Falkirk Council HQ & Arts Centre row rumbles on after SNP budget blocked

In the end, the result was another defeat for the SNP administration, following its failure to get its revenue budget passed earlier in the day.

The main stumbling block to the SNP getting its plans passed was the future of Falkirk’s ageing municipal buildings and town hall – a debate that has rumbled on for more than 12 years now, with no sign of reaching a conclusion.

The SNP wanted the new building to incorporate council offices, a 500-seat theatre, a new library and community rooms.

But it was projected to cost at least £53 million – assuming it is built on land the council already owns – and that was simply unaffordable said Labour leader Robert Bissett.

Although Labour had previously given grudging approval to the project, the news that the grant from the Scottish Government looked certain to be cut by nearly £9 million meant they could not continue their support.

At the budget meeting both Labour and Conservative refused to back any spending that would take the project over £45 million.

Mrs Meiklejohn said she was aware that there were genuine concerns about the cost of the new building and offered an olive branch, suggesting that officers look at ways of finding the extra cash through funding other than the capital programme.

She pleaded with opposition politicians to support the project, which is at the heart of the administration’s plans to rejuvenate the town centre.

“What we can’t do is continue to delay – there is a risk to our reputation as a council and a risk that developers will walk away,” she said.

The SNP’s economic spokesman David Alexander also begged opposition members to show “positivity and collectivity” saying that going back on a decision that had already been made would take the council “back to square one”.

“That’s not feasible, it’s not sustainable and it’s not sensible!” he said.

Mrs Meiklejohn pointed to the fact that Falkirk Council has low amounts of debt and borrowing when compared to other authorities, which meant it had room to borrow to fund investment.

And as councillors had earlier agreed to ringfence 1.84 per cent of the council tax to borrow up to £60 million for investment, she urged members to take what she called a ‘major opportunity for us to direct investment’.

But Mr Bissett was adamant that there should be a £45 million cap on the project when Labour put forward its own capital programme budget, which included £7 million to be spent on roads.

John Paterson, depute chairman of Falkirk Arts and Civic Council was allowed to address the meeting, bringing his message of how vital the arts – and in particular the town hall stage is – to the many groups who use it.

Councillors from all sides said they respected what he had to say and Conservative and Labour politicians denied there had been any discussion about Falkirk losing its town hall.

However, the director of development Rhona Geisler told members that while there was no proposal to close the town hall, both it and the municipal buildings are in such poor condition that they are likely to become unsafe to use.

That, together with the fact that the debate surrounding their replacement has dragged on since 2007, has led to fears that there is a real danger that nothing would be in place to replace them. 

Councillor Robert Spears, the adminstration’s culture spokesman, said: “Everybody knows the town hall is outdated past its sell-by date. My concern is for tourism and culture – I want people to come to Falkirk, I want to put on high class acts and we want people who visit the Kelpies to stay in the town and not go somewhere else.”

 But Labour councillor Joan Coombes said that they could not be expected to approve the money going to the new HQ and arts centre before the current Strategic Property Review (SPR)  was concluded – because that could mean buildings in their communities having to close.

She said: “Deciding to significantly increase the funding for just one part of the SPR is putting the cart before the horse.”

 Speaking after the debate the Conservative group leader defended their decision to stop the project at its current projected cost.

She said: “The Labour proposition which we supported is a pragmatic attempt to provide a new office for the council but on a budget and if possible an arts facility on the budget which has been agreed.”