Pressure mounts on council not to sell Poole civic centre

Cabinet members agreed – albeit with opposition from Poole Town councillor Andy Hadley – to proceed with the sale of the Grade II listed building. 

Labour MP for Poole Neil Duncan-Jordan has set also up a petition on the website 38degrees, described a sale as “probably the last nail in the coffin” for the town’s heritage. 

BCP Labour leader Patrick Canavan called for the council to consult with residents before putting it on the market – an idea that has not come to fruition. 

He said: “I’ve criticised the council for its approach to consultation and I’m doing it again.  

“Unless you consult the public properly, you will have another repeat of the situation where you just exacerbate dissatisfaction and disenchantment of BCP.” 

Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan (Image: PR)

Hamworthy and Labour councillor Peter Cooper added there is a “gross injustice in terms of the memory of Poole”, while criticising the merger of the three towns. 

He added: “I came into a council where hope, vision and aspirations were really high.  

“The civic centre was a hub of innovation and pride, a home full of civic pride, history, culture and traditions of Poole [...] I feel BCP personally is a fiscal failure and we have to deal with that.” 

Several councillors pleaded with cabinet members at BCP Council to consult on the sale, during a meeting on Wednesday, October 2. 

This included Andy Hadley, cabinet member for the environment and Poole Town ward councillor, who said he could not support a sale. 

Patrick Canavan, BCP Labour leader (Image: NQ)

But council leader Millie Earl could. She said: “Maybe I’m speaking for younger generations, but what I want to see from our council is decent services, housing, growth and opportunity. 

“I’m not interested in older buildings and I’d guess younger people similar to me are not interested in that as well.” 

Cabinet member for finance Mike Cox said the council can’t afford to keep it “just for what might happen in the future”. 

He added: “It is clearly of some historical value and I do acknowledge that a number of residents and councillors do value the civic centre to quite a significant degree. 

“But it does cost this authority £19k a month and effectively adds up to about £250k a year in costs just to maintain it in its current state. 

“Frankly, that's completely and utterly unsustainable. The building is vulnerable to vandalism, and everybody is probably aware of a situation where all the emergency authorities had to attend.” 

He added residents have been consulted on Poole civic centre through the local plan. 

Cabinet will have to agree on who the civic centre is sold to, which Cllr Cox said could mean somebody who offers more but wants to build "posh flats" would be rejected if a second buyer offered less but would build affordable housing.