Council set to pledge £4m to fix danger concrete ridden community centre - one way or another

The money could also be used as 'match funding' for a full re-build of the site, if external money can be secured for the project.

The council’s Cabinet will next week - February 12 - be asked to identify up to £4m within its capital strategy towards the repair or rebuilding of Whitchurch Civic Centre – and also to agree to an urgent ‘needs analysis’ to ensure that the future configuration of the centre "meets the needs of local people".

The centre has been closed since September 2003 – except for the sports/market hall – after specialist engineers found that RAAC exists across the majority of the Civic Centre complex, and that it has major structural issues.

At their meeting, cabinet members will be asked to identify £4m into the council’s capital strategy for Whitchurch Civic Centre that can be used for two purposes.

Firstly a 'rebuild/redevelopment of the Civic Centre in accordance with the needs analysis if either Government or external funding can be secured'.

Or alternatively 'a new roof for the centre – and other repairs - if no Government or external funding can be secured'.

Following a consultation held last year a working group set up to consider the future of the building carried out a feasibility study into the two most popular options – to either repair or replace the centre. 

The council said the work has also included looking at how the centre can be economically and efficiently run and managed in the future by Whitchurch Town Council.

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for housing and assets, said: "We know the importance of the Civic Centre to Whitchurch and to people who live in and around the town. The public consultation gave us a valuable insight into what people think about the future of the building, and about how they use – or have used – the building.

“We’re proposing to identify £4m of capital funding to help bring the Centre back into use – whether this means a new roof or a complete rebuild will then depend on whether the working group and external partners can secure the additional Government or other external funding that a rebuild would require.

“And before any work takes place we need to establish what facilities and services the people of Whitchurch and the surrounding area want and need, so that the future Centre best meets the need of the town and that it is a viable and fit for purpose facility for the future. “

The working group is made up of local Shropshire Councillors, Whitchurch Town Councillors, and officers from both councils.