Good call, I was also going to mention this until I saw your comment.

It appears there are many UK city sites that are trying to implement these principles. Given that the principles include accessibility guidelines [0] and transparency of intent [1], I'd prefer to see more city sites designed this way. (That is if the sites in question faithfully implement the design principles)

Regarding the site OP linked, even if a little glossy, it's certainly not a disaster of usability. In fact, I tend to believe in the aesthetic-usability effect [2] in the case of not-so-design-savvy users, the added sheen might actually motivate them to use the city portal more often.

[0]https://www.gov.uk/designprinciples#sixth [1]https://www.gov.uk/designprinciples#tenth [2]http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/emotion_design_at.html