I understand that a decision is about to be made about where the Civic Centre will be relocated to. It is not only an important decision for the officers and staff of the Council (who deserve a building that is safe for them to operate in) but it is also an essential decision for the wider community, the taxpayer and the entire town.
The area around the current Civic Centre is somewhat run down and is in need of regeneration, with the Broad Street Mall’s success one of the few bright spots in that area. It looks like Labour wants to move to a building called Plaza West in Bridge Street. It’s quite proper that a process should have been gone through in coming to a decision and I know that there has been all party involvement.
I am, however, extremely concerned that the decision has been made a narrow basis and not taking into consideration wider concerns to do with jobs and growth in Reading. Let me outline my serious concerns. First, I believe that the move to Bridge Street will have an enormous impact on the Broad Street Mall. It is a well run and popular shopping centre, but it has performing better than it probably should partly due its excellent team and partly due to the footfall that the Civic Offices bring. You can of course argue that it’s not the Council’s job to support a local shopping centre and the jobs that come with it.
However, this issue is not just the shopping centre, which brings me to my second concern. The area around the current Civic Centre needs regeneration and urgently. I think that moving to Bridge Street might be a signal that the area will be very difficult to get investment for, particularly if the site isn’t sold as a whole for development. I have not seen or heard of any developed plans for what to do next in that area. It would be a dereliction of duty if Labour Councillors voted to desert the area without a developed plan for what happens next. I hope they will brief me on their plans as soon as possible
Third, the move to Bridge Street, I understand from businesses already located there that the Council’s interest has already had an enormous impact on their commercial interests. It looks like some significant companies will have to move out of the building and that some will move away from Reading – which again could cost jobs at a crucial time economically.
Fourth, I have seen the Council costs to the taxpayer and frankly they are exorbitant. The cost will be somewhere in the region of £60 to £90 million, which is incredibly expensive when many people are struggling with their bills. Yet, I understand the cost of buying the Queens Walk building for example is as little as £4 million. I will want reassurance that the Council has done its sums correctly and worked out the best option for taxpayers. I can’t hand on heart say that it has and therefore I cannot recommend this to my constituents. I believe these costs should be independently verified for the taxpayers’ piece of mind. I do not think the decision should be made until the Council has answered these concerns and the others that exist.
http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2114379_mp_civic_centre_sums_dont_add_up