Wyre Forest Labour Response to District Council Cabinet letter on £10.5 Million New Offices
Posted by labourblogger on January 27, 2011
The Tory Cabinet letter (Kidderminster Shuttle 20th February) last week does not begin to tell the real story of the proposed new office development and what it will mean for Wyre Forest residents. It is not the right time, investment, or location, it is not affordable and is not a rational decision to proceed in the current economic climate. It is a reckless gamble.
The constant claim that it will save £500k in annual running costs has so far only been made up of “estimates and assumptions.” These were the subject of a detailed response at the last Council meeting from Labour proving that savings of under £100k per year were all that was likely to be forthcoming. The main rationale for spending over £10.5m of your money destroyed but irresponsibly ignored by the Tories and their Liberal and Lib Dem partners.
The Cabinet say they can’t extend Stourport Civic Centre and it “isn’t accessible for large parts of Wyre Forest communities.” So how is an alternative building halfway along Stourport Road more accessible than the Civic Centre? It is hardly the benefit to the community the Tories claim. Government guidelines require major office developments to be centrally located in town centres. The Tories chose to ignore that and have lost an opportunity to bring back into use town centre land in need of regeneration and keep the offices easily accessible to residents.
Regarding funding and the misinformation about this currently being promoted by the Cabinet to justify their profligacy, in rounded figures and simple terms, the development will cost £10.5 million. £7.5million is in the bank. £3 million will come from the sale of current offices and undefined assets. Whilst these sales take place the council will borrow the shortfall through bridging finance. The risks to Wyre Forest Council of being stuck with expensive bridging finance for longer than anticipated are “high” and would be unacceptable to any pragmatic decision maker.
Additional to this however, the Council is also borrowing £1.5m of Capital to part fund the development of the new cemetery, which will need to be repaid with interest from the Revenue Account at a consequential cost to the residents of Wyre Forest. This borrowing would be unnecessary without “Single Site” since the funds would be available for the cemetery instead in the £7.5m of Capital Reserves.
The contract to build the offices is currently out to tender. This closes at the end of February and the Cabinet will decide in mid March who has been successful with contracts being signed by 21st March. Normally this process would take between two and three months. The Tory Cabinet intends to conduct this process in just three weeks. The speed of decision is irresponsible and puts the future financial security of the Council seriously at risk.
So, despite Tory promises that the office development would not cost the residents one penny, money is being borrowed, revenue is being deflected from local services, regeneration opportunities are being overlooked, jobs are being lost, irresponsible and unacceptable risks are being taken, the final decision is being “rushed” for purely political reasons and the Tory Party is misleading the community in an attempt to make them believe it is in the best interest of Wyre Forest residents.
We will shortly release proposals which will put into perspective the points made above. They will show a radical, affordable and sustainable alternative that will make major strides forward in protecting local services, regeneration and job creation. It will put into perspective the Tory office proposals and show there is another, better way.
Yours sincerely
Mike Kelly, Howard Martin, Chris Nicholls, Jamie Shaw
Labour Councillors – WFDC
Kidderminster Shuttle Tories claim new HQ will benefit Community
80% say No to Wyre Forest ‘Tory Towers’
Wyre Forest ‘Tory Towers’ projected savings plan is based on flawed evidence says Barry McFarland
‘Tory Towers’ Press Release from Wyre Forest Labour Party.
