Do the words WOOL, PULLED and EYE’S spring to mind…?

I heard some interesting news the other day. Whilst listening to Tameside council’s own propaganda radio station, I was informed that the council was to spend £4.5million of their own money, on redeveloping Ashton’s civic square. 

On checking the news on the council’s web site, sure enough, it confirmed that Ashton civic square is to undergo a £4.5m redesign by the same architects who worked on the award-winning refurbishment of the £17million, market hall. It went on to say, that international urban design and architectural consultants Taylor Young (who work closely with Tameside’s favorite construction and facilities management company, Carillion) have been commissioned to draw up a state-of-the-art makeover of Ashton civic square.

According to the council’s press release, it is envisaged that the new look civic square will help make the town centre a more appealing place to stay and shop, enhancing the market and attracting more visitors. The work will form a wider package of improvements for Ashton, which includes the development of an urban village, a new administrative centre and a potential decision for Tameside College to move into the town centre.

On hearing this, two things struck me.

Firstly, the phrase, ‘the council’s own money’ Now considering the fact that any monies the council receives in income comes from either central government, (general taxation) local taxation, (council taxes) monies from licensing, business taxes, fines and car-parking fees! – in other words from us, the council does not have or creates ‘its own’ money!

Secondly, the figure of £4.5million. 

Is that purely for the redesign, or the entire finished project?

If it’s for the design only; then how do they know, unless the designs have already been done and costed?

Alternatively, if the £4.5million is to cover the entire project, then the initial concept, the business case and market research will already have been established in order to formulate a brief to explain the requirements to the competing design companies. It would then have been passed over to however be in charge of procurement to source those competitive companies who are proven and show proficiency in design, planning and implementation, to put forward their tenders. 

Those bids would then have been evaluated and negotiated before a contract of commission was entered into.

Therefore to announce that Taylor Young has already been commissioned suggests that plans, designs and costs are already in existence, but for some reason the council has decided to keep them from us.

In the light of possible council tax increases; with thousands of Tameside people struggling to heat their homes and more and more families relying on food banks, could it be that spending £4.5million at this time to redesign Ashton Market square to accommodate the council’s desire for a brand new administrative centre and to assist Tameside College in their desire to move into the town centre, would not be too easily accepted?

Watch this space.