11:22am Thursday 18th March 2010
By Oliver Evans
AN opposition councillor today blasted council spending on a stadium plan - which could reach £750,000 - as ‘obscene’ and ‘deplorable’.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Trevor Snaith hit out at Wycombe District Council for the spending when, he said, other parts of the district need community facilities.
He spoke after the council sold Bassetsbury Manor near The Rye in High Wycombe for £1.2m and closed nearby Holywell Mead outdoor swimming pool to save £66,000 a year.
And council leader Councillor Lesley Clarke was slammed for saying council cash for the stadium plan is ‘not taxpayers’ money’.
The Conservative controlled council and Wycombe Wanderers and London Wasps chiefs yesterday spoke about their support for a move from Adams Park (see link, bottom of story).
The council will spend up to £750,000 looking into the move – to include a ‘sports village’ – and could sell its land to finance the new stadium.
Cllr Snaith said: “This is the same money that the council got from the asset strip and sale of Bassetsbury Manor and continues to get when it sells off other pieces of land and buildings ‘we own’.
“The capital receipts from these High Wycombe land and property dealings belong to the taxpayer. “The proceeds should be spent on locally based community projects in the town to directly to the benefit of local residents.”
He said areas such as Ryemead, Bowerdean and Terriers had ‘major deficiencies’ in community facilities.
He said: “There are groups of children looking for youth centres , young mothers wanting play groups and pensioners’ day centres to meet up and socialise.”
Cllr Snaith, a member for Ryemead, said: “It is deplorable that Cllr Clarke and WDC refuse to set aside council funds from property dealings, to deliver the needs of local people.
“However they are prepared to allocate obscene amounts for consultations and long term speculative projects like the stadium.” The council has said the move could not go ahead as a result of the ‘feasibility’ study work, to which Steve Hayes, the owner of the clubs, is contributing £250,000.
Cllr Snaith said: “WDC needs a reality check and start spending funds on more pressing ward based community projects to build strong local communities.
“The stadium is a nice to have project but local community needs must be served first.”
And party colleague and Totteridge councillor Steve Guy hit out after the council leader said the £750,000 is ‘not taxpayers’ money’ as it would come from property deals.
Cllr Guy said: “If you ask the man in the street if that was our money I think they would say yes.
“Councillor Clarke and the public have a different idea of what taxpayers’ money is. I don’t care where they got it from – it belongs to us.”
While he said the plans were ‘encouraging’ and the sports village idea ‘exciting’, questions remained about why the council had not invested in other community facilities.
He pointed to a ‘much more modest’ business plan put forward by volunteers to keep the pool open that was rejected by the council is unviable and unsafe.
Cllr Guy said: “Why can you afford that but you can’t afford to keep the pool open?”
And he took issue over a council FAQ which said land sold by the council could be used for ‘housing or commercial development’ – raising the prospect of homes at Wycombe Air Park, said to be the council’s preferred option.
Cllr Guy said: “Which is it? That could give us a view one way or the other whether that is a good thing.”
Click the links below for more stories about the plan, including a video of yesterday’s press conference.
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