Scrapping Telford council HQ will save millions, says Labour group
Thursday 12th May 2011, 7:00PM BST.
A vow by Telford & Wrekin Council’s new Labour rulers to scrap the building of new civic offices will save the authority “tens of millions of pounds”, it was claimed today.
Party chiefs reaffirmed their determination not to move to a prestigious new headquarters, allegedly costing £40 million, in the Southwater area of Telford after claiming the borough faced a spiralling mountain of debt.
Labour group leader Councillor Kuldip Singh Sahota, who is set to be elected council leader at a meeting on May 26, claimed the authority already had to pay about £3 million-a-year in debt interest and that would rise to £7.5 million-a-year by 2013 if all the building plans of the previous Tory administration were realised.
Councillor Sahota said: “We will not be building new civic offices. That will generate a saving of tens of millions of pounds.”
“The sale of our existing headquarters at Malinslee House on the outskirts of the town will generate some money but not nearly enough to cover a new civic headquarters. Relocation costs will also have to come out of that money.
“We will be able to accommodate council staff at existing sites, such as Darby House in Telford and offices in the new civic quarter to be built in Wellington.”
Councillor Sahota said every £1 million of debt left the council paying £75,000-a-year in interest.
He said: “We have to stop debt increasing and to do that we will change the way we deliver services in co-operation with communities and service users.”
Conservative group leader Councillor Andrew Eade said he did not want to comment on Councillor Sahota’s claims until he had seen the financial projections.
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Er, so they’re making cuts and slashing projects to reduce the budget deficit?
Obviously the Coalition government message is finally getting through to Labour.
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Rodney- it really makes you wonder why the local Tories couldn’t understand the national message!
There’s no doubt that the decision not to build new civic offices is the right one. A genuine good news story.
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The proof of this pudding will be in the arithmetic and, as ever in property – location, location, location.
Can the new Labour-led council find a building of sufficient size with the necessary up-to-date technology infrastructure to enable it to relocate both the staff in Malinsgate House and possibly the staff in Darby House? Whereabouts in the borough is this building?
The simple answer is – it doesn’t exist. And if it did they can’t afford it. Councillors may be keen to save money, but offices and a Council Chamber in a converted industrial building are not only unlikely and wholly impractical, they are incompatible with the egos of the individuals involved.
One really has to ask – was the promise to ‘scrap’ the new council offices a commitment senior Labour figures knew well was an unachievable dream? Should the Labour win in Telford therefore be referred to the Electoral Commission on the grounds of blatant lies in their campaign literature? And all councillors who used that commitment now be disqualified?
Look at the recent case involving an MP who lied in his literature.
If the people of Telford have been wilfully misled, then that is the only fair outcome.
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7.5 % interest rates?? Why ??? its like 0.5% at the moment, surely the council as a massive group with very secure credit can borrow at ultra low prices?
or is it PFI rip off credit card rates ?
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I hope this decision doesn’t affect the Southwater project. I know previous storys have commented on this.
If it is done right, the southwater project will be a great investment in the town. And should bring new life into a dying and outdated Town Centre.
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Looks like labours political point scoring could cost Telford it’s one chance to really try and put it’s self back on the map as a modern Urban Town where people WANT to live rather that the current 70′s designed Island filled mess.
They used the “Tory Palace” to try and win votes, and now they have to follow through with their promise and risk ruining a plan that would have truly brought Telford in to the 21st Century.
All I can say is well done all of those people that fell for their rhetoric and voted for them.
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The development will bring Telford town centre into the 21st Century. Not the whole of Telford. Investment is needed in all areas of the borough, particularly district centres to keep the local economies going and provide facilities for people who live in that particular area.
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Yes but remember that the conservatives had the borough towns initiatives.
As a new voter I have been absolutely disgusted at what Labour have done in Telford and Wrekin, Blatant lying and twisting of words to desperately get back into power.
The whole Southwater project is in jeopardy because of greedy politicians and mislead voters. Labour have nothing to offer.
In a recent Electoral campaign flyer all labour had to say was that; ‘The conservatives are spending 40 million pounds on the new council palace and introducing 35 million pounds of cuts.’
ITS NOT A PALACE ITS A BUILDING!
LABOUR INITIATED THE SOUTHWATER PROJECT(INCLUDING NEW CIVIC OFFICES) WHEN THEY WERE IN POWER 5 YEARS AGO!
LABOUR BLATANTLY HAVE NO INTEREST IN WHAT IS BEST FOR TELFORD!
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It’s not all doom and gloom, Ham. They may have duped the electorate, but the reckoning already cometh. Lots of interesting characters in this new Labour group and some internal disharmony, too. They’ll manage to continue this charade for a while, but I don’t expect they’ll win many friends amongst local people or council employees when things start to go pear shaped. It’s a shame, but the election can’t be undone, so you may as well just sit back and enjoy the show. It promises to be fascinating and I’m sure there will be opportunities for audience participation. Some senior Labour figures are going to be wriggling like worms on a hook!
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I’m sure that with the council re-establishing relations with Hark Apollo (the town centre’s owners) they will ensure that investment is made in the town centre. After all, Eade was the person who destroyed the relationship between the last tory administration and Hark Apollo.
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But I don’t think we need more shops? We need bars and restaurants, a proper town centre which doesn’t close at 6 o clock
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And Hark Apollo are private sector and only interested in wringing maximum profit from their investment in Telford town centre. Do not make the mistake of thinking for one moment that the needs or concerns of the local electorate will in any way influence any decisions they may make. They were tickling the Labour group’s belly which, if you live in the Borough, I cannot believe you think is something to be encouraged or applauded.
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Some council officers and Labour councillors seem to have Stockholm Syndrome regarding Hark Apollo.
“But Hark Apollo are our friends!”
No, they are not your friends, they are in business to make money.
“No, they are our friends, we tell you!”
Have it your own way. But time will tell.
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Labour accusing the Tories of running up unsustainable debts and the Conservatives using the public sector to try and stimulate the economy. Has the world turned upside down?
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lol it is odd right
tories are like that though, they lie about the debt but they are the ones who invented PFI and encourage people to get credit cards and deregulated 150% mortgages, actually the financial crisis was caused by tory thatcher reforms in the 80s, so really not suprised tories in telford want more debt
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What 40million? Isn’t that the council offices that were going to cost the taxpayer, NOTHING?
Was someone telling us porkies?
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Madness.
Telford and Wrekin will be the council without a home, with officers spread betwqeen buildings in different towns!
Anyway, as Labour have not set a budget, how can they make such big changes that are not costed?
This will all end in tears for Labour.
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i got a better idea right, scrap telford council and merge it with herefordshire and shropshire – they are already showing the way being unitary, why not have one super marches council with only one cheif exec, one website, one legal team etc, save a fortune and you could still have telford, shrewsbury and hereford as town / city councils to do basic legal things but it would be a) cheaper and b) i think more logical things like the a49 goes through all counties so why manage it individually or school children who live in leominster but go to school in Ludlow, why not manage that all together
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