Cllr Archibald defends state of Peeblesshire council buildings

0 - 0 • Published 8 May 2009 11:49 0 Comments

CLAIMS that many council buildings are in poor condition and others are unsuitable for the services being delivered from them has been rubbished this week.

Councillor Willie Archibald, who represents Tweeddale West on Scottish Borders Council, criticised a report on Local Government Asset Management published by Audit Scotland yesterday (Thursday).

It says that only around half of the local authorities have a council-wide strategy for this and although there is some good management information available it is not always used to support decision-making.

However, while Councillor Archibald defended the condition of local authority owned properties across the Borders - including the council chambers in Rosetta Road, which it shares with the police - he suggested it had a surplus of buildings which could be sold to save cash.

The report focused on the 12,400 properties owned by Scotland"s councils. In some, over 90 per cent of buildings are in good condition. But across the country, one in four council buildings are in poor or bad condition and 23 per cent are unsuitable for the services being delivered from them.

Speaking to the Peeblesshire News, Councillor Archibald said: 'Our public buildings are in quite good condition but to keep them in that state costs a fortune and the question we have to ask is it a sensible use of public money? I think we should happen an open debate.'

Councils spent over £136 million on property maintenance in 2007/08. While some councils carry out most of their maintenance in a planned way, others react to problems as they arise, which is more costly in the long run.

Chair of the Accounts Commission, John Baillie said: 'We encourage councillors and council officials to take a much more active and dynamic approach to assessing and scrutinising council assets and how they meet people"s current and future needs.

"They need to be better at planning much further ahead, such as in the provision of new buildings. This is all part of providing best value services to local people.'

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This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 08 May 09

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