Georgia, and the gunman was shot and killed, police said.

A Veterans Affairs employee was taken by helicopter to a hospital after the gunfire Tuesday afternoon, VA spokesman Peter Kasperowicz said.

Jasper police responded to the scene around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the city said in a statement. Outside the VA clinic, the officers confronted the gunman, who was shot and killed, authorities said.

The gunman was from the Jasper area, Jasper Police Chief Matt Dawkins told reporters at the scene. But details about him were not immediately released.

“We don’t know what led up to it,” Dawkins said.

Jimmy Mooney was shopping at a nearby Goodwill store when he heard gunfire.

– It can be difficult to discuss friendships and online contact, but being open, if possible, can make all the difference when it comes to fraud. Get friendly, impartial advice about your online connection from someone close by, who can help you spot holes in someone’s story that you hadn’t thought of yourself.

Hamid Karzai has claimed that the Pakistani government wants to promote “anarchy and weakness” in Afghanistan to ensure the country is “downtrodden”.

Speaking to Sky’s Yalda Hakim, the former Afghan president condemned the bombing of his country by Islamabad.

Fighting began in late February when Pakistan began targeting Afghanistan ​with airstrikes that they claim targeted militant strongholds.

The conflict, which the United Nations estimates has displaced more than 100,000 people, intensified this week when Kabul said 400 people had been killed when a missile hit a hospital that treats drug addicts.

Mr Karzai – who led Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014 after the Taliban were forced from power – said that he had heard the “horrific sound” of the bombing himself, that his house had shaken and that the area around it had filled with smoke and dust.

The strike was, he said, an “extremely unfortunate event” in the history of the relationship between the two countries.

“The government of Pakistan has not been able to live with any Afghan government,” he told Sky News.

“They didn’t do this well with the government and the monarchist regime in Afghanistan and then the Republic and then, subsequently other governments and then the Republic again, during my time in office, I went there 20 times to seek a better relationship.”

He claimed that Pakistan’s current government is again repeating the same attempt to cripple Kabul.

Mr Karzai said: “The unfortunate fact is that the government of Pakistan does not wish to have a sensible, reasonable, civilised relationship with Afghanistan.

“They rely on creating anarchy and weakness and a downtrodden Afghanistan these years, in their interest, which is terribly wrong, which I hope they will change their minds and look for a more stable and civilised relationship with Afghanistan.”

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Afghanistan-Pakistan violence: What’s behind it?

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Afghanistan claims 400 killed by Pakistan in hospital strike
Af-Pak conflict displaces more than 100,000 people

Mr Karzai added that he advised the Pakistani leadership to conduct itself in a “civilised way” with Afghanistan.

“Please stop the approaches that did not work in the past for decades and it may not work into the future,” he said.

Pakistan has said its strikes “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure, including technical equipment storage and ammunition storage of Afghan Taliban” and other militants in Kabul and Nangarhar.

It added that the facilities were being used against innocent Pakistani civilians, and also said “false and misleading” claims that the site was struck were intended to stir sentiment and cover “illegitimate support for cross-border terrorism”.

Those line-ups in black and white. PSG’s only amendment from the 5-2 first leg win is their Georgian star in for Doué. A rather nice option to have.

Chelsea Sanchez; Hato, Sarr, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Pedro Neto; Joao Pedro
Substitutes Sharman-Lowe, Merrick, Adarabioyo, Delap, Fofana, Acheampong, Guiu, Estevao, Lavia, Garnacho, Mheuka, Kavuma-McQueen

PSG Safonov; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes; Zaire Emery, Vitinha, Neves; Dembele, Barcola, Kvaratskhelia.
Substitutes Chevalier, Marin, Lucas Beraldo, Zabarnyi, Goncalo Ramos, Doue, Lee, Hernandez, Mayulu, Fernandez, Mbaye 

Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)

Adios to Manchester City, perhaps forever to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Champions League. If this was the end for a man defined by both this competition and his Barcelona past, it was a sadly fitting exit. For the third year in a row, for the fourth season in five, Real Madrid have knocked City out. This has almost become part of City’s spring; a part Guardiola may not miss. Even as the defeated Catalan said that Jurgen Klopp has remained the greatest rival of his time in England, Real have been his nemesis in Europe.

For Guardiola, his was the brutality and the brilliance of the Champions League knockout stages. City made an epic effort even if, in the final reckoning, they never came close to completing the greatest of comebacks. It was compelling to the last, but decided in 23 minutes before the break in Madrid. City lost over 90 minutes, as they did over 180, beaten by Fede Valverde’s treble in the Bernabeu and Vinicius Jr’s brace in Manchester. “To beat them 5-1, the score says everything,” said Alvaro Arbeloa.

