Council would not support us

Councillor Alan Cockburn’s statement in your article last week is disingenuous at best. While it is true that the “preferred scheme” will provide assisted and supported housing, the idea that this is a “community use” is somewhat misleading.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Aug 2014, 07:52 BST

HB Community Solutions Limited, based in Altrincham, is a ‘trading vehicle’ of Morgan-Sindall, one of the largest developers in the UK who made a profit of £33 million last year. Cllr Cockburn should be honest and admit they will be providing a for-profit scheme to house eight to 15 vulnerable residents at the most. Fair enough, but not only will it remove yet another much loved and historic asset from public use forever, it will be a clear example of the controversial privatisation of the health and social care sector that has increased at pace over the past years.

Bath Place submitted a 300 page proposal based on a Social Return of over £4 million/year (including our work with vulnerable people) and it’s difficult to believe that the successful bid came anywhere near to that figure. The scrutiny mentioned by Cllr Cockburn included a full council meeting which voted, from what we can tell through the shroud of secrecy the council seems to operate under, in our favour. The cabinet went against not only local wishes but the recommendations of the majority of democratically elected representatives in Warwickshire.

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The truth is that Bath Place should have never have been made to “bid” against developers in the first place as the council’s own policies state.

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Warwickshire County Council, or, to be precise, its current leadership, simply refused to support the Bath Place project and went to great lengths in undermining and ultimately denying our efforts to rebuild what was destroyed through no fault of our own.

Clayton Denwood, Bath Place

Related topics:CouncilWarwickshire County CouncilAltrinchamWarwickshire