Residents of Dorchester town will be able to vote in an official Town Poll on Thursday 22 April 2010. This site is to allow residents from the rest of West Dorset to have their say.
Do you agree with the proposal of West Dorset District Council to move from their present head-quarters in High West Street to a new multi-million pound office block which they propose to build.
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The WDDC should be made to seriously consider the offer of office space at Poundbury. Rather than the current off-hand dismissal a full study/report should be made and the findings made public. No further action on a move to Charles Street should be taken till that time. If a saving of over £3 million can be made by moving to Poundbury this should be prioritised. The WDDC should be made accountable to the whole population of West Dorset, they are, after all, supposed to be public servants and act in their best interest.
Why is it that almost any commercial/industrial planning eventually gets the go ahead in West Dorset. Lidl (at various locations) and others such as RWM at Yetminster initially get an initial rejection but eventually and predictably get through the planning hurdle. I find it hard to believe, but it is rumoured that palms in Dorchester are occasionally greased. Why should anyone make such allegations?
At a time when the government is cutting back on expenditure to get us out of the financial hole that we are in it is irresponsible and wasteful of tax-payers money to go ahead with this scheme.
There seem to be other areas of waste also:
I drove through High East Street at 5pm on a sunday evening, not a car n sight but two traffic wardens out strolling – no doubt on weekend overtime, another waste of tax-payers money. Likewise, The Gove has been bereft of cars parked during the day since the meters were installed – how much revenue have they raised? Who thinks up these great ideas?
This proposal on the present location would be as I understand the third time a planning application has been made. Previously compulsory purchase orders have been made already by the council and the planning application was turned down. This will result in a community church that will be removed and a council towerblock in its place well above the Dorchester skyline for 12.8 million pounds. This project should be reported to the Office for Budget resposibility as an excessive waste of taxpayers money and referred to the dustbin forever.
1 In this financial climate it beggars belief money should be spent on this. Who is making a profit on this deal?
2 It would ruin an airy open space which makes Dorchester the special ancient market town that it is.
3 If we want stress and to visit ‘anyothertown’ we have Weymouth or Bournemouth or … many others.
4 Councils who are deaf to the wishes of the general public have really been in office too long.
5 Please keep Dorchester special. It is not a gritty big town, where you feel under pressure.
It beggars belief that DCC are there own appraisai persons that approve or not the building of new offices. I think that the coalition governments attitude on SAVING money should be adhered to – THIS Conservative led DCC should actually listen to the electorate, just not ignore US! When one thinks of the possible library (Places of learning !) closures, just to give a bunch of wannabees a posh place to park their rear ends, I cannot help but say, “Stop the world I want to get off.”
Basically, this is an utter disgrace and further waste of taxpayers money to carry on with the planning application.
STOP it now, you know it makes sense.
I signed this petition back in April but it seems that the Council are determined to ignore the people they are supposed to represent. Any councillor voting in favour of this ill advised scheme can rest assured they will not get my vote at the next council electiom
I agree with Garry Cooper,June 8th.
This is an inappropriate use of funds in the current financial situation
A Council that makes such a proposal cannot be relied upon to make decisions based on wisdom and best use of resources available but are guilty of misdirecting funds and gross mismanagement
A building will not improve performance
Appropriate application of funding will
This desire of the WDDC leadership to build new offices for themselves in a prestigious location is nothing more than empire building and elitism.
If the current offices really are unsuitable and a move is warranted, the WDDC should take the opportunity to move their offices to an industrial park.
· Far lower cost
· Easier to get to
· Parking for the public
· Will not add to traffic congestion in Dorchester
I could go on but the advantages of being located on an out of town industrial park are all too obvious but probably not to someone from the WDDC or they would have considered this option.
I entirely agree with Gary Cooper’s comments above – what a time to even think of going ahead with such a project.
I agree entirely with Gary Cooper’s comments above – what an unbelievable time to even think of going ahead with such a project.
The point made by a previous comment in respect to available office space in Poundbury is well made. If the current offices really are past their sell by date then renting other facilities in the locality should be the resolution, especially given the current economic climate. If our Council sees fit to grant themselves this new office block then I feel we should question BIG TIME their credibility to run our affairs and continue in power.
