'Chaos' claim over new delay on £24.1 million Shirehall refurbishment talks

Councillors need more time to discuss the plans, according to Shropshire Council's chief executive, Clive Wright.

But the management of the project has come under fire from the council's Labour leader, who has said the authority "seems to go from one area of confusion to another area of chaos".

The council announced last December that it planned to renovate the ageing 1960s building and was working with a number of partners and commercial bodies with a view to renting out space in the newly remodelled building.

It was revealed last month that the expected costs of the project had risen from £18m to £24.1m, due to parking and IT requirements for future tenants.

A report on the proposals was withdrawn from last month's full council meeting only 24 hours before it was due to be discussed, because of IT issues.

Mr Wright said workshops will be held for councillors to explore the "issues and opportunities".

He said: “The regeneration of the Shirehall won’t now be taken to a meeting of the full council scheduled for November 7. As this was the main business to be considered the meeting has been cancelled.

“A decision on the planned regeneration of Shirehall is clearly a potentially long term commitment. The world is changing rapidly and technology is changing the way everyone works, bringing efficiencies and improvements.

Spending

"It’s important that councillors have a full opportunity to carefully consider all these factors before committing to spending what would be significant amounts of money on the project. We are not just thinking through the opportunities of the Shirehall as a building, we are shaping how the council will operate in the future with a focus on how we meet the needs of our communities.

“Our newly-appointed director of place, Mark Barrow, has extensive knowledge, expertise and experience in this area and the leader, councillor Peter Nutting, along with the cabinet, is keen to ensure that we maximise Mark joining the council. To achieve this we are holding workshops for all councillors in which we will explore the issues and opportunities of regenerating the Shirehall and enable the views of councillors to be aired and taken fully into account.”

Councillor Alan Mosley said: "This is another example of Shropshire Council simply not knowing what it's doing.

"I understand consultants have been working on the project but clearly there's no clarity in the aims, objectives and ideas about the final outcome.

"This is confusing for members and staff and further adds to the sense of the council drifting without clear direction, particularly as very large amounts of money are involved and great risks with the tax payer's finances are clear.

"It's just chaos added to the shopping centres and road schemes, it's just a complete lack of direction and clarity and we seem to go from one area of confusion to another area of chaos.

"I'll be looking for some clarity on what's been proposed and a clear-cut rigorous business plan based on evidence and ensuring that the interests of Shropshire residents are protected as none of this is forthcoming at the moment."