‘Utterly brainless...’ of millions on new

HUGE amounts of taxpayers’ money are being spent by “utterly brainless” councils on new town halls.

The building boom is putting councillors from Durham to Devon into swish civic centres where they can sit in state-of-the-art comfort while deciding which services to slash.

And the cash-splashing comes as council tax payers in parts of the country face an eye-watering hike of nearly 12 per cent this year.

Wales’ Conwy Council has a new £38.5million HQ in Colwyn Bay for its 760 staff – having axed bin collections to just once a month because of a £15.2million hole in its budget.

Later this month it is expected to rubber stamp an 11.6 per cent hike in council tax.

While the authority didn’t pay for its new HQ, council chiefs have signed a 40-year lease and will pay £1.5million a year in rent, bringing a total bill of £60million – which could rise as the rent is linked to the retail price index.

And astonishingly, it will be the council, not the building’s owners, who pay for any repairs.

The area’s Tory MP Guto Bebb has slammed the deal saying residents would find the deal “bewildering, inexplicable and even reckless”.

Conwy Council insists it got value for money. A spokesman said: “Conwy County Borough Council is renting a purpose-built office on a 40-year lease with an option to buy for £1 at the end of the term.”

In County Durham residents are taking their council to court in a bid

LEASE: Conwy Council will shell out at least £60million on rent for its HQ. Councillors are poised to approve a council tax hike of 11.6 per cent

to stop the authority demolishing its existing HQ to build a new £50million office on a riverside plot in the city centre, close to its World Heritage site.

So far more than 800 locals have written letters of objection. In one a resident said: “I can see no justification other than vanity for building in this location. This is an utterly brainless plan.”

Durham County Council, which has axed more than 2,700 staff since 2011, needs to slash its spending by £40million over the next four years.

The council’s director of transformation and partnerships Lorraine O’Donnell said: “This will also enable the council to redevelop what is prime land for a business park at Aykley Heads which will create up to 6,000 new jobs and result in a £400million boost to the county’s economy.”

Last May Cambridgeshire County Council told taxpayers its plan to ditch its current HQ in Cambridge for a new building at Alconbury, 24 miles away. It said it would open in 2020, and save £45million in just 30 years.

Last Christmas almost 2,000 staff were told they would have to take three days unpaid leave to save the