Residents want danger-concrete-ridden civic centre rebuilt or repaired
A civic-centre ridden with danger concrete should be repaired or demolished and rebuilt a survey has found.
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Shropshire Council has been asking Whitchurch residents for their views on the future of the town's civic centre.
The building has been closed – except for the sports and market hall – since September, after the discovery that RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) exists across the majority of the civic centre complex, and that it has major structural issues.
In the Shropshire Council consultation – which ran from April 30 to June 11 – people were asked which of six possible options they liked, or did not like.
They were also asked about their usage of the civic centre in the past and at present, and which facilities and services they think should be available in the future.
In total, 1,130 responses were received, roughly 10 per cent of the population of Whitchurch.
The two most popular options were to repair or replace the centre.
Following the consultation a working group that was set up to look at the building's future will now carry out a feasibility study into the two most popular options.
Once complete a business case will be presented to Shropshire Council’s cabinet.
The working group is made up of local Shropshire Councillors, Whitchurch Town Councillors, and officers from both councils
Paul Wynn, Shropshire Councillor for Prees, and chairman of the working group said: "We know the importance of the civic centre to Whitchurch and to people who live in and around the town and we launched this consultation as we really wanted to hear people’s views about the future of the building, and about how they use – or have used – the building.
“I want to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey.
"We had an incredible response that shows that the civic centre is clearly a vital and well-used feature of the town, both by residents of the town and nearby villages.
"And, from the results it was very clear that people’s preference is to either repair or replace the centre.
"Officers will now carry out further work to determine the feasibility and costs of these two options, and we hope to provide a further update in September.”
The consultation report is set to be published later this month.
