COUNCIL chiefs are proposing to demolish County Hall as part of a multi-million pound rebuild project, the Leader can exclusively reveal.
The Leader has obtained information outlining Flintshire Council’s proposed capital programme for the next 10 years.
Within the document are plans to spend £15 million rebuilding County Hall, on Raikes Lane, Mold.
According to the figures, external funding is not currently available for the project and the money would have to come from the council’s general capital fund or from “prudential borrowing”.
During an interview with the Leader last year the council’s chief executive Colin Everett admitted County Hall was unviable and expensive to maintain.
He said at the time: “County Hall is an old building. It is relatively expensive for energy costs because it is an open design.
“It is not a good use of space inside. If you took the floor space you could have two to three times as many people in a similar sized building.
“Because of all of those things, it is not a discredit to the past, but it is not a viable building.”
The document, which will be discussed by the council’s corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee today, also includes plans to spend £25 million on Clwyd Theatr Cymru – £12.5 million of which will come from the council.
But councillors are furious council chiefs are considering spending such sums of money.
Flint councillor Ian Roberts said: “This may be a wish list of aspirations, but at a time of considerable stress on the public purse I’m astonished to see figures such as those for County Hall and the theatre included in a list of real priorities such as investing in schools, libraries, extra care accommodation and children’s play areas.
“I cannot imagine what the public reaction will be to Flintshire Council investing £15 million in civic offices at a time when there are so many other priorities.”
Bagillt councillor Mike Reece added: “I find the amount that could be spent unbelievable.
“This money should be going on properties throughout the county rather than spending it on this.
“There are properties up and down the county needing renovation.”
There are also plans to spend £1 million on the new recycling centre in Sandycroft, £570,000 on the Daniel Owen Centre in Mold, £15 million on extra care housing, £350,000 on play areas and £4.5 million on the County Record Office.
The document states the proposals are just “potential” capital schemes and no decision has been made.
A spokesman for Flintshire Council said: “The council has a longstanding commitment to Clwyd Theatr Cymru. Uniquely, the theatre is the only local-authority subsidised theatre in Wales to have its own production company. Other than box office income, the theatre is funded by the Arts Council of Wales (60%) and the council (40%).
“The theatre meets, if not exceeds, its annual box office and audience and participation targets year on year and has a top reputation internationally.
“Like all parts of the council, the theatre is reviewing how it can be more efficient in a time of public expenditure pressures.
“These are aging buildings which do not have a long-term life in their current form. They are expensive to maintain, heat, clean and operate and make poor use of an expansive site in the modern era.
"The executive has commissioned a feasibility study to review options for refitting and modernising the theatre in partnership with the Arts Council.
“The viability of any future investment scheme would rest on significant national Arts Lottery grant and a good rate of commercial return from increased use and income such as conference facilities.
"The study will pose options for a possible reduced civic centre presence on the total site for debate.
"This will give the council the opportunity to consider how, by reducing the scale of the current County Hall, it could save multi-million pounds of running and site costs over a longer-period and have a ‘pay-back’ from investing in some reconstruction.
“All public sector bodies are having to review and reduce their estate. Flintshire is no different. County Hall is one of the largest council base complexes in Wales.”
Councillor Klaus Armstrong-Braun is calling for County Hall to be listed in a bid to save it from the bulldozers.
Cllr Armstrong-Braun says the 1960s building should be protected for future generations.
He said: “It’s an iconic building and it’s the only ‘Lego’ style building in Britain. We have lost a lot of these iconic civic buildings, which are a major part of British history.”
Cllr Armstrong-Braun believes the building could be brought up to standard with “modern technology”.
“There is a lot of empty space, which they could rent out,” he said.