Andrew Eade, the leader of the Conservative Group on the Borough Council, says that Labour’s plans to cancel the building of the new civic office in the Southwater development could put the whole scheme at risk with the loss of millions of pounds of investment and thousands of new jobs.
He said “the new office development – provided totally from the sale of Mallinslee House and at no cost to the council tax payer - is the lynch pin that holds the massive development together. Failure of Labour plans to rent out the new building to the private sector would leave a huge empty office block in the middle of Southwater and cost the council tax payers up to £300,000 a year in lost income, wrecking new jobs in the process and also exciting plans to provide new leisure faciliyies and a badly needed night time economy for the borough.”