Wolverhampton Civic Centre revamp given go-ahead despite warning

Three councillors asked questions of council bosses during a meeting where the decision to approve the 'Future Space' plan was made, with each stating they felt it was necessary for more thought to be put in to getting the best deal for the revamp.

One councillor, who works as a chartered surveyor, also criticised the report that outlined the plans for not including a breakdown of how the £22 million figure was reached.

Conservative councillor Jonathan Yardley said: "I think before we make a decision we could revisit these figures and do a more detailed consultation before we commit to spending such large sums.

"When I looked at the report and saw the costs attributed to each possible plan, I expected to see lots of calculations and figures but they weren't there.

"I must say the figure seems large compared to how much it costs to buy top quality office space in the city at this moment.

"My main concern, however, is that when the work does start, there will be all sorts of things uncovered that will increase the cost and the length of time it takes to get the job done."

The city's Conservative leader Wendy Thompson also said she felt the council needed to find a better deal in light of service cuts across the city.

She said: "Is this value for money?

"People are angry in Wolverhampton because valuable services are being cut but we are here talking about spending a lot of money on this building.

"I think we should revisit this and look very carefully at how we can decrease what we spend."

Concerns over whether the council had not properly looked into getting the best value for money were also aired by UKIP councillor Malcolm Gwinnett.

Councillor Andrew Johnson, who presented the plans to the full council during the meeting said the plan took 'a great deal of time' to prepare and that the revamp was 'absolutely essential'.

He said: "It took a great deal of time and professional advice to put this plan together.

"Now is the right time to do this and the time for revisiting cost ideas has passed.

"If we don't act now we could lose the car park, which is in bad need of repair and then have to act desperately to revamp the building at a point when it would be too late."

Council bosses previously said they have gone for the 'do minimum' option, with a plan to replace the Civic Centre with a new building at an alternative location thrown out as it would have cost in excess of £50m for the new HQ alone.

They say they are expecting to save more than £500,000 a year over the long term as a result of the Future Space scheme.