Bradley Stoke Mayor and Local MP Open New Council Offices
September 14th, 2012
Cllr Charlotte Walker, Mayor of Bradley Stoke and Jack Lopresti, local MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke presided at the official opening of the Town Council’s new offices at the Jubilee Centre earlier today (Friday 14th September).
Both praised the achievement of the build and gave thanks to the team and council staff who had facilitated the move to the new premises. Cllr Charlotte Walker added: “It is a pleasure to officially open the town council’s offices and take the opportunity to thank the staff who have worked so hard to achieve a smooth and efficient relocation”.
Cllr Brian Hopkinson told me that he was really pleased with how many residents had popped in to the new offices since the relocation in June. “It has made us so much more accessible to residents now that we have such a central location”. Cllr Hopkinson also explained aspects of the new build to me and its sympathetic nature with the existing Jubilee Centre. He also pointed out that the new build has enabled an outside toilet to be built for the use of hirers of the courts and also visitors to the park who may be caught short. This lack of facility at the Jubilee Green had often been criticised by parents with young toddlers who have been turned away from using the toilets inside the Centre – which is sometimes not possible if the facilities have been hired by a user.
The expense of building new offices as opposed to renting, either at the old Woodlands site or potentially in the WillowBrook Centre, has received some criticism from locals. However, the offices have been built with the aid of a public works loan, the repayments on which come in cheaper than the council’s previous rental costs. The new offices therefore achieve the council’s two stated aims of delivering value for money and making it more accessible to local people – Cllr Roger Avenin, Chair of Finance Committee explains: “The Council’s administrative functions were previously housed in a rented office in the far north of the town. The new Jubilee Centre location is much more central and already well known by the public. Year on year we will see savings straight away from this project and, once the loan is paid off in 10 years’ time, the taxpayer will recoup approximately £28,000 pounds a year”.