The reduction in the central government grant for Dorset has just been announced but still the bureaucrats insist on expensive new offices in the heart of the town. What arrogance. If and this is a big IF, there is a need for moving to new offices, then this building should be in Poundbury. However the whole scheme should be put on hold until the future of local government structure has been decided. Half of my state pension goes on Council tax and I would prefer not to lose any more.
This scheme will ruin this part of Dorchester and damage businesses that still managing to thrive despite the financial down turn.
Council offices and their attendant parking requirements should be located on the perimeter.
This is typical of peaple full of their self importance
This proposed development of Charles Street is totally inapropriate and unnecessary,large office developments
such as this should be located on the outskirts of the town, not in the centre.
If indeed the re-location of these offices is at all essential, which has not been established, to commit the ratepayers to a £15 milion plus expenditure, must be viewed as truely wreckless and out of order. As servants to the public listen to the majority, and halt this madness now.
This the worst possible time for any Council to increase their spending, especially as the reasoning given is unjustifiable. Even if Stratton House is old and unsuitable, it does not justify spending millions on a new build. Here at Poundbury are plenty of unoccupied buildings and it is a crime to see them standing empty, some even have large car parking facilities attached. Furthermore I note that the car parking spaces will be reduced from 500 down to 482 and the Acland Road Church will also need to be relocated. What sort of improvement is that? It is a totally misconceived project. Please record a big NO on my behalf.
The people WDDC ‘consulted’ were not asked if they WANTED the new offices – they were asked which of three locations would they PREFER. Brewery Square came out top – although only about 300 people were actually canvassed i.e. .005% of the electorate. The Chief Executive said that WDDC would not take any notice of the Town Poll result as it represented less than 3% of the electorate.
I am not a mathmatician but have I missed something?
WDDC has made much of the 2 years or so of ‘public consultation’ that it claims to have undertaken. But this was not consultation, it was simply 2 years of hard sell. Consultation means asking for and sharing views, and then acting upon the consensus. The only time WDDC actually asked for our opinion was in its own referendum, which resulted in a resounding rejection of the plan. Clearly this was not what they expected, having already spent thousands of our tax pounds on their concerted publicity campaign, and so they have decided to ignore the result and dismiss it as ‘unrepresentative’. Such arrogance will reap its own reward in time, but by the time of the next council elections, the damage will already have been done.
It does rather beg the question; we already know what the developers will get out of it, but what are these councillors ACTUALLY expecting to gain?
It’s a bloody disgrace. The nation is supposed to be in the biggest financial mess ever. Council Tax increases every year. No police on the streets. 28 million of our money squandered in Iceland (second worst Council in the country). On top of all that – they want new offices, with massive staff cuts imminent. Unbelieveable. As for the Civil Service, can we have some “transparency” by publishing the salaries of the top officials in County hall?
We are all going to have to pull our horns in and our new coalition government is spearheading this ethos. Council jobs will most probably diminish over the next few years the consequence of which is less employees, less office space required and therefore no reason to waste precious financial resources on a new build. West Dorset County Council please join the real world and wake up the global and our country’s critical financial situation. This county is one of the poorest in the country and the proposal to waste the public’s financial resources on such a scheme borders on criminality. Listen to the people!!
How to Object?
How to Object to the Plans (for the WDDC Charles Street development).
dorchesterforum.com
Check it out NOW.
Tell everybody ASAP
Up goes our council tax again – well, it has to, doesn’t it, to pay for these wonderful new offices which are totally unnecessary. WDDC is the only district council in the area which isn’t providing insulation grants for houses belonging to those of us who are under 70 – well, of course, it needs the money for the offices. Money for rural bus services? No, spend it on the offices! More kerbside recycling? No money: it’s needed for the offices. I agree with those who say that if Stratton House isn’t fit for purpose the council should move to one of the many vacant office blocks in Poundbury.
The first my friend Joan & I heard of this forum was yesterday. No-one else had heard of it either so clearly in rural areas the publicity of any form of public consultation has been very inadequate.
She joins me in saying that now is not the time for massive expenditure of this kind. Make do & mend & improve the energy & working efficiency of what you have. And use your own staff for ideas. Do not waste our money on ‘experts’ ‘advisors’ & ‘consultants’
Who knows whether West Dorset District Council will exist in five years’ time? But we would still be paying for new offices.
