Council officials should 'feel guilty' over state of Shirehall after top floors closed off
Former council officers and senior councillors should 'feel guilty' over the state of Shrewsbury's Shirehall, it has been claimed.
Councillor Roger Evans questioned how Shropshire Council's headquarters had been allowed to get into the position where the top three floors cannot be used because of fire safety concerns.
Currently the building's risk assessment means workers are not allowed to used floors three, four and five – which are available for storage only.
The council has also said there are no plans to bring the upper floors back into use, as it explores options to move out of the building and to a new town-centre site.
More than £24m of refurbishment work was agreed for the building in 2018, but that was abandoned the following year due to the cost.
Lib Dem Councillor Evans said: "To leave it to deteriorate in this condition is something that some officers that have worked for the council over the years and senior councillors need to feel guilty about. That they have allowed a building to fall into a state of disrepair that could leave staff at risk and leaves the fire service to say you have to vacate the top three floors – I am amazed."
He added: "Some people in Shirehall must have realised the state the Shirehall was in? I would doubt if this suddenly came out of the blue with out any indication or warning.
"There was a refurbishment plan put forward for the building in 2018 but that was dropped the following year."
Councillor Evans also questioned the benefits of the authority leaving the building to allow it to be knocked down – and the environmental impact.
He said: "For a building, an iconic building some would say – certainly the Save Our Shirehall Group, if you are looking at carbon it might cost more but it could be altered or repaired and brought up to the needed specification a lot easier than knocking it down, clearing the site and building new houses on it."
The council has confirmed that work to address fire concerns at the building is beginning this week – after being delayed earlier this year.
The council's chief executive, Andy Begley, said: "Work to make Shirehall safer in the event of a fire was due to be carried out at Shirehall over the summer. Regrettably, the appointed contractor pulled out, leading to work being delayed while we appointed a new contractor.
"The work is now due to begin this week and be completed in January next year.
"This work will improve those areas which we plan to use in the short-to-medium term, and is critical to ensure that we have a safe and compliant workplace for staff and councillors."
