Concerns that new Civic funding plan is 'high risk'

10.16.15am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 29th Aug 2006

Guildford Borough Council has endorsed the £20.8 million funding plan for a new Civic Hall, in spite of Liberal Democrat concerns that the plan is 'high risk'.

The decision to proceed with the new build project had already been taken by just five members of the Council's Conservative Executive, with no Lib Dem councillors entitled to vote. At the Council meeting on 24 August, Conservative and Labour councillors voted in favour of a funding plan for the new build which included nearly £12 million from 'potential capital receipts'. Liberal Democrat councillors abstained after expressing concerns that no risk assessment had carried out on the reliability of the cost estimate and the uncertainty of the assumed capital receipts.

Cllr Vivienne Johnson, Lib Dem Spokesperson on Property, pointed out the risks in the funding plan:

• It assumes income from property sales at Slyfield, Bedford Road, the Lodge at Tyting Farm and the Friary extension. There is no certainty about the amount of income from most of these sites.

• Costs on major construction projects have escalated sharply in recent months, and there had been no assessment of the possibility of increased construction costs for the new Civic.

• If there was a shortfall, the Council would have to borrow, and rates for borrowing money are rising.

Cllr Johnson made clear that the Liberal Democrats hoped that the finances would work out, since the decision of the Conservative Executive to build a new hall meant this was the only way Guildford residents would get their Civic back. Cllr Johnson said after the meeting "The problem is that the Conservatives closed the old Civic before they had guaranteed plans for its replacement. The Liberal Democrats would not have closed it - we wouldn't start from here. Since the Council is starting from here, I sincerely hope that the finances work, and we get our Civic Hall back sooner rather than later. But we have serious concerns about the affordability of this new Civic, and we did not feel able to support such a high risk funding formula."

Liberal Democrat councillors were horrified to hear the Conservative Lead Member for Finance and Resources suggest that the Council's Housing Account could be temporarily raided to help meet any shortfall in funding for the new Civic. Cllr Tamsy Baker, Lib Dem Spokesperson for Housing, said "Money set aside for housing should be sacrosanct. The list of people in housing need in Guildford gets longer every year, and it is quite outrageous to consider borrowing from our much-needed housing fund as a contingency plan for this huge capital project. This just confirms our fears that the Conservatives haven't really thought this through."