As major building projects like these inevitably go over their initial, estimated budgets, there is a high risk that the final cost of delivery would be very much greater than £15M.
‘…but is anybody listening?’
No, WDDC are NOT listening.
They need a wake-up call: it’s time for a protest.
Why should people have to go to Stratton House to ask their questions? Many people in outlying areas can’t get there anyway. WDDC should go out to them. WDDC should have gone to the meetings in Dorchester and Bridport. The sessions at Stratton House were organised only AFTER the adverse publicity, not BEFORE these plans were well underway.
The protest meetings were NOT political (although someone will always read politics into them because of who organised them) – people (myself included who voted for the leading party at the last local elections) went to them to have their say and – if WDDC had had the decency to turn up – to get answers to questions. No one was playing politics – I was just glad that SOMEONE had bothered to organise them. People are not stupid and can think for themselves – this matter is nothing to do with politics (as Robert Gould himself said in a Council meeting!) it is the West Dorset people TRYING to give their opinion but is anybody listening?
In view of the opinions expressed on this blog I was surprised when I attended the well advertised (Echo and WDDC newspaper) briefing at the Council offices on 19 April to find only 12 people present. There was a good opportunity to question the Chairman and Chief Executive about the proposal rather than at a frenetic political meeting. Where were you all, who complain about lack of consultation?
Spend a bit of the money on road repairs…the roads round Yetminster are little better than farm tracks since the big freeze. There are many other worthwhile projects too, as mentioned by other correspondents here. WDC should learn from the sorry tale of the former Salisbury District Council…spent millions on new offices and were then “reorganized” , no longer needed all the space but were unable, legally, to withdraw from the contract. At the end of the day, it’s OUR money they want to blow.
This is definitely NOT an appropriate time for West Dorset County Council to be considering a new ‘palace’ when all civic services are facing cuts in their future expenditure.
It is time that the County Council takes note of the opinions of those who elect them.
I hope we shall all take the opportunity to show what we thing of the majority party at the next County Council elections!
spend the money on important things like the oportunity group for the children and the hospital such as maternity and special care for babies the children are our future but with out enough resources for them how can they be and other areas of the hospital.
I think it’s gross to spend that amount of money on new council offices when so many other things really, really need it.
Given the Government’s drive for e-commerce, surely a lot more of the council’s work could be done over the internet, with people working from home? The offices will cost twice as much as we are being told (which isn’t much by the way if you don’t live in Dorchester!) and may well end up half empty. Wasting taxpayer’s money at a time when people are being asked to make do with less is unforgivable. It would appear that elected representatives locally as well as nationally have forgotten who elected them and what they were elected to do.
I find it very hard to focus on such an issue, re the such a vast sum of money to be spent from the public cofers on an office block when the whole country is in finnacial meltdown. I will not listen to ANY political party that informs me that the UK economy is on the right track. So to reiterate, my household has to make cutbacks due to the economy AND I can see no earthly reason to re-house the WDCCC in trappings of gold! Make no mistake the £15,000,000 will not be the end of the money being spent.
There are several locations on Puondbury that are vacant and ready for WDDC to relocate if they have too. I must admit that the working conditions at present are bad with offices that are not very nice. But why spend so much money on a new location when there is a custom built location next to the new fire station on Poundbury??????
I agree with Hytch and Golden, and it makes no sense to say we have to spend so much more of what ultimately will be the tax payer’s tab, in order to build a complex that proposes to ‘save’ and spare us more expense. How will that be then? Are we going to have our taxes reimbursed? And as Golden points out: sufficient support could be given by careful thought and consideration to managment. I have noticed that the Bridport employment office is under threat of closure. Does this mean that the unemployed of this locale will have to travel miles further to receive support? Outrageous and an example of neglect poor management; and dismissive attitudes of others whom fall on hard times! As a taxpayer, I have a preference to spend my tax supporting my community and enterprises that will empower others not enslave them in poverty and ignorance
Can I question the requirement, in these days of easy communication of any large scale office development. Try thinking out of the box of central offices! Working from home, or using remote mobile connections is perfectly possible for many council staff, and creates opportunities for work /life balance. Less commuting, less overheads for the Council and we, their pay masters, will benefit. In times of financial crisis we need to be bold about where costs can be saved, and this office block is one of them. Upgrade the existing building stock; it will be cheaper and kinder to the environment. Otherwise, down the road of the 21st century, we will find this building project will be out of date before it is completed.
