Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Council aiming to buy Harborne Clock Tower <b>scaffolding</b> as rent <b>...</b>

The cost to Birmingham City Council of hiring scaffolding to protect Harborne Clock Tower has topped £700,000 in six months.

Harborne Clock Tower surrounded by scaffolding

With no sign of anyone wanting to purchase the crumbling building, the council is now trying to buy the scaffolding which it is renting for £12,151 a week.

The 130-year-old clock tower was used for adult education classes and has been closed since July 2010 after a survey revealed it was structurally unsafe due to the council’s failure to undertake maintenance and repairs over many years.

Dangerous items of masonry have been removed in recent weeks and a decision has been taken to keep the scaffolding in place to protect the public.

The cost of protecting the clock tower, which is being met from the education budget, has angered community activists, who are questioning whether it is necessary to spend so much money on scaffolding at a time when public services are facing huge financial cuts.

The Edgbaston constituency committee is conducting a consultation exercise into the future of the historic building and there are hopes that it may be bought by a local charity, renovated, and eventually brought back into use as a community centre.

But it emerged at a city council meeting last week that the local authority is yet to put the building on the market.

Adults and communities cabinet member Sue Anderson said the clock tower had been declared surplus to requirements, but she gave no indication of how long the scaffolding would have to remain in place or the likely total cost to the public purse.

Coun Anderson (Lib Dem Sheldon) added: “Assuming there is no internal council interest in appropriating the premises it is intended to bring the building to the open market.

“It is expected that any offers received will be subject to some form of conditionality, for example a planning consent, and therefore it will take a period of time to complete a disposal.

“Based on this situation, the directorate is progressing the purchase of the scaffolding and a report is being presented to this month’s cabinet committee.”

Money raised from selling the building will be ploughed back into the adult education budget, Coun Anderson promised.

Harborne resident Harry Takhar, founder of the Impact Party, described the £700,000 cost of the scaffolding as “scandalous”.


View the original article here


Synergy Aluminium Scaffolding Tower

1 comment:

  1. Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is valuable and everything. However just imagine if you added some great photos or video clips to give your posts more, "pop"! Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this blog could definitely be one of the greatest in its niche. Fantastic blog!
    decking handrail systems

    ReplyDelete