North Yorkshire Council’s plan to purchase Resolution House has been sent to an oversight committee following a formal call-in by opposition members concerned about transparency and the impact on the town centre.
Opposition councillors have ‘called in’ for additional scrutiny North Yorkshire Council’s decision to purchase a new office building in Scarborough.
A group of Independent and Green Party councillors have issued an official ‘call-in’ of NYC’s in-principal approval of the purchase of Resolution House in Scarborough from Anglo American at a meeting on Tuesday, March 17.
The call-in means that the decision will be scrutinised by the authority’s oversight and scrutiny committee which independently monitors decisions made by the executive.
The decision will see staff moved from Scarborough Town Hall and Malton’s Ryedale House to the building at the A64, which was marketed with a guide price of £4.5 million.
Council officers said the price agreed with Anglo American was “substantially lower” than the guide price, which has not been made public, but which the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands is less than £2m.
The call-in, signed by 10 councillors, states:
“Given that the acquisition would commit the council to a significant capital decision and appears to rely on assumptions about wider estate changes that are not yet fully worked through, it is appropriate that the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee review whether sufficient information was available to support the Executive’s decision at this stage.”
Speaking at a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council on Wednesday, February 18, Cllr Rich Maw said:
“There are serious concerns about the move of council activity out of the town centre to the A64 at a time when footfall is declining.
“Removing staff and democratic activity risks further weakening the economy and local democratic accountability.
“Moving out of town could well make it harder for residents to participate in and observe democratic processes.
“Why were Scarborough councillors and the town council kept in the dark, and will NYC commit to consulting with them before a deal is finalised?”
The leader of the council, Cllr Carl Les, said:
“I agree that the town hall is the civic centre of the town and there is no intention to change that. The Area Committee decides where to meet, and I decide where the executive meets.
“As I’ve said before, there is no intention to relocate the customer services from the centre, and there was no intention to keep people in the dark, but property deals are often fast-moving. We’ve had good discussions with the town council, and it and other bodies will be involved in the future of the town hall.
“What’s clear to me is that we must provide better conditions than the shameful working conditions that staff are currently in.”
Similar concerns were raised at the meeting by Cllr Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, who said the announcement of the plan to buy Resolution House was not the first time elected members found out about the council’s decisions on social media. Speaking at the full meeting, she said:
“Is it acceptable for elected members to find out about important decisions, including about the use of second homes tax money in their ward or about the Resolution House plans, on social media?
“The lack of information has prevented councillors from carrying out proper scrutiny and has prevented us from doing the job the public expects us to do.”
Cllr Carl Les said that
“in principle, I completely agree on the second homes funding announcement, we got it wrong, I’m sorry, and the officers are sorry”,
and added that he stood by the policy.
The Corporate and Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee is set to discuss the call-in at a meeting on Thursday, March 26.
The call-in was backed by councillors Rich Maw, Janet Jefferson, Michelle Donohue-Moncrief, Sam Cross, Kevin Foster, Arnold Warneken, Andy Brown, Mike Schofield, and Paul Haslam.
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