Walsall Council to ‘look at’ selling Civic Centre as it remains closed to the public
The deputy leader of Walsall Council said he will ‘look at’ the possibility of selling the town’s Civic Centre on Monday night.
Councillor Adrian Andrew also said there were ‘no plans’ to reopen the centre on Darwall Street to the public.
The comments were made at a meeting of full council on September 29 in response to Councillor Pete Smith, who is of the belief that the authority should either fill the Civic Centre or flog it.
Councillor Smith said: “There is an underutilisation and inefficient use of the council’s town centre physical assets, namely the Civic Centre, the Council House and the Town Hall.
“Mainly due to a combination of factors including too many staff working from home, the public being effectively shut out of the Civic Centre, and a lack of sufficient investment in our Town Hall to attract the activities that Walsall folk remember in days gone by.
“Can the portfolio holder give the public an assurance that they will consider opening the Civic Centre, namely the One Stop Shop, and a full return of staff back to their town centre base offices?
“If it cannot give such an assurance, will it consider the disposal and sale of the Civic Centre with all proceeds used for reinvestment in the serious upgrade in our Town Hall and expansion of our community hubs.?”
Councillor Adrian Andrew said the council recognised the concern regarding the underutilisation of key town centre assets.
He said: “The Civic Centre, Council House and Town Hall are central to our civic identity and public service delivery.
“Regarding staff occupancy, the hybrid model that operates in some teams reflects national trends and supports productivity, staff well being, and recruitment.
“That said, we are actively reviewing our current building occupancy and exploring how to support all council officers to be able to work a minimum of three days a week from Walsall later this year.
“On the matter of the One Stop Shop, there are no plans to reopen it in its previous form, although the council is committed to improve access to local services, with the expansion of the local community hubs network.
“As for the potential disposal of the Civic Centre, given your policy suggestion of selling it, I’ll give you all credit for that, and let’s see if we can look at it.”