I believe the WDDC have a responsibility to ensure that the historic building they currently reside in is put to good , full and efficient use. Lease out part of the builing instead of wasting it. This is an issue they must sort out immediately and one less deal made with ill reputed developers would certainly save money, prevent unnecessary disruption and waste and help preserve the character of Dorchester. When WDDC and DCC amalgamate those special new offices would be far too small. Planning appears to be nothing but a service for the big boys. This disaster MUST be prevented.
another fantisy dreamed up by people who are totwly out of touch with the realality of working and living in dorchester. How about sorting out the traffic problem in trinity st and building a proper coach station, for a county town not to have a proper trafic management plan in place in this day and age is plane stupid. This new fairy land proposal to redevelop charles st has been on going for over 30 years and like a hory old chestnut gets dusted off every few years when some counciler wants to try and make a name for themselves, the proposed plan with underground parking will only attract more vagrants and drug users to the town only now they have some where to sleep and take there drugs.
This proposal will proberly go thrrough when the DFS Sale Ends or the Devil ice skates down south st
.
I disagree with the building/ moving of the WDCC offices to new premises, especially at this time of financial restraint.
Not only is it a matter of building expense, no doubt it will be a new IT installation, as this can’t be moved overnight, so more hidden expenditure.
Please remember, that this is OUR money (council tax payers) your wish to waste. Yes may be grants available, but they will still be money from local council payers.
I reside in an old cottage, c1850, and if I wished to move, I couldn’t afford too, so will have to stay here, and make do. You can’t afford to move, so stay and make do, like us ordinary citizens.
Maybe this money, you have available to spend on a new building, could be better spent, eg repairing all our roads, from potholes. Yes I know, leaving potholes is a cheap way of traffic calming, but what value a critically injured driver, passenger, of fatallity.
A new recycling centre, away from Bridport town. How long has this farse been going on?
Very little building work here in the UK, ever comes in on budget, or on time, often nearly double the budget, and late in completion, so how much hidden extra, has been set aside I wonder?
Obviously you have never heard the saying
“Make do and mend”
Won’t go on any more, other than to stay
STOP, STOP, STOP, this total waste of money.
Unfortunately, people mistakenly think that just because a political party backs an issue, that they themselves are (by association) supporting that party.
Which in itself is foolish because we are all in this sinking ship (of financial debt) together.
So, political or not, we all need to come together, and fight this unnecessary, expensive folly (the WDDC Charles Street proposal).
Vote NO on the 22nd April.
There is another forum (without political affiliation) on this topic.
dorchesterforum.com
Rather than build new offices for West Dorset District Council which has already probably cost a fortune in Consultants and council officers time already, it would be better to finally bring all the councils together in one single “Council”. A Unitary Authority like other parts of the country. Dulication would be reduced across the current 7 councils that operate in Dorset at present. Surely between this existing resource there is already enough office space and buildings to carry out Dorsets functions. This would make savings (money, office space etc) on all job types from Chief Executive to administration, technical and manual staff. It would also reduce the number of Councillors claiming expenses across the county. Dorset talks and holds too many meetings with not enough action and results coming out of these activities. The pathfinder project is too slow with small savings compared to what may be had with a Unitary Authority. Finally this is not what this land was originally earmarked for, it was to bring Dorchester into the 21 century shopping wise and to put it well and truely on the map as the County town.
I understand that the large office complex down by the Royal Mail Sorting Office is empty as everyone has moved out to Weymouth. Why not use that?
With reference to ‘propaganda’ – I, like most other people, am capable of thinking for myself and do not ‘swallow propaganda’. Robert Gould said himself at a Council meeting that this is NOT a political issue.
A huge office block in the centre of an historic town would be horrendous and, let us not forget, the proposed offices are the only buildings due to be built first. As we all know, costs do not keep to original forecasts – Salisbury’s DOUBLED. I can foresee any other retail development, after the offices, being ditched through lack of funds. I am very sceptical after seeing the last two retail development schemes for Charles Street being abandoned – people are still asking why. At least those schemes were publicised beforehand. This project has not had county wide publicity – ask people who live in the villages (I have). I wonder why?
