A council chamber refit costing up to half a million pounds and paid for by local taxpayers has been branded unnecessary and irresponsible by Tory councillors who say the money should have been spent on frontline services.
The upgrade of the West Oxfordshire District Council chamber will include new carpets, walls, ceiling, lighting, furniture, an electrical and data upgrade, replacing convector heaters and radiators and additional insulation.
The Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green coalition which runs the council says once the works are complete later this year it can be used for community events and it can start live streaming meetings for the public to take part.
But Conservative members, who estimate the cost at £500,000, say the ‘extravagant allocation of funds has raised concerns among local residents about the responsible use of public finances'.
And they argue that the expenditure 'during a time of economic uncertainty and pressing financial challenges for the council is unwarranted'.
Cllr Michele Mead, leader of the Conservative Group said: "Council chambers play an essential role in the democratic process, but the question remains whether such an investment is justifiable in the current fiscal climate.
"When I was leader of the council this proposal arrived on my desk, but I didn't consider it necessary for taxpayers to be funding such an upgrade given we have key frontline services to run.
"I'm not sure residents will be happy with the amount of money being spent on this."
The council said the £500,000 figure quoted by the Conservatives was not the final cost for the work but the initial cost put forward in an earlier budget allocation.
A total budget of £457,260 was allocated to the chamber refit project in July 2022.
This comprised refit (based on the Quantity Surveyor assessment) £242,350, furniture (folding desks/stacking chairs based upon suitable furniture being identified and costed) £131,210 and mechanical and electrical adjustments (based on the Quantity Surveyor assessment) £83,700.
The council is also spending an additional £250,000 on upgrades to technology to be able to live stream the meetings.
This is covered by Government funding which was awarded to the council for this purpose.
Council leader Andy Graham said: “The work on the council chamber is part of wider changes to our council offices which will overall reduce the financial costs and carbon impact of the council’s operations and increase public accessibility.
“The new council chamber will be a modern, versatile space that can be used by many in the community, for a variety of events and activities, including meetings, weddings, community functions, and business events.
“The working costs for the upgrades to the chamber are £350,023.
"The Tories have not invested in the chamber over the last 35 years. The chamber was not used by anyone else, an average 12 days of use per year in that time - what a waste.
"The new flexible multi-use council chamber will allow the flexi space to be used for state-of-the-art technology for meetings and community events such as special events and raise much needed revenue to support local services.
"The technology has been paid for by a special grant award so it's best value, multi use and more community availability."
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