Whitchurch Town Council confirms move to temporary premises while civic centre is shut
A town council has secured a temporary new headquarters due to the presence of danger concrete at its former home.
Whitchurch Town Council has agreed a temporary stay at the old police station in the town.
It comes after the discovery of dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) at the Whitchurch Civic Centre.
The civic centre has been closed since September after the RAAC was discovered. Further inspections revealed widespread structural issues, made worse by asbestos which would be disturbed by any works.
The police station will become a ‘town hall and community hub’ while the town council continues campaigning to get a civic centre back in the town.
The council is expected to begin working from there in March, with many of the local groups who used the centre set to be able to access the building from April
North Shropshire's Liberal Democrat MP, Helen Morgan, has welcomed the move and reiterated her support for the Save Our Civic campaign and efforts to maintain civic centre provision in the town, ahead of a protest planned which was taking place this morning.
She said: "It is great to see that Whitchurch Town Council have listened to residents and moved quickly to secure a new temporary HQ.
"In particular, I am glad to see that many of the groups who used Whitchurch Civic Centre will have a home again too. The impact of losing the civic has been immense not just for council services but for volunteer-led community organisations."
She said later: “The strength of opinion in Whitchurch is incredibly clear – we need to Save Our Civic.
“The thriving High Street in Whitchurch is a testament to how much the community supports local independent businesses, and the civic centre has a long history of drawing people in. Shutting it down without a replacement would send entirely the wrong message.
“It was great to see that the protest was being run in a positive way, with a focus on action and securing the funding needed to have a community hub in town for years to come. The campaigners have my full support.”
The petition to be presented to Ministers is now at around 1,200 signatures and can be found online at https://www.helenmorgan.org.uk/whitchurch-civic