I was at one of the Council meetings as a member of the public when one councillor actually said “Why does the public have to be consulted anyway?”. Just who does she think will pay for the new offices?
The people of West Dorset are not stupid. After thirty years of Charles Street being a ‘top priority’ according to Robert Gould, now is the worst time for such an edifice to be constructed, with loss of staff and huge borrowings(as proposed in their leaflet)and at this low point in the economy for everyone.
Apart from Andy Worth and Gordon Morris,other contributors appear not to have given consideration to the arguments. The only view they swallow is Dr Farrant’s propaganda. Read what is being proposed. You may then discover that this is not some profligate council carelessly throwing away taxpayer’s money with abandon, but a very carefully costed long term money saving exercise, with many benefits in other areas. Sometimes it is wise to invest in order to accrue benefit.
The council has a duty to ensure that the energy efficiency of the existing building is improved regardless of who owns it – it is required to reduce the amount of CO2 in West Dorset and passing the buck does not negate it of this duty. This building will need to be improved to meet anyone’s requirements and as the impacts of rising oil costs hit home then public money will increasingly be required to retro-fit more older buildings. Far better to be investing in a retro-fit now than pass the problem on to someone else and expend even more embedded energy and carbon on a new build. This project is ill-conceived.
When I e mailed Mr Gould (at the end of January)on the subject of consultation with the public he replied that there had been a visitor survey inside the WDDC buildings! That hardly seems a sufficient or satisfactory method of consulting with the electorate. When I also pointed this out to my local councillor Sarah East, she had nothing to add to the answer from Mr Gould. All very unsatisfactory!
What are the the connections between the District Councillors and the developers of the proposed new offices? Surely Council Tax payers are entitled to a declaration of interest from councillors.
I am very against anymore building/infilling in Dorchester.Our county town has lost that special impact it had when I first came to live here 8 years ago, and rather than being unique, it is fast becoming like everywhere else.It is losing those interesting little individual shops,which Sherborne fortunately still has.Traffic jams are now an everyday occurrence.
Please stop this urban sprawl.Poundbury has destroyed our beautiful countryside and views, and once lost,it has gone for ever.I say a big NO to new council offices.Perhaps they might like to relocate to vacant office space in Poundbury where the damage has already been done!
It is apparent that there are several questions which WDDC have failed to answer in presenting there proposal for their new headquarters. Firstly, do they really need to move their offices at all, and if so, why do they need to do it now? Secondly, if their argument for moving is accepted, why do they believe it is appropriate to place the offices in a busy town centre which is already under pressure, from local people and those from surrounding villages, who need to come into town to shop etc? Thirdly, how can the construction of more new business premises in the town centre be justified given the considerable number of vacant commercial premises now dotted all over the town and given the additional commercial outlets likely to come on stream in the Brewery site and in the further development of Poundbury. Fourthly, how will the proposal be affected by the probable demise of the WDDC when a unitary authority is introduced. Finally, if the Library is to be part of this complex, given the enormous amount of land already occupied at the Top of Town by the Dorset County Council, and given the emergence of a unitary authority surely the Library/County Council site is the obvious location for new WDDC offices – which should most sensibly and cost effectively be in portacabins located on the large DCC car park.
It worries me that the people who have to work in a decaying unsuitable building don’t have a say in this matter.(I don’t work there) Most commentators seem to have a crystal ball that predicts with certainty that doom and disaster will result from this proposal. I have seen many good ideas that might have had a positive outcome for Dorchester fail through negative speculation. All I can see is an opportunity to slim down one part of local goverment, save a considerable amount of money into the future, and have a much less damaging energy profile compared to the present premises. Seems plain common sense to me!
Just Say No (and more importantly…get others involved).
Unfortunately, we’ve become a withdrawn, blinkered, couch potatoe, and indifferent culture – unaware of the real world – a situation which can easily be exploited by people with powerful interests.
Many can remember the beautiful architecture of Dorchester’s original Post Office; now vandalised by conversion to a Starbucks!
If Charles Street Development gets built, it is a safe bet that there will be emtpy retail space, inevitably being developed and ‘bought-out’ by un-wanted American-style shopping mall establishments such as McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and without doubt, another Starbucks.
NO,NO,NO
In this week`s Blackmore Vale Magazine there is an interesting letter from a Former Leader of Salisbury District Council regarding the decision there to relocate.
