More and more Sotonians are realising that Southampton City Council, whether under Labour, Liberal Democrat or Tory control, has wasted tens of millions of pounds of public money.
Southampton Independents have been exposing this waste.
Councillor Andrew Pope has been the ONLY councillor of all forty-eight to criticise the Arts Complex spending.
Andrew is standing in the General Election for Southampton Independents in the Southmapton Test (West) Constituency.
And people have been writing to the Daily Echo with letter after letter asking WHY it is that Labour, Lib or Tory, it's the same old story.
They have the wrong priorities.
They prefer to spend money on their "Arts" cronies, rather than on fixing Southampton's roads, or looking after the vulnerable children and adults in our City.
What good is an "Arts Complex" to an elderly person who can't walk because of a fall and is stuck in Southampton General Hospital when Brownhill House care centre for rehabilitation has been closed by the Labour-run Council?
What good is an "Arts Complex" when a car driver ruins their car by crashing it over a massive pothole?
What good is an "Arts Complex" when there is a crisis of safeguarding of children in our City, and OFSTED are called in again to show how the Council has failed?
Below is a statement showing how the "Arts Complex" raided funds that could have been spent on other things.
Things that councils are supposed to do.
The basics, like sprinklers for tower blocks.
The basics, like cutting the grass.
The basics, like weekly bin collections.
The Tories failed you. The Liberals failed you. Labour has failed you.
Vote Southampton Independents to expose all of them, and to bring them to account for their failurs and deciding on the WRONG priorties, and to show them that you won't accept the wrong priorities and MORE waste.
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Minutes of Southampton City Council Full Council
21st March 2007
...
102 NORTHERN ABOVE BAR - TO FACILITATE THE REDEVELOPMENT
OF THE FORMER C&A STORE, THE REMODELING OF GUILDHALL
SQUARE AND TO APPROVE THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE FOR
SOUTHAMPTON’S NEW ART CENTRE
The report of the Leader of the Council was submitted, seeking approval
to proceed with the agreement with the Arts Council of England for new
arts facilities, to appoint a developer to redevelop the former C&A
Department Store and for the use of compulsory purchase and powers
regarding the rights of light of adjacent properties and to refurbish
Guildhall Square (copy of report circulated with agenda and appended to
signed minutes).
RESOLVED
(i) That, in accordance with Financial Procedure Rules, the value
of the Northern Above Bar Southampton’s New Arts Complex
(SNAC) project, contained within the Leisure & Culture
Capital Programme, be increased from £11.095m to £13.01m.
The total value of the scheme will be funded from an Arts
Council England (ACE) Lottery grant of £5.724m, ACE
Technical Assistance grant of £120,000, Art Asia ACE
Technical Assistance grant to fund direct purchase of £30,000
worth of loose equipment by Art Asia, SEEDA (South East
England Development Agency) Area Investment Framework
Funding of £200,000, capital receipt from Mayflower Plaza of
£350,000, capital receipt from T&G of £2.8m, direct purchase
of £250,000 worth of loose equipment by University of
Southampton, £1.436m of transferred City Council funding
(subject to approval by SEEDA to award grant funding to
Northern Above Bar regeneration, as explained below),
fundraising proceeds of £1.6m (to be underwritten by the City
Council) and £500,000 prudential borrowing against the rental
income from commercial space within the development. At
the end of 2006/7 it is anticipated that £600,000 will have
been spent, the remaining funding to be phased £1.26m in
2007/8, £475,000 in 2008/9, £3.5m in 2009/10, £6.9m in
2010/11 and £275,000 in 2011/12;
(ii) That, in accordance with Financial Procedure Rules, the sum of
£6.35m be allocated in the Capital Programme for Northern Above
Bar C&A Site Acquisition and Guildhall Square, to be phased
£0.36m in 2006/07, £1.89m 2007/8, £0.5m in 2008/9 and £3.6m
in 2009/10 to cover the cost of :-
a) £1.75m for the strategic purchase of 131&129 Above Bar St
and 1 – 3 Gibbs Road and
b) £4.6m for the cost of remodelling and refurbishing Guildhall
Square
The above is subject to the outcome of negotiations with SEEDA for
a funding allocation of up to £6.35m to the City Council towards the
regeneration of Northern and Above Bar, as referred to in the
separate report to Cabinet dated 19th March. The £6.35m represents
a grant allocation of £4.6m, and potential repayable loan funding of
£1.75m;
(iii) that £200,000 be added to the Leader’s Portfolio capital
programme to be funded from corporate resources, to be phased
£50,000 in 2007/8, £125,000 in 2008/9 and £25,000 in 2009/10 and
be allocated in the Capital Programme for Northern Above Bar
(C&A Site Professional Fees) to cover the cost of legal, valuation
and marketing expenses in connection with the disposal and
redevelopment of the C&A site;
(iv) that approval be given to the City Council underwriting the £1.6m