17th October 2012

BRIDPORT: Call for council leader to resign

COUNCILLOR GOULD: ‘I’M FOCUSSED ON WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE AREA’

by Chris Denne

A Bridport councillor has called for the leader of West Dorset District Council to resign following the storm surrounding town development plans.

Councillor for Bridport North, Ros Kayes, believes Robert Gould should go due to his handling of the Charles Street development in Dorchester.

The development has been mired in controversy ever since WDDC announced plans to spend £9.7 million relocating to a new home while the rest of the nation struggles to tighten its belt in the midst of a global recession.

WDDC claims the move will save £224,000 a year.

As reported a fortnight ago, the plans suffered a setback when the council found it had drastically overvalued its Stratton House office buildings – up for sale to help pay for the move – leaving a £2.5million hole in the budget.

Plans for a hotel and underground car park on the site have also been scrapped after they were deemed financially unviable.

Councillor Kayes called for Councillor Gould to resign after the council’s executive committee agreed to plough a further £2million into preparatory work on the site in spite of the problems.

She told the View: “I’m certainly not the first to say Mr Gould should resign.

“The general view among protestors is that it’s time for him to hold his hands up and take responsibility.

She continued: “The job of the leader of the council is to make sure public money is spent responsibly but there have been a whole series of mistakes.

“They offset costs against £3.5million they said they would get for Stratton House.

“We said at the time it was overvalued and when offers came in they were only around £1 million.”

“They also agreed a raft of open ended loan agreements with [project developers] Simons, meaning they can keep pouring money into the project.

“They have also agreed too few penalties on Simons who could just walk away without penalty if things got too tough… I have no doubt we are being short-changed by Simons.

“It appears that Mr Gould must have known the project has been financially unviable back in 2010. But the 2011 elections were coming up and so he pressed forward with it.”

Councillor Kayes went on to describe Mr Gould’s assertion that the project has all-party support as “untruthful”.

She said: “Mr Gould is being untruthful. He is deliberately twisting what we said.

“We said we want an appropriate development in Charles Street, we want full consultation, we want to consider a whole range of options, all the things that a better leader could do.”

Councillor Gould dismissed Ms Kayes’ demands for his resignation as “noises off.”

He told the View: “With a big project like this you always get noises off. I’m not going to comment on them.

He continued: “I’m focussed on the development and what is right for the area and I think it would be a major blow if it didn’t go forward.

“We get regular reports on it and we won’t be investing anything if it doesn’t represent good value.”

When asked about the over-valuation of Stratton House, Councillor Gould blamed the economic downturn.

He said: “We have gone through a very difficult economic climate and it has affected prices. But Simons have agreed to take a cut in profits – they are sharing the pain.

“The [£2million] we are putting into developing the area – relocating the community church for example – will benefit the town whatever happens.”

He added: “We want to keep Dorchester a growing centre for the town and for the whole district.

“We are certainly not just handing money out to developers.”

PICTURE 1 - Councillor Kayes on District Council Leader Robert Gould: “It’s time for him to hold his hands up and take responsibilty”

PICTURE 2 - West Dorset District Council Leader Robert Gould: “I’m focussed on the development and what is right for the area - it would be a major blow if it didn’t go forward”

BRIDPORT: Call for council leader to resign

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