In the end the whole thing apparently became a white elephant. I suggest this article should be compulsory reading for all members of the Council and would be of interest to many locals, who care rightly expressing concerns
West Dorset council tax payers should be aware that it is not only their district council which is backing this extravagance: their county council too is aiding and abetting the process. Dorset County Council has included this new palace of dreams into its long term strategy by arranging with WDDC that its new central library should be housed in the new complex. Thus the proposal has already been given the blessing of ‘the municipal mind’ hereabouts no matter what the area’s voters feel about it.
Spending £15 million on an unnecessary office block is misguided, unnecessary and ill advised in these changing times. Thorough public consultation across the whole of West Dorset is needed. However, whether Messrs Clarke and Gould are prepared to take the peoples view into account is dubious.
With unification of local government the chances of WDDC existing in a few years time is a matter for consideration.
15 million, how many homes would this build for those that cannot afford to purchase thier own?
Could it be that those in charge do not fall into this category hence smart new offices are High priority.
Lets hope this election brings about some much needed change in attitudes.
Rather reminds me of the new Land Registry offices project at Weymouth some years ago, where the staff expected to be located on Commercial Road – so they could walk in to town at lunchtime. Thankfully, sense won and it was built on the Granby – thus reducing car numbers in the town centre. This scheme will not help Dorchester’s traffic issues.
If I am not being too cynical, I’m wondering what’s in it for Messers Clarke and Gould who seem to be the ones most interested in promoting this fiasco. We have Mr. Gould’s fatuous claims of ‘consulting the electorate’ and then Mr. Clarke’s solo video, on YouTube of all things.
Was Mr. Clarke given an official mandate or even a nod of approval from District councillors, to whom he is answerable, for such an exercise? I wonder at which sector of the electorate he was aiming his message.
Also, if the District and County Councils are likely to be transmogrified into a Unitary Council, there is little point in District Council, members and staff, trying to substantiate its own identity when its raison d’etre will be swept aside by the new Unitary broom.
Well this has been going on for some time. The shocking thing is that the other week when the 2010 Budget was announced the BBC were at a shopping centre talking to the local Mayor and his council had to find savings of £15million in the next year.
How can our CONSERVATIVE council really justify spending such a massive amount of money on offices. This is a disgrace and public consultation should be sought.
Lets hope the Conservatives don’t with the next General Election.
I understand that old office buildings may not suit today’s working practices and that people may work more efficiently and be happier in modern buildings which are fit for purpose. However, now is not the time for such expenditure. Shelve the plans – they can always be resurrected in a few years if the economy recovers.
The arrogance of power is on full display. What is at stake here is not actually improved offices, improvement of thermostats or better layouts, etc..
What is at stake is whether the West Dorset District Council is fundamentally a democratic institution, led by councillors who get up in the morning respecting that they have the chance that – and every – day, through their electors’ mandate, to engagage in democratic activities to serve us. It is a right fought for in World Wars and it is the means of keeping extreme splinter parties in check.
What Cllr Gould and unelected directors of WDDC are doing is to try to steer through a programme that seems to be exactly what the electors do NOT want, and one hopes and exhorts all the other councillors in the chamber to have the courage of their convictions to stop this sillyness and go back to getting the views of ALL of the 100,000 residents of West Dorset on such a major planned spend.
DCC recently had a new computer system put in to speed things up, needless to say a 5 minute job now takes an hour and staff stress related illnesses are tenfold!!! I can see what will happen with the new office buildings, it will go way over budget and the council taxpayer will have to fund it as have Weymouth/Portland citizens for their cock ups over the past year(they are now the 2nd highest rate payers in the country)!!! Dorchester next if this project goes ahead?
Gordon Morris (above) says that living near Sherborne, he feels he has been left in the dark about the issue. This is the story in West Dorset – no one OUTSIDE Dorchester has been ‘consulted’ – and in Dorchester itself, only people actually going into Stratton House for any purpose have been ‘consulted’ or those who saw the developers’ plans when walking down the arcade to Waitrose on the two days they were there! Outlying areas saw nothing. Not everyone in West Dorset goes into Dorchester.
