£7.5m Shirehall revamp must have 'rock-solid business plan'
A £7.5 million refurbishment of Shirehall must be rigorously scrutinised, it has been claimed.
Alan Mosley, who was the leader of Shropshire Council's Labour group and is standing for re-election, said it is vital to ensure that there is a return on any money spent on the authority's headquarters.
It came after a tender document issued by Shropshire Council revealed plans to spend £7.5 million on refurbishing the 50-year-old building to bring it up to "modern standards".
Councillor Mosley said: "This is a great deal of money at a time when youth facilities are being closed, where other assets are being sold off to finance the massive black whole in the budget that lies ahead.
"We must see a rock-solid business plan related to any proposals and scrutinise it rigorously to see the return on the investment. This is the only grounds on which any expenditure could take place given the chaos about staff and facilities that exist in Shropshire Council now."
Under the refurbishment plans part of the building could be rented out to other organisations.
The council tender is seeking a consultant to produce a plan for the refurbishment work.
Clive Wright, chief executive of Shropshire Council, said that the plan is to ensure the building is fit for another 50 years.
He said: “Shirehall is now 50 years old and, whilst assumed structurally sound with its key mechanical and electrical systems still viable, a number of years of minimal maintenance has had a negative impact on the quality and performance of the building. A number of key items and elements have exceeded their expected lifespan and significant investment is now required to bring the building up to modern standards.
“We’re looking for a consultant to undertake a review of the current building and, with consideration to the operational and strategic objectives of Shropshire Council, develop a scheme that shows how the building can most effectively be refurbished, reconfigured and updated – and ‘future-proofed’ for another 50 years or more.
“This provides an opportunity to consider options to reconfigure the building to make it more suited to modern working, and to create income-generating opportunities including creating innovative shared and/or lettable space.”
The council reaffirmed its commitment to remaining at Shirehall after previous leader Keith Barrow resigned.
Mr Barrow had wanted to sell the building and move the council to new premises.
Mr Wright said that with more staff now based at the building the council needs to make the best use of the space available.
He said: "A greater proportion of our staff are now located in Shirehall, and as more staff relocate to Shirehall it is important that the building is configured to maximise the space utilised. There are also opportunities to bring other organisations into the building, and this increases opportunities to reduce duplication of effort and cost, to again get more out of the public purse and enable people to access the information and services they need more easily."
