Labour fails in bid to force rethink on Assembly Rooms
DERBY’S opposition Labour group failed in an attempt to force the Conservative council cabinet to reconsider its plan to refurbish instead of rebuilding the city’s Assembly Rooms at an often-heated meeting last night.
Despite vigorous debate on all sides, the attempts of Labour councillors Martin Repton, Paul Pegg and Nadine Peatfield to prove that the council cabinet’s decisionmaking process was flawed failed after the vote was tied.
The call-in by Labour of the cabinet’s decision on December 12 to refurbish the Assembly Rooms, which closed in March 2014 after a fire, at a cost of £24 million was made on the grounds that:
■■ Professional advice from officers has been ignored in favour of a “highly unreliable evidence base, such as Facebook polls”;
■■ A full business case was not made public when the decision was taken;
■■ Council cabinet papers did
include adequate information on alternative options.
Councillor Matthew Holmes, deputy council leader, responded to the call-in claims on behalf of the cabinet.
He said: “It has long been known that re-opening the Assembly Rooms is a major aim of ours.
“We took into account the previous consultation, carried out engagement meetings with key cultural stakeholders and elected members.”
Mr Holmes added that the full business case had not been published because it contained commercially sensitive information that would be crucial when looking for an operator for the venue.”
Labour was moving ahead with plans for a £44 million rebuild when the party lost its majority at last May’s local elections and the Tories took charge of the authority.
The new council cabinet ordered a review of the previous plan and in December announced the refurbishment would go-ahead.