Today, Wiltshire Councillors voted against the deal proposed by the Lib Dem Administration to give away the St Stephen's Car Park in Trowbridge along with £2.5m of taxpayers’ money. This was a terrible deal for Wiltshire Council and for the residents of Trowbridge, and during a heated debate many points were made by Councillors about the lack of information, business plan(s), revenue impacts and commercial and legal risks.
Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council Conservatives, said, "I am pleased that months of scrutiny by Conservative Councillors have paid off, and the shoddy business deal proposed by the Lib Dem Administration has been voted down. It would have cost Wiltshire Council Taxpayers much more than is necessary, with no guarantee that the site would be redeveloped in the near future. Sadly, it is clear that the Lib Dem Administration has very limited business experience or commercial nous.
Time and again, Conservative Councillors asked for more information so that they could be confident that the proposed £2.5m deal was viable and a good one for Wiltshire residents - only to be stonewalled and threatened with legal action. It is very worrying that the Lib Dems' "together- open-fair" mantra has fallen at the first hurdle.
It is recognised by everyone that a solution is much needed for the St Stephen's Car Park and the Castle Place Shopping Centre in Trowbridge but throwing £2.5m of Wiltshire residents' hard-earned money at the issue is not the solution."
Conservative deputy leader Dominic Muns, who represents The Lavingtons, said vital information about the business rates generated by the shopping centre had not been forthcoming, while senior Tory Nick Holder (Bowerhill) said he was "really disappointed" at the apparent lack of openness. "What are you hiding from us?" he demanded.
