Call for long-term plan before £900k Town Hall work

Councillors say they want to hear a long-term plan for their town hall before they agree to spend almost £1m on repairs.

Peterborough City Council's cabinet is being recommended to approve "urgent mitigation measures" costing about £900,000 at a meeting on Tuesday.

It follows the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) on the second floor of the Bridge Street building.

Liberal Democrat councillor Polly Geraghty said: "It's difficult to approve something if you've got no idea what's going to happen afterwards."

The report to the cabinet says the work would ensure the safety of people using the space below, as the floor of the second storey – the original roof of the 1930s building – would not be strong enough to withstand falling RAAC panels.

It said the likelihood of RAAC collapse was unlikely, but implications would be "severe" if it did happen.

The council's scrutiny committee met on 10 July and recommended that the cabinet delay its decision until a long-term plan for the building was established.

Geraghty said: "If you're going to spend close to £1m on something for it to then just be mothballed, why are we bothering spending money that we don't have?"

Since January, all council meetings have been held at the authority's offices in Sand Martin House.

Despite the issues on the second floor, other parts of the building have remained in use, including the chamber which is currently being used as a coroner's court.

Conservative councillor Marco Cereste told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "In my view, it is the heart of our city and we've spent a lot of money in that area to increase the footfall.

"At the moment, none of us is clear as to what the council's intentions are with that building. It's been there since 1933 and it would be a real shame to lose it."

The authority previously said the programme of work at the Town Hall was a "very complex issue" and it was working to develop a "comprehensive plan".

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