Funding options for civic centre to be examined

Whitchurch Civic Centre shut in 2023 and there have been protests over its closure

Finance bosses say they are "trying to understand" funding options to secure the future of a town's civic centre.

The Whitchurch centre has been closed since September 2023 after it was discovered to have potentially dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) within the building.

Money was due to be set aside in February to bring it back into use but Shropshire Council 's Liberal Democrat leadership said there never had been any money for such a scheme in the capital programme.

The authority said it was looking at a "reprioritisation" of its capital projects.

"I understand the expectation and the need for Whitchurch and its surrounding area to have a functioning civic centre," said councillor Roger Evans.

"It's very important to reiterate that, at the present time, there is no actual funding for this work in the council's capital programme and there never has been.

"Work to understand funding options – including potential CIL (community infrastructure levy) external funding – is being carried out and the new cabinet will consider this as part of its reprioritisation of capital projects in the next few weeks."

Dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete was found in the building's structure, leading to its closure

This week the council published an independent "assessment of need" report, to be used towards development options for the site and check what would be needed from a future civic centre.

The report, by Strategic Leisure Limited, concluded there was a need for a "multi-purpose building in the town, offering the range of spaces provided in the former civic centre as a minimum".

They also found that there was a "lack of large, community accessible spaces in the town".

The report added that the priority had to be the "reprovision of the core elements lost to the town".

Councillor Andy Hall, chair of the Whitchurch Civic Centre working group, said he believed redeveloping the site and creating a new building was on the cards.

"The report has been considered by the working group and, subject to formal decision-making by Shropshire Council and Whitchurch Town Council, it is likely that the aspiration will now be to potentially redevelop the site and create a new, modern, fit-for-purpose and energy-efficient building," he added.