“Relocate Town Council meetings from Wyvern House to a more affordable, friendly venue making a saving of over 20k per year, improving trust and accountability.”

Prior to making its way onto our election flyer, this pledge appears to have begun life publicly in a Winsford Residents Association post¹⁾ likely by Rodent in chief, Cllr Simon Boone.

It's worthy of note that some members of the previous Town Council felt there would be value in moving operations out of Wyvern House, however it was deemed impracticable. Reasons given at the time included social distancing requirements, WTC staff workload, cost (both in moving and the building), accessibility, and availability of modern A/V facilities.

The previous council instead secured significant discounts from CWaC, resulting in the main council chamber costing just £1350 per annum over the last 4 years, and the WTC staff offices costing ~£17,200.²⁾

In his post, Cllr Boone incorrectly stated that the previous Winsford Town Council agreed to pay £19,000 per annum for a “small office” at Wyvern House, and that he felt this was a “total waste of money”, suggesting that WTC staff should work in the crumbling Brunner Guildhall instead.

He gave no indication as to how this move would be achieved.

Furthermore, he proposed that the Full Town Council meetings should be moved out of Wyvern House for potentially “Huge savings”.

Costs have risen over the last few years, however in return for the nearly £21,000 spent by WTC last year, Wyvern House, located conveniently in the centre of town, has provided both services to the Town Council and their staff, with space in the office for vital record-keeping, and a purpose-built Council chamber kitted out with appropriate Audio and Video systems.

Less obviously, Wyvern house also provides safety for Winsford residents attending Town Council meetings, with dedicated security staff, has Accessible parking, and plenty of space to allow for social distancing.

It would appear that Cllr Boone has convinced WSotE (WTC) to adopt his pledge, albeit worded as it is above.

Delivering on this Pledge may seem possible - £20,900 is over £20,000, - however making the pledged saving of £20,000 would leave a total budget of only £900 per annum for secure offices, a meeting room, AND ongoing payments to utilities.

As yet, its not clear how much has actually been spent on relocating to WSotE's chosen new public venue (Wharton Library), nor has any indication been given that the WTC staff will actually be moving shop.

Wharton Library might appear to be a cheaper venue for the Town Council meetings, however this ignores several points;

• It does not provide security, which would be a significant cost.
• It does not provide Audio / visual equipment (the room is also significantly echoey).
• It can be cold in winter.

Whilst the Library's stark exterior might arguably be “friendlier” than Wyvern house, we cannot see how removing security from the venue will improve public trust or safety during WTC Full Council sessions.

As far as WTC staffers moving to offices in the Brunner Guild Hall - well, that would depend on our previously failed pledge to "Push for an urgent review of the Guild Hall project", and awkward facts such as having to pay for heating, power, accessible parking, and internet connectivity, currently provided at Wyvern House, never mind any pie-in-the-sky ideas about any real savings, which have yet to be seen³⁾.

For these reasons, this Pledge is a FAILure on the part of WSotE.