Council offices to close after having no visitors in two years
Wednesday 30th June 2010, 2:45PM BST.
Council offices in a Shropshire town are to be closed in a cost-cutting measure – after it was revealed clerks working there had not welcomed a single visitor in two years.
Members of Craven Arms Town Council decided to cancel an arrangement to lease an office at the town’s auction yard, which it had run for two years.
It is believed the move will save the authority around £2,500 a year.
Councillor Roger Conway, vice-chairman of the council, said to his knowledge none of the past three clerks had received a visitor to the office since the premises opened.
He added that Shropshire Council already had a presence in the town at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre.
“Our clerk does not need the accommodation and it’s costing us £2,500 in rent,” said Councillor Conway.
“Since we opened the office we have had a change in the system of local government and Shropshire Council has a presence in the town at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre.
“It was a worthwhile exercise at the time which has since been overtaken by events.”
Council clerk Eric Williams said he worked from home in Ludlow.
He added that he often received calls at home during evenings rather than during the day.
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Typical council, takes them 2 years to notice.
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Err, no. Read the article. They’d agreed to take the lease out for two years.
If they’d cancelled before the two years were up, they’d have to pay some sort of penalty for early termination. Or faced court action for breach of contract. Which would probably cost more than letting the contract run its term.
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