By Local Democracy Reporter
Steve Shaw
THURROCK Council has revealed plans for the redevelopment of the Civic Centre in Grays.
The project is part of a larger regeneration scheme for South Grays and council documents say the new council building will “set the tone” for further development in the borough.
The plans detail a three-storey extension to the existing Civic Centre on New Road, which will house a new council chamber, confidential interview rooms and a café that will be available for use by the public and staff members.
The existing council building will be divided into two with one side being retained for council use and the other being converted into a residential area which could comprise of 120 flats.
The council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee will discuss the plans on Tuesday and decide whether officers should proceed with submitting a planning application for the extension and an outline application for the flats.
It is estimated that the new development will cost £9.78million and most of this will be financed through a combination of money from the council’s capital budget, which had been allocated for refurbishment of the centre, and the expected income from the proposed flats.
However, they will still need to raise an extra £1.8million.
Councillor Oliver Gerrish, chair of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “I have some real concerns about the proposals which will be laid in front of the committee for discussion. It seems like a very large investment in the council offices at a time when the council are struggling to deliver services for residents.
“I have no doubt that my committee will be asking some very tough questions about these proposals and whether they are the right priority for Thurrock.”
Ward councillor Jane Pothecary was also cautious about supporting the plans, stating that the council needs to provide more information about how a new council building will benefit residents.
She said: “I’m a bit sceptical about the plans and I’m not entirely clear how they benefit the residents in Grays Riverside. This doesn’t generate a profit and it is going to cost a lot of money, so beyond it being a shiny new office and a new chamber I am unclear about the benefits.
“I think residents will ask why the council is spending a lot of money on refurbishing council offices, it is quite a difficult ask.”
The council was contacted for a comment.
The wider Grays regeneration scheme aims to give a boost to the area through the delivery of new homes, shops and restaurants, along with improvements to the railway station and the connections to the River Thames.
The new council building could become the home of many of Thurrock’s most important agencies.
A council report notes that several major organisations have expressed interest is moving into the new building to create a “multi-agency facility”.
Among those to express interest are Essex Police, Thurrock’s Clinical Commissioning Group, the Youth Offending Service, the National Fraud Service and a borough-wide CCTV control room.
The council report states: “Further work is being carried out to ensure the right service is located in the right place within the Civic and all will be subject to the final accommodation schedule. However, this represents an exciting opportunity to shape public service delivery going forward.”
This is not in the interest of taxpayers or The Council itsself.
The building cannot be more than 30 years old. I can think of a helll of a lot of buildings in Thurrock that a many times older than that and still used.
Half the building will be
120 flats. Which means it will limit the council in the future and mean they will have to spend a fortune on land some where else next time they want to build a building. So it will be bad to taxpayers in the future.
Great for the current lot of councillors though. they get a new building out of taxpayers and a pet building prodject to get excited over.
can they have gold plated chairs. and put a Throne in the new ccouncil chamber.
Just slap it on council tax bills for years to come. long after they have left office?
Councillors
Can I get the building contract come on I am the first person to offer you a brown envelope. Give me credit. theres a Monkey in it for you all.
Great idea 120 flats. Lets see if they are so called affordable homes or if as I suspect sold at a huge premium.
We must also remember in the day they could have taken on the old Co-op Congress House for a fraction of the price of what these offices cost but declined.Now another £9.7m, no doubt rising to 12.9m when they get there sums right.
Must be lovely to spend money when it’s not you that’s earned it.
That was very good. I loved the point about the Coop.
I just dont get the fact it is less than 30 years old.
The Houses of parliment is a day or two older than that. Still used.
Either they cannot build buildings these days that last (and builders can).
or someone is on the make. and lets face its someone is on the make .
someones got a new yacht coming.
Catching the Bus – Follow the money. There will be a backhander or two in transit, I’m sure. What do you expect with the Tories involved?
CTB it is not about the age of the building, it’s about the council wasting OUR money.
Remember the Co-op and the reasons behind why they didn’t run with that. They wanted a nice new building and the same applies again.
You may even remember these new Civic Offices were built to big and a few floors stood empty for years.
Yep, a new yacht is coming it would seem. Guess the potholes will have to wait.
“CTB it is not about the age of the building, it’s about the council wasting OUR money.”
That was kind of my angle
“Remember the Co-op and the reasons behind why they didn’t run with that. They wanted a nice new building and the same applies again.”
Yeap looking that way. I agree.
“Yep, a new yacht is coming it would seem. Guess the potholes will have to wait”.
Yeah but you should see the size of the throne its gold plated.
Next years Council Tax is going up everyone and its going to be a big percent.
Time to vote the Clowns out.
Catching the Bus – Follow the money. There will be a backhander or two in transit, I’m sure. What do you expect with the Tories involved?
I would but they keep doing secret investors meetings.
If you ask me this whole democracy thing is a bloody inconvenience for them.
Catching the Bus – Yeah, the Tories really don’t like democracy ’cause it gets in the way of controlling the plebs and sometimes uncovers the corruption that they are involved in. It’s only going to get worse after Brexit.
Only two things to remember from most council schemes:-
1) It will cost more than budgeted.
2) It won’t make the money promised.
Ed – I couldn’t agree with your assessment more.
Valen (Myles) Cook
It’s the darker stuff after brexit that scares me like getting rid of human rights thats not in my interest is it.
Catching the Bus – That’s why the people who voted for Brexit are either ignorant or closet Nazis. They either can’t see the danger an unrestrained Tory ‘government’ with Henry VIII powers would pose to the very fabric of people’s rights in a whole range of areas or they don’t see it as a danger but a fulfillment of the extreme Right-wingers dream of a future based on social engineering and eugenics which is basically a Nazi world.
I’m not worried about the future though as I’m just going to learn the fiddle and play it while I watch the UK burn safe in the knowledge that people like you and me can go to our graves wholly innocent of causing the damage whilst people like thurrocksgonedownswill go to a very hot fate in a Hell of their own making when the people who are left start turning on each other because there’s no-one left to persecute.