The Council’s leaflet says there have been ‘public discussions’ for over two years at council meetings. Members of the public attending any council meeting are not allowed to ‘discuss’ anything – only listen. That is not ‘public discussion’!
I was at the Council meeting when the Leader, Robert Gould stated that the Charles Street development has been ‘top priority for thirty years’. How can something be ‘TOP priority’ for THIRTY years? I hate to think how long something that is NOT top priority takes!
The wrong time, the wrong place, and all without public consultation or scrutiny. Deeply disappointing but, sadly, not surprising.
The greatest concern of mine is throughout this entire application, scant regard for people’s opinions concerns and the right for democracy has been completly disregarded.
This is also about preserving the beauty of Dorchester and not creating a dream from some councillors and a developer.
The fact that the Council Leader and Chief Executive did not even have the decency to attend the meeeting in Dorchester, is yet another example of the sheer arrogance of these people who spend our money against our wishes.
Instinctively I feel that the proposed move is not a good idea, and have voted accordingly. I do, however, have one nagging doubt. This is because I am not familiar with the arguments in favour of the move. If it could be proved that the move will lead to savings in running costs that will, over the years, save real money for taxpayers, and enable real efficiency gains for the Council, then I could be persuaded to support the idea. I can readily believe that the current WDDC offices are inefficient in terms of heir layout, running costs etc., and so I am prepared to believe that a case could be made. Living as I do near Sherborne, however, I feel that we have been left somewhat in the dark about the whole scheme. Therefore we need more – and open – discussions before any decision is made.
Please note cultural life is in the final sentence…lie – a slip meaning there isn’t any or it is in danger of disappearing….? Or we are being promised something we don’t get……
On the one hand WDDC talks about the massive cuts in services and on the other hand they are prepared to spend millions on a new building whose uses are dubious. Let them cut their own expenses, salaries, staff and continue to deliver sufficient social and cultural services to look after the people of this county. This is what they are voted in for. They are public servants and should behave as such. The fact that they refuse to come to meetings and discuss their reasons openly proves that the decision is being taken for the wrong reasons…ego, arrogance, a great sense of over importance. Spend the money on nursing homes, hospitals and schools and the cultural lie of Dorset not on bricks and mortar.
Once built, will staff be offered an opportunity to work from home leaving the offices half empty? Misguided and unnecessary in today’s climate of efficiency savings.
With so many district councils having recently disappeared, including here in the south west (e.g. in Wiltshire and Cornwall) can WDDC be so confident of survival as to suppose there will actually be a ‘longer term’? I feel sure that, if this were a private enterprise, cautious management would not proceed with an expensive new development in the face of possible impending extinction!
Since all the arguments for the proposal to build new council offices appear to be suspect, if not downright erroneous, what reasons can the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council have for driving the project through since surely one must assume they are not completely unintelligent?
If this is what the conservative leader meant by cuts, then god help us. Lets hope that common sense prevails.
The arrogance of West Dorset District Council in expecting to spend about £15,000,000 of council tax payers money on a brand new completely unnecessary office block at a time of national restraint and massive public spending cuts beggars belief. Just who do these people think they are?
Blah, blah, blah “——–present head-quarters in High West Street to a new multi-million pound office block which they propose to build.”
A waste of council tax-payers money yet again. I would suggest to the Council that they stop their “NEED” to get NEW OFFICES and put the money to sorting out the waste site weighing heavy on Bridports shoulders AND builsd a new waste facility this year.
£400,000 has been spent on various plans and locations which have been on-going for the past 10 years.
A waste disposal site is far more important to the Bridport community as a whole. This will stop the trucks taking waste away of the already crowded A35. SAVING money in transport and wages etc
A new office block for West Dorset C.C.is a waste of money. The building costs would not stop there, the various managers within the West Dorset C.C.will want ALL new up to date equipment etcetc.
Having lived in Dorchester for some 5 years previously I think the idea of yet another ‘shopping precinct’ after the Brewery is completed will be huge mistake weighing upon both the rate payers of Dorset and the small businesses of South St.. Months of disruption and parking problems will put such a burden on the already stretched finances locally. Isn’t the WDDC concerned at all for small business or the ageing populace of its ‘domain’? I think the only benefactors will be the owners of Goulds who will come out as the only business to be able to bear the financial brunt enough to not only survive but to gain smart new premises when all the existing businesses have gone!