MAJOR plans for a new £950,000 community centre for Malvern to replace the district council’s deteriorating Council Chamber have been unveiled – a money-saving move which could see the town’s Tourist Information Centre relocated.
Proposals include demolishing the chamber on Avenue Road, which Malvern Hills District Council say is nearing the end of its life, and replacing it with a larger 105-seat building which will also consist of two meeting rooms for businesses and community groups.
Should it go ahead, council chiefs will relocate the Malvern Tourist Information Centre service – currently based at Church Street – into the new building.
Plans also include major interior improvements to the neighbouring Council House making it accessible to the public for the first time in years. This will cost an additional £450,000 making the total project worth £1.4million.
The council also plans to sell or lease out Brunel House in Portland Road so all of its staff are able to work at one single site – at the refurbished Council House – once work is complete.
Chiefs say the changes will help the council achieve savings of £193,000 a year as it needs to save £1.8million a year by 2018 due to Government funding cuts.
If no action was taken, council bosses said they would have to spend a total of £480,000 on maintenance works on sites including the Chamber, Council House, Brunel House and the Tourist Information Centre.
Coun Phil Grove, Leader of Malvern Hills District Council, said: “These changes, if approved, will help us to meet the significant financial challenge we face without impacting on the front line services residents rely on, which we are determined to protect.
“The project will also deliver us a new modern, purpose built building which will prove a valuable asset to the community.”
However The Observer can reveal that Malvern Civic Society has urged the council to rethink the plans and consider using The Grange – a community asset building on Grange Road – as the home for its new community hub rather than constructing a new building.
They say this approach could save the council more money.
The Grange, owned by the district council, will be used to store Council House furniture while works take place. But after that period the council says it will make a decision on its future.
The Grange Steering Group, part of the Civic Society, say conversion work for the building would cost around £630,000, meaning significant savings would be achieved by the council – rather than spending £950,000 on the new building.
The group added the Tourist Information Centre could also be located in The Grange and have its base right next to the Malvern Theatres – one of the town’s biggest attractions.
Clive Hooper, on behalf of the Grange Steering Group, said: “As VAT is not payable by the Council for its own work, the advantage of doing this would be that there would be a capital cost saving of around £316,000
“The Grange would be preserved as a capital asset for the Council, and scope would remain for future development of the council chamber site.”
Councillors will discuss and vote on the plans at a meeting next Tuesday (September 20).
