Bradley Stoke Town Council moved into the new premises at the Jubilee Centre on Monday 18th June. Details of the new address and telephone numbers can be found on the website.
This represents a significant achievement as the building was completed earlier than expected and was well within the budget set. Preliminary indications are that the cost is a little over £300k which is significantly lower than the figure of £400k which was previously bandied about. Credit for this must be given to the Town Council staff, many of whom worked tirelessly to achieve this. Notwithstanding the size of the development, this must be one of the few projects anywhere that has been achieved early and well within cost. Additionally the Town Council is now more centrally located and within easier reach of a larger number of residents.
When the loan for the building is eventually paid off (in lieu of rent of circa £30k pa), this new building will virtually represent a free resource for the town.
The decision to build in the first place was made by the Conservative-run council and is both pragmatic and financially prudent. Such a course of action would most certainly not have been made by any other administration
At a later date it is planned to hold an official opening ceremony.
Cllr Roger Avenin, Bradley Stoke Town Council
Photo: The new office pictured during construction in April.
This party political broadcast was brought to you by….
Out of interest, Roger, now the town council is “more centrally located” and in “easier reach” to residents … what exact benefits can we expect?
I’m interested to know what advantage the average Mrs Smith might find from having council services in the middle of the town rather than the north of the town? And was it worth spending £300k of our tax on?
Maybe some more Mall vouchers are in order for those who “worked tirelessly”…..
There are numerous instances of members of the public wishing to contact their local council for a whole host of reasons for which the Council may have juristiction. Instead of being hidden in the north of the Town the council is now available right at the centre ( 2 mins from the Willow Brook ) for the public to ask questions, complain, or make suggestions for improving facilities. Much more preferable to have a one to one, face to face discussion than a long range discourse at the end of a computer terminal, don’t you think Toxteth ?
Regarding the £300k spend I don’t think you have yet fully understood the mechanism. Would you prefer we spent this on rent instead ?