Council meeting was a great chance to put right some wrongs
AS mentioned in my column last week, we had another meeting of the ‘Full Council’. This is a meeting of all 30 elected councillors, where more significant decisions are required.
At the meeting we debated, and ultimately approved, my report on the front desk service of Tamworth Borough Council. It was a good opportunity to set out facts and data around service usage and needs.
It was also an opportunity to dispel myths certain individuals and/or groups spread around. This post will also dispel some additional myths.
Myth 1 - Marmion House was closed and nothing has been done since to find a permanent solution. This is untrue. We bid for additional Levelling Up funding to redevelop Gungate, which would have included a retirement village, additional parking and a new council office. Unfortunately this bid was not successful. Many other possible locations have also been reviewed as they have come available, such as the old Wilkos store etc - again, time and effort spent looking for an alternative. None have been suitable so far. We do, however, have a potential exciting location in sight and will announce once it is possible to do so.
Myth 2 - Marmion House is empty and nobody is working. This is untrue. It’s closed to the public and there is definitely more home working now, as is the norm elsewhere. But, it is not empty. On any given day there are around 50-60 people working in the building, including myself once or twice per week.
Myth 3 - You could just reopen the building. The building is old and inefficient. It costs a lot to maintain. It would cost hundreds of thousands to bring to a standard to reopen. We are committed to disposing of the building for regeneration, therefore spending hundreds of thousands of pounds is simply not something we will entertain as an option. I believe the public would agree this would be a waste of taxpayer (your) money too.
Myth 4 - There is no front desk service since the pandemic. There is indeed already a front desk service. This operates from the Tourist Information Centre at the Assembly Rooms.
Does this look like the Marmion House front desk? Well no, of course it doesn’t. Can you get the same service as you could at Marmion House? Yes. In fact it’s now Monday to Saturday instead of Monday to Friday.
It’s worth clarifying that when Marmion House was open to the public, you could not just walk in and speak to any council officer from any department face-to-face. You walked in and booked an appointment for another day or time. It’s been like that for over 10 years. That is what happens still now from the Assembly Rooms.
On data alone, you would conclude that the need just isn’t there and more people than ever are going online. However, being a local politician, or a group of local politicians, we have to bring in feelings, views and public perception into the mix, not just data.
The report proposed three key items: A commitment to find and open a public facing front desk in the town centre. A commitment to keep Marmion House reception closed. To continue the service as-is from the Assembly Rooms in the interim, on a temporary basis.
We, local Conservatives, are committed to delivering on this. This was confirmed weeks ago when the report was published into the public domain. Strategic thinking and care with taxpayer money, that is what we get with our administration.