The petition was presented to the Council by Steve Tellis who reminded the members that 90% of the public that responded to the engagement process had rejected the closure and redevelopment of the Civic Suite site.
Our Lib Dem Group Leader, Cllr James Newport, said
Does the leader not agree with me that NOW is the time to stop wasting Council payers’ money on hiring venues to hold meetings and training sessions, when we have perfectly good taxpayer owned facilities at our disposal?
I therefore propose that a full socio-economic analysis is carried out into reopening the Civic Suite and the matter referred to the next meeting of the full council.
Cllr James Newport
The portfolio holder, Cllr Mike Webb, responded to the petition by saying that ‘no further action’ would be taken.
Whilst there has been a success in our campaign to reopen the Mill Hall, we believe that to rob the Civic Suite from the residents of the District is unjustified and its social value should be considered along with the economic position that the Conservatives state is their only consideration.
The vote to take ‘No further action’ was recorded as 18-15 in favour