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Listen to the public urges Paul Macdonald
(November 22, 2010)At centre of a year-long invigoration of local interest in their
plans that has backed few of their decisions a council still has no
clear plan to fund its most expensive building but is facing a 'pound
for pound' challenge.
It has seen the first ever 'parish poll', public outrage expressed
at their meetings that Warminster Council is still concentrating on
roofing, the drainage, and the lack of ivory at their Assembly Hall
'White Elephant', and their 'arrogance'.
At a meeting a member of the public was heard to shout 'liar' at the then Mayor Tony Nicklin such is the public outrage.
"Another 48 hours of conversation where I have have been trying to
promote the least expensive option of just doing the necessary to keep
the Assembly Hall open for ten years it has no public support," says
former councillor Paul Macdonald
The ten year minimum option was proposed by duall-hatted* Cllr Pip
Ridout but rejected at the Assembly Hall during meeting that heard the
now widely discredited results of a 'public consultation'.
(See Bard of Boreham brings forth some poetry in motions October 31, 2010).
"I have always believed that talking to local people is the best way forward." says Paul.
"It gave my father and myself the way forward when we were
councillors. It worked for Crusader Park and the football club and
other tricky decisions.
"The best suggestion that I can come up with is that Warminster
Town Council grab the wish of Wiltshire Council to use it as a civic
hub and offer to sell it back to them for a pound.
It was very late in the day (after the parish poll rejected a
'mega-loan') that Wiltshire Council entered the debate about the future
of the Assembly Hall.
Another late-comer is WCR who now face flak from a lot of quarters. It wants to buy landscaping next door for pound.
The county council civic hub idea could have come staright
from the visionforwarminster statement that the building should be
used looking after the increasing elderly population during the day.
The co-authors visionforwarminster argue that it could then be used for entertainment in the evening.
Wiltshire Council appeared to back this idea that had cabinet
member Cllr Humphries as its author of a proposal to promote their
version as a 'pilot' across the county
Then they offered £145,000 towards the beleaguered town council project.
"Think about it!" Says Paul. "The sad fact is that our council
wants to take the decision urgently without any future idea of
financial day to day commitment.
"Wiltshire Council could make it work. WCR is a community project. What others are there?
As a social venue Warminster Town Council have shown they cannot make it work. I am still open ideas. Is the town council?"