Council accused of letting assets decline

Shropshire Council has been accused of allowing community assets and local services to decline – then using it as a justification for closure, disposal or withdrawal.

It comes after Cabinet approved the closure of Helena Lane Day Centre in Ludlow, and the disposal of the St Andrews building in Shifnal.

Reform UK – the main opposition party on Shropshire Council – issued a press release in which two of its councillors said the issue is whether the administration is presenting to the public a “neutral assessment”, or whether the case for disposal is being shaped by decisions the council has already made.

“This looks increasingly like a pattern,” said Councillor Dawn Husemann, leader of Reform UK.

“Reduce the service, empty the building, limit the options, allow usage to fall, then tell residents the asset is no longer needed.

“That is not transparent decision making. It is exactly the sort of process that undermines public confidence in the council.

“I am not saying every difficult decision can be avoided. But residents deserve to know whether these assets and services have genuinely failed, or whether they have been placed on a path where failure became the most convenient conclusion.

Talking about the St Andrews building, which used to be a youth centre, Councillor Thomas Clayton (Shifnal North), said: “Shifnal is a growing town that has taken significant housing development and is under increasing pressure for community facilities, not fewer of them.

“Shifnal Town Council did not walk walk away from St Andrews, It engaged constructively, looked at solutions and tried to work with Shropshire Council.

“The question residents will rightly ask is why a community asset in a growing town has been allowed to deteriorate, only then to be labelled surplus.

“If Shifnal is expected to take the housing, it must be treated fairly when it comes to facilities local people need.”

However, leader of the council, Heather Kidd said Reform “need to check facts before going to the press”.

“Reform has misunderstood the objectives of our administration in the delivery of services for the residents of Shropshire,” said Councillor Kidd.

“We are committed to delivering a range of services where possible but, given the tight financial squeeze, we cannot afford to keep unsustainable services.

“We cannot afford, for example, to ask taxpayers to pay £151,000 for a service for a very small number of users such as at Helena Lane.

“The assertion that we are cutting services to sell to building in is also untrue.

“We do not own Helena Lane (it was built under a PFI contract) and we are continuing to provide the building as a facility for the community.  Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t sell the building. They are just playing politics.

“As regards St Andrews building in Shifnal, it’s a great pity the local Reform councillor hadn’t spoken to the town council.

“Shropshire Council has been in long term discussion with the town council about taking it over. However, the previous long-term lease holder had left the building in a very poor state of repair and they decided it would not be financially viable to take on.

“In both cases, Reform can’t want us to cut expenditure and then oppose economies we have to make to keep the commissioners out, balance the books and do the best we can for residents.

“Shocking bandwagon politics”