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With a blend of inspiration and desperation, City had mounted a ferocious assault; they lacked nothing in bravery, energy or personality. “They have pride,” said Guardiola. “Everyone was absolutely there.” They had two essential problems: they were 3-0 down after last week in the Bernabeu, a man and a goal down a quarter of the way into the second leg. “Ten against 11 is almost impossible,” said Guardiola.

His side made a valiant attempt, just as City did their best to prove their captain wrong. Bernardo Silva had said that, if City conceded, the tie was over. When they did concede, it was over for him, curtailed by his first red card in his time at the Etihad Stadium. Vinicius Jr converted the resulting penalty. And yet City were indefatigable thereafter: Jeremy Doku was irrepressible, Erling Haaland relentless even when out of sorts, Rayan Cherki offered flair and finesse. The roadrunner Abdudokir Khusanov was magnificent. His powers of recovery were extraordinary.

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But City could not recover from defeat in Madrid. Real’s big names delivered. “I have unbelievable players,” said Arbeloa. Three were decisive: Valverde with a first-leg hat-trick, Thibaut Courtois with first-half saves, Vinicius with a second-leg double. A fit-again Kylian Mbappe had a cameo, but when Real were all but assured of a quarter-final against, almost certainly, Bayern Munich.

For that, they could thank Valverde, who could almost have added to his treble in Madrid with a first-minute opener, and Vinicius. Taunted by the City fans with a chant of “where’s your Ballon d’Or?” – on Rodri’s mantelpiece, the inference was – he got revenge in different ways. Last year, he was greeted by an Oasis-inspired banner reading “stop crying your heart out”. He remembered it. “The last time we came here, the Manchester City fans were making fun of me,” he said. He reacted with a mock tearful celebration after his first goal. He has different kinds of eloquent responses. The man who missed a penalty last week scored one this, gaining revenge on Gianluigi Donnarumma in their duel from 12 yards, sending the Brazilian the wrong way.

It stemmed from his brilliance and came at a huge cost to Silva, often the scourge of Real. Vinicius made a devastating run, cutting in from the left to curl a shot against the post, rebounding back onto Donnarumma, in a move that ended with the Brazilian taking another shot that hit Silva’s arm on the goal-line. “It can be avoidable, say ‘score a goal and play 11 against 11’,” said Guardiola. “But never ever will I blame my player.” City were initially saved by an offside flag; when it was ruled Vinicius was onside, Silva was sent off.

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Referee Clement Turpin’s decision was simultaneously cruel and correct. A disgruntled Guardiola collected a caution for dissent and City have had their issues with officiating in previous Champions League exits; yet this was not a robbery by this particular Turpin as much as an evisceration by Vinicius.

Guardiola may have feared as much. He used to deploy Kyle Walker against Vinicius’s scintillating speed; last week in Madrid, he chose his fastest defender, Khusanov at right-back. Six days on, the Uzbekistani was moved into the middle to allow the more attack-minded Matheus Nunes to play full-back. The Portuguese could not contain Vinicius, who spurned two further golden chances before finally doubling his tally at the last.

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City had forsaken control for chaos from the start. They began in blistering fashion. They might have been behind in the first minute or two up after four: Courtois saved both shots, from Cherki and Rodri. They had two chances in swift succession in their spirited response to conceding: Courtois saved them both, too, thwarting Haaland on each occasion.

Yet no one let up. After a low cross from Doku was deflected off Trent Alexander-Arnold, Haaland scuffed in a shot. It was just his fifth goal in 19 games. Even when Courtois went off at half-time, presumably hurt from being overworked, his replacement carried on in the same vein. Andriy Lunin saved from Haaland.

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Guardiola tried everything: he went to a back three for the second half. He made two double substitutions. He took off Haaland. That the Norwegian, Rodri and Ruben Dias were spared the full game may have saved them for the Carabao Cup final, but City otherwise played like a team with no thought of anything except Real.

They had 22 shots. They might have won the game, if not the tie, but the offside pair of Doku and Rayan Ait-Nouri had goals disallowed. Vinicius had one chalked off in injury time and then scored another, volleying in Aurelien Tchouameni’s cross.

And so Alvaro Arbeloa, the novice, has done the double of knocking out Jose Mourinho and Guardiola. They are managerial royalty, but Guardiola invariably calls Real the kings of Europe. And once again, the monarchs beat Guardiola’s Mancunians.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Franciscans bared an unusual amount of skin for this time of year Tuesday, as a city better known for its chilly summers, drizzle and fog experienced its hottest March in at least two decades, part of a rare winter heat wave baking the U.S. West.

