'Reach for the book' - the 'concept' plan to replace the spiral straircase
The
Liberal Democrat Group on Brent Council have expressed doubts about the Council’s
decision to spend £2m on the £100m 10 years old Brent Civic Centre.
They
said:
The
Cabinet decision to spend an excessive sum of £1.96 million on upgrades to
Brent Civic Centre, at a time when services provided by the local authority
continue to be reduced, is wrong and unjustified.
As a
service-based organisation, Brent Council should always be putting the needs of
residents first and we do not believe that committing this large amount of
money on ‘Improving the Customer Experience’ at the Civic Centre is a priority
for our residents. Most residents are concerned about crumbling and dangerous
local roads and pavements, increased rubbish being dumped in our area, and most
significantly the huge financial pressures faced due to the Cost-of-Living
crisis, compounded by upcoming additional pressures like the increase in
Council Tax and other charges.
It is
difficult to justify spending £1.96 on the Civic Centre building, when there
are so many other areas the Council should be prioritising at this time.
The
Report makes no mention of the number of visitors to the Civic Centre, what the
numbers the current arrangements can cope with and what the numbers the
redesign will be able to accommodate, after spending £1.96 million. Why?
The
Report also makes claims about savings without specifying
what these savings will be.
Brent
Civic Centre is barely 10 years old. We find it incredible that the Cabinet
have been able to identify such a large amount of money for a redesign, whilst
simultaneously claiming shortfalls in the budget exist, which impact the
delivery of services and upkeep of our wards.
It is
accepted by many that, particularly post pandemic, the Civic Centre is not
being used to full capacity. Much of the vast space available for use is not
being utilised as intended, as many Council Officers are able to do their work
remotely and from home. Whilst the Report refers mostly to the customer areas
of the Civic Centre, we believe that a discussion now needs to also begin about
the continued use of the Civic Centre as a whole, given the costs involved for
its upkeep, and the potential for considerable revenue to be generated if it is
used in different ways.
The
Report focuses on the face-to-face public spaces in the Civic Centre as being
in need of a redesign. We do not believe that enough effort has been made to
adapt, at much lesser cost, the existing spaces for ‘customers’ who come to the
building seeking support.
We
believe that further work needs to take place to understand alternative, less
costly action to ensure a better ‘Customer Experience’ at Brent Civic Centre.
We acknowledge that some consultation has been done that has led to the
decision to produce this Report, however we are sceptical that enough people’s
views were taken into account and that a wide range of views were considered in
preparation for this Report.
As
Councillors often in the Civic Centre, we recognise the waste of space in the
mezzanine area. This space should be used more efficiently, as noted in the
Report, however, we see no need for expansive works to improve it.
The
Report refers to the need to create private more secluded areas for ‘customers’
(residents) to have meetings and discussions with Council Officers. There is a
great deal of empty space on the ground floor and the first floor that could
quite easily be turned into private spaces, as is required.
There is
also an opportunity to create a secondary reception area on the left side of
the ground floor, where currently ‘Registrations’ take place. We see no problem
in dual purpose use of that side of the ground floor.
As to the
issues with heating in the building, the current plan seems extravagant and
unnecessary. We want to see officers explore alternative options to regulate
the heat in the Civic Centre, possibly by installation of additional artificial
walls.
Our view
is that better use can be made of existing Hub centres across the borough, in
order to provide a service to our residents out in the community. The money
agreed by Cabinet to spend on redesign of the Civic Centre, can be better used
to improve existing services that are more likely to directly assist residents
with their needs.
Fundamentally,
we believe it is impossible to justify the £1.96 million spend as agreed by
Cabinet. It is the wrong time, the wrong look and could bring this Council into
disrepute if this goes ahead.
Our
residents want to see their Council focus on the issues that matter to them and
for the vast majority that will never step foot in the Civic Centre, this
decision will have no positive impact.