Not the time to spend £7million

If Warwickshire ever becomes a unitary authority all the functions of WDC would be performed by Warwickshire County Council. There may already be spare space for WDC officers in Shire Hall. Leamington needs a ‘one stop shop’ and the obvious place for that is the town hall. The Spa Centre box office could go back where it belongs.

Less than a year ago WDC was determined to regenerate Old Town by relocating to Court Street (what has changed their mind about this location?) and now it wants to “enhance” the Spa Centre by planting a multi-storey modern building on the small green space slap outside its front door. Thanks to the Justice Centre, Newbold Terrace is always packed with cars during office hours – adding all the Riverside House vehicles to the nearby streets and car parks is just impossible.

Why build new? With a good architect the town hall or the Spencer Street Chapel or Marlborough House could be restored and adapted for less than £7 million, recycling these buildings. Hamilton Terrace is another possibility. And there are better brownfield sites with space for cars: the Ford Foundry site; Riverside House; Chandos Street, as suggested in last week’s Courier, and the original favourite, Court Street.

Very few alternatives have even been considered. £7 million is a lot of money and this important decision should not be made in a hurry. The costs come upfront and the savings are speculative.

Marianne Pitts, Leam Terrace, Leamington