While the Bay Area flirts with nearly 90 degree (32.2 C) highs, Phoenix is expected to top 100 F (37.7 C) this week — something it usually does in early May and has never done before March 26. Las Vegas could see its hottest March stretch ever recorded. Records were also falling in Los Angeles and across Southern California.

It’s a stark contrast to the Midwest and eastern half of the country, which are digging out after powerful snow storms that led to thousands of flight cancellations this week.

Dogs and sunbathers flocked to Crissy Field’s shoreline on the north end of San Francisco, as the Golden Gate Bridge shimmered nearby. It’s unusual for San Francisco to get this hot this early, said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.

It last happened in 2005, when downtown hit a record 87 F (30.5 C) on March 11, part of a two-day heat wave and its record high for the month. In March 2004, the city saw a nearly weeklong heat wave with temperatures around 80 F (26.7 C).

On Tuesday temperatures in the city looked to tie the record.

“It feels like summer already in March. That’s crazy, but I love it,” said dog walker Justyce Roliz.

But resident Jessica Ling noted one challenge for San Franciscans: Most don’t have air conditioning.

“We have our fans going, our windows open, but we try to be outside as much as we can,” she said.

Some tourists are enjoying the warm weather

Elsewhere, cities that are more accustomed to sweltering weather were hitting their own unusually high spring temps. In Las Vegas, there’s a chance temperatures could reach 100 F (37.7 C) Saturday, said meteorologist Brian Planz at the city’s National Weather Service forecast office. That would be the earliest Las Vegas has reached triple digits. Even if temps stay in the double digits, the city is poised to break its March all-time high of 93 F (33.8 C), set back in 2022, he said.

“If people are visiting Vegas this weekend, they just need to prepare for the heat, make sure they’re hydrating,” he said. “This is going to be unusual for this time of year.”

Mark Reeves was heeding the advice, drinking plenty of water, staying in the shade and occasionally dipping into the many air-conditioned casinos. The visitor from New Zealand, who was standing in front of the famous Fountains of Bellagio, said he didn’t think it would be this hot.

But the heat hasn’t dampened his trip.

“For me, this is the trip of a lifetime,” he said. “I’ve never been to the USA before and I may never get here again.”

Johnnie and Darien Anderson were happy to exchange the cold weather in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the dry heat in Las Vegas to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They noted it is less humid than Arkansas in the summer.

Meanwhile, some Western national parks that were preparing for spring break crowds urged people to check the forecast before heading out. High temperatures at White Sands National Park in New Mexico could reach the mid 90s F (around 35 C). Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona was under an extreme heat warning, with temperatures possibly hitting 104 F (40 C) in some places. The message from park officials: Avoid strenuous hiking during the hottest part of the day, which they identify as 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Some cities warn against water waste

Denver hasn’t seen three consecutive March days above 80 F (26.6 Celsius) since 1907, but it could happen again this week, the National Weather Service said.

The heat wave comes at the end of an unusually warm winter that has led to a lack of snow in Colorado’s mountains, which provides the water for millions of people. Water providers in the Denver area have already enacted or are considering limits on the number of days people can water their lawns. They’re urging people not to be tempted to turn on their sprinklers this month.

Shonnie Cline, a spokesperson for Aurora Water, which provides water to 400,000 people in suburban Denver, said it’s possible temperatures could still drop below freezing later, causing any water left in sprinkler systems to freeze and break the lines.

“The sooner you wake it up, it’s not necessarily better,” she said of lawns.

___

Associated Press journalists Jessica Hill in Las Vegas, Colleen Slevin in Denver and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

Ali Larijan was widely believed to be running Iran after the death of former Supreme Leader of Iran is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

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The man believed to have been running Iran since the death of the former supreme leader has been killed in an Israeli strike, according to reports.

One of Iran’s top security officials Ali Larijani, 67, was killed in an Israeli strike, Iranian authorities confirmed Tuesday. Israel said earlier in the day that it had killed Larijani, but it was several hours before Iran confirmed his death.

He was widely believed to be running Iran after the death of following the killing of former Supreme Leader of Iran is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States and Israel carried out joint strikes on Iran on February 28, targeting several key sites. Iran responded by hitting targets across the Middle East and plunging the region into conflict.

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Larijani had been appointed to advise Supreme Leader Khamenei on strategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration and travelled to Oman to meet with mediators just two weeks before the war began.

