Lib Dems criticise plan for new offices as council tightens belt

Harrogate Borough Council has been considering a range of options to reduce its office accommodation as staff are currently split between five main sites at Crescent Gardens, Springfield House, Scottsdale House, Knapping Mount and Victoria Park House.

Its previous plans to move to the site of the former Harrogate police station were thrown into disarray when the building was listed.

It is now considering building new offices at Knapping Mount - a move the authority says will save costs.

But yesterday members of the authority’s Liberal Democrat group questioned the wisdom of prioritising a move at a time when budgets are stretched.

Coun Helen Flynn, the group’s shadow member for finance and resources, said: “After carefully considering all the options, we are still struggling to see how such a move can be justified, especially now when local and central government finances are so constrained and local services are coming under threat.

“Though efficiencies may in theory be gained at some point in the future, the questions we keep coming back to are: what are the benefits of the move to a new site to the local taxpayer and when might they materialise?”

If the council’s landmark Crescent Gardens site is sold in the centre of Harrogate one possibility is that it may become a hotel.

Council bosses say many of the current offices are in need of investment to maintain and upgrade them and by operating from fewer sites the authority will be able to reduce its running costs.

Officers are recommending all office staff in Harrogate are relocated to new offices at Knapping Mount in King’s Road, leaving offices in Crescent Gardens, Scottsdale House, Victoria Park House and Springfield House to be sold off. Members of the authority are also considering a second option which would see the authority invest in Crescent Gardens, Scottsdale House and Springfield House and dispose of Knapping Mount and Victoria Park House.

A report prepared for councillors says: “The net capital cost of improvements and consolidation in existing buildings is estimated to be £4.8m against £7.9-£8.9m for a development of office accommodation on the Knapping Mount site.”

However it says in the long-term running costs will be far less if the authority moves to newly-built offices and a report by consultants found “significant savings” would be made.

Tory council leader, Coun Anthony Alton, said: “The council is continually looking at how we can reduce running costs and deliver services more effectively for less money.

“Many people say that the council should behave more as a business would. No business would have its operation constructed in such a costly way.”

If the idea was backed, he said: “It will bring greater efficiencies for the organisation together with the highest environmental and sustainability standards to minimise energy use. So on all counts it will save real cash which will benefit council tax payers and there will be no external borrowing to fund it.”

But the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Coun Philip Broadbank, said: “Any savings that might occur from a new-build site appear to be a long way down the line and uncertain.

“If you add to the equation new ways of working that means that employees can do more remote working, it seems to us that less costly alternatives need to be looked at more closely.”

Members of the council’s cabinet met last night, when they were due to endorse the proposal to build a new office at Knapping Mount. The issue will then be further considered by the overview and scrutiny commission on July 8 before going to the full council on July 18.