Further Public Consultation sought on Assembly Rooms' future.

Strong words and high emotion were in evidence at Warminster’s

1.  

   Further public consultation on the future of the Assembly Rooms was agreed.

 

Town Council meeting last night which ended in a decision to seek further

public consultation. 

In yet another attempt to resolve the dilemmas presented by

their  proposed move to the Assembly

Rooms, the Town Council held its Full Council meeting there to accommodate the

extra members of the public expected.  Around 90 people attended with

nine taking their opportunity to speak for three minutes before the meeting

began.

 The Council heard

about the plight of Warminster Community Radio, the concern for spending so

much public money, the disgrace of the empty listed building in the middle of

town, and the disappointment about the way the Council has responded to the public

poll held earlier  this year.

Ex-mayor Cllr Tony Nicklin, who submitted a Report for

Decision and a 23 page document  Assembly Rooms Refurbishment Appraisal,

spoke of the various processes the Council has been through in making their

decisions.  Cllr Tony Field spoke realistically

of the burdens inherited by the Council due to lack of maintenance and the

undisputed fact that the Assembly Rooms have been running at a loss of £65,000

per year. 

An additional problem for the Council was reported by  Cllr Keith Humphries, Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Health

and Well Being,  who said that changes

in the way Wilts Council

operates are under way and it is not yet known what

impact  these will have on the duties of

Warminster Town Council.

Added to all this is the fact that Warminster Community

Radio has its studio in one part of the Assembly Rooms.  Within two months their request for a licence

to broadcast full time will be considered and they need to have in place a

guarantee that they have premises for the next five years.  One item on the agenda for the meeting was

asking members of the Council to consider WCR’s proposal to purchase the

existing station within the Assembly Rooms and acquire land at the side of the

building.

After two hours debate The Council agreed a proposal that

the Council had noted the content of the Report and agreed that the next

logical step was to have a public consultation.  

Questionnaires

will be sent out to a random sample of residents in order to gather a broad

range of opinions. 

Speaking after the meeting Barry Mole from WCR said he was

disappointed that this proposal means further delays about the future of the

Assembly Rooms but as long as the Council does not decide to demolish or sell

them he hopes there will be a way ahead.