Opposition Councillors Call for Rethink

Cllr Paul, Breeze (unaffiliated), and Dave Conway (City Independent) have submitted a motion asking for Council members to consider an urgent rethink on its proposal to build a new £55million Civic Centre in Hanley.

This comes on the back of massive community uproar with 3 petitons of getting close to 4,000 signatures requesting a rethink, and a March planned for 23rd February from Hanley to Stoke being organised on Facebook with close to 1,700 members already

The motion reads

 In view of the dire economic circumstances, globally, nationally and in particular, devastatingly, locally in Stoke-on-Trent, and in light of widespread public disapproval of the council’s previous decision to borrow £40m, and rising, of taxpayers money to relocate the civic headquarters from Stoke Town to Hanley, this council:

1) radically rethink it’s overall strategy of the future regeneration of the city centre and the city of Stoke-on-Trent as a whole, and whilst the strategy is revised, the £40m proposed borrowing for the Central Business District contained in the council approved capital programme be suspended.

2) request the Cabinet to rescind the decision to move the civic headquarters from Stoke Town to Hanley, and retain the civic centre building in its current location and for its current use in Stoke Town.