Figures spark council storm

Maldon district councillors met last night to discuss for a final time whether land should be set aside for a new multi-million pound civic centre in the town.

Opponents were hoping to get it voted out of the local plan - the blueprint for the future of planning in the area.

But senior officers stole their thunder by revealing for the first time estimates of the funding needed for the new centre.

Members were advised previously to judge the proposal purely on planning grounds, such as whether the centre would be at risk of flooding or cause parking problems.

The argument that it would cost too much was ruled out as irrelevant.

But in a paper delivered on the afternoon of the meeting, officers announced that there had been "commercial interest" in building a hotel and cinema on land that would become available for development along with the creation of the civic centre.

The document said the combination of money brought in from that and from selling off the current council offices' site for housing would balance out the cost of the new centre - about £3 million.

It said that remaining in Princes Road would cost the council £2,800,000 in repairs and improvements.

And it added that even if the land for the hotel and cinema were still sold, the eventual cost of staying put might end up being more than moving on.

The new information helped the scheme's supporters to a comfortable 15-eight victory when councillors went to the vote.

But their opponents said the late release of the document meant it was difficult for members to take in, or question, the figures.

William Stichbury (Maldon District Ind Dem Alliance, Maldon North) said he felt he was being "told how to vote."

Robert Long, who proposed the civic centre scheme be struck out of the plan, said regardless of the revelations, members should respect the views of residents, who condemned the proposal during a recent consultation.

Published Friday, June 27, 2003

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