He was not eligible to become supreme leader after Khamenei’s death because he is not a Shiite cleric, but was widely expected to serve as a top adviser, and many believed he was running the country US-Israeli strikes have driven Iran’s leadership underground.

The Supreme National Security Council said his son Morteza Larijani was also killed.

US President Donald Trump last week threatened to attack Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if Tehran stopped oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Larijani responded on X: “The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran.”

“Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”

Man City  Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Aït-Nouri; Rodri; Cherki, Bernardo, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland. 
Substitutes  Trafford, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Kovacic, Gonzalez, Guehi, Savio, O’Reilly, Semenyo, Foden, Lewis. 

Real Madrid  Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Francisco García; Valverde, Thiago, Tchouameni; Díaz, Guler, Vinicius Junior. 
Substitutes  Palacios, Angel, Mastantuono, Cestero, Aguado, Carreras, Gonzalo Garcia, Mbappe, Camavinga, Alaba, Carvajal, Lunin. 

Referee  Clément Turpin (France)

​A week after plans were publicly announced, North Yorkshire Council bosses have pushed through an ‘asset rationalisation’ plan that includes the purchase of Resolution House by the A64 and a move of staff from Scarborough Town Hall and Ryedale House.

​At a tense meeting in Malton on Tuesday (March 17), the scheme was presented as a way to avoid up to £19m of costs to upgrade “appalling working conditions” at the ageing coastal town hall site, and could see Malton’s Ryedale House office sold to make way for housing.

​​Anglo American, which previously had staff based at Resolution House, began marketing the site for disposal earlier this year, with a guide price of £4.5 million, but officers said the agreed price would be “substantially lower”.

​The in-principle approval of the plan is subject to finalisation of a contract between Anglo American and NYC.

​Local town and county councillors said they were concerned about an absence of engagement and the implications of the move on staff and residents’ access to local decision-making.

​Cllr Thomas Murray, town mayor of Scarborough, said: “Scarborough Town Council was not until yesterday meaningfully included in these discussions.”

​He called for “concrete changes to ensure meaningful engagement with town and parish councils”.

​Cllr Gareth Dadd, deputy leader of North Yorkshire Council (NYC), emphasised that a decision had to be made quickly to secure a favourable deal.

​He said: “We can’t allow our staff to work in the conditions that we’ve witnessed over the past six months.

​“The business case is robust and stacks up. I wish I could disclose everything in the business case, but that will become public when the deal is finalised.

​“The purchase price is substantially lower than the £4.5 million price that’s been mentioned, and we have a duty to protect the taxpayer, and the £15 million – £19 million of repairs needed is not in the public interest.”

​​North Yorkshire Council currently operates Scarborough Town Hall and Castle House in the town, which provide office space for employees as well as customer services.

​The office spaces in Scarborough were described as “appalling” by councillors who added that “windows are falling out” on the upper floors of Ryedale House.

​A provisional sum of up to £750,000 was also approved to support the establishment of new front-facing customer service points within Scarborough and Malton town centres, and to fund costs associated with the advancement of redevelopment proposals for vacated sites.

Gary Fielding, corporate director for resources, said: “The town hall is made up of four buildings and this council has inherited a considerable liability due to an absence of investment by SBC.

​“The town hall site is significantly underutilised – desk utilisation is low, ranging from 14 per cent on Fridays to 42 per cent midweek – and the current proposal is for customer services to remain in the town centre at Castle House.

​“We fully recognise the town hall as a heritage asset, and our aim is to ensure it is properly protected, preserved, and remains occupied and in meaningful use.”

​Cllr Keane Duncan, a former member of the executive who represents Norton, said: “My hope this morning is that colleagues will be mindful of the multimillion-pound gamble this could represent without essential further work being completed.

​”We should pursue efficiencies, absolutely, but we must do so responsibly, with proper scrutiny, meaningful consultation, care for our staff, respect for localism, and full confidence in a business case.”

​Cllr Richard Foster, executive member for managing the environment, said: “I think it’s a gamble worth taking.”

​​According to a report prepared for the executive committee, the scheme would create “minimum ongoing savings in property running costs of £400,000 per annum and savings of more than £20 million in backlog maintenance liabilities across Ryedale House and Scarborough Town Hall”.

​​It said that “the total investment proposed in this report would achieve a payback period of less than 10 years based solely on the ongoing savings in property running costs”.

​Officers said it was “entirely possible that NYC meetings could continue to be held in the town centre” and that, based on the £470,000 annual running cost of Scarborough Town Hall and the number of public meetings held there, each meeting “equates to a cost of £14,000”.

​“I’m disgusted,” shouted a member of the public as they left the council meeting before the decision was approved unanimously.