Burnham and Highbridge Town Council has this week moved a small step closer towards moving out of its current aging Council Chambers and into a derelict property in the town centre.
Town councillors have given their support to compile a plan and budget for to move from the current council chambers in Jaycroft Road (pictured above) and into the former adult learning centre in Princess Street next to the library, pictured below.
Cllr Ganesh Gudka told a meeting this week: “The Jaycroft Road building doesn’t work in the way that we would like it to. There is a derelict building in Princess Street that could be made use of – the former Somerset Skills and Learning Centre. We are trying to engineer a route to dispose of this building, acquire the other one, and move into it.”
He added that work is currently underway on compiling an action plan and assessing the costs of the move, plus an upgrade of the derelict building.
Cllr Peter Clayton asked whether the former Somerset Skills and Learning Centre building is still available. “We almost had an agreement on it before the new Somerset Council came into fruition and I think it was put on hold for that activity,” he noted.
Cllr Gudka said: “One of the steps in our plan is to get that formalised. Informally, we have established that we have the support of officers and councillors at the county level to push the project forward but the devil will be in the detail.”
In a report to councillors from the Town Council’s ‘Office Accommodation Working Group’, it was noted that the current layout of the Jaycroft Road office [pictured above] is “not conducive to efficient, effective and safe working.”
The report adds: “Whilst the Jaycroft Road council chamber has seen helpful investment of audio equipment over the years, in other respects the constraints of the building and furniture mean that it is hard to see it as a space suitable to open, collaborative meetings which serve local democracy.”
“The location at the back of a narrow road with difficult access to the car park is not ideal. The majority of current councillors supported more mobile meetings to be more inclusive of both Burnham and Highbridge. If the trial is successful, a more flexible space for the council chamber would be advisable.”
“The option of moving the Council to the old Learning and Skills Centre in Princess Street has been mooted for some time. This is part of a wider strategy to create a cultural and civic centre in Princess Street and utilise an otherwise derelict building.”
“Such a move would be connected with a move to sell/asset transfer the Jaycroft Road building. The whole project however would have to consider the potential costs of making the currently derelict building usable. This could be substantial.”
Councillors agreed that the Finance and Resources Committee will agree the budget and quotes for the investigatory work.
Somerset Skills and Learning moved out of the Princess Street building when Burnham-On-Sea’s adult learning centre closed in December 2017 after its funding was cut by the government.
