Cllr Duncan Kerr, Leader of the Green and Progressive Independents group on Shropshire called this morning for the redundant Shirehall site to be used to alleviate the current housing crisis by building new Council homes.

Cllr Kerr explained,

"Although the Council's General fund is in a financial crisis the Council's Housing Revenue Count which runs it's Council homes is solvent. By deciding to prioritise the building of Council homes we can alleviate the strain on the General Fund and by generating income from future rents enable the site to be developed.

This would be a true win win for the Council and the community and would enable a full assessment of what elements of the building can be retained. It currently seems to be Plan B with the Council trying to simply sell the site being Plan A. I think if they put it to residents they would switch their plans."

Cllr Kerr provided the following more detailed explanation of the groups' position:

As a building Shirehall is modernist - a physical symbol of an era when there was confidence in the capacity and future of local people and local decision-making. It seems it will end its life as a symbol of an over-dominant central government, a crisis in local government and a niaive 1980s belief in giving the free market a blank canvass. It isn’t easy but this could have been, and still can be, avoided.

The previous administration emptied the premises at lightning speed – and it was not unreasonable for them to leave the decisions regarding its future options for the new administration.

But it took until Dec 2025 for a report to come to Council. When it came it had a plethora of options with no indication that the leadership had come to a view. I remember well the Deputy Leader at Council expressing his dislike of another housing estate and his hope for a comprehensive development which retained key features of the building. These comments were made after the declaration of a financial crisis and an EFS submission. As Mr Buss has just said “the truth of the Councils financial situation did not sink in”…and as the Leader has just admitted the decision was dodged.

The months between May and December last year could, and should, have been used as a resource for a development which maximises social housing by appropriating the land to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

Council housing is not just good for residents on our waiting list it’s also good for the Council’s budgets in saving costs of accommodating homeless persons – and as we are planning to borrow money for 5 years or so we need long-term, not short-term, decisions.

Appropriating the site to the Council's HRA would enable us to secure this. Council housing is the original and best invest to save for residents for the Council and for the country, its presumably why the leadership have decided housing is a priority, here is an opportunity to make those words meaningful.

The report states that development of social housing could see work start on site in 15 months.. bizarrely that is seen as a disadvantage. Given the Councils track record on major projects I think everyone would be delighted to see work start in that timeframe – if we had made this decision last May building work spades would be going into the ground next month. It is an advantage because it doesn’t delay for contract preparations, legal issues and sale which, based on previous experience, will take far longer than we predict.

Taking the site to market may prove to be a costly option under the Best Value requirements it may take more than one go to find a buyer and if we do there is a high risk it will be land-banked and left to decay.

After all that work by the Task and Finish group and all the representations from Save our Shirehall it seems that the decision comes down to another Consultant. Councillor Evans has told us he is working hard to avoid Commissioners coming into to Shropshire but it we merely use the same consultants and make the same decisions I wonder what the gain to the community is, it doesn’t sound like “control” to me.

This is a lost opportunity to Shropshire, like the Task and Finish group I suspect that the proceeds from the sale, thought they will please our new paymasters in the DCLG, will be nowhere near the opportunity costs to the residents of Shropshire.

I therefore ask the Cabinet to focus on the long term costs to the Council and the community of Shropshire of this site, which could provide much needed Council housing by appropriating the site to the HRA to herald a new renaissance in Council house building which would be a fitting legacy for this landmark building.