Row rumbles on over revamp of civic hall

Saddleworth Parish Council

A Saddleworth councillor has hit out at a fellow member of the parish council who threatened to complain to the district auditor over the way the refurbishment of Uppermill Civic Hall has been handled.

Councillor Brian Lord accused Councillor Ken Hulme of being grossly unfair, unreasonable and as misleading the public after he spoke out at last night’s meeting against the tender process used to secure a developer for the site.

Councillor Hulme, said: “I am very unhappy with the way this has been conducted.”

About £200,000 was spent on the Civic Hall in 2000 to extend the bar, install double glazing and put a new lift in place.

However, recent costings for phase two of the renovation came back at three times more than expected, forcing members to scale back the plans for the building.

Councillor Hulme said: “We went out in a futile tendering exercise and it really was a waste of time as there was never any intention on spending the amount to do the whole works.”

Councillor Brian Lord said: “I’m sad that councillor Hulme has no ambition for the area. We put forward what we would have liked in an ideal world and it came back at more than what we expected.

“We have to be mindful of what is practical, but we will only pay for what we get.”

Under the stripped-back plans, the footprint of the building will remain the same but a first-floor extension will be built above the room at the back of the building.

Toilet facilities will be installed upstairs while a reception area will be built at the side entrance, where the offices will be relocated.

The whole rear extension will be clad in man-made stone to match the look of the original building with work hopefully due to be completed by February next year.




Electoral reform bid fails

A proposal to create a new group of councillors to look into how the chairman and vice-chairman of the parish council are elected, has fallen at the first hurdle.

Current chairman Councillor Keith Begley put forward the idea of creating a “task and finish” group made up of seven members of the council.

The move was in response to a row in council earlier this year, with Councillor Ken Hulme accusing the Liberal Democrats of using the position as a political chalice.

Members however could not come to an agreement at last night’s meeting.

Councillor John Hudson and Councillor Hulme objected to the idea, arguing that it was not the parish council’s decision to make as it would affect a possibly altered future council following next May’s election.

But Councillor Begley said: “There was a fuss right through to the day of the appointment of the chair this year and it is very unseemly.

“The idea behind the group would be to decide between us how the chair would be elected and not play it out in public, but the decision has now been deferred and may never happen.”