Shrewsbury's Shirehall saga to go back to council cabinet for decision - as leader says empty building is costing £400,000 a year
The final decision on the future of Shrewsbury's Shirehall will be taken by the council's cabinet.
A paper containing a new option for the dormant former Shropshire Council headquarters was put before the authority's full meeting last week.
It was the latest development in the ongoing saga of the landmark Abbey Foregate building.
In December the council's Liberal Democrat administration passed a motion that the building should be demolished, and the site used for a mix of housing, medical facilities, and extra care facilities.
The decision was a departure from the previous council resolution that the empty site would be solely used for housing.
It was taken amid concern that the council could go bankrupt and be taken over by government commissioners who would simply sell the site and leave the authority with no control over any development in a key Shrewsbury location.
But, with opposition over the lack of time afforded for the council to consider the change before December's meeting, dissenting councillors forced a concession: the motion would pass as long as the authority formed a group to examine alternative options for the future of the building.
That 'task and finish' group's report includes recommendations which offer a considerable departure from the council plan.
It makes a host of recommendations - the first of which is to pause any demolition plan for six months.
Other proposals are to form a cross-party group and use the six months to develop two approaches to the future - looking at demolition and redevelopment, against retention and refurbishment.
The recommendations also suggest the council look at both 'joint-venture' plans for the site, as well as private sales.
At last week's meeting councillors voted that the report and recommendation should go to the authority's cabinet for a final decision.
During the discussion Lib Dem Council leader Heather Kidd revealed that the building is currently costing the authority £400,000 a year to stand almost entirely empty while providing no council services, which are now delivered from its current headquarters at Guildhall in Frankwell.
The task and finish report urges the council not to make an "irreversible" decision, and says Shirehall's "best days can still be ahead".
It states: "Once gone it’s lost forever, and Shropshire will never have a civic centre worthy of our great county again."
Speaking last month Councillor Kidd said the authority could simply not afford to refurbish the building without significant private sector support.
She said: "I would love to be able to use the council chamber, have some renovated council offices that fit the staff we have now, that were nice to work in, and be able to sell the Guildhall - but realistically with an improvement board watching what we spend and what we need to save, unless something happens very quickly we will have to go down the path we are already going down."
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