I thought readers might appreciate this posted on Save Preston Library Facebook page earlier today. Brent Green Party has been raising questions about the £100,000,000 plus cost of the new grandiose Civic Centre for several years now. The prime site is adjacent to Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium which will make the Civic Centre Public Library unusable by the public on event days.
To be fair the project was mooted under the previous Lib Dem-Conservative administration and agreed at the time by Labour. There have been doubts expressed by all three major parties since, at various times, usually during elections, but the project (championed by ex Chief Executive Gareth Daniel) lived on.
That is a truly dishonest poster , and I think it's quite shameful of you to post it.
ReplyDeleteFacts:
1. The Council have openly shown that the Civic Centre will SAVE money, not COST money
2. Money raised from parking legally cannot be used for anything other than highway maintenence. So that is an out and out lie.
3. Paying officers seveance saves the Council money in the long run, because their salaries are then not needed for years ahead.
This is by far the most distasteful thing I have ever seen on you blog. You should take it down immediately and apologise.
Closing our libraries by Brent Labour is a far more distasteful thing than that poster.
DeleteOh and Anne John's "you can buy your books in Tesco's" now that's Distasteful.
Posting this does no mean I endorse every dotted i and crossed t. However to take your points one by one.
ReplyDelete1. The Council argued that that the Civic Centre was at 'no cost' to residents but had to borrow money to pay for the land and the building. The 'no cost' was based on recovering the money spent on the Civic Centre over 25 years at £4m per year. The projected savings for 2014-15 in the budget statement were far less than that.
2. Parking revenue goes into the highways benefit allowing funding from the main budget to be reduced. This can result in 'savings' or be spent elsewhere.
3. We have not be told how much severance was paid but the council has not cut the posts so the successor officers will still be paid comparable salaries.
Has this hit a raw nerve?
ReplyDeleteObviously it has Margaret and that nerve will be alive till the next council elections!
DeleteUnfortunately, for anonymous poster, the Council has not shown that the Civic Centre will save money - net. Here's an Overview of Democratic process, Funding and FOI results scrutinised by Brent Greens over recent years. The most laughable claim - if it wasn't also highly negatively consequential in terms of funding gap - is the Council's contention that WE - people of Brent - wanted the Civic Centre all along. This is the consultation that we never deserved, right? Because the excecutive elite already knew what we wanted, even if we didn't realise it now, stupid! Sound familiar?
ReplyDelete